CHAPTER VIII. THE SATURNALIA AND KINDRED FESTIVALS.

§ 1. The Roman Saturnalia.

(M238) In an earlier part of this book we saw that many peoples have been used to observe an annual period of license, when the customary restraints of law and morality are thrown aside, when the whole population give themselves up to extravagant mirth and jollity, and when the darker passions find a vent which would never be allowed them in the more staid and sober course of ordinary life. Such outbursts of the pent-up forces of human nature, too often degenerating into wild orgies of lust and crime, occur most commonly at the end of the year, and are frequently associated, as I have had occasion to point out, with one or other of the agricultural seasons, especially with the time of sowing or of harvest. Now, of all these periods of license the one which is best known and which in modern languages has given its name to the rest, is the Saturnalia. This famous festival fell in December, the last month of the Roman year, and was popularly supposed to commemorate the merry reign of Saturn, the god of sowing and of husbandry, who lived on earth long ago as a righteous and beneficent king of Italy, drew the rude and scattered dwellers on the mountains together, taught them to till the ground, gave them laws, and ruled in peace. His reign was the fabled Golden Age: the earth brought forth abundantly: no sound of war or discord troubled the happy world: no baleful love of lucre worked like poison in the blood of the industrious and contented peasantry. Slavery and private property were alike unknown: all men had all things in common. At last the good god, the kindly king, vanished suddenly; but his memory was cherished to distant ages, shrines were reared in his honour, and many hills and high places in Italy bore his name.(703) Yet the bright tradition of his reign was crossed by a dark shadow: his altars are said to have been stained with the blood of human victims, for whom a more merciful age afterwards substituted effigies.(704) Of this gloomy side of the god’s religion there is little or no trace in the descriptions which ancient writers have left us of the Saturnalia. Feasting and revelry and all the mad pursuit of pleasure are the features that seem to have especially marked this carnival of antiquity, as it went on for seven days in the streets and public squares and houses of ancient Rome from the seventeenth to the twenty-third of December.(705)

(M239) But no feature of the festival is more remarkable, nothing in it seems to have struck the ancients themselves more than the license granted to slaves at this time. The distinction between the free and the servile classes was temporarily abolished. The slave might rail at his master, intoxicate himself like his betters, sit down at table with them, and not even a word of reproof would be administered to him for conduct which at any other season might have been punished with stripes, imprisonment, or death.(706) Nay, more, masters actually changed places with their slaves and waited on them at table; and not till the serf had done eating and drinking was the board cleared and dinner set for his master.(707) So far was this inversion of ranks carried, that each household became for a time a mimic republic in which the high offices of state were discharged by the slaves, who gave their orders and laid down the law as if they were indeed invested with all the dignity of the consulship, the praetorship, and the bench.(708) Like the pale reflection of power thus accorded to bondsmen at the Saturnalia was the mock kingship for which freemen cast lots at the same season. The person on whom the lot fell enjoyed the title of king, and issued commands of a playful and ludicrous nature to his temporary subjects. One of them he might order to mix the wine, another to drink, another to sing, another to dance, another to speak in his own dispraise, another to carry a flute-girl on his back round the house.(709)

(M240) Now, when we remember that the liberty allowed to slaves at this festive season was supposed to be an imitation of the state of society in Saturn’s time, and that in general the Saturnalia passed for nothing more or less than a temporary revival or restoration of the reign of that merry monarch, we are tempted to surmise that the mock king who presided over the revels may have originally represented Saturn himself. The conjecture is strongly confirmed, if not established, by a very curious and interesting account of the way in which the Saturnalia was celebrated by the Roman soldiers stationed on the Danube in the reign of Maximian and Diocletian. The account is preserved in a narrative of the martyrdom of St. Dasius, which was unearthed from a Greek manuscript in the Paris library, and published by Professor Franz Cumont of Ghent. Two briefer descriptions of the event and of the custom are contained in manuscripts at Milan and Berlin; one of them had already seen the light in an obscure volume printed at Urbino in 1727, but its importance for the history of the Roman religion, both ancient and modern, appears to have been overlooked until Professor Cumont drew the attention of scholars to all three narratives by publishing them together some years ago.(710) According to these narratives, which have all the appearance of being authentic, and of which the longest is probably based on official documents, the Roman soldiers at Durostorum in Lower Moesia celebrated the Saturnalia year by year in the following manner. Thirty days before the festival they chose by lot from amongst themselves a young and handsome man, who was then clothed in royal attire to resemble Saturn. Thus arrayed and attended by a multitude of soldiers he went about in public with full license to indulge his passions and to taste of every pleasure, however base and shameful. But if his reign was merry, it was short and ended tragically; for when the thirty days were up and the festival of Saturn had come, he cut his own throat on the altar of the god whom he personated.(711) In the year 303 A.D. the lot fell upon the Christian soldier Dasius, but he refused to play the part of the heathen god and soil his last days by debauchery. The threats and arguments of his commanding officer Bassus failed to shake his constancy, and accordingly he was beheaded, as the Christian martyrologist records with minute accuracy, at Durostorum by the soldier John on Friday the twentieth day of November, being the twenty-fourth day of the moon, at the fourth hour.

Since this narrative was published by Professor Cumont, its historical character, which had been doubted or denied, has received strong confirmation from an interesting discovery. In the crypt of the cathedral which crowns the promontory of Ancona there is preserved, among other remarkable antiquities, a white marble sarcophagus bearing a Greek inscription, in characters of the age of Justinian, to the following effect: “Here lies the holy martyr Dasius, brought from Durostorum.” The sarcophagus was transferred to the crypt of the cathedral in 1848 from the church of San Pellegrino, under the high altar of which, as we learn from a Latin inscription let into the masonry, the martyr’s bones still repose with those of two other saints. How long the sarcophagus was deposited in the church of San Pellegrino, we do not know; but it is recorded to have been there in the year 1650. We may suppose that the saint’s relics were transferred for safety to Ancona at some time in the troubled centuries which followed his martyrdom, when Moesia was occupied and ravaged by successive hordes of barbarian invaders.(712) At all events it appears certain from the independent and mutually confirmatory evidence of the martyrology and the monuments that Dasius was no mythical saint, but a real man, who suffered death for his faith at Durostorum in one of the early centuries of the Christian era. Finding the narrative of the nameless martyrologist thus established as to the principal fact recorded, namely, the martyrdom of St. Dasius, we may reasonably accept his testimony as to the manner and cause of the martyrdom, all the more because his narrative is precise, circumstantial, and entirely free from the miraculous element. Accordingly I conclude that the account which he gives of the celebration of the Saturnalia among the Roman soldiers is trustworthy.

(M241) This account sets in a new and lurid light the office of the King of the Saturnalia, the ancient Lord of Misrule, who presided over the winter revels at Rome in the time of Horace and of Tacitus. It seems to prove that his business had not always been that of a mere harlequin or merry-andrew whose only care was that the revelry should run high and the fun grow fast and furious, while the fire blazed and crackled on the hearth, while the streets swarmed with festive crowds, and through the clear frosty air, far away to the north, Soracte shewed his coronal of snow. When we compare this comic monarch of the gay, the civilized metropolis with his grim counterpart of the rude camp on the Danube, and when we remember the long array of similar figures, ludicrous yet tragic, who in other ages and in other lands, wearing mock crowns and wrapped in sceptred palls, have played their little pranks for a few brief hours or days, then passed before their time to a violent death, we can hardly doubt that in the King of the Saturnalia at Rome, as he is depicted by classical writers, we see only a feeble emasculated copy of that original, whose strong features have been fortunately preserved for us by the obscure author of the _Martyrdom of St. Dasius_. In other words, the martyrologist’s account of the Saturnalia agrees so closely with the accounts of similar rites elsewhere, which could not possibly have been known to him, that the substantial accuracy of his description may be regarded as established; and further, since the custom of putting a mock king to death as a representative of a god cannot have grown out of a practice of appointing him to preside over a holiday revel, whereas the reverse may very well have happened, we are justified in assuming that in an earlier and more barbarous age it was the universal practice in ancient Italy, wherever the worship of Saturn prevailed, to choose a man who played the part and enjoyed all the traditionary privileges of Saturn for a season, and then died, whether by his own or another’s hand, whether by the knife or the fire or on the gallows-tree, in the character of the good god who gave his life for the world. In Rome itself and other great towns the growth of civilization had probably mitigated this cruel custom long before the Augustan age, and transformed it into the innocent shape it wears in the writings of the few classical writers who bestow a passing notice on the holiday King of the Saturnalia. But in remoter districts the older and sterner practice may long have survived; and even if after the unification of Italy the barbarous usage was suppressed by the Roman government, the memory of it would be handed down by the peasants and would tend from time to time, as still happens with the lowest forms of superstition among ourselves, to lead to a recrudescence of the practice, especially among the rude soldiery on the outskirts of the empire over whom the once iron hand of Rome was beginning to relax its grasp.(713)

(M242) The resemblance between the Saturnalia of ancient and the Carnival of modern Italy has often been remarked; but in the light of all the facts that have come before us, we may well ask whether the resemblance does not amount to identity. We have seen that in Italy, Spain, and France, that is, in the countries where the influence of Rome has been deepest and most lasting, a conspicuous feature of the Carnival is a burlesque figure personifying the festive season, which after a short career of glory and dissipation is publicly shot, burnt, or otherwise destroyed, to the feigned grief or genuine delight of the populace.(714) If the view here suggested of the Carnival is correct, this grotesque personage is no other than a direct successor of the old King of the Saturnalia, the master of the revels, the real man who personated Saturn and, when the revels were over, suffered a real death in his assumed character. The King of the Bean on Twelfth Night and the mediaeval Bishop of Fools, Abbot of Unreason, or Lord of Misrule are figures of the same sort and may perhaps have had a similar origin. We will consider them in the following section.

§ 2. The King of the Bean and the Festival of Fools.

(M243) The custom of electing by lot a King and often also a Queen of the Bean on Twelfth Night (Epiphany, the sixth of January) or on the eve of that festival used to prevail in France, Belgium, Germany, and England, and it is still kept up in some parts of France. It may be traced back to the first half of the sixteenth century at least, and no doubt dates from a very much more remote antiquity. At the French court the Kings themselves did not disdain to countenance the mock royalty, and Louis XIV. even supported with courtly grace the shadowy dignity in his own person. Every family as a rule elected its own King. On the eve of the festival a great cake was baked with a bean in it; the cake was divided in portions, one for each member of the family, together with one for God, one for the Virgin, and sometimes one also for the poor. The person who obtained the portion containing the bean was proclaimed King of the Bean. Where a Queen of the Bean was elected as well as a King, a second bean was sometimes baked in the cake for the Queen. Thus at Blankenheim, near Neuerburg, in the Eifel, a black and a white bean were baked in the cake; he who drew the piece with the black bean was King, and she who drew the white bean was Queen. In Franche-Comté, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, they used to put as many white haricot beans in a hat as there were persons present, and two coloured beans were added; the beans were drawn at haphazard from the hat by a child, and they who got the coloured beans were King and Queen. In England and perhaps elsewhere the practice was to put a bean in the cake for the King and a pea for the Queen. But in some places only the King was elected by lot, and after his election he chose his Queen for himself. Sometimes a coin was substituted for the bean in the cake; but though this usage was followed in southern Germany as early as the first half of the sixteenth century, it is probably an innovation on the older custom of employing a bean as the lot. In France the distribution of the pieces of the cake among the persons present was made in accordance with the directions of a child, the youngest boy present, who was placed under or on the table and addressed by the name of “Phoebe” or “Tébé”; he answered in Latin “_Domine_.” The master of the house, holding a piece of the cake in his hand, asked the child to whom he should give it, and the child named any person he pleased. Sometimes the first slice of cake was regularly assigned to “the good God” and set aside for the poor. In the name “Phoebe” or “Tébé,” by which the child was addressed, learned antiquaries have detected a reference to the oracle of Apollo; but more probably the name is a simple corruption of the Latin or French word for bean (Latin _faba_, French _fève_). Immediately on his election the King of the Bean was enthroned, saluted by all, and thrice lifted up, while he made crosses with chalk on the beams and rafters of the ceiling. Great virtue was attributed to these white crosses. They were supposed to protect the house for the whole year against

“_all injuryes and harmes_ _Of cursed devils, sprites, and bugges, of conjurings and charmes._”

Then feasting and revelry began and were kept up merrily without respect of persons. Every time the King or Queen drank, the whole company was expected to cry, “The King drinks!” or “The Queen drinks!” Any person who failed to join in the cry was punished by having his face blackened with soot or a burned cork or smeared with the lees of wine. In some parts of the Ardennes the custom was to fasten great horns of paper in the hair of the delinquent and to put a huge pair of spectacles on his nose; and he had to wear these badges of infamy till the end of the festival.(715) The custom of electing a King and Queen of the Bean on Twelfth Day is still kept up all over the north of France. A miniature porcelain figure of a child is sometimes substituted for the bean in the cake. If the lot, whether bean or doll, falls to a boy he becomes King and chooses his Queen; if it falls to a girl she becomes Queen and chooses her King.(716)

(M244) So far, apart from the crosses chalked up to ban hobgoblins, witches, and bugs, the King and Queen of the Bean might seem to be merely playful personages appointed at a season of festivity to lead the revels. However, a more serious significance was sometimes attached to the office and to the ceremonies of Twelfth Day in general. Thus in Lorraine the height of the hemp crop in the coming year was prognosticated from the height of the King and Queen; if the King was the taller of the two, it was supposed that the male hemp would be higher than the female, but that the contrary would happen if the Queen were taller than the King.(717) Again, in the Vosges Mountains, on the borders of Franche-Comté, it is customary on Twelfth Day for people to dance on the roofs in order to make the hemp grow tall.(718) Further, in many places the beans used in the cake were carried to the church to be blessed by the clergy, and people drew omens from the cake as to the good or ill that would befall them throughout the year. Moreover, certain forms of divination were resorted to on Twelfth Night for the purpose of ascertaining in which month of the year wheat would be dearest.(719)

(M245) In Franche-Comté, particularly in the Montagne du Doubs, it is still the custom on the Eve of Twelfth Night (the fifth of January) to light bonfires, which appear to have, in the popular mind, some reference to the crops. The whole population takes part in the festivity. In the afternoon the young folk draw a cart about the street collecting fuel. Some people contribute faggots, others bundles of straw or of dry hemp stalks. Towards evening the whole of the fuel thus collected is piled up a little way from the houses and set on fire. While it blazes, the people dance round it, crying, “Good year, come back! Bread and wine, come back!” In the district of Pontarlier the young folk carry lighted torches about the fields, shaking sparks over the sowed lands and shouting, “_Couaille, couaille, blanconnie!_”—words of which the meaning has been forgotten.(720) A similar custom is commonly observed on the same day (the Eve of Twelfth Night, the fifth of January) in the Bocage of Normandy, except that it is the fruit-trees rather than the sowed fields to which the fire is applied. When the evening shadows have fallen on the landscape, the darkness begins to be illuminated here and there by twinkling points of fire, which multiply as the night grows late, till they appear as numerous on earth as the stars in the sky. About every village, in the fields and orchards, on the crests of the hills, wandering lights may be discerned, vanishing and suddenly reappearing, gathering together and then dispersing, pursuing each other capriciously, and tracing broken lines, sparkling arabesques of fire in the gloom of night The peasants are observing the ceremony of the “Moles and Field-mice” (_Taupes et Mulots_); and that evening there is not a hamlet, not a farm, hardly a solitary cottage that does not contribute its flame to the general illumination, till the whole horizon seems in a blaze, and houses, woods, and hills stand out in dark relief against the glow of the sky. The villages vie with each other in the number and brilliancy of the fires they can exhibit on this occasion. Woods and hedges are scoured to provide the materials for the blaze. Torches of straw wound about poles are provided in abundance; and armed with them men and women, lads and lasses, boys and girls, pour forth from the houses at nightfall into the fields and orchards. There they run about among the trees, waving the lighted torches under the branches and striking the trunks with them so that the sparks fly out in showers. And as they do so they sing or scream at the top of their voices certain traditional curses against the animals and insects that injure the fruit-trees. They bid the moles and field-mice to depart from their orchards, threatening to break their bones and burn their beards if they tarry. The more they do this, the larger, they believe, will be the crop of fruit in the following autumn. When everybody has rushed about his own orchard, meadow or pasture in this fashion, they all assemble on a height or crest of a hill, where they picnic, each bringing his share of provisions, cider, or brandy to the feast. There, too, they kindle a huge bonfire, and dance round it, capering and brandishing their torches in wild enthusiasm.(721) Customs of the same sort used to be observed on the same day (the Eve of Epiphany, the fifth of January) in the Ardennes. People ran about with burning torches, commanding the moles and field-mice to go forth. Then they threw the torches on the ground, and believed that by this proceeding they purified the earth and made it fruitful.(722)

(M246) This ceremony appears to be intended to ensure a good crop of fruit by burning out the animals and insects that harm the fruit-trees. In some parts of England it used to be customary to light fires at the same season for the purpose, apparently, of procuring a plentiful crop of wheat in the ensuing autumn. Thus, “in the parish of Pauntley, a village on the borders of the county of Gloucester, next Worcestershire, and in the neighbourhood, a custom prevails, which is intended to prevent the smut in wheat. On the Eve of Twelfth-day, all the servants of every farmer assemble together in one of the fields that has been sown with wheat. At the end of twelve lands, they make twelve fires in a row with straw, around one of which, much larger than the rest, they drink a cheerful glass of cider to their master’s health, and success to the future harvest; then, returning home, they feast on cakes soaked in cider, which they claim as a reward for their past labours in sowing the grain.”(723) Similarly in Herefordshire, “on the Eve of Twelfth Day, at the approach of evening, the farmers, their friends, servants, etc., all assemble, and, near six o’clock, all walk together to a field where wheat is growing. The highest part of the ground is always chosen, where twelve small fires, and one large one are lighted up. The attendants, headed by the master of the family, pledge the company in old cyder, which circulates freely on these occasions. A circle is formed round the large fire, when a general shout and hallooing takes place, which you hear answered from all the villages and fields near; as I have myself counted fifty or sixty fires burning at the same time, which are generally placed on some eminence. This being finished, the company all return to the house, where the good housewife and her maids are preparing a good supper, which on this occasion is very plentiful. A large cake is always provided, with a hole in the middle. After supper, the company all attend the bailiff (or head of the oxen) to the wain-house, where the following particulars are observed. The master, at the head of his friends, fills the cup (generally of strong ale), and stands opposite the first or finest of the oxen (twenty-four of which I have often seen tied up in their stalls together); he then pledges him in a curious toast; the company then follow his example with all the other oxen, addressing each by their name. This being over, the large cake is produced, and is, with much ceremony, put on the horn of the first ox, through the hole in the cake; he is then tickled to make him toss his head: if he throws the cake behind, it is the mistress’s perquisite; if before (in what is termed the _boosy_), the bailiff claims this prize. This ended, the company all return to the house, the doors of which are in the meantime locked, and not opened till some joyous songs are sung. On entering, a scene of mirth and jollity commences, and reigns thro’ the house till a late, or rather an early, hour, the next morning.”(724)

(M247) The custom was known as Wassailing and it was believed to have a beneficial effect on the crops.(725) According to one Herefordshire informant, “on Twelfth Day they make twelve fires of straw and one large one to burn the old witch; they sing, drink, and dance round it; without this festival they think they should have no crop.”(726) This explanation of the large fire on Twelfth Day is remarkable and may supply the key to the whole custom of kindling fires on the fields or in the orchards on that day. We have seen that witches and fiends of various sorts are believed to be let loose during the Twelve Days and that in some places they are formally driven away on Twelfth Night.(727) It may well be that the fires lighted on that day were everywhere primarily intended to burn the witches and other maleficent beings swarming invisible in the mischief-laden air, and that the benefit supposed to be conferred by the fires on the crops was not so much the positive one of quickening the growth of vegetation by genial warmth as the negative one of destroying the baleful influences which would otherwise blast the fruits of the earth and of the trees. This interpretation of the English and French custom of lighting fires in fields and orchards on Twelfth Night is confirmed by a parallel custom observed by Macedonian peasants for the express purpose of burning up certain malicious fiends, who are believed to be abroad at this season. These noxious beings are known as _Karkantzari_ or _Skatsantzari_. They are thought to be living people, whether men or women, who during the Twelve Days are transformed into horrible monsters, with long nails, red faces, bloodshot eyes, snottering noses, and slobbering mouths. In this hideous guise they roam about by night haunting houses and making the peasant’s life well-nigh unbearable; they knock at the doors and should they be refused admittance they will scramble down the chimney and pinch, worry, and defile the sleepers in their beds. The only way to escape from these tormenters is to seize and bind them fast with a straw rope. If you have no such rope or your heart fails you, there is nothing for it but to shut yourself up in the house before dark, fasten the door tight, block up the chimney, and wait for daylight; for it is only at night that the monsters are on the prowl, during the day they resume their ordinary human shape. However, in some places strenuous efforts are made during the Twelve Days to destroy these hateful nocturnal goblins by fire. For example, on Christmas Eve some people burn the _Karkantzari_ by lighting faggots of holm-oak and throwing them out into the streets at early dawn. In other places, notably at Melenik, they scald the fiends to death on New Year’s Eve by means of pancakes frizzling and hissing in a pan. While the goodwife is baking the cakes, the goodman disguises himself as one of the fiends in a fur coat turned inside out, and in his assumed character dances and sings outside the door, while he invites his wife to join him in the dance. In other districts people collect faggots during the whole of the Twelve Days and lay them up on the hearth. Then on the Eve of Twelfth Night they set fire to the pile in order that the goblins, who are supposed to be lurking under the ashes, may utterly perish.(728) Thus the view that the large fire in Herefordshire on Twelfth Night is intended “to burn the old witch” is far more probable than the opinion that it represents the Virgin Mary, and that the other twelve fires stand for the twelve apostles.(729) This latter interpretation is in all probability nothing more than a Christian gloss put upon an old heathen custom of which the meaning was forgotten.

(M248) The Gloucestershire custom was described by the English traveller Thomas Pennant in the latter part of the eighteenth century. He says: “A custom savouring of the Scotch Bel-tien prevales in Gloucestershire, particularly about Newent and the neighbouring parishes, on the twelfth day, or on the Epiphany, in the evening. All the servants of every particular farmer assemble together in one of the fields that has been sown with wheat; on the border of which, in the most conspicuous or most elevated place, they make twelve fires of straw, in a row; around one of which, made larger than the rest, they drink a cheerful glass of cyder to their master’s health, success to the future harvest, and then returning home, they feast on cakes made of carraways, etc., soaked in cyder, which they claim as a reward for their past labours in sowing the grain.”(730) In Shropshire also it used to be customary to kindle festal fires on the tops of hills and other high places on Twelfth Night.(731) Again, in Ireland “on Twelfth-Eve in Christmas, they use to set up as high as they can a sieve of oats, and in it a dozen of candles set round, and in the centre one larger, all lighted. This in memory of our Saviour and his Apostles, lights of the world.”(732) Down to the present time, apparently, in the county of Roscommon, “Twelfth Night, which is Old Christmas Day, is a greater day than Christmas Day itself. Thirteen rushlights are made in remembrance of the numbers at the Last Supper, and each is named after some member of the family. If there are not enough in the household other relations’ names are added. The candles are stuck in a cake of cow-dung and lighted, and as each burns out, so will be the length of each person’s life. Rushlights are only used for this occasion.”(733)

(M249) In these English and Irish customs observed on Twelfth Night the twelve fires or candles probably refer either to the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany or to the twelve months of the year. In favour of this view it may be said that according to a popular opinion, which has been reported in England(734) and is widely diffused in Germany and the German provinces of Austria, the weather of the twelve days in question determines the weather of the twelve following months, so that from the weather on each of these days it is possible to predict the weather of the corresponding month in the ensuing year.(735) Hence in Swabia the days are called “the Twelve Lot Days”; and many people seek to pry into the future with scientific precision by means of twelve circles, each subdivided into four quadrants, which they chalk up over the parlour door or inscribe on paper. Each circle represents a month, and each quadrant represents a quarter of a month; and according as the sky is overcast or clear during each quarter of a day from Christmas to Epiphany, you shade the corresponding quadrant of a circle or leave it a blank. By this contrivance, as simple as it is ingenious, you may forecast the weather for the whole year with more or less of accuracy.(736) At Hosskirch in Swabia they say that you can predict the weather for the twelve months from the weather of the twelve hours of Twelfth Day alone.(737) A somewhat different system of meteorology is adopted in various parts of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. On Christmas, New Year’s Day, or another of the twelve days you take an onion, slice it in two, peel off twelve coats, and sprinkle a pinch of salt in each of them. The twelve coats of the onion stand for the twelve months of the year, and from the amount of moisture which has gathered in each of them next morning you may foretell the amount of rain that will fall in the corresponding month.(738)

(M250) But the belief that the weather of the twelve months can be predicted from the weather of the twelve days is not confined to the Germanic peoples. It occurs also in France and among the Celts of Brittany and Scotland. Thus in the Bocage of Normandy “the village old wives have a very simple means of divining the general temperature of the coming season. According to them, the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany, including Epiphany, represent the twelve months of the year. So the thing to do is to mark the temperature of each of these days, for the temperature of the corresponding month will be relatively the same. Some people say that this experience is rarely at fault, and more trust is put in it than in the predictions of the _Double-Liégois_.”(739) In Cornouaille, Brittany, it is popularly believed that the weather of the last six days of December and the first six of January prognosticates the weather of the twelve months; but in other parts of Brittany it is the first twelve days of January that are supposed to be ominous of the weather for the year. These days are called _gour-deziou_, which is commonly interpreted “male days,” but is said to mean properly “additional or supplementary days.”(740) Again, in the Highlands of Scotland the twelve days of Christmas (_Da latha dheug na Nollaig_) “were the twelve days commencing from the Nativity or Big _Nollaig_, and were deemed to represent, in respect of weather, the twelve months of the year. Some say the days should be calculated from New Year’s Day.”(741) Others again reckon the Twelve Days from the thirty-first of December. Thus Pennant tells us that “the Highlanders form a sort of almanack or presage of the weather of the ensuing year in the following manner: they make observation on twelve days, beginning at the last of December, and hold as an infallible rule, that whatsoever weather happens on each of those days, the same will prove to agree in the correspondent months. Thus, January is to answer to the weather of December 31st; February to that of January 1st; and so with the rest. Old people still pay great attention to this augury.”(742) It is interesting to observe that in the Celtic regions of Scotland and France popular opinion hesitates as to the exact date of the twelve days, some people dating them from Christmas, others from the New Year, and others again from the thirty-first of December. This hesitation has an important bearing on the question of the origin of the twelve days’ period, as I shall point out immediately.

(M251) Thus in the popular mind the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany are conceived as a miniature of the whole year, the character of each particular day answering to the character of a particular month. The conception appears to be very ancient, for it meets us again among the Aryans of the Vedic age in India. They, too, appear to have invested twelve days in midwinter with a sacred character as a time when the three Ribhus or genii of the seasons rested from their labours in the home of the sun-god; and these twelve rest-days they called “an image or copy of the year.”(743)

(M252) This curious coincidence, if such it is, between the winter festivals of the ancient Aryans of India and their modern kinsfolk in Europe seems to be best explained on the theory that the twelve days in question derive their sanctity from the position which they occupied in the calendar of the primitive Aryans. The coincidence of the name for month with the name for moon in the various Aryan languages(744) points to the conclusion that the year of our remote ancestors was primarily based on observation of the moon rather than of the sun; but as a year of twelve lunar months or three hundred and fifty-four days (reckoning the months at twenty-nine and thirty days alternately) falls short of the solar year of three hundred and sixty-five and a quarter days by roundly twelve days, the discrepancy could not fail to attract the attention of an intelligent people, such as the primitive Aryans must be supposed to have been, who had made some progress in the arts of life; and the most obvious way of removing the discrepancy and equating the lunar with the solar year is to add twelve days at the end of each period of twelve lunar months so as to bring the total days of the year up to three hundred and sixty-six. The equation is not indeed perfectly exact, but it may well have been sufficiently so for the rudimentary science of the primitive Aryans.(745) As many savage races in modern times have observed the discrepancy between solar and lunar time and have essayed to correct it by observations of the sun or the constellations, especially the Pleiades,(746) there seems no reason to doubt that the ancestors of the Indo-European peoples in prehistoric times were able to make similar observations, and that they were not, as has been suggested, reduced to the necessity of borrowing the knowledge of such simple and obvious facts from the star-gazers of ancient Babylonia. Learned men who make little use of their eyes except to read books are too apt to underrate the observational powers of the savage, who lives under totally different conditions from us, spending most of his time in the open air and depending for his very existence on the accuracy with which he notes the varied and changing aspects of nature.

(M253) It has been proposed to explain the manifold superstitions which cluster round the Twelve Days, or rather the Twelve Nights, as they are more popularly called,(747) by reference to the place which they occupy in the Christian calendar, beginning as they do immediately after Christmas and ending with Epiphany.(748) But, in the first place, it is difficult to see why the interval between these two particular festivals should have attracted to itself a greater mass of superstitious belief and custom than the interval between any other two Christian festivals in the calendar; if it really did so, the ground of its special attraction is still to seek, and on this essential point the advocates of the Christian origin of the Twelve Nights throw no light. In the second place, the superstitious beliefs and customs themselves appear to have no relation to Christianity but to be purely pagan in character. Lastly, a fatal objection to the theory in question is that the place of the Twelve Days in the calendar is not uniformly fixed to the interval between Christmas and Epiphany; it varies considerably in popular opinion in different places, but it is significant that the variations never exceed certain comparatively narrow limits. The twelve-days’ festival, so to speak, oscillates to and fro about a fixed point, which is either the end of the year or the winter solstice. Thus in Silesia the Twelve Days are usually reckoned to fall before Christmas instead of after it; though in the Polish districts and the mountainous region of the country the ordinary German opinion prevails that the days immediately follow Christmas.(749) In some parts of Bavaria the Twelve Days are counted from St. Thomas’s Day (the twenty-first of December) to New Year’s Day; while in parts of Mecklenburg they begin with New Year’s Day and so coincide with the first twelve days of January,(750) and this last mode of reckoning finds favour, as we saw, with some Celts of Brittany and Scotland.(751) These variations in the dating of the Twelve Days seem irreconcilable with the theory that they derive their superstitious character purely from the accident that they fall between Christmas and Epiphany; accordingly we may safely dismiss the theory of their Christian origin and recognize, with many good authorities,(752) in the Twelve Days the relics of a purely pagan festival, which was probably celebrated long before the foundation of Christianity. In truth the hypothesis of the Christian derivation of the Twelve Days in all probability exactly inverts the historical order of the facts. On the whole the evidence goes to shew that the great Christian festivals were arbitrarily timed by the church so as to coincide with previously existing pagan festivals for the sake of weaning the heathen from their old faith and bringing them over to the new religion. To make the transition as easy as possible the ecclesiastical authorities, in abolishing the ancient rites, appointed ceremonies of somewhat similar character on the same days, or nearly so, thus filling up the spiritual void by a new creation which the worshipper might accept as an adequate substitute for what he had lost. Christmas and Easter, the two pivots on which the Christian calendar revolves, appear both to have been instituted with this intention: the one superseded a midwinter festival of the birth of the sun-god, the other superseded a vernal festival of the death and resurrection of the vegetation-god.(753)

(M254) If the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany were indeed an ancient intercalary period inserted for the purpose of equating the lunar to the solar year, we can better understand the curious superstitions that have clustered round them and the quaint customs that have been annually observed during their continuance. To the primitive mind it might well seem that an intercalary period stands outside of the regular order of things, forming part neither of the lunar nor of the solar system; it is an excrescence, inevitable but unaccountable, which breaks the smooth surface of ordinary existence, an eddy which interrupts the even flow of months and years. Hence it may be inferred that the ordinary rules of conduct do not apply to such extraordinary periods, and that accordingly men may do in them what they would never dream of doing at other times. Thus intercalary days tend to degenerate into seasons of unbridled license; they form an interregnum during which the customary restraints of law and morality are suspended and the ordinary rulers abdicate their authority in favour of a temporary regent, a sort of puppet king, who bears a more or less indefinite, capricious, and precarious sway over a community given up for a time to riot, turbulence, and disorder. If that is so—though it must be confessed that the view here suggested is to a great extent conjectural—we may perhaps detect the last surviving representatives of such puppet kings in the King of the Bean and other grotesque figures of the same sort who used to parade with the mimic pomp of sovereignty on one or other of the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany. For the King of the Bean was by no means the only such ruler of the festive season, nor was Twelfth Night the only day on which he and his colleagues played their pranks. We will conclude this part of our subject with a brief notice of some of these mummers.

(M255) In the first place it deserves to be noticed that in many parts of the continent, such as France, Spain, Belgium, Germany, and Austria, Twelfth Day is regularly associated with three mythical kings named Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, and derives its popular appellation from them, being known in Germany and Austria as the Day of the Three Kings (_Dreikönigstag_) and in France as the Festival of the Kings (_Fête des Rois_). Further, it has been customary in many places to represent the three kings by mummers, who go about arrayed in royal costume from door to door, singing songs and collecting contributions from the households which they visit.(754) The custom may very well be older than Christianity, though it has received a Christian colouring; for the mythical kings are commonly identified with the wise men of the East, who are said to have been attracted to the infant Christ at Bethlehem by the sight of his star in the sky.(755) Yet there is no Biblical authority for regarding these wise men as kings or for fixing their number at three. In Franche-Comté the old custom is still observed, or at all events it was so down to recent years. The Three Kings are personated by three boys dressed in long white shirts with coloured sashes round their waists; on their heads they wear pointed mitres of pasteboard decorated with a gilt star and floating ribbons. Each carries a long wand topped by a star, which he keeps constantly turning. The one who personates Melchior has his face blackened with soot, because Melchior is supposed to have been a negro king. When they enter a house, they sing a song, setting forth that they are three kings who have come from three different countries, led by a star, to adore the infant Jesus at Bethlehem. After the song the negro king solicits contributions by shaking his money-box or holding out a basket, in which the inmates of the house deposit eggs, nuts, apples and so forth. By way of thanks for this liberality the three kings chant a stave in which they call down the blessing of God on the household.(756) The custom is similar in the Vosges Mountains, where the Three Kings are held in great veneration and invoked by hedge doctors to effect various cures. For example, if a man drops to the ground with the falling sickness, you need only whisper in his right ear, “_Gaspard fert myrrham, thus Melchior, Balthasar aurum_,” and he will get up at once. But to make the cure complete you must knock three nails into the earth on the precise spot where he fell; each nail must be exactly of the length of the patient’s little finger, and as you knock it in you must take care to utter the sufferer’s name.(757) In many Czech villages of Bohemia the children who play the part of the Three Kings assimilate themselves to the wise men of the East in the gospel by carrying gilt paper, incense, and myrrh with them on their rounds, which they distribute as gifts in the houses they visit, receiving in return money or presents in kind. Moreover they fumigate and sprinkle the houses and describe crosses and letters on the doors. Amongst the Germans of West Bohemia it is the schoolmaster who, accompanied by some boys, goes the round of the village on Twelfth Day. He chalks up the letters C. M. B. (the initials of Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar), together with three crosses, on every door, and fumigates the house with a burning censer in order to guard it from evil influences and infectious diseases.(758) Some people used to wear as an amulet a picture representing the adoration of the Three Kings with a Latin inscription to the following effect: “Holy three kings, Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar, pray for us, now and in the hour of our death.” The picture was thought to protect the wearer not only from epilepsy, headache, and fever, but also from the perils of the roads, from the bite of mad dogs, from sudden death, from sorcery and witchcraft.(759) Whatever its origin, the festival of the Three Kings goes back to the middle ages, for it is known to have been celebrated with great pomp at Milan in 1336. On that occasion the Three Kings appeared wearing crowns, riding richly caparisoned horses, and surrounded by pages, bodyguards, and a great retinue of followers. Before them was carried a golden star, and they offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the infant Christ cradled in a manger beside the high altar of the church of St. Eustorgius.(760)

(M256) In our own country a popular figure during the Christmas holidays used to be the Lord of Misrule, or, as he was called in Scotland, the Abbot of Unreason, who led the revels at that merry season in the halls of colleges, the Inns of Court, the palace of the king, and the mansions of nobles.(761) Writing at the end of the sixteenth century, the antiquary John Stow tells us that, “in the feast of Christmas, there was in the King’s house, wheresoever he was lodged, a Lord of Misrule, or Master of Merry Disports; and the like had ye in the house of every nobleman of honour or good worship, were he spiritual or temporal. Amongst the which the Mayor of London, and either of the Sheriffs, had their several Lords of Misrule, ever contending, without quarrel or offence, who should make the rarest pastimes to delight the beholders. These Lords beginning their rule on Alhollon eve, continued the same til the morrow after the Feast of the Purification, commonly called Candlemas day. In all which space there were fine and subtle disguisings, masks and mummeries, with playing at cards for counters, nails, and points, in every house, more for pastime than for gain.”(762) Again, in the seventeenth century the ardent royalist Sir Thomas Urquhart wrote that “they may be likewise said to use their king ... as about Christmas we do the King of Misrule; whom we invest with that title to no other end, but to countenance the Bacchanalian riots and preposterous disorders of the family, where he is installed.”(763) From the former passage it appears that the Lords of Misrule often or even generally reigned for more than three months in winter, namely from Allhallow Even (the thirty-first of October, the Eve of All Saints’ Day) till Candlemas (the second of February). Sometimes, however, their reign seems to have been restricted to the Twelve Nights. Thus we are told that George Ferrers of Lincoln’s Inn was Lord of Misrule for twelve days one year when King Edward VI. kept his Christmas with open house at Greenwich.(764) At Trinity College, Cambridge, a Master of Arts used to be appointed to this honourable office, which he held for the twelve days from Christmas to Twelfth Day, and he resumed office on Candlemas Day. His duty was to regulate the games and diversions of the students, particularly the plays which were acted in the college hall. Similar masters of the revels were commonly instituted in the colleges at Oxford; for example, at Merton College the fellows annually elected about St. Edmund’s Day, in November a Lord of Misrule or, as he was called in the registers, a King of the Bean (_Rex Fabarum_), who held office till Candlemas and sometimes assumed a number of ridiculous titles. In the Inner Temple a Lord of Misrule used to be appointed on St. Stephen’s Day (the twenty-sixth of December); surrounded by his courtiers, who were dubbed by various derogatory or ribald names, he presided at the dancing, feasting, and minstrelsy in the hall. Of the mock monarch who in the Christmas holidays of 1635 held office in the Middle Temple the jurisdiction, privileges, and parade have been minutely described. He was attended by his lord keeper, lord treasurer, with eight white staves, a band of gentleman pensioners with poleaxes, and two chaplains. He dined under a canopy of state both in the hall and in his own chambers. He received many petitions, which he passed on in regal style to his Master of Requests; and he attended service in the Temple church, where his chaplains preached before him and did him reverence. His expenses, defrayed from his own purse, amounted to no less than two thousand pounds.(765) “I remember to have heard a Bencher of the Temple tell a story of a tradition in their house, where they had formerly a custom of choosing kings for such a season, and allowing him his expences at the charge of the society: One of our kings, said my friend, carried his royal inclination a little too far, and there was a committee ordered to look into the management of his treasury. Among other things it appeared, that his Majesty walking _incog._ in the cloister, had overheard a poor man say to another, Such a small sum would make me the happiest man in the world. The king out of his royal compassion privately inquired into his character, and finding him a proper object of charity, sent him the money. When the committee read the report, the house passed his accounts with a plaudite without further examination, upon the recital of this article in them, ‘For making a man happy, £10:0:0.’ ”(766)

(M257) At the English court the annual Lord of Misrule is not to be confounded with the Master of the Revels, who was a permanent official and probably despised the temporary Lord as an upstart rival and intruder. Certainly there seems to have been at times bad blood between them. Some correspondence which passed between the two merry monarchs in the reign of Edward VI. has been preserved, and from it we learn that on one occasion the Lord of Misrule had much difficulty in extracting from the Master of the Revels the fool’s coat, hobby-horses, and other trumpery paraphernalia which he required for the proper support of his dignity. Indeed the costumes furnished by his rival were so shabby that his lordship returned them with a note, in which he informed the Master of the Revels that the gentlemen of rank and position who were to wear these liveries stood too much on their dignity to be seen prancing about the streets of London rigged out in such old slops. The Lords of Council had actually to interpose in the petty squabble between the two potentates.(767)

(M258) In France the counterparts of these English Lords of Misrule masqueraded in clerical attire as mock Bishops, Archbishops, Popes, or Abbots. The festival at which they disported themselves was known as the Festival of Fools (_Fête des Fous_), which fell in different places at different dates, sometimes on Christmas Day, sometimes on St. Stephen’s Day (the twenty-sixth of December), sometimes on New Year’s Day, and sometimes on Twelfth Day. According to one account “on the first day, which was the festival of Christmas, the lower orders of clergy and monks cried in unison _Noël_ (Christmas) and gave themselves up to jollity. On the morrow, St. Stephen’s Day, the deacons held a council to elect a Pope or Patriarch of Fools, a Bishop or Archbishop of Innocents, an Abbot of Ninnies; next day, the festival of St. John, the subdeacons began the dance in his honour; afterwards, on the fourth day, the festival of the Holy Innocents, the choristers and minor clergy claimed the Pope or Bishop or Abbot elect, who made his triumphal entry into the church on Circumcision Day (the first of January) and sat enthroned pontifically till the evening of Epiphany. It was then the joyous reign of this Pope or this Bishop or this Abbot of Folly which constituted the Festival of Fools and dominated its whimsical phases, the grotesque and sometimes impious masquerades, the merry and often disgusting scenes, the furious orgies, the dances, the games, the profane songs, the impudent parodies of the catholic liturgy.”(768) At these parodies of the most solemn rites of the church the priests, wearing grotesque masks and sometimes dressed as women, danced in the choir and sang obscene chants: laymen disguised as monks and nuns mingled with the clergy: the altar was transformed into a tavern, where the deacons and subdeacons ate sausages and black-puddings or played at dice and cards under the nose of the celebrant; and the censers smoked with bits of old shoes instead of incense, filling the church with a foul stench. After playing these pranks and running, leaping, and cutting capers through the whole church, they rode about the town in mean carts, exchanging scurrilities with the crowds of laughing and jeering spectators.(769)

(M259) Amongst the buffooneries of the Festival of Fools one of the most remarkable was the introduction of an ass into the church, where various pranks were played with the animal. At Autun the ass was led with great ceremony to the church under a cloth of gold, the corners of which were held by four canons; and on entering the sacred edifice the animal was wrapt in a rich cope, while a parody of the mass was performed. A regular Latin liturgy in glorification of the ass was chanted on these occasions, and the celebrant priest imitated the braying of an ass. At Beauvais the ceremony was performed every year on the fourteenth of January. A young girl with a child in her arms rode on the back of the ass in imitation of the Flight into Egypt. Escorted by the clergy and the people she was led in triumph from the cathedral to the parish church of St. Stephen. There she and her ass were introduced into the chancel and stationed on the left side of the altar; and a long mass was performed which consisted of scraps borrowed indiscriminately from the services of many church festivals throughout the year. In the intervals the singers quenched their thirst: the congregation imitated their example; and the ass was fed and watered. The services over, the animal was brought from the chancel into the nave, where the whole congregation, clergy and laity mixed up together, danced round the animal and brayed like asses. Finally, after vespers and compline, the merry procession, led by the precentor and preceded by a huge lantern, defiled through the streets to wind up the day with indecent farces in a great theatre erected opposite the church.(770)

(M260) A pale reflection or diminutive copy of the Festival of Fools was the Festival of the Innocents, which was celebrated on Childermas or Holy Innocents’ Day, the twenty-eighth of December. The custom was widely observed both in France and England. In France on Childermas or the eve of the festival the choristers assembled in the church and chose one of their number to be a Boy Bishop, who officiated in that character with mock solemnity. Such burlesques of ecclesiastical ritual appear to have been common on that day in monasteries and convents, where the offices performed by the clergy and laity were inverted for the occasion. At the Franciscan monastery of Antibes, for example, the lay brothers, who usually worked in the kitchen and the garden, took the place of the priests on Childermas and celebrated mass in church, clad in tattered sacerdotal vestments turned inside out, holding the books upside down, wearing spectacles made of orange peel, mumbling an unintelligible jargon, and uttering frightful cries. These buffooneries were kept up certainly as late as the eighteenth century,(771) and probably later. In the great convent of the Congrégation de Notre Dame at Paris down to the latter part of the nineteenth century the nuns and their girl pupils regularly exchanged parts on Holy Innocents’ Day. The pupils pretended to be nuns and a select few of them were attired as such, while the nuns made believe to be pupils, without however changing their dress.(772)

(M261) In England the Boy Bishop was widely popular during the later Middle Ages and only succumbed to the austerity of the Reformation. He is known, for example, to have officiated in St. Paul’s, London, in the cathedrals of Salisbury, Exeter, Hereford, Gloucester, Lichfield, Norwich, Lincoln, and York, in great collegiate churches such as Beverley minster, St. Peter’s, Canterbury, and Ottery St. Mary’s, in college chapels such as Magdalen and All Souls’ at Oxford, in the private chapels of the king, and in many parish churches throughout the country. The election was usually made on St. Nicholas’s Day (the sixth of December), but the office and authority lasted till Holy Innocents’ Day (the twenty-eighth of December). Both days were appropriate, for St. Nicholas was the patron saint of school children, and Holy Innocents’ Day commemorates the slaughter of the young children by Herod. In cathedrals the Bishop was chosen from among the choir boys. After his election he was completely apparelled in the episcopal vestments, with a mitre and crosier, bore the title and displayed the state of a Bishop, and exacted ceremonial obedience from his fellows, who were dressed like priests. They took possession of the church and, with the exception of mass, performed all the ceremonies and offices. The Boy Bishop preached from the pulpit. At Salisbury the ceremonies at which he presided are elaborately regulated by the statutes of Roger de Mortival, enacted in 1319; and two of the great service-books of the Sarum use, the Breviary and the Processional, furnish full details of the ministrations of the Boy Bishop and his fellows. He is even said to have enjoyed the right of disposing of such prebends as happened to fall vacant during the days of his episcopacy. But the pranks of the mock bishop were not confined to the church. Arrayed in full canonicals he was led about with songs and dances from house to house, blessing the grinning people and collecting money in return for his benedictions. At York in the year 1396 the Boy Bishop is known to have gone on his rounds to places so far distant as Bridlington, Leeds, Beverley, Fountains Abbey, and Allerton; and the profits which he made were considerable. William of Wykeham ordained in 1400 that a Boy Bishop should be chosen at Winchester College and another at New College, Oxford, and that he should recite the office at the Feast of the Innocents. His example was followed some forty years afterwards in the statutes of the royal foundations of Eton College and of King’s College, Cambridge. From being elected on St. Nicholas’s Day the Boy Bishop was sometimes called a Nicholas Bishop (_Episcopus Nicholatensis_).(773) In Spanish cathedrals, also, it appears to have been customary on St. Nicholas’s Day to elect a chorister to the office of Bishop. He exercised a certain jurisdiction till Holy Innocents’ Day, and his prebendaries took secular offices, acting in the capacity of alguazils, catchpoles, dog-whippers, and sweepers.(774)

(M262) On the whole it seems difficult to suppose that the a curious superstitions and quaint ceremonies, the outbursts of profanity and the inversions of ranks, which characterize the popular celebration of the twelve days from Christmas to Epiphany, have any connexion with the episodes of Christian history believed to be commemorated by these two festivals. More probably they are relics of an old heathen festival celebrated during the twelve intercalary days which our forefathers annually inserted in their calendar at midwinter in order to equalize the short lunar year of twelve months with the longer solar year of three hundred and sixty-five or sixty-six days. We need not assume that the license and buffooneries of the festive season were borrowed from the Roman Saturnalia; both celebrations may well have been parallel and independent deductions from a like primitive philosophy of nature. There is not indeed, so far as I am aware, any direct evidence that the Saturnalia at Rome was an intercalary festival; but the license which characterized it, and the temporary reign of a mock king, who personated Saturn, suggest that it may have been so. If we were better acquainted with the intercalary periods of peoples at a comparatively low level of culture, we might find that they are commonly marked by similar outbreaks of lawlessness and similar reigns of more or less nominal and farcical rulers. But unfortunately we know too little about the observance of such periods among primitive peoples to be warranted in making any positive affirmation on the subject.

(M263) However, there are grounds for thinking that intercalary periods have commonly been esteemed unlucky. The Aztecs certainly regarded as very unlucky the five supplementary days which they added at the end of every year in order to make up a total of three hundred and sixty-five days.(775) These five supplementary days, corresponding to the last four of January and the first of February, were called _nemontemi_, which means “vacant,” “superfluous,” or “useless.” Being dedicated to no god, they were deemed inauspicious, equally unfit for the services of religion and the transaction of civil business. During their continuance no sacrifices were offered by the priests and no worshippers frequented the temples. No cases were tried in the courts of justice. The houses were not swept. People abstained from all actions of importance and confined themselves to performing such as could not be avoided, or spent the time in paying visits to each other. In particular they were careful during these fatal days not to fall asleep in the daytime, not to quarrel, and not to stumble; because they thought that if they did such things at that time they would continue to do so for ever. Persons born on any of these days were deemed unfortunate, destined to fail in their undertakings and to live in wretchedness and poverty all their time on earth.(776) The Mayas of Yucatan employed a calendar like that of the Aztecs, and they too looked upon the five supplementary days at the end of the year as unlucky and of evil omen; hence they gave no names to these days, and while they lasted the people stayed for the most part at home; they neither washed themselves, nor combed their hair, nor loused each other; and they did no servile or fatiguing work lest some evil should befall them.(777)

(M264) The ancient Egyptians like the Aztecs considered a year to consist of three hundred and sixty ordinary days divided into months and eked out with five supplementary days so as to bring the total number of days in the year up to three hundred and sixty-five; but whereas the Aztecs divided the three hundred and sixty ordinary days into eighteen arbitrary divisions or months of twenty days each, the Egyptians, keeping much closer to the natural periods marked by the phases of the moon, divided these days into twelve months of thirty days each.(778) This mode of regulating the calendar appears to be exceedingly ancient in Egypt and may even date from the prehistoric period; for the five days over and above the year (_haru duaït hiru ronpit_) are expressly mentioned in the texts of the pyramids.(779) The myth told to explain their origin was as follows. Once on a time the earth-god Keb lay secretly with the sky-goddess Nut, and the sun-god Ra in his anger cursed the goddess, saying that she should give birth to her offspring neither in any month nor in any year. He thought, no doubt, by this imprecation to prevent her from bringing forth the fruit of her womb. But he was outwitted by the wily Thoth, who engaged the goddess of the moon in a game of draughts and having won the game took as a forfeit from her the seventieth part of every day in the year, and out of the fractions thus abstracted he made up five new days, which he added to the old year of three hundred and sixty days. As these days formed no part either of a month or of a year, the goddess Nut might be delivered in them without rendering the sun-god’s curse void and of no effect. Accordingly she bore Osiris on the first of the days, Horus on the second, Set or Typhon on the third, Isis on the fourth, and Nephthys on the fifth. Of these five supplementary or intercalary days the third, as the birthday of the evil deity Set or Typhon, was deemed unlucky, and the Egyptian kings neither transacted business on it nor attended to their persons till nightfall.(780) Thus it appears that the ancient Egyptians regarded the five supplementary or intercalary days as belonging neither to a month nor to a year, but as standing outside of both and forming an extraordinary period quite apart and distinct from the ordinary course of time. It is probable, though we cannot prove it, that in all countries intercalary days or months have been so considered by the primitive astronomers who first observed the discrepancy between solar and lunar time and attempted to reconcile it by the expedient of intercalation.

(M265) Thus we infer with some probability that the sacred Twelve Days or Nights at midwinter derive their peculiar character in popular custom and superstition from the circumstance that they were originally an intercalary period inserted annually at the end of a lunar year of three hundred and fifty-four days for the purpose of equating it to a solar year reckoned at three hundred and sixty-six days. However, there are grounds for thinking that at a very early time the Aryan peoples sought to correct their lunar year, not by inserting twelve supplementary days every year, but by allowing the annual deficiency to accumulate for several years and then supplying it by a whole intercalary month. In India the Aryans of the Vedic age appear to have adopted a year of three hundred and sixty days, divided into twelve months of thirty days each, and to have remedied the annual deficiency of five days by intercalating a whole month of thirty days every fifth year, thus regulating their calendar according to a five years’ cycle.(781) The Celts of Gaul, as we learn from the Coligny calendar, also adopted a five years’ cycle, but they managed it differently. They retained the old lunar year of three hundred and fifty-four days divided into twelve months, six of thirty days and six of twenty-nine days; but instead of intercalating twelve days every year to restore the balance between lunar and solar time they intercalated a month of thirty days every two and a half years, so that in each cycle of five years the total number of intercalary days was sixty, which was equivalent to intercalating twelve days annually. Thus the result at the end of each cycle of five years was precisely the same as it would have been if they had followed the old system of annual intercalation.(782) Why they abandoned the simple and obvious expedient of annually intercalating twelve days, and adopted instead the more recondite system of intercalating a month of thirty days every two and a half years, is not plain. It may be that religious or political motives unknown to us concurred with practical considerations to recommend the change. One result of the reform would be the abolition of the temporary king who, if I am right, used to bear a somewhat tumultuary sway over the community during the saturnalia of the Twelve Days. Perhaps the annually recurring disorders which attended that period of license were not the least urgent of the reasons which moved the rulers to strike the twelve intercalary days out of the year and to replace them by an intercalary month at longer intervals.

(M266) However that may be, the equivalence of the new intercalary month to the old intercalary Twelve Days multiplied by two and a half is strongly suggested by a remarkable feature of the Coligny calendar; for in it the thirty days of the intercalary month, which bore the name of Ciallos, are named after the ordinary twelve months of the year. Thus the first day of the intercalary month is called Samon, which is the name of the first month of the year; the second day of the month is called Dumannos, which is the name of the second month of the year; the third day of the month is called Rivros, which is the name of the third month of the year; the fourth day of the month is called Anacan, which is the name of the fourth month of the year; and so on with all the rest, so that the thirty days of the intercalary month bear the names of the twelve months of the year repeated two and a half times.(783) This seems to shew that, just as our modern peasants regard the Twelve Days as representing each a month of the year in their chronological order, so the old Celts of Gaul who drew up the Coligny calendar regarded the thirty days of the intercalary month as representing the thirty ordinary months which were to follow it till the next intercalation took place. And we may conjecture that just as our modern peasants still draw omens from the Twelve Days for the twelve succeeding months, so the old Celts drew omens from the thirty days of the intercalary month for the thirty months of the two and a half succeeding years. Indeed we may suppose that the reformers of the calendar transferred, or attempted to transfer, to the new intercalary month the whole of the quaint customs and superstitions which from time immemorial had clustered round the twelve intercalary days of the old year. Thus, like the old Twelve Days of midwinter, the thirty days of the new intercalary month may have formed an interregnum or break in the ordinary course of government, a tumultuary period of general license, during which the ordinary rules of law and morality were suspended and the direction of affairs committed to a temporary and more or less farcical ruler or King of the Bean, who may possibly have had to pay with his life for his brief reign of thirty days. The floating traditions of such merry monarchs and of the careless happy-go-lucky life under them may have crystallized in after ages into the legend of Saturn and the Golden Age. If that was so—and I put forward the hypothesis for no more than a web of conjectures woven from the gossamer threads of popular superstition—we can understand why the Twelve Days, intercalated every year in the old calendar, should have survived to the present day in the memory of the people, whereas the thirty days, intercalated every two and a half years in the new calendar, have long been forgotten. It is the simplest ideas that live longest in the simple minds of the peasantry; and since the intercalation of twelve days in every year to allow the lagging moon to keep pace with the longer stride of the sun is certainly an easier and more obvious expedient than to wait for two and a half years till he has outrun her by thirty days, we need not wonder that this ancient mode of harmonizing lunar and solar time should have lingered in the recollection and in the usages of the people ages after the more roundabout method, which reflective minds had devised for accomplishing the same end, had faded alike from the memory of the peasant and the page of the historian.

§ 3. The Saturnalia and Lent.

(M267) As the Carnival is always held on the last three days before the beginning of Lent, its date shifts somewhat from year to year, but it invariably falls either in February or March. Hence it does not coincide with the date of the Saturnalia, which within historical times seems to have been always celebrated in December even in the old days, before Caesar’s reform of the calendar, when the Roman year ended with February instead of December.(784) Yet if the Saturnalia, like many other seasons of license, was originally celebrated as a sort of public purification at the end of the old year or the beginning of the new one, it may at a still more remote period, when the Roman year began with March, have been regularly held either in February or March and therefore at approximately the same date as the modern Carnival. So strong and persistent are the conservative instincts of the peasantry in respect to old custom, that it would be no matter for surprise if, in rural districts of Italy, the ancient festival continued to be celebrated at the ancient time long after the official celebration of the Saturnalia in the towns had been shifted from February to December. Latin Christianity, which struck at the root of official or civic paganism, has always been tolerant of its rustic cousins, the popular festivals and ceremonies which, unaffected by political and religious revolutions, by the passing of empires and of gods, have been carried on by the people with but little change from time immemorial, and represent in fact the original stock from which the state religions of classical antiquity were comparatively late offshoots. Thus it may very well have come about that while the new faith stamped out the Saturnalia in the towns, it suffered the original festival, disguised by a difference of date, to linger unmolested in the country; and so the old feast of Saturn, under the modern name of the Carnival, has reconquered the cities, and goes on merrily under the eye and with the sanction of the Catholic Church.

(M268) The opinion that the Saturnalia originally fell in February or the beginning of March receives some support from the circumstance that the festival of the Matronalia, at which mistresses feasted their slaves just as masters did theirs at the Saturnalia, always continued to be held on the first of March, even when the Roman year began with January.(785) It is further not a little recommended by the consideration that this date would be eminently appropriate for the festival of Saturn, the old Italian god of sowing and planting. It has always been a puzzle to explain why such a festival should have been held at midwinter; but on the present hypothesis the mystery vanishes. With the Italian farmer February and March were the great season of the spring sowing and planting;(786) nothing could be more natural than that the husbandman should inaugurate the season with the worship of the deity to whom he ascribed the function of quickening the seed. It is no small confirmation of this theory that the last day of the Carnival, namely Shrove Tuesday, is still, or was down to recent times, the customary season in Central Europe for promoting the growth of the crops by means of leaps and dances.(787) The custom fits in very well with the view which derives the Carnival from an old festival of sowing such as the Saturnalia probably was in its origin. Further, the orgiastic character of the festival is readily explained by the help of facts which met us in a former part of our investigation. We have seen that between the sower and the seed there is commonly supposed to exist a sympathetic connexion of such a nature that his conduct directly affects and can promote or retard the growth of the crops.(788) What wonder then if the simple husbandman imagined that by cramming his belly, by swilling and guzzling just before he proceeded to sow his fields, he thereby imparted additional vigour to the seed?(789)

(M269) But while his crude philosophy may thus have painted gluttony and intoxication in the agreeable colours of duties which he owed to himself, to his family, and to the commonwealth, it is possible that the zest with which he acquitted himself of his obligations may have been whetted by a less comfortable reflection. In modern times the indulgence of the Carnival is immediately followed by the abstinence of Lent; and if the Carnival is the direct descendant of the Saturnalia, may not Lent in like manner be merely the continuation, under a thin disguise, of a period of temperance which was annually observed, from superstitious motives, by Italian farmers long before the Christian era? Direct evidence of this, so far as I am aware, is not forthcoming; but we have seen that a practice of abstinence from fleshly lusts has been observed by various peoples as a sympathetic charm to foster the growth of the seed;(790) and such an observance would be an appropriate sequel to the Saturnalia, if that festival was indeed, as I conjecture it to have been, originally held in spring as a religious or magical preparation for sowing and planting. When we consider how widely diffused is the belief in the sympathetic influence which human conduct, and especially the intercourse of the sexes, exerts on the fruits of the earth, we may be allowed to conjecture that the Lenten fast, with the rule of continence which is recommended, if not strictly enjoined, by the Catholic and Coptic churches during that season,(791) was in its origin intended, not so much to commemorate the sufferings of a dying god, as to foster the growth of the seed, which in the bleak days of early spring the husbandman commits with anxious care and misgiving to the bosom of the naked earth. Ecclesiastical historians have been puzzled to say why after much hesitation and great diversity of usage in different places the Christian church finally adopted forty days as the proper period for the mournful celebration of Lent.(792) Perhaps in coming to this decision the authorities were guided, as so often, by a regard for an existing pagan celebration of similar character and duration which they hoped by a change of name to convert into a Christian solemnity. Such a heathen Lent they may have found to hand in the rites of Persephone, the Greek goddess of the corn, whose image, carved out of a tree, was annually brought into the cities and mourned for forty nights, after which it was burned.(793) The time of year when these lamentations took place is not mentioned by the old Christian writer who records them; but they would fall most appropriately at the season when the seed was sown or, in mythical language, when the corn-goddess was buried, which in ancient Italy, as we saw, was done above all in the months of February and March. We know that at the time of the autumnal sowing Greek women held a sad and serious festival because the Corn-goddess Persephone or the Maiden, as they called her, then went down into the earth with the sown grain, and Demeter fondly mourned her daughter’s absence; hence in sympathy with the sorrowful mother the women likewise mourned and observed a solemn fast and abstained from the marriage bed.(794) It is reasonable, therefore, to suppose that they practised similar rules of mourning and abstinence for a like reason at the time of the spring sowing, and that the ancient ritual survives in the modern Lent, which preserves the memory of the _Mater Dolorosa_, though it has substituted a dead Son for a dead Daughter.

(M270) Be that as it may, it is worthy of note that in Burma a similar fast, which English writers call the Buddhist Lent, is observed for three months every year while the ploughing and sowing of the fields go forward; and the custom is believed to be far older than Buddhism, which has merely given it a superficial tinge like the veneer of Christianity which, if I am right, has overlaid an old heathen observance in Lent. This Burmese Lent, we are told, covers the rainy season from the full moon of July to the full moon of October. “This is the time to plough, this is the time to sow; on the villagers’ exertions in these months depends all their maintenance for the rest of the year. Every man, every woman, every child, has hard work of some kind or another. And so, what with the difficulties of travelling, what with the work there is to do, and what with the custom of Lent, every one stays at home. It is the time for prayer, for fasting, for improving the soul. Many men during these months will live even as the monks live, will eat but before midday, will abstain from tobacco. There are no plays during Lent, and there are no marriages. It is the time for preparing the land for the crop; it is the time for preparing the soul for eternity. The congregations on the Sundays will be far greater at this time than at any other; there will be more thought of the serious things of life.”(795)

§ 4. Saturnalia in Ancient Greece.

(M271) Beyond the limits of Italy festivals of the same general character as the Saturnalia appear to have been held over a considerable area of the ancient world. A characteristic feature of the Saturnalia, as we saw, was an inversion of social ranks, masters changing places with their slaves and waiting upon them, while slaves were indulged with a semblance not merely of freedom but even of power and office. In various parts of Greece the same hollow show of granting liberty to slaves was made at certain festivals. Thus at a Cretan festival of Hermes the servants feasted and their masters waited upon them. In the month of Geraestius the Troezenians observed a certain solemnity lasting many days, on one of which the slaves played at dice with the citizens and were treated to a banquet by their lords. The Thessalians held a great festival called Peloria, which Baton of Sinope identified with the Saturnalia, and of which the antiquity is vouched for by a tradition that it originated with the Pelasgians. At this festival sacrifices were offered to Pelorian Zeus, tables splendidly adorned were set out, all strangers were invited to the feast, all prisoners released, and the slaves sat down to the banquet, enjoyed full freedom of speech, and were served by their masters.(796)

(M272) But the Greek festival which appears to have corresponded most closely to the Italian Saturnalia was the Cronia or festival of Cronus, a god whose barbarous myth and cruel ritual clearly belong to a very early stratum of Greek religion, and who was by the unanimous voice of antiquity identified with Saturn. We are told that his festival was celebrated in most parts of Greece, but especially at Athens, where the old god and his wife Rhea had a shrine near the stately, but far more modern, temple of Olympian Zeus. A joyous feast, at which masters and slaves sat down together, formed a leading feature of the solemnity. At Athens the festival fell in the height of summer, on the twelfth day of the month Hecatombaeon, formerly called the month of Cronus, which answered nearly to July; and tradition ran that Cecrops, the first king of Attica, had founded an altar in honour of Cronus and Rhea, and had ordained that master and man should share a common meal when the harvest was got in.(797) Yet there are indications that at Athens the Cronia may once have been a spring festival. For a cake with twelve knobs, which perhaps referred to the twelve months of the year, was offered to Cronus by the Athenians on the fifteenth day of the month Elaphebolion, which corresponded roughly to March,(798) and there are traces of a license accorded to slaves at the Dionysiac festival of the opening of the wine-jars, which fell on the eleventh day of the preceding month Anthesterion.(799) At Olympia the festival of Cronus undoubtedly occurred in spring; for here a low but steep hill, now covered with a tangled growth of dark holly-oaks and firs, was sacred to him, and on its top certain magistrates, who bore the title of kings, offered sacrifice to the old god at the vernal equinox in the Elean month Elaphius.(800)

(M273) In this last ceremony, which probably went on year by year long before the upstart Zeus had a temple built for himself at the foot of the hill, there are two points of special interest, first the date of the ceremony, and second the title of the celebrants. First, as to the date, the spring equinox, or the twenty-first of March, must have fallen so near the fifteenth day of the Athenian month Elaphebolion, that we may fairly ask whether the Athenian custom of offering a cake to Cronus on that day may not also have been an equinoctial ceremony. In the second place, the title of kings borne by the magistrates who sacrificed to Cronus renders it probable that, like magistrates with similar high-sounding titles elsewhere in republican Greece, they were the lineal descendants of sacred kings whom the superstition of their subjects invested with the attributes of divinity.(801) If that was so, it would be natural enough that one of these nominal kings should pose as the god Cronus in person. For, like his Italian counterpart Saturn, the Greek Cronus was believed to have been a king who reigned in heaven or on earth during the blissful Golden Age, when men passed their days like gods without toil or sorrow, when life was a long round of festivity, and death came like sleep, sudden but gentle, announced by none of his sad forerunners, the ailments and infirmities of age.(802) Thus the analogy of the Olympian Cronia, probably one of the oldest of Greek festivals, to the Italian Saturnalia would be very close if originally, as I conjecture, the Saturnalia fell in spring and Saturn was personated at it, as we have good reason to believe, by a man dressed as a king. May we go a step further and suppose that, just as the man who acted King Saturn at the Saturnalia was formerly slain in that character, so one of the kings who celebrated the Cronia at Olympia not only played the part of Cronus, but was sacrificed, as god and victim in one, on the top of the hill? Cronus certainly bore a sinister reputation in antiquity. He passed for an unnatural parent who had devoured his own offspring, and he was regularly identified by the Greeks with the cruel Semitic Baals who delighted in the sacrifice of human victims, especially of children.(803) A legend which savours strongly of infant sacrifice is reported of a shrine that stood at the very foot of the god’s own hill at Olympia;(804) and a quite unambiguous story was told of the sacrifice of a babe to Lycaean Zeus on Mount Lycaeus in Arcadia, where the worship of Zeus was probably nothing but a continuation, under a new name, of the old worship of Cronus, and where human victims appear to have been regularly offered down to the Christian era.(805) The Rhodians annually sacrificed a man to Cronus in the month Metageitnion; at a later time they kept a condemned criminal in prison till the festival of the Cronia was come, then led him forth outside the gates, made him drunk with wine, and cut his throat.(806) With the parallel of the Saturnalia before our eyes, we may surmise that the victim who thus ended his life in a state of intoxication at the Cronia perhaps personated King Cronus himself, the god who reigned in the happy days of old when men had nothing to do but to eat and drink and make merry. At least the Rhodian custom lends some countenance to the conjecture that formerly a human victim may have figured at the sacrifice which the so-called kings offered to Cronus on his hill at Olympia. In this connexion it is to be remembered that we have already found well-attested examples of a custom of sacrificing the scions of royal houses in ancient Greece.(807) If the god to whom, or perhaps rather in whose character, the princes were sacrificed, was Cronus, it would be natural that the Greeks of a later age should identify him with Baal or Moloch, to whom in like manner Semitic kings offered up their children. The Laphystian Zeus of Thessaly and Boeotia, whom tradition associated with these human sacrifices, was probably, like the Lycaean Zeus of Arcadia, nothing but the aboriginal deity, commonly known as Cronus, whose gloomy rites the Greek invaders suffered the priests of the vanquished race to continue after the ancient manner, while they quieted their scruples of conscience or satisfied their pride as conquerors by investing the bloodthirsty old savage with the name, if not with the character, of their own milder deity, the humane and gracious Zeus.

§ 5. Saturnalia in Western Asia.

(M274) When we pass from Europe to western Asia, from ancient Greece to ancient Babylon and the regions where Babylonian influence penetrated, we are still met with festivals which bear the closest resemblance to the oldest form of the Italian Saturnalia. The reader may remember the festival of the Sacaea, on which I had occasion to touch in an earlier part of this work.(808) It was held at Babylon during five days of the month Lous, beginning with the sixteenth day of the month. During its continuance, just as at the Saturnalia, masters and servants changed places, the servants issuing orders and the masters obeying them; and in each house one of the servants, dressed as a king and bearing the title of Zoganes, bore rule over the household. Further, just as at the Saturnalia in its original form a man was dressed as King Saturn in royal robes, allowed to indulge his passions and caprices to the full, and then put to death, so at the Sacaea a condemned prisoner, who probably also bore for the time being the title of Zoganes, was arrayed in the king’s attire and suffered to play the despot, to use the king’s concubines, and to give himself up to feasting and debauchery without restraint, only however in the end to be stript of his borrowed finery, scourged, and hanged or crucified.(809) From Strabo we learn that this Asiatic counterpart of the Saturnalia was celebrated in Asia Minor wherever the worship of the Persian goddess Anaitis had established itself. He describes it as a Bacchic orgy, at which the revellers were disguised as Scythians, and men and women drank and dallied together by day and night.(810)

(M275) As the worship of Anaitis, though of Persian origin, appears to have been deeply leavened with coarse elements which it derived from the religion of Babylon,(811) we may perhaps regard Mesopotamia as the original home from which the Sacaean festival spread westward into other parts of Asia Minor. Now the Sacaean festival, described by the Babylonian priest Berosus in the first book of his history of Babylon, has been plausibly identified(812) with the great Babylonian festival of the New year called Zakmuk, Zagmuk, Zakmuku, or Zagmuku, which has become known to us in recent times through inscriptions. The Babylonian year began with the spring month of Nisan, which seems to have covered the second half of March and the first half of April. Thus the New Year festival, which occupied at least the first eleven days of Nisan, probably included the spring equinox. It was held in honour of Marduk or Merodach, the chief god of Babylon, whose great temple of Esagila in the city formed the religious centre of the solemnity. For here, in a splendid chamber of the vast edifice, all the gods were believed to assemble at this season under the presidency of Marduk for the purpose of determining the fates for the new year, especially the fate of the king’s life. On this occasion the king of Babylon was bound annually to renew his regal power by grasping the hands of the image of Marduk in his temple, as if to signify that he received the kingdom directly from the deity and was unable without the divine assistance and authority to retain it for more than a year. Unless he thus formally reinstated himself on the throne once a year, the king ceased to reign legitimately. When Babylonia was conquered by Assyria, the Assyrian monarchs themselves used to come to Babylon and perform the ceremony of grasping the god’s hands in order to establish by this solemn act their title to the kingdom which they had won for themselves by the sword; until they had done so, they were not recognized as kings by their Babylonian subjects. Some of them indeed found the ceremony either so burdensome or so humiliating to their pride as conquerors, that rather than perform it they renounced the title of king of Babylon altogether and contented themselves with the more modest title of regent. Another notable feature of the Babylonian festival of the New Year appears to have been a ceremonial marriage of the god Marduk; for in a hymn relating to the solemnity it is said of the deity that “he hastened to his bridal.” The festival was of hoar antiquity, for it was known to Gudea, an old king of Southern Babylonia who flourished between two and three thousand years before the beginning of our era, and it is mentioned in an early account of the Great Flood. At a much later period it is repeatedly referred to by King Nebuchadnezzar and his successors. Nebuchadnezzar records how he built of bricks and bitumen a chapel or altar, “a thing of joy and rejoicing,” for the great festival of Marduk, the lord of the gods; and we read of the rich and abundant offerings which were made by the high priest at this time.(813)

(M276) Unfortunately the notices of this Babylonian festival of the New Year which have come down to us deal chiefly with its mythical aspect and throw little light on the mode of its celebration. Hence its identity with the Sacaea must remain for the present a more or less probable hypothesis. In favour of the hypothesis may be alleged in the first place the resemblance of the names Sacaea and Zoganes to Zakmuk or Zagmuku, if that was the real pronunciation of the name,(814) and in the second place the very significant statement that the fate of the king’s life was supposed to be determined by the gods, under the presidency of Marduk, at the Zakmuk or New Year’s festival.(815) When we remember that the central feature of the Sacaea appears to have been the saving of the king’s life for another year by the vicarious sacrifice of a criminal on the cross or the gallows, we can understand that the season was a critical one for the king, and that it may well have been regarded as determining his fate for the ensuing twelve months. The annual ceremony of renewing the king’s power by contact with the god’s image, which formed a leading feature of the Zakmuk festival, would be very appropriately performed immediately after the execution or sacrifice of the temporary king who died in the room of the real monarch.

(M277) A difficulty, however, in the way of identifying the Sacaea with the Zakmuk arises from the statement of Berosus that the Sacaea fell on the sixteenth day of Lous, which was the tenth month of the Syro-Macedonian calendar and appears to have nearly coincided with July. Thus if the Sacaea occurred in July and the Zakmuk in March, the theory of their identity could not be maintained. But the dating of the months of the Syro-Macedonian calendar is a matter of some uncertainty; the month of Lous in particular appears to have fallen at different times of the year in different places,(816) and until we have ascertained beyond the reach of doubt when Lous fell at Babylon in the time of Berosus, it would be premature to allow much weight to the seeming discrepancy in the dates of the two festivals. At all events, whether the festivals were the same or different, we are confronted with difficulties which in the present state of our knowledge may be pronounced insoluble. If the festivals were the same, we cannot explain their apparent difference of date: if they were different, we cannot explain their apparent similarity of character. In what follows I shall, with some eminent Oriental scholars,(817) provisionally assume the identity of Zakmuk and Sacaea, but I would ask the reader to bear clearly in mind that the hypothesis leaves the apparent discrepancy of their dates unexplained. Towards a solution of the problem I can only suggest conjecturally either that the date of the festival had been for some reason shifted in the time of Berosus, or that two different festivals of the same type may have been held at different seasons of the year, one in spring and one in summer, perhaps by two distinct but kindred tribes, who retained their separate religious rites after they had coalesced in the Babylonian empire. Both conjectures might be supported by analogies. On the one hand, for example, in the Jewish calendar New Year’s Day was shifted under Babylonian influence from autumn to spring,(818) and in a later part of this work we shall see that the Chinese festival of new fire, at first celebrated in spring, was afterwards shifted to the summer solstice, only however to be brought back at a later time to its original date. On the other hand, the popular festivals of our European peasantry afford many examples of rites which appear to be similar in character, though they fall at different times of the year; such, for instance, are the ceremonies concerned with vegetation on May Day, Whitsuntide, and Midsummer Day,(819) and the fire festivals which are distributed at still wider intervals throughout the months.(820) Similarly in ancient Italy the agricultural festival of the Ambarvalia was celebrated by Italian farmers at different dates in different places.(821) These cases may warn us against the danger of hastily inferring an essential difference between Zakmuk and Sacaea on the ground of a real or apparent difference in their dates.

(M278) A fresh and powerful argument in favour of the identity of the two festivals is furnished by the connexion which has been traced between both of them and the Jewish feast of Purim.(822) There are good grounds for believing that Purim was unknown to the Jews until after the exile, and that they learned to observe it during their captivity in the East. The festival is first mentioned in the book of Esther, which by the majority of critics is assigned to the fourth or third century B.C.,(823) and which certainly cannot be older than the Persian period, since the scene of the narrative is laid in Susa at the court of a Persian king Ahasuerus, whose name appears to be the Hebrew equivalent of Xerxes. The next reference to Purim occurs in the second book of Maccabees, a work written probably about the beginning of our era.(824) Thus from the absence of all notice of Purim in the older books of the Bible, we may fairly conclude that the festival was instituted or imported at a comparatively late date among the Jews. The same conclusion is supported by the book of Esther itself, which was manifestly written to explain the origin of the feast and to suggest motives for its observance. For, according to the author of the book, the festival was established to commemorate the deliverance of the Jews from a great danger which threatened them in Persia under the reign of King Xerxes. Thus the opinion of modern scholars that the feast of Purim, as celebrated by the Jews, was of late date and oriental origin, is borne out by the tradition of the Jews themselves. An examination of that tradition and the mode of celebrating the feast renders it probable that Purim is nothing but a more or less disguised form of the Babylonian festival of the Sacaea or Zakmuk.

(M279) In the first place, the feast of Purim was and is held on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, the last month of the Jewish year, which corresponds roughly to March.(825) Thus the date agrees nearly, though not exactly, with the date of the Babylonian Zakmuk, which fell a fortnight later in the early days of the following month Nisan. A trace of the original celebration of Purim in Nisan may perhaps be found in the statement that “they cast Pur, that is, the lot, before Haman” in Nisan, the first month of the year.(826) It has been suggested with some plausibility that the Jews may have shifted the date of Purim in order that the new and foreign festival might not clash with their own old festival of the Passover, which began on the fourteenth day of Nisan. Another circumstance which speaks at once for the alien origin of Purim and for its identity with Zakmuk is its name. The author of the book of Esther derives the name Purim from _pur_, “a lot,”(827) but no such word with this signification exists in Hebrew, and hence we are driven to look for the meaning and etymology of Purim in some other language. A specious theory is that the name was derived from an Assyrian word _puvru_, “an assembly,” and referred primarily to the great assembly of the gods which, as we have seen, formed a chief feature of the festival of Zakmuk, and was held annually in the temple of Marduk at Babylon for the purpose of determining the fates or lots of the new year;(828) the august assembly appears to have been occasionally, if not regularly, designated by the very name _puvru_.(829) On this hypothesis the traditional Jewish explanation of the name Purim preserved a genuine kernel of historical truth, or at least of mythical fancy, under the husk of a verbal error; for the name, if this derivation of it is correct, really signified, not “the lots,” but the assembly for drawing or otherwise determining the lots. Another explanation which has been offered is “that _pūr_ or _būr_ seems to be an old Assyrian word for ‘stone,’ and that therefore it is possible that the word was also used to signify ‘lot,’ like the Hebrew גורל ‘lot,’ which originally, no doubt, meant ‘little stone.’ ”(830) Either of these explanations of the name Purim, by tracing it back to the New Year assembly of the gods at Babylon for settling the lots, furnishes an adequate explanation of the traditional association of Purim with the casting of lots—an association all the more remarkable and all the more likely to be ancient because there is nothing to justify it either in the Hebrew language or in the Jewish mode of celebrating the festival. When to this we add the joyous, nay, extravagant festivity which has always been characteristic of Purim, and is entirely in keeping with a New Year celebration, we may perhaps be thought to have made out a fairly probable case for holding that the Jewish feast is derived from the Babylonian New Year festival of Zakmuk. Whether the Jews borrowed the feast directly from the Babylonians or indirectly through the Persian conquerors of Babylon is a question which deserves to be considered; but the Persian colouring of the book of Esther speaks strongly for the view that Purim came to Israel by way of Persia, or at all events from Babylon under Persian rule, and this view is confirmed by other evidence, to which I shall have to ask the reader’s attention a little later on.

(M280) If the links which bind Purim to Zakmuk are reasonably strong, the chain of evidence which connects the Jewish festival with the Sacaea is much stronger. Nor is this surprising when we remember that, while the popular mode of celebrating Zakmuk is unknown, we possess important and trustworthy details as to the manner of holding the Sacaea. We have seen that the Sacaea was a wild Bacchanalian revel at which men and women disguised themselves and drank and played together in a fashion that was more gay than modest. Now this is, or used to be, precisely the nature of Purim. The two days of the festival, according to the author of the book of Esther, were to be kept for ever as “days of feasting and gladness, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor.”(831) And this joyous character the festival seems always to have retained. The author of a tract in the Talmud lays it down as a rule that at the feast of Purim every Jew is bound to drink until he cannot distinguish between the words “Cursed be Haman” and “Blessed be Mordecai”; and he tells how on one occasion a certain Rabba drank so deep at Purim that he murdered a rabbi without knowing what he was about. Indeed Purim has been described as the Jewish Bacchanalia, and we are told that at this season everything is lawful which can contribute to the mirth and gaiety of the festival.(832) Writers of the seventeenth century assert that during the two days, and especially on the evening of the second day, the Jews did nothing but feast and drink to repletion, play, dance, sing, and make merry; in particular they disguised themselves, men and women exchanging clothes, and thus attired ran about like mad, in open defiance of the Mosaic law, which expressly forbids men to dress as women and women as men.(833) Among the Jews of Frankfort, who inhabited the squalid but quaint and picturesque old street known as the Judengasse, which many of us still remember, the revelry at Purim ran as high as ever in the eighteenth century. The gluttony and intoxication began punctually at three o’clock in the afternoon of the first day and went on until the whole community seemed to have taken leave of their senses. They ate and drank, they frolicked and cut capers, they reeled and staggered about, they shrieked, yelled, stamped, clattered, and broke each other’s heads with wooden hammers till the blood flowed. On the evening of the first day the women were allowed, as a special favour, to open their latticed window and look into the men’s synagogue, because the great deliverance of the Jews from their enemies in the time of King Ahasuerus was said to have been effected by a woman. A feature of the festival which should not be overlooked was the acting of the story of Esther as a comedy, in which Esther, Ahasuerus, Haman, Mordecai, and others played their parts after a fashion that sometimes degenerated from farce into ribaldry.(834) Thus on the whole we may take it that Purim has always been a Saturnalia, and therefore corresponds in character to the Sacaea as that festival has been described for us by Strabo.

(M281) But further, when we examine the narrative which professes to account for the institution of Purim, we discover in it not only the strongest traces of Babylonian origin, but also certain singular analogies to those very features of the Sacaean festival with which we are here more immediately concerned. The book of Esther turns upon the fortunes of two men, the vizier Haman and the despised Jew Mordecai, at the court of a Persian king. Mordecai, we are told, had given mortal offence to the vizier, who accordingly prepares a tall gallows on which he hopes to see his enemy hanged, while he himself expects to receive the highest mark of the king’s favour by being allowed to wear the royal crown and the royal robes, and thus attired to parade the streets mounted on the king’s own horse and attended by one of the noblest princes, who should proclaim to the multitude his temporary exaltation and glory. But the artful intrigues of the wicked vizier miscarried and resulted in precisely the opposite of what he had hoped and expected; for the royal honours which he had looked for fell to his rival Mordecai, and he himself was hanged on the gallows which he had made ready for his foe. In this story we seem to detect a reminiscence, more or less confused, of the Zoganes of the Sacaea, in other words, of the custom of investing a private man with the insignia of royalty for a few days and then putting him to death on the gallows or the cross. It is true that in the narrative the part of the Zoganes is divided between two actors, one of whom hopes to play the king but is hanged instead, while the other acts the royal part and escapes the gallows to which he was destined by his enemy. But this bisection, so to say, of the Zoganes may have been deliberately invented by the Jewish author of the book of Esther for the sake of setting the origin of Purim, which it was his purpose to explain, in a light that should reflect glory on his own nation. Or, perhaps more probably, it points back to a custom of appointing two mock kings at the Sacaea, one of whom was put to death at the end of the festival, while the other was allowed to go free, at least for a time. We shall be the more inclined to adopt the latter hypothesis when we observe that corresponding to the two rival aspirants to the temporary kingship there appear in the Jewish narrative two rival queens, Vashti and Esther, one of whom succeeds to the high estate from which the other has fallen. Further, it is to be noted that Mordecai, the successful candidate for the mock kingship, and Esther, the successful candidate for the queenship, are linked together by close ties both of interest and blood, the two being said to be cousins. This suggests that in the original story or the original custom there may have figured two pairs of kings and queens, of whom one pair is represented in the Jewish narrative by Mordecai and Esther and the other by Haman and Vashti.

(M282) Some confirmation of this view is furnished by the names of two at least out of the four personages. It seems to be now generally recognized by Biblical scholars that the name Mordecai, which has no meaning in Hebrew, is nothing but a slightly altered form of Marduk or Merodach, the name of the chief god of Babylon, whose great festival was the Zakmuk; and further, it is generally admitted that Esther in like manner is equivalent to Ishtar, the great Babylonian goddess whom the Greeks called Astarte, and who is more familiar to English readers as Ashtaroth. The derivation of the names of Haman and Vashti is less certain, but some high authorities are disposed to accept the view of Jensen that Haman is identical with Humman or Homman, the national god of the Elamites, and that Vashti is in like manner an Elamite goddess whose name Jensen read as Mashti in inscriptions. Now, when we consider that the Elamites were from time immemorial the hereditary foes of the Babylonians and had their capital at Susa, the very place in which the scene of the book of Esther is laid, we can hardly deny the plausibility of the theory that Haman and Vashti on the one side and Mordecai and Esther on the other represent the antagonism between the gods of Elam and the gods of Babylon, and the final victory of the Babylonian deities in the very capital of their rivals.(835) “It is therefore possible,” says Professor Nöldeke, “that we here have to do with a feast whereby the Babylonians commemorated a victory gained by their gods over the gods of their neighbours the Elamites, against whom they had so often waged war. The Jewish feast of Purim is an annual merrymaking of a wholly secular kind, and it is known that there were similar feasts among the Babylonians. That the Jews in Babylonia should have adopted a festival of this sort cannot be deemed improbable, since in modern Germany, to cite an analogous case, many Jews celebrate Christmas after the manner of their Christian fellow-countrymen, in so far at least as it is a secular institution. It is true that hitherto no Babylonian feast coinciding, like Purim, with the full moon of the twelfth month has been discovered; but our knowledge of the Babylonian feasts is derived from documents of an earlier period. Possibly the calendar may have undergone some change by the time when the Jewish feast of Purim was established. Or it may be that the Jews intentionally shifted the date of the festival which they borrowed from the heathen.”(836)

(M283) However, the theory of an opposition between the gods of Babylon and the gods of Elam at the festival appears to break down at a crucial point; for the latest and most accurate reading of the Elamite inscriptions proves, I am informed, that the name of the goddess which Jensen read as Mashti, and which on that assumption he legitimately compared to the Hebrew Vashti,(837) must really be read as Parti, between which and Vashti there is no connexion. Accordingly, in a discussion of the origin of Purim it is safer at present to lay no weight on the supposed religious antagonism between the deities of Babylon and Elam.(838)

(M284) If we are right in tracing the origin of Purim to the Babylonian Sacaea and in finding the counterpart of the Zoganes in Haman and Mordecai, it would appear that the Zoganes during his five days of office personated not merely a king but a god, whether that god was the Babylonian Marduk or some other deity not yet identified. The union of the divine and royal characters in a single person is so common that we need not be surprised at meeting with it in ancient Babylon. And the view that the mock king of the Sacaea died as a god on the cross or the gallows is no novelty. The acute and learned Movers long ago observed that “we should be overlooking the religious significance of oriental festivals and the connexion of the Sacaea with the worship of Anaitis, if we were to treat as a mere jest the custom of disguising a slave as a king. We may take it for certain that with the royal dignity the king of the Sacaea assumed also the character of an oriental ruler as representative of the divinity, and that when he took his pleasure among the women of the king’s harem, he played the part of Sandan or Sardanapalus himself. For according to ancient oriental ideas the use of the king’s concubines constituted a claim to the throne, and we know from Dio that the five-days’ king received full power over the harem. Perhaps he began his reign by publicly cohabiting with the king’s concubines, just as Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in a tent spread on the roof of the palace before all Israel, for the purpose of thereby making known and strengthening his claim to the throne.”(839)

(M285) Whatever may be thought of this latter conjecture, there can be no doubt that Movers is right in laying great stress both on the permission given to the mock king to invade the real king’s harem, and on the intimate connexion of the Sacaea with the worship of Anaitis. That connexion is vouched for by Strabo, and when we consider that in Strabo’s time the cult of the old Persian goddess Anaitis was thoroughly saturated with Babylonian elements and had practically merged in the sensual worship of the Babylonian Ishtar or Astarte,(840) we shall incline to view with favour Movers’s further conjecture, that a female slave may have been appointed to play the divine queen to the part of the divine king supported by the Zoganes, and that reminiscences of such a queen have survived in the myth or legend of Semiramis. According to tradition, Semiramis was a fair courtesan beloved by the king of Assyria, who took her to wife. She won the king’s heart so far that she persuaded him to yield up to her the kingdom for five days, and having assumed the sceptre and the royal robes she made a great banquet on the first day, but on the second day she shut up her husband in prison or put him to death and thenceforward reigned alone.(841) Taken with Strabo’s evidence as to the association of the Sacaea with the worship of Anaitis, this tradition seems clearly to point to a custom of giving the Zoganes, during his five days’ reign, a queen who represented the goddess Anaitis or Semiramis or Astarte, in short the great Asiatic goddess of love and fertility, by whatever name she was called. For that in Eastern legend Semiramis was a real queen of Assyria, who had absorbed many of the attributes of the goddess Astarte, appears to be established by the researches of modern scholars; in particular it has been shewn by Robertson Smith that the worship of Anaitis is not only modelled on Astarte worship in general, but corresponds to that particular type of it which was specially associated with the name of Semiramis.(842) The identity of Anaitis and the mythical Semiramis is clearly proved by the circumstance that the great sanctuary of Anaitis at Zela in Pontus was actually built upon a mound of Semiramis;(843) probably the old worship of the Semitic goddess always continued there even after her Semitic name of Semiramis or Astarte had been exchanged for the Persian name of Anaitis, perhaps in obedience to a decree of the Persian king Artaxerxes II., who first spread the worship of Anaitis in the west of Asia.(844) It is highly significant, not only that the Sacaean festival was annually held at this ancient seat of the worship of Semiramis or Astarte; but further, that the whole city of Zela was formerly inhabited by sacred slaves and harlots, ruled over by a supreme pontiff, who administered it as a sanctuary rather than as a city.(845) Formerly, we may suppose, this priestly king himself died a violent death at the Sacaea in the character of the divine lover of Semiramis, while the part of the goddess was played by one of the sacred prostitutes. The probability of this is greatly strengthened by the existence of the so-called mound of Semiramis under the sanctuary. For the mounds of Semiramis, which were pointed out all over Western Asia,(846) were said to have been the graves of her lovers whom she buried alive.(847) The tradition ran that the great and lustful queen Semiramis, fearing to contract a lawful marriage lest her husband should deprive her of power, admitted to her bed the handsomest of her soldiers, only, however, to destroy them all afterwards.(848) Now this tradition is one of the surest indications of the identity of the mythical Semiramis with the Babylonian goddess Ishtar or Astarte. For the famous Babylonian epic which recounts the deeds of the hero Gilgamesh tells how, when he clothed himself in royal robes and put his crown on his head, the goddess Ishtar was smitten with love of him and wooed him to be her mate. But Gilgamesh rejected her insidious advances, for he knew the sad fate that had overtaken all her lovers, and he reproached the cruel goddess, saying:—

“_Tammuz, the lover of thy youth,_ _Thou causest to weep every year._ _The bright-coloured_ allallu _bird thou didst love_. _Thou didst crush him and break his pinions._ _In the woods he stands and laments, __‘__O my pinions!__’_ _Thou didst love the lion of perfect strength,_ _Seven and seven times thou didst dig pit-falls for him._ _Thou didst love the horse that joyed in the fray,_ _With whip and spur and lash thou didst urge him on._ _Thou didst force him on for seven double hours,_ _Thou didst force him on when wearied and thirsty;_ _His mother the goddess Silili thou madest weep._ _Thou didst also love a shepherd of the flock,_ _Who continually poured out for thee the libation,_ _And daily slaughtered kids for thee;_ _But thou didst smite him, and didst change him into a wolf,_ _So that his own sheep-boys hunted him,_ _And his own hounds tore him to pieces._”

(M286) The hero also tells the miserable end of a gardener in the service of the goddess’s father. The hapless swain had once been honoured with the love of the goddess, but when she tired of him she changed him into a cripple so that he could not rise from his bed. Therefore Gilgamesh fears to share the fate of all her former lovers and spurns her proffered favours.(849) But it is not merely that the myth of Ishtar thus tallies with the legend of Semiramis; the worship of the goddess was marked by a profligacy which has found its echo in the loose character ascribed by tradition to the queen. Inscriptions, which confirm and supplement the evidence of Herodotus, inform us that Ishtar was served by harlots of three different classes all dedicated to her worship. Indeed, there is reason to think that these women personated the goddess herself, since one of the names given to them is applied also to her.(850)

(M287) Thus we can hardly doubt that the mythical Semiramis is substantially a form of Ishtar or Astarte, the great Semitic goddess of love and fertility; and if this is so, we may assume with at least a fair degree of probability that the high pontiff of Zela or his deputy, who played the king of the Sacaea at the sanctuary of Semiramis, perished as one of the unhappy lovers of the goddess, perhaps as Tammuz, whom she caused “to weep every year.” When he had run his brief meteoric career of pleasure and glory, his bones would be laid in the great mound which covered the mouldering remains of many mortal gods, his predecessors, whom the goddess had honoured with her fatal love.(851)

(M288) Here then at the great sanctuary of the goddess in Zela it appears that her myth was regularly translated into action; the story of her love and the death of her divine lover was performed year by year as a sort of mystery-play by men and women who lived for a season and sometimes died in the character of the visionary beings whom they personated. The intention of these sacred dramas, we may be sure, was neither to amuse nor to instruct an idle audience, and as little were they designed to gratify the actors, to whose baser passions they gave the reins for a time. They were solemn rites which mimicked the doings of divine beings, because man fancied that by such mimicry he was able to arrogate to himself the divine functions and to exercise them for the good of his fellows. The operations of nature, to his thinking, were carried on by mythical personages very like himself; and if he could only assimilate himself to them completely he would be able to wield all their powers. This is probably the original motive of most religious dramas or mysteries among rude peoples. The dramas are played, the mysteries are performed, not to teach the spectators the doctrines of their creed, still less to entertain them, but for the purpose of bringing about those natural effects which they represent in mythical disguise; in a word, they are magical ceremonies and their mode of operation is mimicry or sympathy. We shall probably not err in assuming that many myths, which we now know only as myths, had once their counterpart in magic; in other words, that they used to be acted as a means of producing in fact the events which they describe in figurative language. Ceremonies often die out while myths survive, and thus we are left to infer the dead ceremony from the living myth. If myths are, in a sense, the reflections or shadows of men cast upon the clouds, we may say that these reflections continue to be visible in the sky and to inform us of the doings of the men who cast them, long after the men themselves are not only beyond our range of vision but sunk beneath the horizon.

(M289) The principle of mimicry is implanted so deep in human nature and has exerted so far-reaching an influence on the development of religion as well as of the arts that it may be well, even at the cost of a short digression, to illustrate by example some of the modes in which primitive man has attempted to apply it to the satisfaction of his wants by means of religious or magical dramas. For it seems probable that the masked dances and ceremonies, which have played a great part in the social life of savages in many quarters of the world, were primarily designed to subserve practical purposes rather than simply to stir the emotions of the spectators and to while away the languor and tedium of idle hours. The actors sought to draw down blessings on the community by mimicking certain powerful superhuman beings and in their assumed character working those beneficent miracles which in the capacity of mere men they would have confessed themselves powerless to effect. In fact the aim of these elementary dramas, which contain in germ the tragedy and comedy of civilized nations, was the acquisition of superhuman power for the public good. That this is the real intention of at least many of these dramatic performances will appear from the following accounts, which for the sake of accuracy I will quote for the most part in the words of the original observers.

(M290) A conspicuous feature in the social life of the Indian tribes of North-Western America are the elaborate masked dances or pantomimes in which the actors personate spirits or legendary animals. Most of them appear designed to bring before the eyes of the people the guardian spirits of the clans. “Owing to the fact that these spirits are hereditary, their gifts are always contained in the legend detailing their acquisition by the ancestor of a clan. The principal gifts in these tales are the magic harpoon which insures success in sea-otter hunting; the death bringer which, when pointed against enemies, kills them; the water of life which resuscitates the dead; the burning fire which, when pointed against an object, burns it; and a dance, a song, and cries which are peculiar to the spirit. The gift of this dance means that the protégé of the spirit is to perform the same dances which have been shown to him. In these dances he personates the spirit. He wears his mask and his ornaments. Thus the dance must be considered a dramatic performance of the myth relating to the acquisition of the spirit, and shows to the people that the performer by his visit to the spirit has obtained his powers and desires. When nowadays a spirit appears to a young Indian, he gives him the same dance, and the youth also returns from the initiation filled with the powers and desires of the spirit. He authenticates his initiation by his dance in the same way as his mythical ancestor did. The obtaining of the magical gifts from these spirits is called _lokoala_, while the person who has obtained them becomes _naualaku_, supernatural, which is also the quality of the spirit himself. The ornaments of all these spirits are described as made of cedar bark, which is dyed red in the juice of alder bark. They appear to their devotees only in winter, and therefore the dances are also performed only in winter.”(852) In some of the dances the performers imitate animals, and the explanation which the Indians give of these dances is that “the ceremonial was instituted at the time when men had still the form of animals; before the transformer had put everything into its present shape. The present ceremonial is a repetition of the ceremonial performed by the man animals or, as we may say, a dramatization of the myth. Therefore the people who do not represent spirits, represent these animals.”(853)

(M291) Another observer of these Indians writes on the same subject as follows: “The _dukwally_ (_i.e._, _lokoala_) and other _tamanawas_(854) performances are exhibitions intended to represent incidents connected with their mythological legends. There are a great variety, and they seem to take the place, in a measure, of theatrical performances or games during the season of the religious festivals. There are no persons especially set apart as priests for the performance of these ceremonies, although some, who seem more expert than others, are usually hired to give life to the scenes, but these performers are quite as often found among the slaves or common people as among the chiefs, and excepting during the continuance of the festivities are not looked on as of any particular importance. On inquiring the origin of these ceremonies, I was informed that they did not originate with the Indians, but were revelations of the guardian spirits, who made known what they wished to be performed. An Indian, for instance, who has been consulting with his guardian spirit, which is done by going through the washing and fasting process before described, will imagine or think he is called upon to represent the owl. He arranges in his mind the style of dress, the number of performers, the songs and dances or other movements, and, having the plan perfected, announces at a _tamanawas_ meeting that he has had a revelation which he will impart to a select few. These are then taught and drilled in strict secrecy, and when they have perfected themselves, will suddenly make their appearance and perform before the astonished tribe. Another Indian gets up the representation of the whale, others do the same of birds, and in fact of everything that they can think of. If any performance is a success, it is repeated, and gradually comes to be looked upon as one of the regular order in the ceremonies; if it does not satisfy the audience, it is laid aside. Thus they have performances that have been handed down from remote ages, while others are of a more recent date.”(855)

(M292) Another writer, who travelled among the Indians of North-Western America, has expressed himself on this subject as follows: “The task of representing the gods is undertaken in every tribe by some intelligent and, according to their own account, inspired men; they form the Secret Societies, in order that their secret arts and doctrines, their mummeries and masquerades may not be revealed to the uninitiated and to the public. The intention of these exhibitions is to confirm the faith of the young people and the women in the ancient traditions as to the intercourse of the gods with men and as to their own intimate relations to the gods. In order to convince possible doubters, the members of the Secret Societies have had recourse to all kinds of mysterious means, which to a civilized man must appear the height of savagery; for example, they mutilate their bodies, rend corpses in pieces and devour them, tear pieces out of the bodies of living men, and so on. Further, the almost morbid vanity of the North-Western Indians and their desire to win fame, respect, and distinction may have served as a motive for joining the Secret Societies; since every member of them enjoys great respect.

“There were and still are hundreds of masks in use, every one of which represents a spirit who occurs in their legends. In the exhibitions they appear singly or in groups, according as the legend to be represented requires, and the masked men are then looked upon by the astonished crowd, not only as actors representing the gods, but as the very gods themselves who have come down from heaven to earth. Hence every such representative must do exactly what legend says the spirit did. If the representative wears no mask, as often happens with the _Hametzes_ (the Cannibals or Biters) or the _Pakwalla_ (Medicine-men), then the spirit whom he represents has passed into his body, and accordingly the man possessed by the spirit is not responsible for what he does amiss in this condition. As the use of masks throws a sort of mysterious glamour over the performance and at the same time allows the actor to remain unknown, the peculiarly sacred festivals are much oftener celebrated with masks than without them. In every Secret Society there are definite rules as to how often and how long a mask may be used. Amongst the Kwakiutl the masks may not, under the heaviest penalties, be disposed of for four winters, the season when such festivals are usually celebrated. After that time they may be destroyed or hidden in the forest, that no uninitiated person may find them, or they may be finally sold. The masks are made only in secret, generally in the deep solitude of the woods, in order that no uninitiated person may detect the maker at work....

(M293) “The dance is accompanied by a song which celebrates in boastful words the power of the gods and the mighty deeds represented in the performance. At the main part of the performance all present join in the song, for it is generally known to everybody and is repeated in recitative again and again. It seems that new songs and new performances are constantly springing up in one or other of the villages through the agency of some intelligent young man, hitherto without a song of his own, who treats in a poetical fashion some legend which has been handed down orally from their forefathers. For every man who takes part in the performances and festivals must make his _début_ with a song composed by himself. In this way new songs and dances are constantly originating, the material for them being, of course, always taken from the tribal deities of the particular singer and poet.”(856)

(M294) Similar masquerades are in vogue among the neighbours of these Indians, the Esquimaux of Bering Strait, and from the following account it will appear that the performances are based on similar ideas and beliefs. “Shamans make masks representing grotesque faces of supernatural beings which they claim to have seen. These may be _yu-ă_, which are the spirits of the elements, of places, and of inanimate things in general; the _tunghät_, or wandering genii, or the shades of people and animals. The first-named are seen in lonely places, on the plains and mountains or at sea, and more rarely about the villages, by the clairvoyant vision of the shamans. They are usually invisible to common eyes, but sometimes render themselves visible to the people for various purposes.

“Many of them, especially among the _tunghät_, are of evil character, bringing sickness and misfortune upon people from mere wantonness or for some fancied injury. The Eskimo believe that everything, animate or inanimate, is possessed of a shade, having semihuman form and features, enjoying more or less freedom of motion; the shamans give form to their ideas of them in masks, as well as of others which they claim inhabit the moon and the sky-land. In their daily life, if the people witness some strange occurrence, are curiously affected, or have a remarkable adventure, during which they seem to be influenced or aided in a supernatural manner, the shamans interpret the meaning and describe the appearance of the being that exerted its power.

(M295) “Curious mythological beasts are also said to inhabit both land and sea, but to become visible only on special occasions. These ideas furnish material upon which their fancy works, conjuring up strange forms that are usually modifications of known creatures. It is also believed that in early days all animate beings had a dual existence, becoming at will either like man or the animal forms they now wear. In those early days there were but few people; if an animal wished to assume its human form, the forearm, wing, or other limb was raised and pushed up the muzzle or beak as if it were a mask, and the creature became manlike in form and features. This idea is still held, and it is believed that many animals now possess this power. The manlike form thus appearing is called the _inua_, and is supposed to represent the thinking part of the creature, and at death becomes its shade. Shamans are believed to have the power of seeing through the animal mask to the manlike features behind. The ideas held on this subject are well illustrated in the Raven legends, where the changes are made repeatedly from one form to another.

(M296) “Masks may also represent totemic animals, and the wearers during the festivals are believed actually to become the creature represented or at least to be endowed with its spiritual essence. Some of the masks of the lower Yukon and the adjacent territory to the Kuskokwim are made with double faces. This is done by having the muzzle of the animal fitted over and concealing the face of the _inua_ below, the outer mask being held in place by pegs so arranged that it can be removed quickly at a certain time in the ceremony, thus symbolizing the transformation. Another style of mask from the lower Kuskokwim has the under face concealed by a small hinged door on each side, which opens out at the proper time in a ceremony, indicating the metamorphosis. When the mask represents a totemic animal, the wearer needs no double face, since he represents in person the shade of the totemic animal.

“When worn in any ceremonial, either as a totem mask or as representing the shade, _yu-ă_ or _tunghâk_, the wearer is believed to become mysteriously and unconsciously imbued with the spirit of the being which his mask represents, just as the namesakes are entered into and possessed by the shades at certain parts of the Festival to the Dead....(857)

“Mask festivals are usually held as a species of thanksgiving to the shades and powers of earth, air, and water for giving the hunter success. The _inuas_ or shades of the powers and creatures of the earth are represented that they may be propitiated, thus insuring further success.”(858)

(M297) The religious ritual of the Cora Indians of Mexico comprises elaborate dramatic ceremonies or dances, in which the actors or dancers identify themselves with the gods, such as the god of the Morning Star, the goddess of the Moon, and the divinities of the Rain. These dances form the principal part of the Cora festivals and are accompanied by liturgical songs, the words of which the Indians believe to have been revealed to their forefathers by the gods and to exercise a direct magical influence upon the deities themselves and through them upon nature.(859) The Kobeua and Kaua Indians of North-Western Brazil perform masked dances at their festivals in honour of the dead. The maskers imitate the actions and the habits of birds, beasts, and insects. For example, there is a large azure-blue butterfly which delights the eye with the splendour of its colour, like a fallen fragment of the sky; and in the butterfly dance two men represent the play of these brilliant insects in the sunshine, fluttering on the wing and settling on sandbanks and rocks. Again, the sloth is acted by a masker who holds on to a cross-beam of the house by means of a hooked stick, in imitation of the sluggish creature which will hang by its claws from the bough of a tree for hours together without stirring. Again, the darting of swallows, as they flit to and fro across a river, is mimicked by masked men dancing side by side: the swarming of sandflies in the air is acted by a swarm of maskers; and so with the movements of the black vulture, the owl, the jaguar, the _aracu_ fish, the house-spider, and the dung-beetle. Yet these representations are not simple dramas designed to amuse and divert the mourners in their hour of sorrow; the Indian attributes to them a much deeper significance, for under the outer husk of beasts and birds and insects he believes that there lurk foul fiends and powerful spirits. “All these mimicries are based on an idea of magical efficiency. They are intended to bring blessing and fertility to the village and its inhabitants, to the plantations, and to the whole of surrounding nature, thereby compensating, as it were, for the loss of the dead man in whose honour the festival is held. By copying as faithfully as possible the movements and actions of the being whom he personates, the actor identifies himself with him. The mysterious force which resides in the mask passes into the dancer, turns the man himself into a mighty demon, and endows him with the power of banning demons or earning their favour. Especially is it the intention by means of mimicry to obtain for man control over the demons of growth and the spirits of game and fish.” When the festival is over, the masks are burned, and the demons, which are thought to have animated them, take flight to their own place, it may be to the other world or to a mountain top, or to the side of a thundering cascade.(860)

(M298) The Monumbo of German New Guinea perform masked dances in which the dancers personate supernatural beings or animals, such as kangaroos, dogs, and cassowaries. They consecrate the masks by fumigating them with the smoke of a certain creeper, and believe that by doing so they put life into them. Accordingly they afterwards treat the masks with respect, talk to them as if they were alive, and refuse to part with them to Europeans. Certain of the masks they even regard as guardian spirits and appeal to them for fine weather, help in the chase or in war, and so forth. Every clan owns some masks and the head man of the clan makes all the arrangements for a masquerade. The dances are accompanied by songs of which the words are unintelligible even to the natives themselves.(861) Again, the Kayans of Central Borneo perform masked dances for the purpose of ensuring abundant crops of rice. The actors personate demons, wearing grotesque masks on their faces, their bodies swathed in cumbrous masses of green leaves. “In accordance with their belief that the spirits are more powerful than men, the Kayans assume that when they imitate the form of spirits and play their part, they acquire superhuman power. Hence just as their spirits can fetch back the souls of men, so they imagine that they can lure to themselves the souls of the rice.”(862)

(M299) When the Sea Dyaks of Borneo have taken a human head, they hold a Head-feast (_Gawè Pala_) in honour of the war-god or bird-chief Singalang Burong, who lives far away above the sky. At this festival a long liturgy called _mengap_ is chanted, the god is invoked, and is believed to be present in the person of an actor, who poses as the deity and blesses the people in his name. “But the invocation is not made by the human performer in the manner of a prayer direct to this great being; it takes the form of a story, setting forth how the mythical hero Kling or Klieng made a head-feast and fetched Singalang Burong to it. This Kling, about whom there are many fables, is a spirit, and is supposed to live somewhere or other not far from mankind, and to be able to confer benefits upon them. The Dyak performer or performers then, as they walk up and down the long verandah of the house singing the _mengap_, in reality describe Kling’s _Gawè Pala_ [head-feast], and how Singalang Burong was invited and came. In thought the Dyaks identify themselves with Kling, and the resultant signification is that the recitation of this story is an invocation to Singalang Burong, who is supposed to come not to Kling’s house only, but to the actual Dyak house where the feast is celebrated; and he is received by a particular ceremony, and is offered food or sacrifice.” At the close of the ceremony “the performer goes along the house, beginning with the head man, touches each person in it, and pronounces an invocation upon him. In this he is supposed to personate Singalang Burong and his sons-in-law, who are believed to be the real actors. Singalang Burong himself _nenjangs_ the headmen, and his sons-in-law, the birds, bless the rest. The touch of the human performer, and the accompanying invocation are thought to effect a communication between these bird-spirits from the skies and each individual being. The great bird-chief and his dependants come from above to give men their charms and their blessings. Upon the men the performer invokes physical strength and bravery in war; and upon the women luck with paddy, cleverness in Dyak feminine accomplishments, and beauty in form and complexion.”(863)

(M300) Thus the dramatic performances of these primitive peoples are in fact religious or oftener perhaps magical ceremonies, and the songs or recitations which accompany them are spells or incantations, though the real character of both is apt to be overlooked by civilized man, accustomed as he is to see in the drama nothing more than an agreeable pastime or at best a vehicle of moral instruction. Yet if we could trace the drama of the civilized nations back to its origin, we might find that it had its roots in magical or religious ideas like those which still mould and direct the masked dances of many savages. Certainly the Athenians in the heyday of their brilliant civilization retained a lively sense of the religious import of dramatic performances; for they associated them directly with the worship of Dionysus and allowed them to be enacted only during the festivals of the god.(864) In India, also, the drama appears to have been developed out of religious dances or pantomimes, in which the actors recited the deeds and played the parts of national gods and heroes.(865) Hence it is at least a legitimate hypothesis that the criminal, who masqueraded as a king and perished in that character at the Bacchanalian festival of the Sacaea, was only one of a company of actors, who figured on that occasion in a sacred drama of which the substance has been preserved to us in the book of Esther.

(M301) When once we perceive that the gods and goddesses, the heroes and heroines of mythology have been represented officially, so to say, by a long succession of living men and women who bore the names and were supposed to exercise the functions of these fabulous creatures, we have attained a point of vantage from which it seems possible to propose terms of peace between two rival schools of mythologists who have been waging fierce war on each other for ages. On the one hand it has been argued that mythical beings are nothing but personifications of natural objects and natural processes; on the other hand, it has been maintained that they are nothing but notable men and women who in their lifetime, for one reason or another, made a great impression on their fellows, but whose doings have been distorted and exaggerated by a false and credulous tradition. These two views, it is now easy to see, are not so mutually exclusive as their supporters have imagined. The personages about whom all the marvels of mythology have been told may have been real human beings, as the Euhemerists allege; and yet they may have been at the same time personifications of natural objects or processes, as the adversaries of Euhemerism assert. The doctrine of incarnation supplies the missing link that was needed to unite the two seemingly inconsistent theories. If the powers of nature or a certain department of nature be conceived as personified in a deity, and that deity can become incarnate in a man or woman, it is obvious that the incarnate deity is at the same time a real human being and a personification of nature. To take the instance with which we are here concerned, Semiramis may have been the great Semitic goddess of love, Ishtar or Astarte, and yet she may be supposed to have been incarnate in a woman or even in a series of real women, whether queens or harlots, whose memory survives in ancient history. Saturn, again, may have been the god of sowing and planting, and yet may have been represented on earth by a succession or dynasty of sacred kings, whose gay but short lives may have contributed to build up the legend of the Golden Age. The longer the series of such human divinities, the greater, obviously, the chance of their myth or legend surviving; and when moreover a deity of a uniform type was represented, whether under the same name or not, over a great extent of country by many local dynasties of divine men or women, it is clear that the stories about him would tend still further to persist and be stereotyped.

(M302) The conclusions which we have reached in regard to the legend of Semiramis and her lovers probably holds good of all the similar tales that were current in antiquity throughout the East; in particular, it may be assumed to apply to the myths of Aphrodite and Adonis in Syria, of Cybele and Attis in Phrygia, and of Isis and Osiris in Egypt. If we could trace these stories back to their origin, we might find that in every case a human couple acted year by year the parts of the loving goddess and the dying god. We know that down to Roman times Attis was personated by priests who bore his name;(866) and if within the period of which we have knowledge the dead Attis and the dead Adonis were represented only by effigies, we may surmise that it had not always been so, and that in both cases the dead god was once represented by a dead man. Further, the license accorded to the man who played the dying god at the Sacaea speaks strongly in favour of the hypothesis that before the incarnate deity was put to a public death he was in all cases allowed, or rather required, to enjoy the embraces of a woman who played the goddess of love. The reason for such an enforced union of the human god and goddess is not hard to divine. If primitive man believes that the growth of the crops can be stimulated by the intercourse of common men and women,(867) what showers of blessings will he not anticipate from the commerce of a pair whom his fancy invests with all the dignity and powers of deities of fertility?

(M303) Thus the theory of Movers, that at the Sacaea the Zoganes represented a god and paired with a woman who personated a goddess, turns out to rest on deeper and wider foundations than that able scholar was aware of. He thought that the divine couple who figured by deputy at the ceremony were Semiramis and Sandan or Sardanapalus. It now appears that he was substantially right as to the goddess; but we have still to enquire into the god. There seems to be no doubt that the name Sardanapalus is only the Greek way of representing Ashurbanapal, the name of the greatest and nearly the last king of Assyria. But the records of the real monarch which have come to light within recent years give little support to the fables that attached to his name in classical tradition. For they prove that, far from being the effeminate weakling he seemed to the Greeks of a later age, he was a warlike and enlightened monarch, who carried the arms of Assyria to distant lands and fostered at home the growth of science and letters.(868) Still, though the historical reality of King Ashurbanapal is as well attested as that of Alexander or Charlemagne, it would be no wonder if myths gathered, like clouds, round the great figure that loomed large in the stormy sunset of Assyrian glory. Now the two features that stand out most prominently in the legends of Sardanapalus are his extravagant debauchery and his violent death in the flames of a great pyre, on which he burned himself and his concubines to save them from falling into the hands of his victorious enemies. It is said that the womanish king, with painted face and arrayed in female attire, passed his days in the seclusion of the harem, spinning purple wool among his concubines and wallowing in sensual delights; and that in the epitaph which he caused to be carved on his tomb he recorded that all the days of his life he ate and drank and toyed, remembering that life is short and full of trouble, that fortune is uncertain, and that others would soon enjoy the good things which he must leave behind.(869) These traits bear little resemblance to the portrait of Ashurbanapal either in life or in death; for after a brilliant career of conquest the Assyrian king died in old age, at the height of human ambition, with peace at home and triumph abroad, the admiration of his subjects and the terror of his foes. But if the traditional characteristics of Sardanapalus harmonize but ill with what we know of the real monarch of that name, they fit well enough with all that we know or can conjecture of the mock kings who led a short life and a merry during the revelry of the Sacaea, the Asiatic equivalent of the Saturnalia. We can hardly doubt that for the most part such men, with death staring them in the face at the end of a few days, sought to drown care and deaden fear by plunging madly into all the fleeting joys that still offered themselves under the sun. When their brief pleasures and sharp sufferings were over, and their bones or ashes mingled with the dust, what more natural that on their tomb—those mounds in which the people saw, not untruly, the graves of the lovers of Semiramis—there should be carved some such lines as those which tradition placed in the mouth of the great Assyrian king, to remind the heedless passer-by of the shortness and vanity of life?

(M304) When we turn to Sandan, the other legendary or mythical being whom Movers thought that the Zoganes may have personated, we find the arguments in support of his theory still stronger. The city of Tarsus in Cilicia is said to have been founded by a certain Sandan whom the Greeks identified with Hercules; and at the festival of this god or hero an effigy of him was burned on a great pyre.(870) This Sandan is doubtless the same with the Sandes whom Agathias calls the old Persian Hercules. Professing to give a list of the gods whom the Persians worshipped before the days of Zoroaster, the Byzantine historian mentions Bel, Sandes, and Anaitis, whom he identifies with Zeus, Hercules, and Aphrodite respectively.(871) As we know that Bel was a Babylonian, not a Persian deity, and that in later times Anaitis was practically equivalent to the Babylonian Ishtar or Astarte, a strong presumption is raised that Sandes also was a Babylonian or at all events Semitic deity, and that in speaking of him as Persian the historian confused the ancient Persians with the Babylonians and perhaps other stocks of Western Asia. The presumption is strengthened when we find that in Lydia the surname of Sandon, doubtless equivalent to Sandan, is said to have been borne by Hercules because he wore a woman’s garment called a _sandyx_, fine and diaphanous as gossamer, at the bidding of Queen Omphale, whom the hero served for three years in the guise of a female slave, clad in purple, humbly carding wool and submitting to be slapped by the saucy queen with her golden slipper.(872) The familiar legend that Hercules burned himself alive on a great pyre completes the parallel between the effeminate Hercules Sandon of Lydia and the Assyrian Sardanapalus. So exact a parallel must surely rest on a common base of custom as well as of myth. That base, according to the conjecture of the admirable scholar K. O. Müller, may have been a custom of dressing up an effigy of an effeminate Asiatic deity in the semblance of a reveller, and then publicly burning it on a pyre. Such a custom appears to have prevailed not only at Tarsus in Cilicia, but also in Lydia; for a coin of the Lydian Philadelphia, a city which lay not far from the old royal capital Sardes, exhibits a device like that on coins of Tarsus, consisting of a figure stretched on a pyre. “We may suppose,” says Müller, “that in the old Assyrian mythology a certain being called Sandan, or perhaps Sardan, figured beside Baal and Mylitta or Astarte. The character of this mythical personage is one which often meets us in oriental religion—the extreme of voluptuousness and sensuality combined with miraculous force and heroic strength. We may imagine that at the great festivals of Nineveh this Sandan or Sardan was exhibited as a buxom figure with womanish features, the pale face painted with white lead, the eyebrows and eyelashes blackened with kohl, his person loaded with golden chains, rings, and earrings, arrayed in a bright red transparent garment, grasping a goblet in one hand and perhaps, as a symbol of strength, a double axe in the other, while he sat cross-legged and surrounded by women on a splendidly adorned couch under a purple canopy, altogether not unlike the figure of Adonis at the court festivals of Alexandria. Then the people of ‘mad Nineveh,’ as the poet Phocylides called it, ‘the well-favoured harlot,’ as the prophet Nahum has it, would rejoice and make merry with this their darling hero. Afterwards there may have been another show, when this gorgeous Sandan or Sardan was to be seen on a huge pyre of precious wood, draped in gold-embroidered tapestry and laden with incense and spices of every sort, which being set on fire, to the howling of a countless multitude and the deafening din of shrill music, sent up a monstrous pillar of fire whirling towards heaven and flooded half Nineveh with smoke and smell.”(873)

(M305) The distinguished scholar whom I have just quoted does not fail to recognize the part which imagination plays in the picture he has set before us; but he reminds us very properly that in historical enquiries imagination must always supply the cement that binds together the broken fragments of tradition. One thing, he thinks, emerges clearly from the present investigation: the worship and legend of an effeminate hero like Sandan appear to have spread, by means of an early diffusion of the Semitic stock, first to the neighbourhood of Tarsus in Cilicia and afterwards to Sardes in Lydia. In favour of the former prevalence of the rite in Lydia it may be added that the oldest dynasty of Lydian kings traced their descent, not only from the mythical Assyrian hero Ninus, but also from the Greek hero Hercules,(874) whose legendary death in the fire finds at least a curious echo in the story that Croesus, the last king of Lydia, was laid by his Persian conqueror Cyrus on a great pyre of wood, and was only saved at the last moment from being consumed in the flames.(875) May not this story embody a reminiscence of the manner in which the ancient kings of Lydia, as living embodiments of their god, formerly met their end? It was thus, as we have seen, that the old Prussian rulers used to burn themselves alive in front of the sacred oak;(876) and by an odd coincidence, if it is nothing more, the Greek Hercules directed that the pyre on which he was to be consumed should be made of the wood of the oak and the wild olive.(877) Some grounds have also been shewn for thinking that in certain South African tribes the chiefs may formerly have been burnt alive as a religious or magical ceremony.(878) All these facts and indications tend to support the view of Movers that at the Sacaea also the man who played the god for five days was originally burnt at the end of them.(879) Death by hanging or crucifixion may have been a later mitigation of his sufferings, though it is quite possible that both forms of execution or rather of sacrifice may have been combined by hanging or crucifying the victim first and burning him afterwards,(880) much as our forefathers used to disembowel traitors after suspending them for a few minutes on a gibbet. At Tarsus apparently the custom was still further softened by burning an effigy instead of a man; but on this point the evidence is not explicit. It is worth observing that as late as Lucian’s time the principal festival of the year at Hierapolis—the great seat of the worship of Astarte—fell at the beginning of spring and took its name of the Pyre or the Torch from the tall masts which were burnt in the court of the temple with sheep, goats, and other animals hanging from them.(881) Here the season, the fire, and the gallows-tree all fit our hypothesis; only the man-god is wanting.

(M306) If the Jewish festival of Purim was, as I have attempted to shew, directly descended either from the Sacaea or from some other Semitic festival, of which the central feature was the sacrifice of a man in the character of a god, we should expect to find traces of human sacrifice lingering about it in one or other of those mitigated forms to which I have just referred. This expectation is fully borne out by the facts. For from an early time it has been customary with the Jews at the feast of Purim to burn or otherwise destroy effigies of Haman. The practice was well known under the Roman empire, for in the year 408 A.D. the emperors Honorius and Theodosius issued a decree commanding the governors of the provinces to take care that the Jews should not burn effigies of Haman on a cross at one of their festivals.(882) We learn from the decree that the custom gave great offence to the Christians, who regarded it as a blasphemous parody of the central mystery of their own religion, little suspecting that it was nothing but a continuation, in a milder form, of a rite that had probably been celebrated in the East long ages before the birth of Christ. Apparently the custom long survived the publication of the edict, for in a form of abjuration which the Greek church imposed on Jewish converts and which seems to date from the tenth century, the renegade is made to speak as follows: “I curse also those who celebrate the festival of the so-called Mordecai on the first Sabbath (Saturday) of the Christian fast, and who nail Haman forsooth to the tree, attaching to it the symbol of the cross and burning him along with it, while they heap all sorts of imprecations and curses on the Christians.”(883) A Jewish account of the custom as it was observed in Babylonia and Persia in the tenth century of our era runs as follows: “It is customary in Babylonia and Elam for boys to make an effigy resembling Haman; this they suspend on their roofs, four or five days before Purim. On Purim day they erect a bonfire, and cast the effigy into its midst, while the boys stand round about it jesting and singing. And they have a ring suspended in the midst of the fire, which (ring) they hold and wave from one side of the fire to the other.”(884) Again, the Arab historian Albîrûnî, who wrote in the year 1000 A.D., informs us that at Purim the Jews of his time rejoiced greatly over the death of Haman, and that they made figures which they beat and burned, “imitating the burning of Haman.” Hence one name for the festival was Hâmân-Sûr.(885) Another Arabic writer, Makrîzî, who died in 1442 A.D., says that at the feast of Purim, which fell on the fifteenth day of the month Adar, some of the Jews used to make effigies of Haman which they first played with and then threw into the fire.(886) During the Middle Ages the Italian Jews celebrated Purim in a lively fashion which has been compared by their own historians to that of the Carnival. The children used to range themselves in rows opposite each other and pelt one another with nuts, while grown-up people rode on horseback through the streets with pine branches in their hands or blew trumpets and made merry round a puppet representing Haman, which was set on a platform or scaffold and then solemnly burnt on a pyre.(887) In the eighteenth century the Jews of Frankfort used at Purim to make pyramids of thin wax candles, which they set on fire; also they fashioned images of Haman and his wife out of candles and burned them on the reading-desk in the synagogue.(888)

(M307) Now, when we consider the close correspondence in character as well as in date between the Jewish Purim and the Christian Carnival, and remember further that the effigy of Carnival, which is now destroyed at this merry season, had probably its prototype in a living man who was put to a violent death in the character of Saturn at the Saturnalia, analogy of itself would suggest that in former times the Jews, like the Babylonians, from whom they appear to have derived their Purim, may at one time have burned, hanged, or crucified a real man in the character of Haman. There are some positive grounds for thinking that this was so. The early church historian Socrates informs us that at Inmestar, a town in Syria, the Jews were wont to observe certain sports among themselves, in the course of which they played many foolish pranks. In the year 416 A.D., being heated with wine, they carried these sports further than usual and began deriding Christians and even Christ himself, and to give the more zest to their mockery they seized a Christian child, bound him to a cross, and hung him up. At first they only laughed and jeered at him, but soon, their passions getting the better of them, they ill-treated the child so that he died under their hands. The thing got noised abroad, and resulted in a serious brawl between the Jews and their Christian neighbours. The authorities then stepped in, and the Jews had to pay dear for the crime they had perpetrated in sport.(889) The Christian historian does not mention, and perhaps did not know, the name of the drunken and jovial festival which ended so tragically; but we can hardly doubt that it was Purim, and that the boy who died on the cross represented Haman.(890) In mediæval and modern times many accusations of ritual murders, as they are called, have been brought against the Jews, and the arguments for and against the charge have been discussed on both sides with a heat which, however natural, has tended rather to inflame the passions of the disputants than to elicit the truth.(891) Into this troubled arena I prefer not to enter; I will only observe that, so far as I have looked into the alleged cases, and these are reported in sufficient detail, the majority of the victims are said to have been children and to have met their fate in spring, often in the week before Easter. This last circumstance points, if there is any truth in the accusations, to a connexion of the human sacrifice with the Passover, which falls in this week, rather than with Purim, which falls a month earlier. Indeed it has often been made a part of the accusation that the blood of the youthful victims was intended to be used at the Passover. If all the charges of ritual murder which have been brought against the Jews in modern times are not, as seems most probable, mere idle calumnies, the baneful fruit of bigotry, ignorance, and malice, the extraordinary tenacity of life exhibited by the lowest forms of superstition in the minds of ignorant people, whether they are Jews or Gentiles, would suffice to account for an occasional recrudescence of primitive barbarity among the most degraded part of the Jewish community. To make the Jews as a nation responsible for outrages which, if they occur at all, are doubtless quite as repugnant to them as they are to every humane mind, would be a monstrous injustice; it would be as fair to charge Christians in general with complicity in the incalculably greater number of massacres and atrocities of every kind that have been perpetrated by Christians in the name of Christianity, not merely on Jews and heathen, but on men and women and children who professed—and died for—the same faith as their torturers and murderers. If deeds of the sort alleged have been really done by Jews—a question on which I must decline to pronounce an opinion—they would interest the student of custom as isolated instances of reversion to an old and barbarous ritual which once flourished commonly enough among the ancestors both of Jews and Gentiles, but on which, as on a noxious monster, an enlightened humanity has long set its heel. Such customs die hard; it is not the fault of society as a whole if sometimes the reptile has strength enough left to lift its venomous head and sting.

(M308) But between the stage when human sacrifice goes on unabashed in the light of common day, and the stage when it has been driven out of sight into dark holes and corners, there intervenes a period during which the custom is slowly dwindling away under the growing light of knowledge and philanthropy. In this middle period many subterfuges are resorted to for the sake of preserving the old ritual in a form which will not offend the new morality. A common and successful device is to consummate the sacrifice on the person of a malefactor, whose death at the altar or elsewhere is little likely to excite pity or indignation, since it partakes of the character of a punishment, and people recognize that if the miscreant had not been dealt with by the priest, it would have been needful in the public interest to hand him over to the executioner. We have seen that in the Rhodian sacrifices to Cronus a condemned criminal was after a time substituted for an innocent victim;(892) and there can be little doubt that at Babylon the criminals, who perished in the character of gods at the Sacaea, enjoyed an honour which, at an earlier period, had been reserved for more respectable persons. It seems therefore by no means impossible that the Jews, in borrowing the Sacaea from Babylon under the new name of Purim, should have borrowed along with it the custom of putting to death a malefactor who, after masquerading as Mordecai in a crown and royal robe, was hanged or crucified in the character of Haman. There are some grounds for thinking that this or something of this sort was done; but a consideration of them had better be deferred till we have cleared up some points which still remain obscure in Purim, and in the account which the Jews give of its origin.

(M309) In the first place, then, it deserves to be remarked that the joyous festival of Purim on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month Adar is invariably preceded by a fast, known as the fast of Esther, on the thirteenth; indeed, some Jews fast for several days before Purim.(893) In the book of Esther the fast is traditionally explained as a commemoration of the mourning and lamentation excited among the Jews by the decree of King Ahasuerus that they should all be massacred on the thirteenth day of the month Adar; for “in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.” And Esther, before she went into the presence of the king to plead for the lives of her people, “bade them return answer unto Mordecai, Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast in like manner.” Hence fasting and lamentation were ordained as the proper preparation for the happy feast of Purim which commemorated the great deliverance of the Jews from the destruction that had threatened them on the thirteenth day of Adar.(894) Now we have seen that, in the opinion of some eminent modern scholars, the basis of the book of Esther is not history but a Babylonian myth, which celebrated the triumphs and sufferings of deities rather than of men. On this hypothesis, how is the fast that precedes Purim to be explained? The best solution appears to be that of Jensen, that the fasting and mourning were originally for the supposed annual death of a Semitic god or hero of the type of Tammuz or Adonis, whose resurrection on the following day occasioned that outburst of joy and gladness which is characteristic of Purim. The particular god or hero, whose death and resurrection thus touched with sorrow and filled with joy the hearts of his worshippers, may have been, according to Jensen, either the great hero Gilgamesh, or his comrade and friend Eabani.(895) The doughty deeds and adventures of this mighty pair are the theme of the longest Babylonian poem that has been as yet discovered. It is recorded on twelve tablets, and this circumstance has suggested to some scholars the view that the story may be a solar myth, descriptive of the sun’s annual course through the twelve months or the twelve signs of the zodiac. However that may be, the scene of the poem is laid chiefly at the very ancient Babylonian city of Erech, the chief seat of the worship of the goddess Ishtar or Astarte, who plays an important part in the story. For the goddess is said to have been smitten with the charms of Gilgamesh, and to have made love to him; but he spurned her proffered favours, and thereafter fell into a sore sickness, probably through the wrath of the offended goddess. His comrade Eabani also roused the fury of Ishtar, and was wounded to death. For twelve days he lingered on a bed of pain, and, when he died, his friend Gilgamesh mourned and lamented for him, and rested not until he had prevailed on the god of the dead to suffer the spirit of Eabani to return to the upper world. The resurrection of Eabani, recorded on the twelfth tablet, forms the conclusion of the long poem.(896) Jensen’s theory is that the death and resurrection of a mythical being, who combined in himself the features of a solar god and an ancient king of Erech, were celebrated at the Babylonian Zakmuk or festival of the New Year, and that the transference of the drama from Erech, its original seat, to Babylon led naturally to the substitution of Marduk, the great god of Babylon, for Gilgamesh or Eabani in the part of the hero. Although Jensen apparently does not identify the Zakmuk with the Sacaea, a little consideration will shew how well his general theory of Zakmuk fits in with those features of the Sacaean festival which have emerged in the course of our enquiry. At the Sacaean festival, if I am right, a man, who personated a god or hero of the type of Tammuz or Adonis, enjoyed the favours of a woman, probably a sacred harlot, who represented the great Semitic goddess Ishtar or Astarte; and after he had thus done his part towards securing, by means of sympathetic magic, the revival of plant life in spring, he was put to death. We may suppose that the death of this divine man was mourned over by his worshippers, and especially by women, in much the same fashion as the women of Jerusalem wept for Tammuz at the gate of the temple,(897) and as Syrian damsels mourned the dead Adonis, while the river ran red with his blood. Such rites appear, in fact, to have been common all over Western Asia; the particular name of the dying god varied in different places, but in substance the ritual was the same. Fundamentally, the custom was a religious or rather magical ceremony intended to ensure the revival and reproduction of life in spring.

(M310) Now, if this interpretation of the Sacaea is correct, it is obvious that one important feature of the ceremony is wanting in the brief notices of the festival that have come down to us. The death of the man-god at the festival is recorded, but nothing is said of his resurrection. Yet if he really personated a being of the Adonis or Attis type, we may feel pretty sure that his dramatic death was followed at a shorter or longer interval by his dramatic revival, just as at the festivals of Attis and Adonis the resurrection of the dead god quickly succeeded to his mimic death.(898) Here, however, a difficulty presents itself. At the Sacaea the man-god died a real, not a mere mimic death; and in ordinary life the resurrection even of a man-god is at least not an everyday occurrence. What was to be done? The man, or rather the god, was undoubtedly dead. How was he to come to life again? Obviously the best, if not the only way, was to set another and living man to support the character of the reviving god, and we may conjecture that this was done. We may suppose that the insignia of royalty which had adorned the dead man were transferred to his successor, who, arrayed in them, would be presented to his rejoicing worshippers as their god come to life again; and by his side would probably be displayed a woman in the character of his divine consort, the goddess Ishtar or Astarte. In favour of this hypothesis it may be observed that it at once furnishes a clear and intelligible explanation of a remarkable feature in the book of Esther which has not yet, so far as I am aware, been adequately elucidated; I mean that apparent duplication of the principal characters to which I have already directed the reader’s attention. If I am right, Haman represents the temporary king or mortal god who was put to death at the Sacaea; and his rival Mordecai represents the other temporary king who, on the death of his predecessor, was invested with his royal insignia, and exhibited to the people as the god come to life again. Similarly Vashti, the deposed queen in the narrative, corresponds to the woman who played the part of queen and goddess to the first mock king, the Haman; and her successful rival, Esther or Ishtar, answers to the woman who figured as the divine consort of the second mock king, the Mordecai or Marduk. A trace of the sexual license accorded to the mock king of the festival seems to be preserved in the statement that King Ahasuerus found Haman fallen on the bed with Esther and asked, “Will he even force the queen before me in the house?”(899) We have seen that the mock king of the Sacaea did actually possess the right of using the real king’s concubines, and there is much to be said for the view of Movers that he began his short reign by exercising the right in public.(900) In the parallel ritual of Adonis the marriage of the goddess with her ill-fated lover was publicly celebrated the day before his mimic death.(901) A clear reminiscence of the time when the relation between Esther and Mordecai was conceived as much more intimate than mere cousinship appears to be preserved in some of the Jewish plays acted at Purim, in which Mordecai appears as the lover of Esther; and this significant indication is confirmed by the teaching of the rabbis that King Ahasuerus never really knew Esther, but that a phantom in her likeness lay with him while the real Esther sat on the lap of Mordecai.(902)

(M311) The Persian setting, in which the Hebrew author of the book of Esther has framed his highly-coloured picture, naturally suggests that the Jews derived their feast of Purim not directly from the old Babylonians, but from their Persian conquerors. Even if this could be demonstrated, it would in no way invalidate the theory that Purim originated in the Babylonian festival of the Sacaea, since we know that the Sacaea was celebrated by the Persians.(903) Hence it becomes worth while to enquire whether in the Persian religion we can detect any traces of a festival akin to the Sacaea or Purim. Here Lagarde has shewn the way by directing attention to the old Persian ceremony known as the “Ride of the Beardless One.”(904) This was a rite performed both in Persia and Babylonia at the beginning of spring, on the first day of the first month, which in the most ancient Persian calendar corresponded to March, so that the date of the ceremony agrees with that of the Babylonian New Year festival of Zakmuk. A beardless and, if possible, one-eyed buffoon was set naked on an ass, a horse, or a mule, and conducted in a sort of mock triumph through the streets of the city. In one hand he held a crow and in the other a fan, with which he fanned himself, complaining of the heat, while the people pelted him with ice and snow and drenched him with cold water. He was supposed to drive away the cold, and to aid him perhaps in discharging this useful function he was fed with hot food, and hot stuffs were smeared on his body. Riding on his ass and attended by all the king’s household, if the city happened to be the capital, or, if it was not, by all the retainers of the governor, who were also mounted, he paraded the streets and extorted contributions. He stopped at the doors of the rich, and if they did not give him what he asked for, he befouled their garments with mud or a mixture of red ochre and water, which he carried in an earthenware pot. If a shopkeeper hesitated a moment to respond to his demands, the importunate beggar had the right to confiscate all the goods in the shop; so the tradesmen who saw him bearing down on them, not unnaturally hastened to anticipate his wants by contributing of their substance before he could board them. Everything that he thus collected from break of day to the time of morning prayers belonged to the king or governor of the city; but everything that he laid hands on between the first and the second hour of prayer he kept for himself. After the second prayers he disappeared, and if the people caught him later in the day they were free to beat him to their heart’s content. “In like manner,” proceeds one of the native writers who has described the custom, “people at the present time appoint a New Year Lord and make merry. And this they do because the season, which is the beginning of Azur or March, coincides with the sun’s entry into Aries, for on that day they disport themselves and rejoice because the winter is over.”(905)

(M312) Now in this harlequin, who rode through the streets attended by all the king’s men, and levying contributions which went either to the royal treasury or to the pocket of the collector, we recognize the familiar features of the mock or temporary king, who is invested for a short time with the pomp and privileges of royalty for reasons which have been already explained.(906) The abrupt disappearance of the Persian clown at a certain hour of the day, coupled with the leave given to the populace to thrash him if they found him afterwards, points plainly enough to the harder fate that probably awaited him in former days, when he paid with his life for his brief tenure of a kingly crown. The resemblance between his burlesque progress and that of Mordecai through the streets of Susa is obvious; though the Jewish author of Esther has depicted in brighter colours the pomp of his hero “in royal apparel of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold, and with a robe of fine linen and purple,” riding the king’s own charger, and led through the city by one of the king’s most noble princes.(907) The difference between the two scenes is probably not to be explained simply by the desire of the Jewish writer to shed a halo of glory round the personage whom he regarded as the deliverer of his people. So long as the temporary king was a real substitute for the reigning monarch, and had to die sooner or later in his stead, it was natural that he should be treated with a greater show of deference, and should simulate his royal brother more closely than a clown who had nothing worse than a beating to fear when he laid down his office. In short, after the serious meaning of the custom had been forgotten, and the substitute was allowed to escape with his life, the high tragedy of the ancient ceremony would rapidly degenerate into farce.

(M313) But while the “Ride of the Beardless One” is, from one point of view, a degenerate copy of the original, regarded from another point of view, it preserves some features which are almost certainly primitive, though they do not appear in the kindred Babylonian and Jewish festivals. The Persian custom bears the stamp of a popular festivity rather than of a state ceremonial, and everywhere it seems as if popular festivals, when left to propagate themselves freely among the folk, reveal their old meaning and intention more transparently than when they have been adopted into the official religion and enshrined in a ritual. The simple thoughts of our simple forefathers are better understood by their unlettered descendants than by the majority of educated people; their rude rites are more faithfully preserved and more truly interpreted by a rude peasantry than by the priest, who wraps up their nakedness in the gorgeous pall of religious pomp, or by the philosopher, who dissolves their crudities into the thin air of allegory. In the present instance the purpose of the “Ride of the Beardless One” at the beginning of spring is sufficiently obvious; it was meant to hasten the departure of winter and the approach of summer. We are expressly told that the clown who went about fanning himself and complaining of the heat, while the populace snowballed him, was supposed to dispel the cold; and even without any such assurance we should be justified in inferring as much from his behaviour. On the principles of homoeopathic or imitative magic, which is little more than an elaborate system of make-believe, you can make the weather warm by pretending that it is so; or if you cannot, you may be sure that there is some person wiser than yourself who can. Such a wizard, in the estimation of the Persians, was the beardless one-eyed man who went through the performance I have described; and no doubt his physical defects were believed to contribute in some occult manner to the success of the rite. The ceremony was thus, as Lagarde acutely perceived, the oriental equivalent of those popular European customs which celebrate the advent of spring by representing in a dramatic form the expulsion or defeat of winter by the victorious summer.(908) But whereas in Europe the two rival seasons are often, if not regularly, personated by two actors or two effigies, in Persia a single actor sufficed. Whether he definitely represented winter or summer is not quite clear; but his pretence of suffering from heat and his final disappearance suggest that, if he personified either of the seasons, it was the departing winter rather than the coming summer.

(M314) If there is any truth in the connexion thus traced between Purim and the “Ride of the Beardless One,” we are now in a position finally to unmask the leading personages in the book of Esther. I have attempted to shew that Haman and Vashti are little more than doubles of Mordecai and Esther, who in turn conceal under a thin disguise the features of Marduk and Ishtar, the great god and goddess of Babylon. But why, the reader may ask, should the divine pair be thus duplicated and the two pairs set in opposition to each other? The answer is suggested by the popular European celebrations of spring to which I have just adverted. If my interpretation of these customs is right, the contrast between the summer and winter, or between the life and death, which figure in effigy or in the persons of living representatives at the spring ceremonies of our peasantry, is fundamentally a contrast between the dying or dead vegetation of the old and the sprouting vegetation of the new year—a contrast which would lose nothing of its point when, as in ancient Rome and Babylon and Persia, the beginning of spring was also the beginning of the new year. In these and in all the ceremonies we have been examining the antagonism is not between powers of a different order, but between the same power viewed in different aspects as old and young; it is, in short, nothing but the eternal and pathetic contrast between youth and age. And as the power or spirit of vegetation is represented in religious ritual and popular custom by a human pair, whether they be called Ishtar and Tammuz, or Venus and Adonis, or the Queen and King of May, so we may expect to find the old decrepit spirit of the past year personated by one pair, and the fresh young spirit of the new year by another. This, if my hypothesis is right, is the ultimate explanation of the struggle between Haman and Vashti on the one side, and their doubles Mordecai and Esther on the other. In the last analysis both pairs stood for the powers that make for the fertility of plants and perhaps also of animals;(909) but the one pair embodied the failing energies of the past, and the other the vigorous and growing energies of the coming year.(910) Both powers, on my hypothesis, were personified not merely in myth, but in custom; for year by year a human couple undertook to quicken the life of nature by a union in which, as in a microcosm, the loves of tree and plant, of herb and flower, of bird and beast were supposed in some mystic fashion to be summed up.(911) Originally, we may conjecture, such couples exercised their functions for a whole year, on the conclusion of which the male partner—the divine king—was put to death; but in historical times it seems that, as a rule, the human god—the Saturn, Zoganes, Tammuz, or whatever he was called—enjoyed his divine privileges, and discharged his divine duties only for a short part of the year. This curtailment of his reign on earth was probably introduced at the time when the old hereditary divinities or deified kings contrived to shift the most painful part of their duties to a substitute, whether that substitute was a son or a slave or a malefactor. Having to die as a king, it was necessary that the substitute should also live as a king for a season; but the real monarch would naturally restrict within the narrowest limits both of time and of power a reign which, so long as it lasted, necessarily encroached upon and indeed superseded his own.(912) What became of the divine king’s female partner, the human goddess who shared his bed and transmitted his beneficent energies to the rest of nature, we cannot say. So far as I am aware, there is little or no evidence that she like him suffered death when her primary function was discharged.(913) The nature of maternity suggests an obvious reason for sparing her a little longer, till that mysterious law, which links together woman’s life with the changing aspects of the nightly sky, had been fulfilled by the birth of an infant god, who should in his turn, reared perhaps by her tender care, grow up to live and die for the world.

§ 6. Conclusion.

(M315) We may now sum up the general results of the enquiry which we have pursued in the present chapter. We have found evidence that festivals of the type of the Saturnalia, characterized by an inversion of social ranks and the sacrifice of a man in the character of a god, were at one time held all over the ancient world from Italy to Babylon. Such festivals seem to date from an early age in the history of agriculture, when people lived in small communities, each presided over by a sacred or divine king, whose primary duty was to secure the orderly succession of the seasons, the fertility of the earth, and the fecundity both of cattle and of women. Associated with him was his wife or other female consort, with whom he performed some of the necessary ceremonies, and who therefore shared his divine character. Originally his term of office appears to have been limited to a year, on the conclusion of which he was put to death; but in time he contrived by force or craft to extend his reign and sometimes to procure a substitute, who after a short and more or less nominal tenure of the crown was slain in his stead. At first the substitute for the divine father was probably the divine son, but afterwards this rule was no longer insisted on, and still later the growth of a humane feeling demanded that the victim should always be a condemned criminal. In this advanced stage of degeneration it is no wonder if the light of divinity suffered eclipse, and many should fail to detect the god in the malefactor. Yet the downward career of fallen deity does not stop here; even a criminal comes to be thought too good to personate a god on the gallows or in the fire; and then there is nothing left but to make up a more or less grotesque effigy, and so to hang, burn, or otherwise destroy the god in the person of this sorry representative. By this time the original meaning of the ceremony may be so completely forgotten that the puppet is supposed to represent some historical personage, who earned the hatred and contempt of his fellows in his life, and whose memory has ever since been held up to eternal execration by the annual destruction of his effigy. The figures of Haman, of the Carnival, and of Winter or Death which are or used to be annually destroyed in spring by Jews, Catholics, and the peasants of Central Europe respectively, appear to be all lineal descendants of those human incarnations of the powers of nature whose life and death were deemed essential to the welfare of mankind. But of the three the only one which has preserved a clear trace of its original meaning is the effigy of Winter or Death. In the others the ancient significance of the custom as a magical ceremony designed to direct the course of nature has been almost wholly obscured by a thick aftergrowth of legend and myth. The cause of this distinction is that, whereas the practice of destroying an effigy of Winter or Death has been handed down from time immemorial through generations of simple peasants, the festivals of Purim and the Carnival, as well as their Babylonian and Italian prototypes, the Sacaea and the Saturnalia, were for centuries domesticated in cities, where they were necessarily exposed to those thousand transforming and disintegrating currents of speculation and enquiry, of priestcraft and policy, which roll their turbid waters through the busy haunts of men, but leave undefiled the limpid springs of mythic fancy in the country.

(M316) If there is any truth in the analysis of the Saturnalia and kindred festivals which I have now brought to a close, it seems to point to a remarkable homogeneity of civilization throughout Southern Europe and Western Asia in prehistoric times. How far such homogeneity of civilization may be taken as evidence of homogeneity of race is a question for the ethnologist; it does not concern us here. But without discussing it, I may remind the reader that in the far east of Asia we have met with temporary kings whose magical functions and intimate relation to agriculture stand out in the clearest light;(914) while India furnishes examples of kings who have regularly been obliged to sacrifice themselves at the end of a term of years.(915) All these things appear to hang together; all of them may, perhaps, be regarded as the shattered remnants of a uniform zone of religion and society which at a remote era belted the Old World from the Mediterranean to the Pacific. Whether that was so or not, I may at least claim to have made it probable that if the King of the Wood at Aricia lived and died as an incarnation of a sylvan deity, the functions he thus discharged were by no means singular, and that for the nearest parallel to them we need not go beyond the bounds of Italy, where the divine king Saturn—the god of the sown and sprouting seed—was annually slain in the person of a human representative at his ancient festival of the Saturnalia.

(M317) It is possible that such sacrifices of deified men, performed for the salvation of the world, may have helped to beget the notion that the universe or some part of it was originally created out of the bodies of gods offered up in sacrifice. Certainly it is curious that notions of this sort meet us precisely in parts of the world where such sacrifices appear to have been regularly accomplished. Thus in ancient Mexico, where the sacrifice of human beings in the character of gods formed a conspicuous feature of the national religion, it is said that in the beginning, when as yet the light of day was not, the gods created the sun to illumine the earth by voluntarily burning themselves in the fire, leaping one after the other into the flames of a great furnace.(916) Again, in the Babylonian Genesis the great god Bel created the world by cleaving the female monster Tiamat in twain and using the severed halves of her body to form the heaven and the earth. Afterwards, perceiving that the earth was waste and void, he obligingly ordered one of the gods to cut off his, the Creator’s, head, and with the flowing blood mixed with clay he kneaded a paste out of which he moulded men and animals.(917) Similarly in a hymn of the Rig Veda we read how the gods created the world out of the dismembered body of the great primordial giant Purushu. The sky was made out of his head, the earth out of his feet, the sun out of his eye, and the moon out of his mind; animals and men were also engendered from his dripping fat or his limbs, and the great gods Indra and Agni sprang from his mouth.(918) The crude, nay savage, account of creation thus set forth by the poet was retained by the Brahman doctors of a later age and refined by them into a subtle theory of sacrifice in general. According to them the world was not only created in the beginning by the sacrifice of the creator Prajapati, the Lord of Creatures; to this day it is renewed and preserved solely by a repetition of that mystic sacrifice in the daily sacrificial ritual celebrated by the Brahmans. Every day the body of the Creator and Saviour is broken anew, and every day it is pieced together for the restoration and conservation of a universe which otherwise must dissolve and be shattered into fragments. Thus is the world continually created afresh by the self-sacrifice of the deity; and, wonderful to relate, the priest who offers the sacrifice identifies himself with the Creator, and so by the very act of sacrificing renews the universe and keeps up uninterrupted the revolution of time and matter. All things depend on his beneficent, nay divine activity, from the heaven above to the earth beneath, from the greatest god to the meanest worm, from the sun and moon to the humblest blade of grass and the minutest particle of dust. Happily this grandiose theory of sacrifice as a process essential to the salvation of the world does not oblige the priest to imitate his glorious prototype by dismembering his own body and shedding his blood on the altar; on the contrary a comfortable corollary deduced from it holds out to him the pleasing prospect of living for the unspeakable benefit of society to a good old age, indeed of stretching out the brief span of human existence to a full hundred years.(919) Well is it, not only for the priest but for mankind, when with the slow progress of civilization and humanity the hard facts of a cruel ritual have thus been softened and diluted into the nebulous abstractions of a mystical theology.

NOTE. THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST.(920)

(M318) An eminent scholar has recently pointed out the remarkable resemblance between the treatment of Christ by the Roman soldiers at Jerusalem and the treatment of the mock king of the Saturnalia by the Roman soldiers at Durostorum; and he would explain the similarity by supposing that the soldiers ridiculed the claims of Christ to a divine kingdom by arraying him in the familiar garb of old King Saturn, whose quaint person figured so prominently at the winter revels.(921) Even if the theory should prove to be right, we can hardly suppose that Christ played the part of the regular Saturn of the year, since at the beginning of our era the Saturnalia fell at midwinter, whereas Christ was crucified at the Passover in spring. There is, indeed, as I have pointed out, some reason to think that when the Roman year began in March the Saturnalia was held in spring, and that in remote districts the festival always continued to be celebrated at the ancient date. If the Roman garrison of Jerusalem conformed to the old fashion in this respect, it seems not quite impossible that their celebration of the Saturnalia may have coincided with the Passover; and that thus Christ, as a condemned criminal, may have been given up to them to make sport with as the Saturn of the year. But on the other hand it is rather unlikely that the officers, as representatives of the State, would have allowed their men to hold the festival at any but the official date; even in the distant town of Durostorum we saw that the Roman soldiers celebrated the Saturnalia in December. Thus if the legionaries at Jerusalem really intended to mock Christ by treating him like the burlesque king of the Saturnalia, they probably did so only by way of a jest which was in more senses than one unseasonable.

(M319) But closely as the passion of Christ resembles the treatment of the mock king of the Saturnalia, it resembles still more closely the treatment of the mock king of the Sacaea.(922) The description of the mockery by St. Matthew is the fullest. It runs thus: “Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.”(923) Compare with this the treatment of the mock king of the Sacaea, as it is described by Dio Chrysostom: “They take one of the prisoners condemned to death and seat him upon the king’s throne, and give him the king’s raiment, and let him lord it and drink and run riot and use the king’s concubines during these days, and no man prevents him from doing just what he likes. But afterwards they strip and scourge and crucify him.”(924) Now it is quite possible that this remarkable resemblance is after all a mere coincidence, and that Christ was executed in the ordinary way as a common malefactor; but on the other hand there are so many scattered hints and indications of something unusual, so many broken lines seemingly converging towards the cross on Calvary, that it is worth while to follow them up and see where they lead us. In attempting to draw these fragmentary data together, to bridge the chasms, and to restore the shattered whole, we must beware of mistaking hypothesis for the facts which it only professes to cement; yet even if our hypothesis should be thought to bear a somewhat undue proportion to the facts, the excess may perhaps be overlooked in consideration of the obscurity and the importance of the enquiry. (M320) We have seen reason to think that the Jewish festival of Purim is a continuation, under a changed name, of the Babylonian Sacaea, and that in celebrating it by the destruction of an effigy of Haman the modern Jews have kept up a reminiscence of the ancient custom of crucifying or hanging a man in the character of a god at the festival. Is it not possible that at an earlier time they may, like the Babylonians themselves, have regularly compelled a condemned criminal to play the tragic part, and that Christ thus perished in the character of Haman? The resemblance between the hanged Haman and the crucified Christ struck the early Christians themselves; and whenever the Jews destroyed an effigy of Haman they were accused by their Christian neighbours of deriding the most sacred mystery of the new faith.(925) It is probable that on this painful subject the Christians were too sensitive; remembering the manner of their Founder’s death it was natural that they should wince at any pointed allusion to a cross, a gallows, or a public execution, even when the shaft was not aimed at them. An objection to supposing that Christ died as the Haman of the year is that according to the Gospel narrative the crucifixion occurred at the Passover, on the fourteenth day of the month Nisan, whereas the feast of Purim, at which the hanging of Haman would naturally take place, fell exactly a month earlier, namely, on the fourteenth day of the month Adar. I have no wish to blink or extenuate the serious nature of the difficulty arising from this discrepancy of dates, but I would suggest some considerations which may make us hesitate to decide that the discrepancy is fatal. In the first place, it is possible, though perhaps not probable, that Christian tradition shifted the date of the crucifixion by a month in order to make the great sacrifice of the Lamb of God coincide with that annual sacrifice of the Passover lamb which in the belief of pious hearts had so long foreshadowed it and was thenceforth to cease.(926) Instances of gentle pressure brought to bear, for purposes of edification, on stubborn facts are perhaps not wholly unknown in the annals of religion. But the express testimony of history is never to be lightly set aside; and in the investigation of its problems a solution which assumes the veracity and accuracy of the historian is, on an even balance of probabilities, always to be preferred to one which impugns them both. Now in the present case we have seen reason to think that the Babylonian New Year festival, of which Purim was a continuation, did fall in Nisan at or near the time of the Passover, and that when the Jews borrowed the festival they altered the date from Nisan to Adar in order to prevent the new feast from clashing with the old Passover. A reminiscence of the original date of Purim perhaps survives, as I have already pointed out, in the statement in the book of Esther that Haman caused _pur_ or lots to be cast before him from the month of Nisan onward.(927) It thus seems not impossible that occasionally, for some special reason, the Jews should have celebrated the feast of Purim, or at least the death of Haman, at or about the time of the Passover. But there is another possibility which, remote and fanciful as it may appear, deserves at least to be mentioned. The mock king of the Saturnalia, whose resemblance to the dying Christ was first pointed out by Mr. Wendland, was allowed a period of license of thirty days before he was put to death. If we could suppose that in like manner the Jews spared the human representative of Haman for one month from Purim, the date of his execution would fall exactly on the Passover. Which, if any, of these conjectural solutions of the difficulty is the true one, I will not undertake to say. I am fully conscious of the doubt and uncertainty that hang round the whole subject; and if in this and what follows I throw out some hints and suggestions, it is more in the hope of stimulating and directing further enquiry than with any expectation of reaching definite conclusions.

(M321) It may be objected that the mockery of Christ was done, not by the Jews, but by the Roman soldiers, who knew and cared nothing about Haman; how then can we suppose that the purple or scarlet robe, the sceptre of reed, and the crown of thorns, which the soldiers thrust upon Christ, were the regular insignia of the Haman of the year? To this we may reply, in the first place, that even if the legions stationed in Syria were not recruited in the country, they may have contracted some of the native superstitions and have fallen in with the local customs. This is not an idle conjecture. We know that the third legion during its stay in Syria learned the Syrian custom of saluting the rising sun, and that this formal salute, performed by the whole regiment as one man at a critical moment of the great battle of Bedriacum, actually helped to turn the scale when the fortune of empire hung trembling in the balance.(928) But it is not necessary to suppose that the garrison of Jerusalem really shared the beliefs and prejudices of the mob whom they overawed; soldiers everywhere are ready to go with a crowd bent on sport, without asking any curious questions as to the history or quality of the entertainment, and we should probably do the humanity of Roman soldiers too much honour if we imagined that they would be deterred by any qualm of conscience from joining in the pastime, which is still so popular, of baiting a Jew to death. But in the second place it should be observed that, according to one of the Evangelists, it was not the soldiers of Pilate who mocked Jesus, but the soldiers of Herod,(929) and we may fairly assume that Herod’s guards were Jews.

(M322) The hypothesis that the crucifixion with all its cruel mockery was not a punishment specially devised for Christ, but was merely the fate that annually befell the malefactor who played Haman, appears to go some way towards relieving the Gospel narrative of certain difficulties which otherwise beset it. If, as we read in the Gospels, Pilate was really anxious to save the innocent man whose fine bearing seems to have struck him, what was to hinder him from doing so? He had the power of life and death; why should he not have exercised it on the side of mercy, if his own judgment inclined that way? His reluctant acquiescence in the importunate demand of the rabble becomes easier to understand if we assume that custom obliged him annually at this season to give up to them a prisoner on whom they might play their cruel pranks. On this assumption Pilate had no power to prevent the sacrifice; the most he could do was to choose the victim.

Again, consider the remarkable statement of the Evangelists that Pilate set up over the cross a superscription stating that the man who hung on it was king of the Jews.(930) Is it likely that in the reign of Tiberius a Roman governor, with the fear of the jealous and suspicious old emperor before his eyes, would have ventured, even in mockery, to blazon forth a seditious claim of this sort unless it were the regular formula employed on such occasions, recognized by custom, and therefore not liable to be misconstrued into treason by the malignity of informers and the fears of a tyrant?

But if the tragedy of the ill-fated aspirant after royal honours was annually enacted at Jerusalem by a prisoner who perished on the cross, it becomes probable that the part of his successful rival was also played by another actor who paraded in the same kingly trappings but did not share the same fate. If Jesus was the Haman of the year, where was the Mordecai? Perhaps we may find him in Barabbas.

(M323) We are told by the Evangelists that at the feast which witnessed the crucifixion of Christ it was the custom for the Roman governor to release one prisoner, whomsoever the people desired, and that Pilate, convinced of the innocence of Jesus, attempted to persuade the multitude to choose him as the man who should go free. But, hounded on by the priests and elders who had marked out Jesus for destruction, the rabble would not hear of this, and clamoured for the blood of Jesus, while they demanded the release of a certain miscreant, by name Barabbas, who lay in gaol for murder and sedition. Accordingly Pilate had to give way: Christ was crucified and Barabbas set at liberty.(931) Now what, we may ask, was the reason for setting free a prisoner at this festival? In the absence of positive information, we may conjecture that the gaol-bird whose cage was thrown open at this time had to purchase his freedom by performing some service from which decent people would shrink. Such a service may very well have been that of going about the streets, rigged out in tawdry splendour with a tinsel crown on his head and a sham sceptre in his hand, preceded and followed by all the tag-rag and bobtail of the town hooting, jeering, and breaking coarse jests at his expense, while some pretended to salaam his mock majesty, and others belaboured the donkey on which he rode. It was in this fashion, probably, that in Persia the beardless and one-eyed man made his undignified progress through the town, to the delight of ragamuffins and the terror of shopkeepers, whose goods he unceremoniously confiscated if they did not hasten to lay their peace-offerings at his feet. So, perhaps, the ruffian Barabbas, when his irons were knocked off and the prison door had grated on its hinges to let him forth, tasted the first sweets of liberty in this public manner, even if he was not suffered, like his one-eyed brother, to make raids with impunity on the stalls of the merchants and the tables of the money-changers. A curious confirmation of this conjecture is supplied by a passage in the writings of Philo the Jew, who lived at Alexandria in the time of Christ. He tells us that when Agrippa, the grandson of Herod, had received the crown of Judaea from Caligula at Rome, the new king passed through Alexandria on his way to his own country. The disorderly populace of that great city, animated by a hearty dislike of his nation, seized the opportunity of venting their spite by publicly defaming and ridiculing the Jewish monarch. Among other things they laid hold of a certain harmless lunatic named Carabas, who used to roam the streets stark naked, the butt and laughing-stock of urchins and idlers. This poor wretch they set up in a public place, clapped a paper crown on his head, thrust a broken reed into his hand by way of a sceptre, and having huddled a mat instead of a royal robe about his naked body, and surrounded him with a guard of bludgeon-men, they did obeisance to him as to a king and made a show of taking his opinion on questions of law and policy. To point the jest unmistakably at the Syrian king Agrippa, the bystanders raised cries of “Marin! Marin!” which they understood to be the Syrian word for “lord.”(932) This mockery of the Jewish king closely resembles the mockery of Christ; and the joke, such as it was, would receive a keener edge if we could suppose that the riff-raff of Alexandria were familiar with the Jewish practice of setting up a sham king on certain occasions, and that they meant by implication to ridicule the real King Agrippa by comparing him to his holiday counterfeit. May we go a step further and conjecture that one at least of the titles of the mock king of the Jews was regularly Barabbas? The poor imbecile who masqueraded in a paper crown at Alexandria was probably a Jew, otherwise the jest would have lost much of its point; and his name, according to the Greek manuscripts of Philo, was Carabas. But Carabas is meaningless in Hebrew, whereas Barabbas is a regularly formed Hebrew word meaning “Son of the Father.” The palaeographic difference between the two forms is slight, and perhaps we shall hardly be deemed very rash if we conjecture that in the passage in question Philo himself wrote Barabbas, which a Greek copyist, ignorant of Hebrew, afterwards corrupted into Carabas. If this were granted, we should still have to assume that both Philo and the authors of the Gospels fell into the mistake of treating as the name of an individual what in fact was a title of office.

(M324) Thus the hypothesis which, with great diffidence, I would put forward for consideration is this. It was customary, we may suppose, with the Jews at Purim, or perhaps occasionally at Passover, to employ two prisoners to act the parts respectively of Haman and Mordecai in the passion-play which formed a central feature of the festival. Both men paraded for a short time in the insignia of royalty, but their fates were different; for while at the end of the performance the one who played Haman was hanged or crucified, the one who personated Mordecai and bore in popular parlance the title of Barabbas was allowed to go free. Pilate, perceiving the trumpery nature of the charges brought against Jesus, tried to persuade the Jews to let him play the part of Barabbas, which would have saved his life; but the merciful attempt failed and Jesus perished on the cross in the character of Haman. The description of his last triumphal ride into Jerusalem reads almost like an echo of that brilliant progress through the streets of Susa which Haman aspired to and Mordecai accomplished; and the account of the raid which he immediately afterwards made upon the stalls of the hucksters and money-changers in the temple, may raise a question whether we have not here a trace of those arbitrary rights over property which it has been customary on such occasions to accord to the temporary king.(933)

(M325) If it be asked why one of these temporary kings should bear the remarkable title of Barabbas or “Son of the Father,” I can only surmise that the title may perhaps be a relic of the time when the real king, the deified man, used to redeem his own life by deputing his son to reign for a short time and to die in his stead. We have seen that the custom of sacrificing the son for the father was common, if not universal, among Semitic peoples; and if we are right in our interpretation of the Passover, that festival—the traditional date of the crucifixion—was the very season when the dreadful sacrifice of the first-born was consummated.(934) Hence Barabbas or the “Son of the Father” would be a natural enough title for the man or child who reigned and died as a substitute for his royal sire. Even in later times, when the father provided a less precious substitute than his own offspring, it would be quite in accordance with the formal conservatism of religion that the old title should be retained after it had ceased to be appropriate; indeed the efficacy of the sacrifice might be thought to require and justify the pious fiction that the substitute was the very son of that divine father who should have died, but who preferred to live, for the good of his people. If in the time of Christ, as I have conjectured, the title of Barabbas or Son of the Father was bestowed on the Mordecai, the mock king who lived, rather than on the Haman, the mock king who died at the festival, this distinction can hardly have been original; for at first, we may suppose, the same man served in both capacities at different times, as the Mordecai of one year and the Haman of the next. The two characters, as I have attempted to shew, are probably nothing but two different aspects of the same deity considered at one time as dead and at another as risen; hence the human being who personated the risen god would in due time, after he had enjoyed his divine honours for a season, act the dead god by dying in good earnest in his own person; for it would be unreasonable to expect of the ordinary man-god that he should play the two parts in the reverse order by dying first and coming to life afterwards. In both parts the substitute would still be, whether in sober fact or in pious fiction, the Barabbas or Son of that divine Father who generously gave his own son to die for the world.(935)

(M326) To conclude this speculation, into which I have perhaps been led by the interest and importance of the subject somewhat deeper than the evidence warrants, I venture to urge in its favour that it seems to shed fresh light on some of the causes which contributed to the remarkably rapid diffusion of Christianity in Asia Minor. We know from a famous letter of the younger Pliny addressed to the Emperor Trajan in the year 112 A.D. that by the beginning of our era, less than a hundred years after the Founder’s death, Christianity had made such strides in Bithynia and Pontus that not only cities but villages and rural districts were affected by it, and that multitudes of both sexes and of every age and every rank professed its tenets; indeed things had gone so far that the temples were almost deserted, the sacred rites of the public religion discontinued, and hardly a purchaser could be found for the sacrificial victims.(936) It is obvious, therefore, that the new faith had elements in it which appealed powerfully to the Asiatic mind. What these elements were, the present investigation has perhaps to some extent disclosed. We have seen that the conception of the dying and risen god was no new one in these regions. All over Western Asia from time immemorial the mournful death and happy resurrection of a divine being appear to have been annually celebrated with alternate rites of bitter lamentation and exultant joy; and through the veil which mythic fancy has woven round this tragic figure we can still detect the features of those great yearly changes in earth and sky which, under all distinctions of race and religion, must always touch the natural human heart with alternate emotions of gladness and regret, because they exhibit on the vastest scale open to our observation the mysterious struggle between life and death. But man has not always been willing to watch passively this momentous conflict; he has felt that he has too great a stake in its issue to stand by with folded hands while it is being fought out; he has taken sides against the forces of death and decay—has flung into the trembling scale all the weight of his puny person, and has exulted in his fancied strength when the great balance has slowly inclined towards the side of life, little knowing that for all his strenuous efforts he can as little stir that balance by a hair’s-breadth as can the primrose on a mossy bank in spring or the dead leaf blown by the chilly breath of autumn. Nowhere do these efforts, vain and pitiful, yet pathetic, appear to have been made more persistently and systematically than in Western Asia. In name they varied from place to place, but in substance they were all alike. A man, whom the fond imagination of his worshippers invested with the attributes of a god, gave his life for the life of the world; after infusing from his own body a fresh current of vital energy into the stagnant veins of nature, he was cut off from among the living before his failing strength should initiate a universal decay, and his place was taken by another who played, like all his predecessors, the ever-recurring drama of the divine resurrection and death. Such a drama, if our interpretation of it is right, was the original story of Esther and Mordecai or, to give them their older names, of Ishtar and Marduk. It was played in Babylonia, and from Babylonia the returning captives brought it to Judaea, where it was acted, rather as an historical than a mythical piece, by players who, having to die in grim earnest on a cross or gallows, were naturally drawn rather from the gaol than the green-room. A chain of causes which, because we cannot follow them, might in the loose language of daily life be called an accident, determined that the part of the dying god in this annual play should be thrust upon Jesus of Nazareth, whom the enemies he had made in high places by his outspoken strictures were resolved to put out of the way. They succeeded in ridding themselves of the popular and troublesome preacher; but the very step by which they fancied they had simultaneously stamped out his revolutionary doctrines contributed more than anything else they could have done to scatter them broadcast not only over Judaea but over Asia; for it impressed upon what had been hitherto mainly an ethical mission the character of a divine revelation culminating in the passion and death of the incarnate Son of a heavenly Father. In this form the story of the life and death of Jesus exerted an influence which it could never have had if the great teacher had died, as is commonly supposed, the death of a vulgar malefactor. It shed round the cross on Calvary a halo of divinity which multitudes saw and worshipped afar off; the blow struck on Golgotha set a thousand expectant strings vibrating in unison wherever men had heard the old, old story of the dying and risen god. Every year, as another spring bloomed and another autumn faded across the earth, the field had been ploughed and sown and borne fruit of a kind till it received that seed which was destined to spring up and overshadow the world. In the great army of martyrs who in many ages and in many lands, not in Asia only, have died a cruel death in the character of gods, the devout Christian will doubtless discern types and forerunners of the coming Saviour—stars that heralded in the morning sky the advent of the Sun of Righteousness—earthen vessels wherein it pleased the divine wisdom to set before hungering souls the bread of heaven. The sceptic, on the other hand, with equal confidence, will reduce Jesus of Nazareth to the level of a multitude of other victims of a barbarous superstition, and will see in him no more than a moral teacher, whom the fortunate accident of his execution invested with the crown, not merely of a martyr, but of a god. The divergence between these views is wide and deep. Which of them is the truer and will in the end prevail? Time will decide the question of prevalence, if not of truth. Yet we would fain believe that in this and in all things the old maxim will hold good—_Magna est veritas et praevalebit._

INDEX.

Abbot of Folly in France, 334

—— of Unreason in Scotland, 331

Abdera, human scapegoats at, 254

Abeghian, Manuk, quoted, 107 _sq._

Abjuration, form of, imposed on Jewish converts, 393

Abonsam, an evil spirit on the Gold Coast, 132

Abrahams, Israel, 393 _n._ 2

Abruzzi, Epiphany in the, 167 _n._ 2

Absalom, his intercourse with his father’s concubines, 368

Absrot, village of Bohemia, 161

Abstinence as a charm to promote the growth of the seed, 347 _sqq._

Abyssinian festival of Mascal or the Cross, 133 _sq._

Accusations of ritual murders brought against the Jews, 394 _sqq._

Acilisena, in Armenia, the worship of Anaitis at, 369 _n._ 1

Acosta, J. de, quoted, 275 _sq._, 277

Adaklu, Mount, in West Africa, 135 _sq._, 206 _sq._

Adam and Eve, 259 _n._ 3

Adar, a Jewish month, 361, 394, 397, 398, 415

Adonis at Alexandria, 390; annual death and resurrection of, 398; his marriage with Ishtar (Aphrodite), 401. _See also_ Tammuz

—— and Aphrodite, 386

Aegisthus and Agamemnon, 19

Aesculapius at Epidaurus, 47

Africa, Northern, cairns in, 21; popular cure for toothache in, 62; South, dread of demons in, 77 _sq._; tribes of, their expulsion of demons, 110 _sq._; West, demons in, 74 _sqq._

Agamemnon and Aegisthus, 19

Agathias on Sandes, 389

Agni, creation of the great god, 410

_Agnus castus_, used in ceremony of beating, 252, 257

Agricultural year, expulsions of demons timed to coincide with seasons of the, 225

Agrippa, King of Judaea, his mockery at Alexandria, 418

Ague, popular cures for, 56, 57 _sq._; Suffolk cure for, 68

Ahasuerus, King, 397, 401; the Hebrew equivalent of Xerxes, 360

Ait Sadden, the, of Morocco, 182

—— Warain, a Berber tribe, 178

Aitan, a goddess, 173

Akamba, the, of British East Africa, riddles among the, 122 _n._

Akikuyu of East Africa, 32

Alaska, the Esquimaux of, 124

Albania, expulsion of Kore on Easter Eve in, 157

Albanian custom of beating men and beasts in March, 266

Albanians of the Caucasus, their use of human scapegoats, 218

Albîrûnî, Arab historian, 393

Alençon, the Boy Bishop at, 337 _n._ 1

Aleutian Islands, 3, 16

Alexandria, Adonis at, 390; mockery of King Agrippa at, 418

Alexandrian calendar, 395 _n._ 1

Alfoors of Central Celebes, riddles among the, 122 _n._

—— of Halmahera, their expulsion of the devil, 112

Algeria, 31; popular cure in, 60

All Souls’ College, Oxford, the Boy Bishop at, 337

_Allallu_ bird beloved by Ishtar, 371

Allhallow Even, 332

Almora, in Kumaon, 197

Altars, bloodless, 307

Ambarvalia, the, 359

Amboyna, belief in spirits in, 85; disease-transference in, 187

Ameretât, a Persian archangel, 373 _n._ 1

America, Indian tribes of North-Western, their masked dances, 375 _sqq._

Amoor, Gilyaks of the, 101

Amshaspands, Persian archangels, 373 _n._ 1

Amulets against demons, 95

Anacan, a month of the Gallic calendar, 343

Anadates, at Zela, 373 _n._ 1

Anaitis, a Persian goddess, 355, 368, 369, 370, 389, 402 _n._ 1, 421 _n._ 1

Ancestral spirits, propitiation of, 86

Ancona, sarcophagus of St. Dasius at, 310

Andalusia, 173

Anderson, J. D., 176 _n._ 3

Anderson, Miss, of Barskimming, 169 _n._ 2

Andree-Eysn, Mrs., quoted, 245 _sq._

Animals, transference of evil to, 31 _sqq._; as scapegoats, 31 _sqq._, 190 _sqq._, 208 _sqq._, 216 _sq._; guardian spirits of, 98; prayed to, 236; dances taught by, 237; imitated in dances, 376, 377, 381, 382

_Aninga_, aquatic plant in Brazil, 264

Annam, 33; demon of cholera sent away on a raft from, 190; explanation of human mortality in, 303

Anthesteria, Athenian festival of the dead, 152 _sq._

Anthesterion, an Athenian month, 352

Antibes, Holy Innocents’ Day at, 336 _sq._

Antinmas, 167

Antiquity, human scapegoats in classical, 229 _sqq._

Antoninus, Marcus, plague in his reign, 64

Ants, jealousy transferred to, 33; stinging people with, 263

Anu, Babylonian god, visit of Ishtar to, 399 _n._ 1

_Apachitas_, heaps of stones, 9

Aphrodite and Adonis, 386

Aphrodite, the Oriental, 369 _n._ 1

Apis, sacred Egyptian bull, 217

Apollo, temple of, at the Lover’s Leap, 254

—— and Artemis, cake with twelve knobs offered to, 351 _n._ 3

April, Siamese festival of the dead in, 150

Arab cure for melancholy, 4

Arabia, 33

Arabs, their custom as to widows, 35; their custom in regard to murder, 63; beat camels to deliver them from jinn, 260; of Morocco, their custom at the Great Feast, 265

Aracan, 12 _n._ 1, 117; dances for the crops in, 236

Araucanians, the, of South America, 12

Arawaks of British Guiana, their explanation of human mortality, 302 _sq._

Arcadian custom of beating Pan’s image, 256

Arch to shut out plague, 5; creeping through, as a cure, 55

Arches made over paths at expulsion of demons, 113, 120 _sq._

Arctic regions, ceremonies at the reappearance of the sun in the, 124 _sq._, 125 _n._ 1

Ardennes, the King of the Bean in the, 314; the Eve of Epiphany in the, 317

Argentina, 9

Argus, the murder of, 24

Aricia, 305; the priest of, 273; King of the Wood at, 409

Arician grove, the, 274, 305

—— priesthood, 305

Aries, the constellation, the sun in, 361 _n._ 1, 403

Armenia, the worship of Anaitis in, 369 _n._ 1

Armenians, their belief in demons, 107 _sq._

Arrows, invisible, of demons, 101, 126

Artaxerxes II., his promotion of the worship of Anaitis, 370

_Artemisia laciniata_, garlands of, 284

Aru Archipelago, 121 _n._ 3

Arval Brothers, the college of the, at Rome, 230, 232, 238

Aryan custom of counting by nights instead of days, 326 _n._ 2

—— languages, names for moon and month in, 325

—— peoples, their correction of the lunar year, 342

Aryans of the Vedic age, 324; their calendar, 325, 342

Ascalon, Derceto at, 370 _n._ 1

Ascension Day, cures on Eve of, 54; annual expulsion of the devil on, 214 _sq._; ceremony at Rouen on, 215 _sq._; bells rung to make flax grow on, 247 _sq._

Ash-tree in popular cure, 57

Ashantee, annual period of license in, 226 _n._ 1

Ashtaroth, 366

Ashurbanapal and Sardanapalus, 387 _sq._

Asia, Saturnalia in Western, 354 _sqq._

Asia Minor, use of human scapegoats by the Greeks of, 255

Asongtata, an annual ceremony, 208

Aspen in popular cure, 57

Ass in cure for scorpion’s bite, 49 _sq._; introduced into church at Festival of Fools, 335 _sq._; triumphal ride of a buffoon on an, 402 _sq._

Assam, the Kacharis of, 93; the Lushais of, 94; the Khasis of, 173; the Nagas of, 177; the Garos of, 208 _sq._

Assembly of the gods at the New Year in Babylon, 356

Assimilation of human victims to trees, 257, 259 _n._ 3

Assyria, Ashurbanapal, king of, 387 _sq._

Assyrian monarchs, conquerors of Babylonia, 356

Assyrians, the ancient, their belief in demons, 102

Astarte or Ishtar, a great Babylonian goddess, 365. _See also_ Ishtar

—— and Semiramis, 369 _sqq._

Aston, W. G., quoted, 213 _n._ 1

Aswang, an evil spirit, exorcism of, 260

Athenians, their use of human scapegoats, 253 _sq._; their mode of reckoning a day, 326 _n._ 2; their religious dramas, 384

Athens, Cronus and the Cronia at, 351 _sq._

Atkhans, the, of Aleutian Islands, 3

Atlas, Berbers of the Great, 178

Atlatatonan, Mexican goddess of lepers, 292; woman annually sacrificed in the character of, 292

Atonement, the Jewish Day of, 210

Attis and Cybele, 386

Aubrey, John, on sin-eating, 43 _sq._

Aucas, the, of South America, 12

Australia, Central, 2

——, demons in, 74; annual expulsion of ghosts in, 123 _sq._

Austria, cure of warts in, 48

Autumn, ceremony of the Esquimaux in late, 125

Autun, the Festival of Fools at, 335

Avestad in Sweden, 20

Axim, on the Gold Coast, 131

Aymara Indians, their remedy for plague, 193

Azazel, 210 _n._ 4

Aztecs, their custom of sacrificing human representatives of gods, 275; their five supplementary days, 339

Azur, the month of March, 403

Baal, human sacrifices to, 353, 354

_Babalawo_, priest, 212

Babar Archipelago, 8; sickness expelled in a boat from the, 187

Baboons sent by evil spirits, 110 _sq._

Baby, effigy of, used to fertilize women, 245, 249

Babylon, festival of the Sacaea at, 354 _sqq._

Babylonia, belief in demons in ancient, 102 _sq._; conquered by Assyria, 356; the feast of Purim in, 393

Babylonian calendar, 398 _n._ 2

Bacchanalia, Purim a Jewish, 363

Badagas, the, of the Neilgherry Hills, 36

Badi, performer at a ceremony, 197

Baffin Land, the Esquimaux of, 125

Baganda, the, of Central Africa, 4, 7, 17 _sq._, 27, 32; human scapegoats among the, 42

Bahima, the, of the Uganda Protectorate, 6, 32

Baiga, aboriginal priest, 27

Bali, belief in demons in, 86; periodical expulsion of demons in, 140

Ball, games of, played as a magical ceremony, 179 _sq._; in Normandy, 183 _sq._

_Balolo_, a sea-slug, 141

Bamboo-rat sacrificed for riddance of evils, 208 _sq._

Bananas, mode of fertilizing, 264; the cause of human mortality, 303

Bangkok, 150

Banishment of evil spirits, 86

Banks’ Islands, 9

Banks’ Islanders, their story of the origin of death, 304

Banmanas of Senegambia, their custom at the death of an infant, 261 _sq._

Banquets in honour of the spirits of disease, 119

Bantu tribes, 77

Banyoro, the, 42, 194

Barabbas and Christ, 417 _sqq._

_Baraka_, blessed influence, 265

Barat, a ceremony performed in Kumaon, 196

Barito, river in Borneo, 87

Baron, S., quoted, 148

Barwan, river, 123

Bassa tribe, of the Cameroons, 120

Bassus, Roman officer, 309

Basutos, the, 30 _n._ 2

Batchelor, Rev. J., 261

Baton of Sinope, 350

Battas or Bataks of Sumatra, 34; their belief in demons, 87 _sq._; their use of human scapegoats, 213

Battle, annual, among boys in Tumleo, 143

Bavaria, mode of reckoning the Twelve Days in, 327

——, Rhenish, 56

Bavarian cure for fever, 49

Bawenda, the, 30 _n._ 2

Bean, the King of the, 313 _sqq._; the Queen of the, 313, 315

—— clan, the, 27

Beans thrown about the house at the expulsion of demons, 143 _sq._; thrown about the house at the expulsion of ghosts, 155

“Beardless One, the Ride of the,” 402 _sq._

Beating as a mode of purification, 262

—— human scapegoats, 196, 252, 255, 256 _sq._, 272 _sq._

—— people as a mode of conveying good qualities, 262 _sqq._; with skins of sacrificial victims, 265; with green boughs, 270 _sqq._

—— persons, animals, or things to deliver them from demons and ghosts, 259 _sqq._

Beating the air to drive away demons or ghosts, 109, 111, 115, 122, 131, 152, 156, 234

Beauce and Perche, in France, 57, 62

Beauvais, the Festival of Fools at, 335 _sq._

Bechuana king, cure of, 31 _sq._

Bedriacum, the battle of, 416

Befana at Rome and elsewhere, 167

Behar, 37 _n._ 4

Bekes, in Hungary, mode of fertilizing women in, 264

Bel, a Babylonian deity, 389

Belethus, J., 270 _n._

Belgium, the King of the Bean in, 313

Bella Coola Indians of N. W. America, their masked dances, 376 _n._ 2

Bells on animal used as scapegoat, 37; rung to expel demons, 117; rung as a protection against witches, 157, 158, 159, 161, 165, 166; used in the expulsion of evils, 196, 200; used at the expulsion of demons, 214, 246 _sq._, 251; worn by dancers, 242, 243, 246 _sqq._, 250 _sq._; rung to make grass and flax grow, 247 _sq._; golden, worn by human representatives of gods in Mexico, 278, 280, 284

Benin, time of the “grand devils” in, 131 _sq._

Bergell in the Grisons, 247

Berkhampstead, cure for ague in, 57 _sq._

Berosus, Babylonian historian, 355, 358, 359

Besisi of the Malay Peninsula, their carnival at rice-harvest, 226 _n._ 1

Bethlehem, the star of, 330

Bevan, Professor A. A., 367 _n._ 2

Beverley minster, the Boy Bishop at, 337

Bhars of India, 190

Bhootan, cairns in, 26

Bhotiyas of Juhar, their use of a scapegoat, 209

Biajas of Borneo, their expulsion of evils, 200

Biggar, “Burning out the Old Year” at, 165

Bikol, in Luzon, 260

Bilaspur, 44

Bilda in Algeria, 60

Birch, sprigs of, a protection against witches, 162; used to beat people with at Easter and Christmas, 269, 270

—— -trees in popular cure for gout, 56 _sq._

Bird-chief of the Sea Dyaks, 383, 384

Birds as scapegoats, 35 _sq._, 51 _sq._

Bishop, the Boy, on Holy Innocents’ Day, 336 _sqq._

—— of Innocents, 333

Bishop, Mrs., quoted, 99 _sq._

Bismarck Archipelago, the Melanesians of the, their belief in demons, 83

Bithynia and Pontus, rapid spread of Christianity in, 420 _sq._

Biyars of N. W. India, 230 _n._ 7

Black animals as scapegoats, 190, 192, 193

—— god and white god among the Slavs, 92

Black and white in relation to human scapegoats, 220, 253, 257, 272

—— Mountains in S. France, 166

Blankenheim in the Eifel, the King of the Bean at, 313

Blood, fatigue let out with, 12; of children used to knead a paste, 129; of pigs used in purificatory rites, 262; drawn from ears as penance, 292

Bloodless altars, 307

Blows to drive away ghosts, 260 _sqq._

Boars, evil spirits transferred to, 31

Boas, Franz, quoted, 375 _sq._

Bocage of Normandy, games of ball in the, 183 _sq._; mode of forecasting the weather in, 323; Eve of Twelfth Night in the, 316 _sq._

Bock, C., quoted, 97

Bogle, George, envoy to Tibet, 203

Bohemia, “Easter Smacks” in, 268, 269; the Three Kings of Twelfth Day in, 330

——, the Germans of Western, their custom at Christmas, 270; Twelfth Day among, 331

Bohemian cures for fever, 49, 51, 55 _sq._, 58, 59, 63; remedy for jaundice, 52

Böhmerwald Mountains, 159

Bolang Mongondo in Celebes, 85 _sq._, 121 _n._ 3

Bolbe in Macedonia, lake of, 142 _n._ 1

Bolivia, 9; Indians of, 26, 193

Boloki, the, of the Upper Congo, their fear of demons, 76 _sq._

Bonfires, leaping over, 156; on the Eve of Twelfth Day, 316 _sqq._

_Book of the Dead_, the Egyptian, 103

Borneo, the Dyaks of, 14, 383; belief in demons in, 87; the Kayans of, 154 _n._, 236, 382 _sq._; sickness expelled in a ship from, 187; the Biajas and Dusuns of, 200

Bourlet, A., quoted, 97 _sqq._

Boy Bishop on Holy Innocents’ Day, 336 _sqq._

Brahmanism, vestiges of, under Mohammedanism, 90 _n._ 1

Brahmans, sacrificial custom of the, 25; as human scapegoats, 42 _sq._, 44 _sq._; their theory of sacrifice, 410 _sq._

Branches, fatigue transferred to, 8; sickness transferred to, 186

Brandenburg, Mark of, cure for headache and giddiness in, 52, 53; cure for toothache in, 60

Bras Basah, a village on the Perak river, 199

Brass instrument sounded to frighten away demons, 147

Brazil, Indians of North-Western, 236; custom of, 264; their masked dances, 381

Breadalbane, use of a scapegoat in, 209

“Brethren of the Ploughed Fields,” 232

Bride, the last, privilege of, 183

Brittany, custom of sticking pins into a saint’s image in, 70; riddles in, 121 _sq._, _n._; forecasting the weather in, 323 _sq._

Brooms used to sweep misfortune out of house, 5

Broomsticks, witches ride on, 162

Brown, Dr. George, quoted, 142 _n._ 1

Bruguière, Mgr., quoted, 97, 150 _sq._

Brunnen, Twelfth Night at, 165

Buchanan, Francis, quoted, 175 _sq._

Buckthorn chewed to keep off ghosts, 153; as a charm against witchcraft, 153 _n._ 1, 163; used to beat cattle, 266

Buddha, transmigrations of, 41; in relation to spirits, 97; offerings to, 150

Buddhism in Burma, 95 _sq._; the pope of, 223

Buddhist Lent, the, 349 _sq._

—— monk, ceremony at the funeral of a, 175

—— priests expel demons, 116

Buddhists of Ceylon, 90 _n._ 1; nominal, 97

Budge, E. A. Wallis, quoted, 103 _sq._

Buffalo calf, sins of dead transferred to a, 36 _sq._

—— dance to ensure a supply of buffaloes, 171

Buffaloes as scapegoats, 190, 191

Buffooneries at the Festival of Fools, 335 _sq._

Bukaua, the, of German New Guinea, their belief in demons, 83 _sq._

Bulgarian cure for fever, 55

Bulgarians, their way of keeping off ghosts, 153 _n._ 1

Bulls as scapegoats in ancient Egypt, 216 _sq._

Bunyoro, in Central Africa, 195

Burial of infants, 45

Burkitt, Professor F. C., 420 _n._ 1

Burlesques of ecclesiastical ritual, 336 _sq._

Burma, belief in demons in, 95 _sq._; expulsion of demons in, 116 _sq._; the tug-of-war in, 175 _sq._

Burmese Lent, 349 _sq._

“Burning the Old Year,” 230 _n._ 7; at Biggar, 165

—— of Sandan and Hercules, 388 _sqq._

—— witches alive, 19, 319; on May Day in the Tyrol, 158 _sq._; on Walpurgis Night in Bohemia; 161, in Silesia and Saxony, 163

Buru, demons of sickness expelled in a proa from, 186

Burying the evil spirit, 110

Bushes, ailments transferred to, 54, 56

Bushmen, the, 16, 30

Butterflies, annual expulsion of, 159 _n._ 1

Butterfly dance, 381

Caffres of South Africa, 11, 30, 31

Cairns to which every passer-by adds a stone, 9 _sqq._; near shrines of saints, 21; offerings at, 26 _sqq._ _See also_ Heaps

Cairo, cure for toothache and headache at, 63

Cake on Twelfth Night used to determine the King, 313 _sqq._; put on horn of ox, 318 _sq._; offered to Cronus, 351

Cakes, special, at New Year, 149 _sq._; with twelve knobs offered to gods, 351 _n._ 3

Calabar, Old, biennial expulsion of demons at, 203 _sq._

—— River, 28

Calabria, annual expulsion of witches in, 157

Calendar of the Mayas of Yucatan, 171; of the primitive Aryans, 325; of the Celts of Gaul, 342 _sqq._; the Coligny, 342 _sqq._; the Alexandrian, 395 _n._ 1; the Babylonian, 398 _n._ 2

Calicut, ceremonies at sowing in, 235

California, the Pomos of, 170 _sq._

Cambodia, annual expulsion of demons in, 149; palace of the Kings of Cambodia purged of devils, 172

Cambridge, Lord of Misrule at, 330

Camel, plague transferred to, 33

Camels infested by jinn, 260

Cameroons, the, of West Africa, 120

Candlemas, dances at, 238

—— Day, 332, 333

Candles, twelve, on Twelfth Night, 321 _sq._; burnt at the Feast of Purim, 394

Cannibal banquets, 279 _n._ 1, 283, 298

Canton, the province of, 144

Caprification, the artificial fertilization of fig-trees, 257

_Caprificus_, the wild fig-tree, 258

Car Nicobar, annual expulsion of devils in, 201 _sq._

Carabas and Barabbas, 418 _sq._

Carmona in Andalusia, 173

Carnival, bell-ringing processions at the, 247; Senseless Thursday in, 248; in relation to the Saturnalia, 312, 345 _sqq._

—— and Purim, 394

“Carrying out Death,” 227 _sq._, 230, 252

Casablanca in Morocco, 21

Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, the Three Kings of Twelfth Day, 329 _sqq._

Castilian peasants, their dances in May, 280

Casting the skin supposed to be a mode of renewing youth, 302 _sqq._

Cattle exposed to attacks of witches, 162; beaten to do them good, 266 _sq._

Caucasus, the Albanians of the, 218

Caunians of Asia Minor, their expulsion of foreign gods, 116

Cecrops, first king of Attica, 351

Cedar-bark ornaments worn in dances, 376

Celebes, Bolang Mongondo in, 85, 121; Minahassa in, 111 _sq._

——, Central, 34, 122 _n._, 265

Celts, their mode of forecasting the weather of the year, 323 _sq._; of Gaul, their calendar, 342 _sqq._

Ceram, sicknesses expelled in a ship from, 185

Ceylon, fear of demons in, 94 _sq._

Chaeronea, the “expulsion of hunger” at, 252

Chain used to expel demons, 260

Chains clanked as a protection against witches, 163; clanked in masquerade, 244

Chaldeans, magic of, 64

Chalking up crosses as a protection against witches, 162 _sq._

Chamar caste, 196

Chamba in India, 45

Chambers, E. K., quoted, 336 _n._ 1

Chameleon, ceremony at killing a, 28

Chariots, epidemics sent away in toy, 193 _sq._

Cheremiss of Russia, their expulsion of Satan, 156

Cherokee Indians, annual expulsion of evils among the, 128

Cheshire, cure for thrush in, 50; cure for warts in, 57

Chickens as scapegoats, 190

Chicomecohuatl, Mexican goddess of maize, 286 _n._ 1, 291, 292; girl annually sacrificed in the character of, 292 _sqq._

Childermas (Holy Innocents’ Day), 336

Children personating spirits, 139

China, the Miotse of, 4; belief in demons in, 98; men possessed by spirits in, 117; the Mossos of, 139; the Shans of Southern, 141; annual expulsion of demons in, 145 _sqq._

——, aboriginal tribes of, their use of a human scapegoat, 196; their annual destruction of evils, 202

Chinese festival of new fire, 359

Chins of Burma, their way of keeping off cholera, 123

_Chirouba_, festival in Manapur, 40

Chirus of Assam, 177 _n._ 3

Chitral, devil-driving in, 137

Chittagong, 63 _n._ 4

—— Hill Tracts, the Chukmas of the, 174

Choerilus, historian, 388 _n._ 1

Cholera sent away in animal scapegoats, 190, 191 _sq._

——, demon of, 172; expelled, 116, 117; sent away on a raft, 190

——, goddess of, 194

Cholula, a city of Mexico, 281

Chota Nagpur in India, 19; annual expulsion of disease in, 139

Christ, the crucifixion of, 412 _sqq._

Christian festivals, the great, timed by the Church to coincide with old pagan festivals, 328

Christianity, Latin, its tolerance of rustic paganism, 346

Christmas, custom of young men and women beating each other at, 270; an old midwinter festival of the sun-god, 328

—— Day, Mexican festival on, 287; Old (Twelfth Night), 321

—— Eve, witches active on, 160

Chukmas, the tug-of-war among the, 174

Church bells a protection against witchcraft, 157, 158

Churn-dashers ridden by witches, 160

Chwolsohn, D., on the worship of Haman, 366 _n._ 1

Ciallos, intercalary month of Gallic calendar, 343

Cilicia, Tarsus in, 388, 389, 391

Cingalese, the tug-of-war among the, 181; devil-dancers, 38

Cinteotl or Centeotl, Mexican goddess of maize, 286 _n._ 1, 290

Circumcision Day, 334

Clangour of metal used to dispel demons, 233

Clanking chains as a protection against witches, 163

Clark, J. V. H., 209

Clarke, E. D., quoted, 20 _sq._

Clashing of metal instruments a protection against witchcraft, 158; used to dispel demons, 233

Clavigero, historian of Mexico, 286 _n._ 1

Clippings of nails in popular cures, 57, 58

Clowns in processions, 244 _sq._

Cochinchina, mode of disposing of ghosts in, 62

Cock, disease transferred to a white, 187; white, as scapegoat, 210 _n._ 4

Cocks as scapegoats, 191 _sq._

Coligny calendar of Gaul, 342 _sqq._

Columella on caprification, 258

Comana, sacred harlots at, 370 _n._ 1; worship of Ma at, 421 _n._ 1

Comitium, dances of the Salii in the, 232

Communion by means of stones, 21 _sq._

Concubines of a king taken by his successor, 368

Condé in Normandy, 183

Confession of sins, 31, 36, 127

Conflicts, annual, at the New Year, old intention of, 184

Congrégation de Notre Dame at Paris, 337

Consumption, cure for, 51

Cook, A. B., 246 _n._ 2

Cook, Captain James, 80

Cootchie, a demon, 110

Cora Indians of Mexico, their dance at sowing, 238; their dramatic dances, 381

Coran, the, 62

Corea, 11, 27; traps for demons in, 61 _sq._; belief in demons in, 99 _sq._; spirit of disease expelled in, 119; annual expulsion of demons in, 147; the tug-of-war in, 177 _sq._

Coreans, their annual ceremonies for the riddance of evils, 202 _sq._

Corn festivals of the Cora Indians, 381

—— -ears, wreath of, as badge of priestly office, 232

—— -sieve beaten at ceremony, 145

Cornel-tree in popular remedy, 55

Cornouaille in Brittany, 323

“Corpse-praying priest,” 45

Corpses devoured by members of Secret Societies, 377

Cos, custom of Greek peasants in, 266

Cosmogonies, primitive, perhaps influenced by human sacrifices, 409 _sqq._

Cosquin, E., on the book of Esther, 367 _n._ 3

Coughs transferred to animals, 51, 52

Couppé, Mgr., quoted, 82

Crabs change their skin, 303

Crackers ignited to expel demons, 117, 146 _sq._

Creation of the world, legends of, influenced by human sacrifices, 409 _sqq._

Creator beheaded, 410; sacrifices himself daily to create the world afresh, 411

Creeping through an arch as a cure, 55

Cretan festival of Hermes, 350

Crimes, sticks or stones piled on the scene of, 13 _sqq._

Criminals sacrificed, 354, 396 _sq._, 408

Croatia, Good Friday custom in, 268

Croesus on the pyre, 391

Cronia, a Greek festival resembling the Saturnalia, 351; at Olympia, 352 _sq._

Cronion, a Greek month, 351 _n._ 2

Cronus and the Cronia, 351 _sq._; and the Golden Age, 353; and human sacrifice, 353 _sq._, 397

Cross-roads, 6, 7, 10, 24; offerings at, 140; ceremonies at, 144, 159, 161, 196; witches at, 162

Crosses painted with tar as charms against ghosts and vampyres, 153 _n._ 1; chalked on doors as protection against witchcraft, 160, 162 _sq._; white, made by the King of the Bean, 314

Crow as scapegoat, 193

Crucifixion of Christ, 412 _sqq._

Cumont, Franz, 309, 393 _n._ 1

Cuzco, its scenery, 128 _sq._

Cybele and Attis, 386

Cyrus and Croesus, 391

Dahomey, Porto Novo in, 205

Dalton, E. T., quoted, 92 _sq._

Dance at cairns, 29; the buffalo dance to ensure a supply of buffaloes, 171; to cause the grass to grow, 238

Dancers personate spirits, 375

Dances of the witches, 162; of the Salii, 232; to promote the growth of the crops, 232 _sqq._, 347; at sowing, 234 _sqq._; taught by animals, 237; for rain, 236 _sq._, 238; solemn Mexican, 280, 284, 286, 287, 288, 289; of Castilian peasants in May, 280; of salt-makers in Mexico, 284; to make hemp grow tall, 315; as dramatic performances of myths, 375 _sqq._; bestowed on men by spirits, 375; in imitation of animals, 376, 377, 381, 382

Dances, masked, to promote fertility, 236; of savages, 374 _sqq._; to ensure good crops, 382

Dancing to obtain the favour of the gods, 236

Dandaki, King, 41

“Dark” moon and “light” moon, 140, 141 _n._ 1

Darwin, Sir Francis, 153 _n._ 1

Dasius, martyrdom of St., 308 _sqq._

Dassera festival in Nepaul, 226 _n._ 1

Date palm, artificial fertilization of the, 272 _sq._

Davies, T. Witton, 360 _n._ 2

Dead, disembodied souls of the, dreaded, 77; worship of the, 97; ghosts of the, periodically expelled, 123 _sq._; souls of the, received by their relations once a year, 150 _sqq._

——, spirits of the, in the Philippine Islands, 82; in Timor, 85

Death, the funeral of, 205; the ceremony of carrying out, 227 _sq._, 230, 252; savage tales of the origin of, 302 _sqq._

Debang monastery at Lhasa, 218

December, annual expulsion of demons in, 145; custom of the heathen of Harran in, 263 _sq._; the Saturnalia held in, 306, 307, 345

Decle, L., 11 _n._ 1

De Goeje, M. J., 24 _n._ 1

Deified men, sacrifices of, 409

Delaware Indians, their remedies for sins, 263

Demonophobia in India, 91

Demon-worship, 94, 96. _See also_ Propitiation

Demons bunged up, 61 _sq._; omnipresence of, 72 _sqq._; propitiation of, 93, 94, 96, 100; religious purification intended to ward off, 104; cause sickness, failure of crops, etc., 109 _sqq._; of cholera, 116, 117, 123; men disguised as, 170 _sq._, 172, 173; decoyed by a pig, 200, 201; conjured into images, 171, 172, 173, 203, 204, 205; put to flight by clangour of metal, 233; banned by masks, 246; exorcised by bells, 246 _sq._, 251. _See also_ Devil _and_ Devils

De Mortival, Roger, 338

Derceto, the fish goddess of Ascalon, 370 _n._ 1

De Ricci, S., 343 _n._

Deslawen, village of Bohemia, 161

Devil driven away by paper kites, 4

Devil-driving in Chitral, 137

Devil’s Neck, the, 16, 30

Devils personated by men, 235. _See_ Demons

Devonshire, cure for cough in, 51

Dharmi or Dharmesh, the Supreme God of the Oraons, 92 _sq._

Dice used in divination, 220; played at festivals, 350

Dieri tribe of Central Australia, their expulsion of a demon, 110

Dinkas, their use of cows as scapegoats, 193

Dio Chrysostom on the Sacaea, 368; his account of the treatment of the mock king of the Sacaea, 414

Dionysiac festival of the opening of the wine jars, 351 _sq._

Dionysus and the drama, 384

Disease transferred to other people, 6 _sq._; transferred to tree, 7; caused by ghosts, 85; annual expulsion of, 139; sent away in little ships, 185 _sqq._

Dittmar, C. von, quoted, 100 _sq._

Divination on Twelfth Night, 316

Divine animals as scapegoats, 216 _sq._, 226 _sq._

—— men as scapegoats, 217 _sqq._, 226 _sq._

Dog, sickness transferred to, 33; as scapegoat, 51, 208 _sq._; sacrifice of white, 127

Dog-demon of epilepsy, 69 _n._

Doreh in Dutch New Guinea, the tug-of-war at, 178

Doubs, Montagne de, 316

Douglas, Alexander, victim of witchcraft, 39

Doutté, E., 22 _n._ 2

Doves of Astarte, the sacred, 370 _n._ 1

_Dracaena terminalis_, its leaves used to beat the sick, 265

Dramas, sacred, as magical rites, 373 _sqq._

Dravidian tribes of N. India, their cure for epilepsy, 259 _sq._

Dreams, festival of, among the Iroquois, 127

_Dreikönigstag_, Twelfth Day, 329

“Driving out the Witches,” 162

_Drowo_, gods, 74

Drums beaten to expel demons, 111, 113, 116, 120, 126, 146, 204

Dubrowitschi, a Russian village, 173

Duck as scapegoat, 50

Dudilaa, a spirit who lives in the sun, 186

Dumannos, a month of the Gallic calendar, 343

Duran, Diego, Spanish historian of Mexico, 295 _n._ 1, 297, 300 _n._ 1

Durostorum in Moesia, celebration of the Saturnalia at, 309

Dussaud, René, 22 _n._ 2

Dusuns of Borneo, their annual expulsion of evils, 200 _sq._

Dyak priestesses, 5; transference of evil, 5; mode of neutralizing bad omens, 39

Dyaks, their “lying heaps,” 14; their Head Feast, 383

Dying god as scapegoat, 227

Eabani, Babylonian hero, 398 _sq._

Ears, blood drawn from, as penance, 292

Earth, the Mistress of the, 85

—— -god, 28; the Egyptian, 341

Earthman, the, 61

East, the Wise Men of the, 330 _sq._

—— Indian Islands, 2

—— Indies, the tug-of-war in the, 177

Easter an old vernal festival of the vegetation-god, 328

—— eggs, 269

—— Eve in Albania, expulsion of Kore on, 157

—— Monday, “Easter Smacks” on, 268

“—— Smacks” in Germany and Austria, 268 _sq._

—— Sunday, ceremony on the Eve of, 207 _sq._

—— Tuesday, “Easter Smacks” on, 268

Eastertide, expulsion of evils at, in Calabria, 157

Eck, R. van, quoted, 86

Edward VI., his Lord of Misrule, 332, 334

Effigies, disease transferred to, 7; demons conjured into, 204, 205; substituted for human victims, 408

Effigy of baby used to fertilize women, 245, 249

Eggs, red Easter, 269

Egypt, mode of laying ghosts in, 63; modern, belief in the jinn in, 104; Isis and Osiris in, 386

Egyptians, the ancient, their belief in spirits, 103 _sq._; their use of bulls as scapegoats, 216 _sq._; the five supplementary days of their year, 340 _sq._

Eifel, the King of the Bean in the, 313

Eight days, feast and license of, before expulsion of demons, 131

Ekoi, the, of West Africa, 28

Elamite deities in opposition to Babylonian deities, 366; inscriptions, 367

Elamites, the hereditary foes of the Babylonians, 366

Elaphebolion, an Athenian month, 351

Elaphius, an Elean month, 352

Elder brother, the sin of marrying before an, 3

Elgon, Mount, 246

Elis, law of, 352 _n._ 2

Ellis, W., quoted, 80

Embodied evils, expulsion of, 170 _sqq._

Emetics as remedies for sins, 263

Endle, S., quoted, 93

England, cure of warts in, 48; the King of the Bean in, 313; the Boy Bishop in, 337 _sq._

Enigmas, ceremonial use of, 121 _n._ 3. _See_ Riddles

Entlebuch in Switzerland, expulsion of Posterli at, 214

Epidaurus, Aesculapius at, 47

Epidemics attributed to demons, 111 _sqq._; kept off by means of a plough, 172 _sq._; sent away in toy chariots, 193 _sq._

Epilepsy, cure for, 2, 331; Highland treatment of, 68 _n._ 2; Roman cure for, 68; Hindoo cure for, 69 _n._; cured by beating, 260. _See also_ Falling Sickness

Epiphany, annual expulsion of the powers of evil at, 165 _sqq._; the King of the Bean on, 313 _sqq._ _See also_ Twelfth Night

Eponyms, annual, as scapegoats, 39 _sqq._

Equinox, the vernal, festival of Cronus at, 352; Persian marriages at the, 406 _n._ 3

Equos, a Gallic month, 343 _n._

Erech, Babylonian city, Ishtar at, 398, 399

Erz-gebirge, the Saxon, 271

Esagila, temple at Babylon, 356

Esquimaux of Labrador, their fear of demons, 79 _sq._; of Point Barrow, their expulsion of Luña, 124 _sq._; of Baffin Land, their expulsion of Sedna, 125 _sq._; the Central, the tug-of-war among the, 174; of Bering Strait, their masquerades, 379 _sq._

Esther, fast of, 397 _sq._; the story of, acted as a comedy at Purim, 364

——, the book of, its date and purpose, 360; its Persian colouring, 362, 401; duplication of the personages in, 400 _sq._; the personages unmasked, 405 _sqq._

—— and Mordecai equivalent to Ishtar and Marduk, 405; the duplicates of Vashti and Haman, 406

—— and Vashti, temporary queens, 401

Esthonian mode of transferring bad luck to trees, 54; expulsion of the devil, 173

Eton College, Boy Bishop at, 338

Euhemerism, 385

Euripides, 19

Europe, transference of evil in, 47 _sqq._; annual expulsion of demons and witches in, 155 _sqq._; annual expulsion of evils in, 207 _sqq._; masquerades in modern, 251 _sq._

European folk-custom of “carrying out Death,” 227 _sq._

Eve and Adam, 259 _n._ 3

Evening Star, the goddess of the, 369 _n._ 1

Evessen, in Brunswick, 60

Evil, the transference of, 1 _sqq._; transferred to other people, 5 _sqq._; transferred to sticks and stones, 8 _sqq._; transferred to animals, 31 _sqq._; transferred to men, 38 _sqq._; transference of, in Europe, 47 _sqq._

—— spirits, banishment of, 86. _See_ Demons

Evil-Merodach, Babylonian king, 367 _n._ 2

Evils transferred to trees, 54 _sqq._; nailed into trees, walls, etc., 59 _sqq._; occasional expulsion of, 109 _sqq._, 185 _sqq._; periodic expulsion of, 123 _sqq._, 198 _sqq._; expulsion of embodied, 170 _sqq._; expulsion of, in a material vehicle, 185 _sqq._ _See also_ Expulsion

Ewe, white-footed, as scapegoat, 192 _sq._

Ewe-speaking negroes of the Slave Coast, 74

Excommunication of human scapegoat, 254

Execution by stoning, 24 _n._ 2

Exeter, the Boy Bishop at, 337

Exorcising spirits at sowing the seed, 235

Exorcism of devils in Morocco, 63; annual, of the evil spirit in Japan, 143 _sq._; Nicobarese ceremony of, 262

Exorcists, 2 _sq._, 33

Expiation for sin, 39

Expulsion of evils, 109 _sqq._; the direct or immediate and the indirect or mediate, 109, 224; occasional, 109 _sqq._, 185 _sqq._; periodic, 123 _sqq._, 198 _sqq._; of embodied evils, 170 _sqq._; of evils in a material vehicle, 185 _sqq._; annual, of demons and witches in Europe, 155 _sqq._; of Trows in Shetland, 168 _sq._; of hunger at Chaeronea, 252; of winter, ceremony of the, 404 _sq._

_Faditras_ among the Malagasy, 33 _sq._

Faiths of the world, the great, their little influence on common men, 89

Falling sickness, cure for, 52, 330. _See also_ Epilepsy

Fans, the, of West Africa, 30 _n._ 2

“Fast of Esther” before Purim, 397 _sq._

Fatigue transferred to stones or sticks, 8 _sqq._; let out with blood, 12

Fawckner, Captain James, quoted, 131 _sq._

Fear as a source of religion, 93

Feast, the Great, in Morocco, 180, 182, 265

—— of Lanterns in Japan, 151 _sq._

February and March, the season of the spring sowing in Italy, 346

Ferghana in Turkestan, 184

Ferrers, George, a Lord of Misrule, 332

Fertility of the ground, magical ceremony to promote the, 177

Fertilization, artificial, of fig-trees, 257 _sqq._, 272 _sq._; of the date palm, 272

Fertilizing virtue attributed to certain sticks, 264

“Festival of dreams” among the Iroquois, 127

—— of the Flaying of Men, Mexican, 296 _sqq._

—— of Fools in France, 334 _sqq._; in Germany, Bohemia, and England, 336 _n._ 1

—— of the Innocents, 336 _sqq._

Festivals, the great Christian, timed by the Church to coincide with old pagan festivals, 328

_Fête des Fous_ in France, 334 _sqq._

—— _des Rois_, Twelfth Day, 329

Fever, remedy for, 38; Roman cure for, 47; popular cures for, 47, 49, 51, 53, 55, 56, 58, 59, 63; driven away by firing guns, etc., 121

Fielding, H., quoted, 349 _sq._

Fiends burnt in fire, 320

Fig, the wild, human scapegoats beaten with branches of, 255

Fig-tree, sacred, 61

—— -trees artificially fertilized, 257 _sqq._, 272 _sq._; personated by human victims, 257

Fights, annual, at the New Year, old intention of, 184

Figs, black and white, worn by human scapegoats, 253, 257, 272

Fiji, 15; annual ceremony at appearance of sea-slug in, 141 _sq._

Fir used to beat people with at Christmas, 270, 271

—— -trees in popular cure, 56

Fire, Mexican god of, 300; human sacrifices to, 300 _sqq._; to burn witches, 319

—— new, at New Year, 209; Chinese festival of the, 359

—— sacred, of King of Uganda, 195; kindled by friction, 391 _n._ 4

—— -spirit, annual expulsion of the, 141

Fires extinguished during ceremony, 172; ceremonial, on Eve of Twelfth Day, 316 _sqq._; to burn fiends, 320. _See also_ Bonfires

Five days’ duration of mock king’s reign, 407 _n._ 1

—— days’ reign of mock king at the Sacaea, 355, 357; of Semiramis, 369

Flax, giddiness transferred to, 53; bells rung to make flax grow, 247 _sq._

Flaying of Men, Mexican festival of the, 296 _sqq._

Flemish cure for ague, 56

Flight from the demons of disease, 122 _sq._

Flint, holed, a protection against witches, 162

Flood, the great, 399 _n._ 1

Flowers, the goddess of, 278

Flying Spirits, the, at Lhasa, 197 _sq._

Food set out for ghosts, 154

Fools in processions of maskers, 243

——, festival of, in France, 334 _sqq._; in Germany, Bohemia, and England, 336 _n._ 1

Football, suggested origin of, 184

Fords, offerings and prayers at, 27 _sq._

Formosa, 33

Forty days, man treated as a god during, 281; man personating god during, 297

—— nights of mourning for Persephone, 348

Foucart, G., quoted, 341 _n._ 1

Fountains Abbey, 338

Fowler, W. Warde, 67 _n._ 2, 229 _n._ 1

Fowls as scapegoats, 31, 33, 36, 52 _sq._

France, cure of warts in, 48; cure for toothache in, 59; the King of the Bean in, 313 _sqq._; Festival of Fools in, 334 _sqq._

Franche-Comté, the King of the Bean in, 313; bonfires on the Eve of Twelfth Night in, 316; the Three Kings of Twelfth Day in, 330; Lent in, 348 _n._ 1

Frankenwald Mountains, 160

Frankfort, the feast of Purim at, 394

_Fratres Arvales_, 232

“French and English” or the “Tug-of-war” as a religious or magical rite, 174 _sqq._

French cure for fever, 55

Fresh and green, beating people, 270 _sq._

Frogs, malady transferred to, 50, 53

Fruit-trees, fire applied to, on Eve of Twelfth Night, 317

Fruitful tree, use of stick cut from a, 264

Fumigation with juniper and rue as a precaution against witches, 158

Funeral, relations whipped at a, 260 _sq._

—— of Death, 205

—— ceremony in Uganda, 45 _n._ 2; of a Buddhist monk, 175

Furrow drawn round village as protection against epidemic, 172

Gallas, their mode of expelling fever, 121; annual period of license among the, 226 _n._ 1; their story of the origin of death, 304

Gallows-hill, witches at, 162

Gambling allowed during three days of the year, 150

Games of ball played to produce rain or dry weather, 179 _sq._

Garcilasso de la Vega, 130 _n._ 1

Garos of Assam, their annual use of a scapegoat, 208 _sq._

Gatto, in Benin, 131

Gaul, the Celts of, their calendar, 342 _sqq._

Gazelle Peninsula in New Britain, 82, 303

Ge-lug-pa, a Lamaist sect, 94

Geraestius, a Greek month, 350

Gerard, E., quoted, 106 _sq._

Germany, cure for toothache in, 59; the King of the Bean in, 313

Ghansyam Deo, a deity of the Gonds, 217

Ghats, the Eastern, use of scapegoats in the, 191

Ghosts of suicides feared, 17 _sq._; impregnation of women by, 18; shut up in wood, 60 _sq._; modes of laying, 63; diseases caused by, 85; of the dead periodically expelled, 123 _sq._; Roman festival of, in May, 154 _sq._; driven off by blows, 260 _sqq._

Giddiness, cure for, 53

Gilgamesh, the epic of, 371, 398 _sq._; his name formerly read as Izdubar, 372 _n._ 1; a Babylonian hero, beloved by the goddess Ishtar, 371 _sq._, 398 _sq._

Gilgamus, a Babylonian king, 372 _n._ 1

Gilgenburg in Masuren, 269

Gilyaks of the Amoor, their belief in demons, 101 _sq._

Glamorganshire, cure for warts in, 53

Glen Mor, in Islay, 62

Gloucester, the Boy Bishop at, 337

Gloucestershire, Eve of Twelfth Day in, 318, 321

Goat’s Marsh at Rome, 258

Goats, evil transferred to, 31, 32; as scapegoats, 190, 191, 192

Gobi, the desert of, 13

God, killing the, 1; the black and the white, 92; dying, as scapegoat, 227; the killing of the, in Mexico, 275 _sqq._; resurrection of the, 400

Gods and goddesses represented by living men and women, 385 _sq._

——, Mexican, burn themselves to create the sun, 410; Mother of the, 289; woman annually sacrificed in the character of the Mother of the, 289 _sq._

—— shut up in wood, 61; of the Maoris, 81; of the Pelew Islanders, 81 _sq._; personated by priests, 287; represented in masquerades, 377

Goitre, popular cure for, 54

Gold Coast of West Africa, expulsion of demons on the, 120, 131 _sqq._

Golden Age, the, 353, 386; the reign of Saturn, 306, 344

Golden bells worn by human representatives of gods in Mexico, 278, 280, 284

Gomes, E. H., on the head-feast of the Sea Dyaks, 384 _n._ 1

Gonds of India, human scapegoats among the, 217 _sq._

Gongs beaten to expel demons, 113, 117, 147

Good Friday, 214; expulsion of witches in Silesia on, 157; cattle beaten on, 266; custom of beating each other with rods on, 268

Goudie, Mr. Gilbert, 169 _n._ 2

_Gour-deziou_, “Supplementary Days,” in Brittany, 324

Gout, popular cures for, 56 _sq._

Graetz, H., 395 _n._ 1

Gran Chaco, Indians of the, 122, 262

Grass to grow, dances to cause the, 238; bells rung to cause the, 247

Grasshoppers, sacrifice of, 35

“Grass-ringers,” 247

Graubünden (the Grisons), 239

Graves, heaps of sticks or stones on, 15 _sqq._

Great Bassam in Guinea, exorcism of evil spirit at, 120

—— Feast, the, in Morocco, 180, 182, 265

“—— Purification,” Japanese ceremony, 213 _n._ 1

Greece, ancient, custom of stone-throwing in, 24 _sq._; human scapegoats in, 252 _sqq._; Saturnalia in, 350 _sqq._

Greek use of swallows as scapegoats, 35; of laurel in purification, 262

Greek women, their mourning for Persephone, 349

Greeks, the ancient, their cure for love, 3

—— of Asia Minor, their use of human scapegoats, 255

Green boughs, custom of beating young people with, at Christmas, 270

Grisons, masquerades in the, 239

Groot, J. J. M. de, quoted, 99

Grove, the Arician, 305

Grub in the Grisons, masquerade at, 239

Grubb, W. Barbrooke, quoted, 78 _sq._

Grünberg in Silesia, 163

Guardian spirits of animals, 98

Guatemala, 10; Indians of, 26

Guaycurus, Indian nation, their ceremony at appearance of the Pleiades, 262

Gudea, king of Southern Babylonia, 356

Guessing dreams, 127

Guiana, British, the Arawaks of, 302

——, French, the Roocooyen Indians of, 181, 263; their fear of demons, 78 _sq._

Guinea, annual expulsion of the devil in, 131

——, French, 235

—— negroes, 31

Guns fired to expel demons, 116 _sq._, 119, 120, 121, 125, 132, 133, 137, 147, 148, 149, 150, 203, 204, 221 _n._ 1; against witches, 160, 161, 164

Gypsies, annual ceremony performed by the, 207 _sq._

Hagen, B., quoted, 87 _sq._

Hair of patient inserted in oak, 57 _sq._

Hak-Ka, the, a native race in the province of Canton, 144

Halberstadt in Thüringen, annual ceremony at, 214

Hall in the Tyrol, 248

Halmahera, the Alfoors of, 112; ceremonies at a funeral in, 260 _sq._

Haman, effigies of, burnt at Purim, 392 _sqq._

—— and Mordecai, 364 _sqq._; as temporary kings, 400 _sq._

—— and Vashti the duplicates of Mordecai and Vashti, 406

Haman, a god worshipped by the heathen of Harran, 366 _n._ 1

Hâmân-Sûr, a name for Purim, 393

Hammedatha, father of Haman, 373 _n._ 1

Hammer, sick people struck with a, 259 _n._ 4

Hands of deity, ceremony of grasping the, 356

_Hantoes_, spirits, 87

Hare as scapegoat, 50 _sq._

Harlots, sacred, 370, 371, 372; at Comana, 421 _n._ 1

Harpooning a spirit, 126

Harran, the heathen of, their custom in December, 263 _sq._; their marriage festival of all the gods, 273 _n._ 1; worship a god Haman, 366 _n._ 1

Harrison, Miss J. E., 153 _n._ 1

Harthoorn, S. E., quoted, 86 _sq._

Hartland, E. S., 22 _n._ 2, 69 _n._ 1

Harvest, annual expulsion of demons at or after, 137 _sq._, 225

Hasselt, J. L. van, quoted, 83

Hastings, Warren, 203

Haupt, P., 406 _n._ 2

Hawk, omens from, 384 _n._ 1

Hawthorn a charm against ghosts, 153 _n._ 1

Headache, cure for, 2, 52, 58, 63, 64

Head-feast of the Sea Dyaks, 383, 384 _n._ 1

Headman sacred, 177 _n._ 3

Heaps of stones, sticks, or leaves, to which every passer-by adds, 9 _sqq._; on the scene of crimes, 13 _sqq._; on graves, 15 _sqq._; “lying heaps,” 14

Hearn, Lafcadio, 144

Hearts of human victims offered to the sun, 279, 298

Hebrews, their custom as to leprosy, 35

Hebron, 21

Hecatombaeon, an Athenian month, 351

Hecquard, H., 120

Heitsi-eibib, Hottentot god or hero, 16

Hemp, augury as to the height of the, 315; dances to make hemp grow tall, 315

Hercules, cake with twelve knobs offered to, 351 _n._ 3; identified with Sandan, 388; his death on a pyre, 391

—— and Omphale, 389

Hereford, the Boy Bishop at, 337

Herefordshire, the sin-eater in, 43; Eve of Twelfth Day in, 318 _sqq._

Hermes, wayside images of, 24; Cretan festival of, 350

—— and Argus, 24

Herodotus on the worship of Ishtar (Astarte), 372

Hide beaten with rods, 231

Hierapolis, festival of the Pyre at, 392

Highlands of Scotland, 20; the Twelve Days in the, 324

Hildesheim, bell-ringing at, on Ascension Day, 247 _sq._

Himalayan districts of N. W. India, 29

Hindoo Koosh, expulsion of demons in the, 225

—— tribes, their annual expulsion of demons after harvest, 137

Hindoos, transference of evil among the, 38; their fear of demons, 91 _sq._

Hirt, H., 325 _n._ 3

Hobby-horse to carry away spirit of smallpox, 119

Hochofen, village of Bohemia, 161

Hockey played as a ceremony, 174

Holed flint a protection against witches, 162

Holy Innocents’ Day, 336, 337, 338; young people beat each other on, 270, 271

Homoeopathic or imitative magic, 177

Homogeneity of civilization in prehistoric times in Southern Europe and Western Asia, 409

Honorius and Theodosius, decree of, 392

Hood Bay in New Guinea, 84

Horns blown to expel demons, 111, 117, 204, 214; to ban witches, 160, 161, 165, 166; at Penzance on eve of May Day, 163 _sq._; by maskers, 243, 244

—— of straw worn to keep off demons, 118; of goat a protection against witches, 162

Horse sacrificed to Mars, 230; beloved by Ishtar, 371, 407 _n._ 2; beloved by Semiramis, 407 _n._ 2

—— -shoes a protection against witches, 162

Horus, the birth of, 341

Hos of N. E. India, their annual expulsion of demons at harvest, 136 _sq._

—— of Togoland, their annual expulsion of evils, 134 _sqq._, 206 _sq._

Hosskirch in Swabia, 323

Hottentots, the, 16, 29

Hoyerswerda in Silesia, 163

_Huddler_ or _Huttler_ in the Tyrol, 248

_Hudel_-running in the Tyrol, 248

Huichol Indians of Mexico, 10, 347 _n._ 3

Huitzilopochtli, great Mexican god, 280, 300; young man sacrificed in the character of, 280 _sq._; temple of, 287, 290, 297; hall of, 294

Huixtocihuatl, Mexican goddess of Salt, 283; woman annually sacrificed in the character of, 283 _sq._

Human god and goddess, their enforced union, 386 _sq._

—— representatives of gods sacrificed in Mexico, 275 _sqq._

—— sacrifice, successive mitigations of, 396 _sq._, 408

—— sacrifices, their influence on cosmogonical theories, 409 _sqq._

—— scapegoats, 38 _sqq._, 194 _sqq._, 210 _sqq._; in ancient Rome, 229 _sqq._; in classical antiquity, 229 _sqq._; in ancient Greece, 252 _sqq._; reason for beating the, 256 _sq._; victims, men clad in the skins of, 265 _sq._

Hunger, expulsion of, at Chaeronea, 252

Hurons, their way of expelling sickness, 121

Husbandman, the Roman, his prayers to Mars, 229

Huss, John, 336 _n._ 1

_Huttler_ or _Huddler_ in the Tyrol, 248

Huzuls, the, of the Carpathians, 32 _sq._, 35

Hyginus on the death of Semiramis, 407 _n._ 2

Hysteria cured by beating, 260

Identification of girl with Maize Goddess, 295

Idols, nails knocked into, 69 _sq._

Igbodu, a sacred grove, 212

Igliwa, a Berber tribe, 178

Ilamatecutli, Mexican goddess, 287; woman sacrificed in the character of, 287 _sq._

Ill Luck embodied in an ascetic, 41; the casting away of, 144

Im Thurn, Sir Everard F., quoted, 78

Images, demons conjured into, 171, 172, 173, 203

Immestar in Syria, 394

Immortality, how men lost the boon of, 302 _sqq._

Impregnation of women by ghosts, 18

Inanimate objects, transference of evil to, 1 _sqq._

_Inao_, sacred whittled sticks, 261

Inauguration of a king in ancient India, 263

Incas of Peru, their annual expulsion of evils, 128 _sqq._

Incense used against witches, 158, 159

India, fear of demons in, 89 _sqq._; epidemics sent away in toy chariots in, 193 _sq._; Dravidian tribes of Northern, 259; inauguration of a king in ancient, 263; the Twelve Days in ancient, 324 _sq._; origin of the drama in, 384 _sq._

——, the Central Provinces of, 7; expulsion of disease in the, 190

——, the North-Western Provinces of, 61; the tug-of-war in, 181

Indian Archipelago, expulsion of diseases in the, 199

—— tribes of N. W. America, their masked dances, 375 _sqq._

Indians, mutual scourgings of South American, 262

Indo-China, worship of spirits in, 97 _sq._

Indra, creation of the great god, 410

Infant, children whipt at death of an, 261 _sq._

Infants, burial of, 45

Infertility, evil spirits of, 250

Influenza expelled by scapegoat, 191, 193

Initiation by spirits, 375

Innocents, Bishop of, in France, 334; Festival of the, 336 _sqq._

Innocents’ Day, 336, 337, 338; young people beat each other on, 270, 271

Inspired men in China, 117

Intercalary month, 342 _sqq._

—— period of five days, 407 _n._ 1

—— periods, customs and superstitions attaching to, 328 _sq._; deemed unlucky, 339 _sqq._

Intercalation, rudimentary, to equate lunar and solar years, 325 _sqq._

Interregnum on intercalary days, 328 _sq._

Inversion of social ranks at the Saturnalia and kindred festivals, 308, 350, 407

Ireland, Twelfth Night in, 321 _sq._

Iroquois, their “festival of dreams,” 127; their use of scapegoats, 209 _sq._, 233

Iser Mountains in Silesia, 163

Iserlohn in Westphalia, 266

Ishtar, a great Babylonian goddess, 365; associated with Sirius, 359 _n._ 1; at Erech, 398; her visit to Anu, 399 _n._ 1; goddess of fertility in animals, 406 _n._ 1 _See also_ Astarte

—— and Gilgamesh, 371 _sq._, 398 _sq._

—— and Semiramis, 369 _sqq._

—— and Tammuz, 399, 406

Isis, the birth of, 341

—— and Osiris, 386

Italian cure for fever, 55; season of sowing in spring, 346

Italy, cure of warts in, 48

Izdubar. _See_ Gilgamesh

Jackson, Professor Henry, 35 _n._ 3

Jacobsen, J. Adrian, on the Secret Societies of N. W. America, 377 _sqq._

Jalno, temporary ruler at Lhasa, 218, 220, 221, 222

James, M. R., 395 _notes_ 2 and 3

Jamieson, J., on Trows, 168 _n._ 1, 169 _n._ 2

Japan, cure for toothache in, 71; expulsion of demons in, 118 _sq._, 143 _sq._; Feast of Lanterns in, 151 _sq._; annual expulsion of evil in, 212 _sq._

Jastrow, M., on the epic of Gilgamesh, 399 _n._ 1

_Jataka_, the, 41

Jaundice, cure for, 52

Java, belief in demons in, 86 _sq._; the Tenggerese of, 184

Jay, blue, as scapegoat, 51

Jealousy, cure for, 33

Jensen, P., 362 _n._ 1; his theory of Haman and Vashti as Elamite deities, 366 _sq._; on Anaitis, 369 _n._ 1; on the fast of Esther, 398 _sq._

Jepur in India, use of scapegoat at, 191

Jerusalem, the weeping for Tammuz at, 400

Jewish calendar, New Year’s Day of the, 359

—— converts, form of abjuration used by, 393

—— Day of Atonement, 210

—— festival of Purim, 360 _sqq._

—— use of scapegoats, 210

Jews accused of ritual murders, 394 _sqq._; the great deliverance of the, at Purim, 398

Jinn, belief in the, 104; infesting camels, 260

Jochelson, W., quoted, 101

Johns, Rev. C. H. W., 357 _n._ 2, 367 _notes_ 2 and 3

Joustra, M., quoted, 88

Juhar, the Bhotiyas of, 209

July, the _Nonae Caprotinae_ in, 258

June, Mexican human sacrifice in, 283

Jungle Mother, the, 27

Juniper burned to keep out ghosts, 154 _n._; used to beat people with, 271

—— berries, fumigation with, as a precaution against witches, 158

Juno Caprotina, 258

Jupiter, temple of Capitoline, 66

Kabyle cure for jealousy, 33

Kacharis, the, of Assam, their fear of demons, 93

Kachins of Burma, their belief in demons, 96

Kai, the, of German New Guinea, 264

_Kalau_, demons, 101

_Kaliths_, gods of the Pelew Islanders, 81 _sq._

Kamtchatka, the tug-of-war in, 178

Kamtchatkans, their fear of demons, 89

Kanagra in India, 45

Kanhar river, 60

Karens of Burma, their belief in demons, 96

_Karkantzari_, fiends or monsters in Macedonia, 320

Karpathos, a Greek island, 55

Kasan Government in Russia, the Wotyaks of the, 156

Kaua Indians of N. W. Brazil, 236; their masked dances, 381

Kaumpuli, god of plague, 4

_Kausika Sutra_, Indian book of magic, 192

Kayans, the, of Borneo, 19, 154 _n._; their masked dances, 236, 382 _sq._

Keb, the Egyptian Earth-god, 341

Kei Islands, expulsion of demons in the, 112 _sq._

—— river, 11

Kengtung in Burma, 116

Kennedy, Prof. A. R. S., quoted, 210 _n._ 4

Kharwars of N. India, their use of scapegoats, 192

Khasis of Assam, their annual expulsion of demon of plague, 173

Khonds, their annual expulsion of demons at seed-time, 138, 234; their treatment of human victims, 259

Killing the god, 1; in Mexico, 275 _sqq._

King, temporary, in Siam, 151; in ancient India, inauguration of a, 263; assembly for determining the fate of the, 356; mock or temporary, 403 _sq._

—— and Queen of May, 406

—— of the Bean, 313 _sqq._; at Merton College, Oxford, 332

—— of the Saturnalia, 308, 311, 312

—— of the Years at Lhasa, 220, 221

King’s College, Cambridge, Boy Bishop at, 338

Kings, the Three, on Twelfth Day, 329 _sqq._; magistrates at Olympia called, 352; marry the wives and concubines of their predecessors, 368

Kingsley, Mary H., quoted, 74

Kioga Lake, 246

Kiriwina, in S. E. New Guinea, 134

Kirkland, Rev. Mr., 210

Kitching, A. L., quoted, 246 _sq._

Kites, artificial, used to drive away the devil, 4; paper, flown as scapegoats, 203

Kleintitschen, P. A., quoted, 82 _sq._

Kleptomania, cure for, 34

Kling or Klieng, a mythical hero of the Dyaks, 383, 384 _n._ 1

Knives under the threshold, a protection against witches, 162

Knots tied in branches of trees as remedies, 56 _sq._

Knotted thread in magic, 48

Kobeua Indians of N. W. Brazil, their masked dances, 236, 381

Kore, expulsion of, on Easter Eve in Albania, 157

Korkus, the, of India, 7

Korwas of Mirzapur, their use of scapegoats, 192

Koryaks, the, of N. E. Asia, their belief in demons, 100 _sq._; expulsion of demons among the, 126 _sq._

Kubary, J., quoted, 81 _sq._

Kumaon, in N. W. India, 37; sliding down a rope in, 196 _sq._

Kumis, the, of S. E. India, 117

Kurmis of India, 190

Kururumany, the Arawak creator, 302

Kuskokwin River, 380

Kwakiutl Indians of N. W. America, their masked dances, 376 _n._ 2, 378

Labrador, fear of demons in, 79 _sq._

Labruguière, in S. France, 166

Lagarde, on the “Ride of the Beardless One,” 402, 405

Lakor, island of, 199

Lama of Tibet, the Grand, 197, 220, 221, 222

——, the Teshu, 203

Lamaist sects, 94

_Lanchang_, a Malay craft, 187

Lande-Patry in Normandy, 183

Lane, E. W., quoted, 104

Lanterns, feast of, in Japan, 151 _sq._

Laos, 29

Laosians of Siam, their belief in demons, 97

Last day of the year, annual expulsion of demons on the, 145 _sqq._

Latin Christianity, its tolerance of rustic paganism, 346

Laurel in purification, 262

Laurels, ceremony of renewing the, 346 _n._ 1

Lawes, W. G., quoted, 84 _sq._

Lead, melted, in cure, 4

Leafman, the, 61

Leaping over bonfires, 156

Leaps to promote the growth of the crops, 232, 238 _sqq._

Leaves, disease transferred to, 2; fatigue transferred to, 8 _sqq._; used to expel demons, 201, 206; sickness transferred to, 259; used in exorcism, 262

Lehmann-Haupt, C. F., 412 _n._ 1, 415 _n._ 1

Lehner, Stefan, quoted, 83 _sq._

Leith Links, witches burnt on, 165

Leme, the river, 182

Lengua Indians, 78

Lent, ceremony at Halberstadt in, 214; perhaps derived from an old pagan period of abstinence observed for the growth of the seed, 347 _sqq._

—— and the Saturnalia, 345 _sqq._

Lenten fast, its origin, 348

Leobschütz district of Silesia, 268

Leprosy, Hebrew custom as to, 35; Mexican goddess of, 292

Lerwick, ceremony of Up-helly-a’ at, 169

Leti, island of, 199

Leucadians, their use of human scapegoats, 254

Lhasa, ceremony of the Tibetan New Year at, 197 _sq._, 218 _sqq._

“Liar’s mound, the,” in Borneo, 14

License, month of general, 148; periods of, preceding or following the annual expulsion of demons, 225 _sq._, 306, 328 _sq._, 343, 344; granted to slaves at the Saturnalia, 307 _sq._, 350 _sq._, 351 _sq._

Licentious rites for the fertilization of the ground, 177

Lichfield, the Boy Bishop at, 337

Licorice root used to beat people with at Easter, 269

Liebrecht, F., 392 _n._ 1

Lienz in the Tyrol, masquerade at, 242, 245

Lime-tree in popular cure, 59 _sq._

Limewood used at expulsion of demons, 156

Lincoln, the Boy Bishop at, 337

Lion beloved by Ishtar, 371

“—— with the Sheepskins,” 265

Livuans, the, of New Britain, 82

Livy on the annual custom of knocking a nail, 66; on the Saturnalia, 345 _n._ 1

Lizard or snake in annual ceremony for the riddance of evils, 208

Lizards and serpents supposed to renew their youth by casting their skins, 302 _sqq._

Llama, black, as scapegoat, 193

Loango, practice of knocking nails into idols in, 69 _sq._

_Lokoala_, initiation by spirits, 376

Lord of the Diamond, 29

—— of Misrule, 251; in England, 331 _sqq._

Lorraine, King and Queen of the Bean in, 315

Loth, J., 325 _n._ 3

Lots cast at Purim, 361 _sq._

Louis XIV. as King of the Bean, 313

Lous, a Babylonian month, 355, 358

Love, cure for, 3

Lover’s Leap, 254

Lovers of Semiramis and Ishtar, their sad fate, 371 _sq._

Lucian, as to the rites of Hierapolis, 392

Ludlow in Shropshire, the tug-of-war at, 182

Lugg, river, 183

Lules or Tonocotes of the Gran Chaco, their behaviour in an epidemic, 122 _sq._

Lumholtz, C., quoted, 10, 347 _n._ 3

Lunar year equated to solar year by intercalation, 325, 342 _sq._

Lusatia, the “Witch-burning” in, 163

Lushais of Assam, their belief in demons, 94

Luzon, exorcism in, 260

Lycaeus, Mount, in Arcadia, human sacrifice on, 353

Lydia, the burning of kings in, 391

Lydus, Joannes, 229 _n._ 1

Ma, goddess worshipped at Comana, 421 _n._ 1

MacCulloch, J. A., 326 _n._

Macdonald, Rev. James, 111 _n._ 1

Macdonell, Lady Agnes, 164 _n._ 1

Macedonian superstitions as to the Twelve Days, 320

Machindranath temple at Lhasa, 219

Mackenzie, Sheriff David J., 169 _n._ 2

Macrobius on institution of the Saturnalia, 345 _n._ 1

Madagascar, 19

Madis, the, of Central Africa, 217

Magdalen College, Oxford, the Boy Bishop at, 337

Magic in ancient India, 91; and witchcraft, permanence of the belief in, 89; homoeopathic or imitative, 177, 232, 257

Magnesia on the Maeander, 397 _n._ 2

Mahadeva, propitiation of, 197

Maize, the goddess of the Young, 278; Mexican goddesses of, 285 _sq._, 286 _n._ 1, 290, 291, 292, 294, 295

Majhwars, Dravidian race of Mirzapur, 36, 60

Makrîzî, Arabic writer, 393

Malabar, use of cows as scapegoats in, 216

Malagasy, _faditras_ among the, 33 _sq._

Malay Peninsula, the Besisi of the, 226 _n._ 1

Malays, their use of birds as scapegoats, 35; stratification of religious beliefs among the, 90 _n._ 1

Mallans of India, 190

Mamurius Veturius in ancient Rome, 229 _sqq._, 252, 257

Man-god in China, 117 _sq._

Mandan Indians, their annual expulsion of the devil, 171

Manipur, Rajah of, 39 _sq._; annual eponyms in, 39 _sq._

Mannhardt, W., on processions of maskers, 250; on beating human scapegoats, 255, 272

Mantras, the, of the Malay Peninsula, their fear of demons, 88 _sq._

Maori gods, 81

Maraves, the, of South Africa, 19

Marcellus of Bordeaux, 48, 50

March, annual expulsion of demons in, 149; annual expulsion of witches in, 157; annual expulsion of evils in, 199; ceremony of Mamurius Veturius in, 229, 231; old Roman year began in, 231, 345; dances of the Salii in, 232; bell-ringing procession on the first of, 247; custom of beating people and cattle in, 266; marriage festival of all the gods in, 373 _n._ 1; festival of the Matronalia in, 346

Marduk or Merodach, Babylonian god, 356, 357, 399; as a deliverer from demons, 103; his ceremonial marriage at New Year, 356; the votaries of, 372 _n._ 2

Marjoram a protection against witchcraft, 160

Mar-na, a Philistine deity, 418 _n._ 1

Marriage of the god Marduk, 356

——, mock or real, of human victims, 257 _sq._

—— festival of all the gods, 273 _n._ 1

Mars a god of vegetation, 229 _sq._; the Old, at Rome, 229, 231, 252

—— Silvanus, 230

_Marsaba_, a demon, 109

Marseilles, human scapegoats at, 253

Marsh-marigolds a protection against witches, 163

Martin, Rev. John, quoted, 132 _sq._

Martyrdom of St. Dasius, 308 _sqq._

Mascal or Festival of the Cross in Abyssinia, 133 _sq._

Mashti, supposed name of Elamite goddess, 366 _sq._

Mask, two-faced, worn by image of goddess, 287. _See also_ Masks

Masked dances and ceremonies of savages, 374 _sqq._; to promote fertility, 236

Maskers in the Tyrol and Salzburg, 242 _sqq._; as bestowers of fertility, 249; supposed to be inspired by the spirits whom they represent, 380, 382, 383

Masks worn at expulsion of demons, 111, 127, 145, 213; intended to ban demons, 246; worn at ceremonies to promote the growth of the crops, 236, 240, 242 _sqq._, 247, 248 _sq._; worn by the _Perchten_, 242, 243, 245, 247; worn by priests who personate gods, 287; worn in religious dances and performances, 375, 376 _n._ 2, 378, 379, 380, 382; burned at end of masquerade, 382; treated as animate 382

Masquerades in modern Europe, intention of certain, 251 _sq._

Master of the Revels, 333 _sq._

Masuren, “Easter Smacks” in, 269

Mateer, S., quoted, 94

_Mater Dolorosa_, the ancient and the modern, 349

Material vehicles of immaterial things (fear, misfortune, disease, etc.), 1 _sqq._, 22 _n._ 2, 23 _sqq._

Materialization of prayer, 22 _n._ 2

Matronalia, festival of the, in March, 346

Matse negroes of Togoland, 3

Mawu, Supreme Being of Ewe negroes, 74 _sq._

Maxwell, W. E., quoted, 90 _n._ 1

May, Mexican human sacrifices in, 276, 280; dances of Castilian peasants in, 280; the King and Queen of, 406

—— Day, 359; Eve of, witches abroad on, 158 _sqq._; in the Tyrol, “Burning out of the Witches” on, 158 _sq._; witches rob cows of milk on, 267

—— morning, custom of herdsmen on, 266

Mayas of Yucatan, their annual expulsion of the demon, 171; their calendar, 171; their five supplementary days, 340

Mecca, stone-throwing at, 24

Mecklenburg, custom on Good Friday in, 266; mode of reckoning the Twelve Days in, 327

Medicine-man, need of, 76

Melanesia, belief in demons in, 82

Melenik in Macedonia, 320

Men, evil transferred to, 38 _sqq._; possessed by spirits in China, 117; divine, as scapegoats, 217 _sqq._; sacrifices of deified, 409

—— and women forbidden by Mosaic law to interchange dress, 363

_Mengap_, a Dyak liturgy, 383

Merodach or Marduk, Babylonian deity, 356

Merton College, Oxford, King of the Bean at, 332

Metageitnion, a Greek month, 354

Mexican temples, their form, 279

Mexico, Indians of, 10; the Cora Indians of, 238, 381; the Tarahumare Indians of, 236 _sq._; use of skins of human victims in ancient, 265 _sq._; killing the god in, 275 _sqq._; story of the creation of the sun in, 410

Meyer, Eduard, 349 _n._ 4

Midsummer Day, 359

—— Eve, witches active on, 158, 160

Milan, festival of the Three Kings of Twelfth Day at, 331

Milk, heifers beaten to make them yield, 266 _sq._

Milky juice of wild fig-tree in religious rite, 258

Mimicry the principle of religious or magical dramas, 374

Minahassa in Celebes, expulsion of demons in, 111 _sq._

_Mingoli_, spirits of the dead, 77

Miotse, the, of China, 4

Mirzapur, 6, 27, 36; the Korwas and Pataris of, 192

Misfortune swept out of house with brooms, 5

Misrule, the Lord of, 251; in England, 331 _sqq._

Missiles hurled at dangerous ghosts or spirits, 17 _sqq._

Mistress of the Earth, 85

Mitigations of human sacrifice, 396 _sq._, 408

Mnevis, sacred Egyptian bull, 217

Moa, island of, 199

Mock king, 403 _sq._

—— marriage of human victims, 257 _sq._

Mockery of Christ, 412 _sqq._

_Modai_, invisible spirits, 93

Moesia, Durostorum in Lower, 309

Mogador, 63

Mohammed and the devil, 24

Mohammedan custom of raising cairns, 21

—— saints, 21, 22

“Moles and Field-mice,” fire ceremony on Eve of Twelfth Night, 317

Molina, Spanish historian, 130 _n._ 1

Molonga, a demon, 172

Mommsen, August, 153 _n._ 1

Mongol transference of evil, 7 _sq._

Monkey sacrificed for riddance of evils, 208 _sq._

Montagne du Doubs, 316

Month during which men disguised as devils go about, 132; of general license before expulsion of demons, 148; intercalary, 342 _sqq._

—— and moon, names for, in Aryan languages, 325

Monumbo, the, of German New Guinea, their masked dances, 382

Moon, bodily ailments transferred to the, 53 _sq._; the waning, 60; the “dark” and the “light,” 140, 141 _n._ 1; temple of the, 218; hearts of human victims offered to the, 282; the goddess of the, 341, 381

—— and month, names for, in Aryan languages, 325

Moors of Morocco, 31

Moravia, precautions against witchcraft in, 162; “Easter Smacks” in, 268, 269

Mordecai, his triumphal ride in Susa, 403

—— and Esther equivalent to Marduk and Ishtar, 405; the duplicates of Haman and Vashti, 406

—— and Haman, 364 _sqq._; as temporary kings, 400 _sq._

Morning Star, personated by a man, 238; the god of the, 381

Morocco, 21, 31; exorcism in, 63; the tug-of-war in, 178 _sq._, 182; custom of beating people in, 265, 266

Morris-dancers, 250 _sq._

Mortality, savage explanations of human, 302 _sqq._

Mortlock Islanders, their belief in spirits, 82

Mosaic law forbids interchange of dress between men and women, 363

Moses, the tomb of, 21

Moslem custom of raising cairns, 21

Mossos of China, their annual expulsion of demons, 139

Mosul, cure for headache at, 64

Mother of the Gods, Mexican goddess, 289; woman annually sacrificed in the character of the, 289 _sq._

—— -kin in royal families, 368 _n._ 1

Moulton, Professor J. H., 325 _n._ 3, 373 _n._ 1

Mounds of Semiramis, 370, 371, 373

Mountain of Parting, 279

Movers, F. C., on the Sacaea, 368, 387, 388, 391

Mowat in British New Guinea, 265

Mrus, the, of Aracan, 12 _n._ 1

Mule as scapegoat, 50

Müller, K. O., on Sandan, 389 _sq._

Mundaris, the, of N. E. India, their annual saturnalia at harvest, 137

Munich, annual expulsion of the devil at, 214 _sq._

Munzerabad in S. India, 172

Muota Valley in Switzerland, 166

Murder, heaps of sticks or stones on scenes of, 15

Mylitta, Babylonian goddess, 372 _n._ 2, 390

Mysore in S. India, 172

Mysteries as magical ceremonies, 374

Mythical beings represented by men and women, 385 _sq._

Myths in relation to magic, 374; performed dramatically in dances, 375 _sqq._

Nabu, Babylonian god, 358 _n._

Nagas of Assam, the tug-of-war among the, 177

Nahum, the prophet, on Nineveh, 390

Nahuntí, an Elamite goddess, 369 _n._ 1

Nailing evils into trees, walls, etc., 59 _sqq._

Nails, clippings of, in popular cures, 57, 58; knocked into trees, walls, etc., as remedy, 59 _sqq._; knocked into idols or fetishes, 69 _sq._; knocked in ground as cure for epilepsy, 330

Nakiza, the river, 27

_Nat_ superstition in Burma, 90 _n._ 1

_Nats_, spirits in Burma, 175 _sq._; propitiation of, 96

Navona, Piazza, at Rome, ceremony of Befana on the, 166 _sq._

Nebuchadnezzar, his record of the festival of Marduk, 357

Negritos, religion of the, 82

Neilgherry Hills, 36, 37

Nelson, E. W., on the masquerades of the Esquimaux, 379 _sqq._

_Nemontemi_, the five supplementary days of the Aztec calendar, 339

Nepaul, Dassera festival in, 226 _n._ 1

Nephthys, the birth of, 341

Nettles, whipping with, 263

Neugramatin in Bohemia, 270

Neumann, J. B., quoted, 87

New Britain, the Melanesians of, their belief in demons, 82 _sq._; expulsion of devils in, 109 _sq._; Gazelle Peninsula in, 303

—— Caledonia, burying the evil spirit in, 110; mode of promoting growth of taros in, 264

—— College, Oxford, Boy Bishop at, 338

—— Guinea, annual expulsion of demons in, 134

—— Guinea, British, 265; belief in ghosts in, 84 _sq._

—— Guinea, Dutch, 178; the Papuans of, their belief in demons, 83

—— Guinea, German, the Yabim of, 188; the Bukaua of, their belief in demons, 83 _sq._; the Kai of, 264; the Monumbo of, 382

—— Hebrideans, their story of the origin of death, 304

—— yams, ceremonies before eating the, 134 _sqq._

—— Year, expulsion of evils at the, 127, 133, 149 _sq._, 155; not reckoned from first month, 149 _n._ 2; sham fight at the, 184; ceremony at the Tibetan, 197 _sq._; festival among the Iroquois, 209 _sq._; the Tibetan, 218; festival at Babylon, 356 _sqq._

—— Year’s Day in Corea, annual riddance of evil on, 202; in Tibet, ceremony on, 203; among the Swahili, 226 _n._ 1; young women beat young men on, 271; of the Jewish calendar, 359

—— Zealand, human scapegoats in, 39

_Nganga_, medicine-man, 76

Ngoc hoang, his message to men, 303

Nias, expulsion of demons in, 113 _sqq._; explanation of human mortality in, 303

Nicaragua, 9

Nicholas Bishop, 338

Nicobar Islanders, their belief in demons, 88; their annual expulsion of demons, 201 _sq._

—— Islands, demon of disease sent away in a boat from the, 189 _sq._

Nicobarese ceremony of exorcism, 262

Nights, custom of reckoning by, 326 _n._ 2

Nineveh, tomb of Sardanapalus at, 388 _n._ 1; the burning of Sandan at, 390

Ninus, Assyrian hero, 391

Nirriti, goddess of evil, 25

Nisan, Jewish month, 356, 361, 415

_No_, annual expulsion of demons in China, 145 _sq._

Noises made to expel demons, 109 _sqq._, 147

Nöldeke, Professor Th., on Purim and Esther, 366, 367 _n._ 1, 368 _n._; on Omanos and Anadates, 373 _n._ 1

_Nonae Caprotinae_, Roman celebration of the, 258

Normandy, the Bocage of, 183 _sq._, 316, 323

Northamptonshire cure for cough, 51

Nortia, Etruscan goddess, 67

Norwegian sailors, their use of rowan, 267

Norwich, the Boy Bishop at, 337

November, annual ceremony in, at catching sea-slug, 143; expulsion of demons in, 204

Nut, the Egyptian sky-goddess, 341

Nyassa, Lake, 10

Oak and wild olive, pyre of Hercules made of, 391

—— -trees in popular cures, 57, 60

Obassi Nsi, earth-god, 28

October, annual expulsion of demons in, 226 _n._ 1; Roman sacrifice of horse in, 230

Oels, in Silesia, 157

Oesel, Esthonian island, 14

Offerings at cairns, 26 _sqq._; to demons, 96

_Oho-harahi_, a Japanese ceremony, 213

Old Christmas Day (Twelfth Night), 321

Oldenberg, H., quoted, 90 _sq._

Oldenburg, popular cures in, 49, 51, 52, 53-58

Oldfield, H. A., quoted, 226 _n._ 1

Olive, wild, and oak, pyre of Hercules made of, 391

—— -tree in popular remedy, 60

Olympia, festival of Cronus at, 352 _sq._

Olynthiac, river, 142 _n._ 1

Olynthus, tomb of, 143 _n._

Omanos at Zela, 373 _n._ 1

Omens, mode of neutralizing bad, 39

Omnipresence of demons, 72 _sqq._

Omphale and Hercules, 389

One-eyed buffoon in New Year ceremony, 402

Onions used to foretell weather of the year, 323

Onitsha, on the Niger, annual expulsion of evils at, 133; use of human scapegoats at, 210 _sq._

Opening of the Wine-jars, Dionysiac festival of the, 352

Oraons, the, of Bengal, their belief in demons, 93 _sq._; their use of a human scapegoat, 196

Orchards, fire applied to, on Eve of Twelfth Day, 317, 319, 320

Orestes, purification of, 262

Origin of death, savage tales of the, 302 _sqq._

Orinoco, Indians of the, 303

Orkney Islands, 29; transference of sickness in the, 49

Orlagau in Thüringen, 271

Oscans, the enemies of Rome, 231

Osiris, the birth of, 341

—— and Isis, 386

Ottery St. Mary’s, the Boy Bishop at, 337

Oude, burial of infants in, 45

“Our Mother among the Water,” Mexican goddess, 278

Owl represented dramatically as a mystery, 377

Ox, disease transferred to, 31 _sq._

Oxen pledged on Eve of Twelfth Day, 319

Oxford, Lords of Misrule at, 332

Pairing dogs, stick that has beaten, 264

Palm Sunday, Russian custom on, 268

Pan’s image beaten by the Arcadians, 256

Pancakes to scald fiends on New Year’s Eve, 320

Pandarus, tattoo marks of, 47 _sq._

Papa Westray, one of the Orkney Islands, 29

Papuans, their belief in demons, 83

Parkinson, R., quoted, 83

Parti, name of an Elamite deity, 367

Passover, accusations of murders at, 395 _sq._; the crucifixion of Christ at, 414 _sqq._

Patagonians, their remedy for smallpox, 122

Pataris of Mirzapur, their use of scapegoats, 192

Pathian, a beneficent spirit, 94

Paton, L. B., 360 _n._ 1

Paton, W. R., on human scapegoats in ancient Greece, 257 _sq._, 259, 272; on Adam and Eve, 259 _n._ 3; on the crucifixion, 413 _n._ 2

Pauntley, parish of, Eve of Twelfth Day in, 318

Pawnees, their human sacrifice, 296

Payne, E. J., 286 _n._ 1

Peach-tree in popular remedy, 54

_Peaiman_, sorcerer, 78

Peg used to transfer disease to tree, 7

Pegging ailments into trees, 58 _sqq._

Pelew Islanders, their gods, 81 _sq._

Peloria, a Thessalian festival resembling the Saturnalia, 350

Pelorian Zeus, 350

_Pemali_, taboo, 39

Pembrokeshire, cure for warts in, 53

Penance by drawing blood from ears, 292

Pennant, Thomas, quoted, 321, 324

Penzance, horn-blowing at, on the Eve of May Day, 163 _sq._

Perak, periodic expulsion of evils in, 198 _sqq._; the rajah of, 198 _sq._

Perche and Beauce, in France, 57, 62

Perchta, Frau, 240 _sq._

Perchta’s Day, 240, 242, 244

_Perchten_, maskers in Salzburg and the Tyrol, 240, 242 _sqq._

Percival, R., quoted, 94 _sq._

Perham, Rev. J., on the Head-feast of the Sea Dyaks, 383 _sq._

Periodic expulsion of evils in a material vehicle, 198 _sqq._

Periods of license preceding or following the annual expulsion of demons, 225 _sq._

Περίψημα, 255 _n._ 1

Persephone, mourning for, 348 _sq._

Persia, cure for toothache in, 59; the feast of Purim in, 393

Persian framework of the book of Esther, 362, 401

—— kings married the wives of their predecessors, 368 _n._ 1

—— marriages at the vernal equinox, 406 _n._ 3

Persians annually expel demons, 145; the Sacaea celebrated by the, 402

Peru, Indians of, 3; Incas of, 128; Aymara Indians of, 193; autumn festival in, 262

Peruvian Indians, 9, 27

_Phees_ (_phi_), evil spirits, 97

Philadelphia in Lydia, coin of, 389

Philippine Islands, spirits of the dead in the, 82

Philippines, the Tagbanuas of the, 189

Philo of Alexandria, on the mockery of King Agrippa, 418

Phocylides, the poet, on Nineveh, 390

Phrygia, Cybele and Attis in, 386

Piazza Navona at Rome, Befana on the, 166 _sq._

Pig used to decoy demons, 200, 201

Pig’s blood used in purificatory rites, 262

Pilate and Christ, 416 _sq._

Piles of sticks or stones. _See_ Heaps

Pillar, fever transferred to a, 53

Pine-resin burnt as a protection against witches, 164

Pins stuck into saint’s image, 70 _sq._

Pinzgau district of Salzburg, 244

Pitch smeared on doors to keep out ghosts, 153

Pitchforks ridden by witches, 160, 162

Pithoria, village in India, 191

Pitteri Pennu, the god of increase, 138

Plague transferred to plantain-tree, 4 _sq._; god of, 4; transferred to camel, 33; preventive of, 64; demon of, expelled, 173; sent away in scapegoat, 193

Plato on parricide, etc., 24 _sq._; on poets, 35 _n._ 3; on sorcery, 47

Playfair, Major A., quoted, 208 _sq._

Pleiades, ceremony at the appearance of the, 262; observed by savages, 326

Pliny on cure of warts, 48 _n._ 2; on cure for epilepsy, 68

Pliny’s letter to Trajan, 420

Plough drawn round village to keep off epidemic, 172 _sq._

—— Monday, the rites of, 250 _sq._

Ploughing, ceremonies at, 235

Plutarch on “the expulsion of hunger,” 252

Po Then, a great spirit, 97

Point Barrow, the Esquimaux of, 124

Pollution caused by murder, 25

Polynesia, demons in, 80 _sq._

Pomerania, 17

Pomos of California, their expulsion of devils, 170 _sq._

Pongau district of Salzburg, 244

Pontarlier, Eve of Twelfth Day in, 316

Pontiff of Zela in Pontus, 370, 372

Pontus, rapid spread of Christianity in, 420 _sq._

Porphyry on demons, 104

Port Charlotte in Islay, 62

—— Moresby in New Guinea, 84

Porto Novo, annual expulsion of demons at, 205

Poseidon, cake with twelve knobs offered to, 351

Posterli, expulsion of, 214

Potala Hill at Lhasa, 197

Poverty, annual expulsion of, 144 _sq._

Powers, Stephen, quoted, 170 _sq._

Prajapati, the sacrifice of the creator, 411

Prayer, the materialization of, 22 _n._ 2; at sowing, 138

Prayers at cairns or heaps of sticks or leaves, 26, 28, 29 _sq._

Presteign in Radnorshire, the tug-of-war at, 182 _sq._

Priest, the corpse-praying, 45

Priests personating gods, 287

Proa, demons of sickness expelled in a, 185 _sqq._; diseases sent away in a, 199 _sq._

Processions for the expulsion of demons, 117, 233; bell-ringing, at the Carnival, 247; to drive away demons of infertility, 245; of maskers, W. Mannhardt on, 250

Procopius, quoted, 125 _n._ 1

Propertius, 19

Propitiation of ancestral spirits, 86; of demons, 93, 94, 96, 100

Prussia, “Easter Smacks” in, 268

——, West, 17

Prussian rulers, formerly burnt, 391

Public expulsion of evils, 109 _sqq._

—— scapegoats, 170 _sqq._

_Puḫru_, “assembly,” 361

_Puithiam_, sorcerer, 94

Puna Indians, 9

Punjaub, human scapegoats in the, 196

Puppy, blind, as scapegoat, 50

_Pur_ in the sense of “lot,” 361

Purification by bathing or washing, 3 _sq._; by means of stone-throwing, 23 _sqq._; religious, intended to keep off demons, 104 _sq._; the Great, a Japanese ceremony, 213 _n._ 1; by beating, 262; Feast of the, (Candlemas), 332

—— festival among the Cherokee Indians, 128

Purim, the Jewish festival of, 360 _sqq._; custom of burning effigies of Haman at, 392 _sqq._; compared to the Carnival, 394; its relation to Persia, 401 _sqq._

Purushu, great primordial giant, 410

Pyre, traditionary death of Asiatic kings and heroes on a, 387, 388, 389 _sqq._; festival of the, at Hierapolis, 392

Pythagoras, his saying as to swallows, 35 _n._ 3

Quauhtitlan, city in Mexico, 301

Queen of the Bean, 313, 315

Queensland, tribes of Central, their expulsion of a demon, 172

Quetzalcoatl, a Mexican god, 281, 300; man sacrificed in the character of, 281 _sq._

“Quickening” heifers with a branch of rowan, 266 _sq._

Quixos, Indians of the, 263

Ra, the Egyptian Sun-god, 341

Races to ensure good crops, 249

Radnorshire, 182

Rafts, evils expelled in, 199, 200 _sq._

Rain, charms to produce, 175 _sq._, 178 _sq._; or drought, games of ball played to produce, 179 _sq._; dances to obtain, 236 _sq._, 238; festival to procure, 277; divinities of the, 381

—— gods of Mexico, 283

Rainy season, expulsion of demons at the beginning of the, 225

Rajah of Manipur, 39 _sq._; of Travancore, 42 _sq._; of Tanjore, 44

Ramsay, Sir W. M., 421 _n._ 1

Ranchi, in Chota Nagpur, 139

Rattles to keep out ghosts, 154 _n._

Raven legends among the Esquimaux, 380

Red thread in popular cure, 55

—— and yellow paint on human to represent colours of maize, 285

Reed, W. A., quoted, 82

Reinach, Salomon, 420 _n._ 1

Renan, Ernest, 70

Renewal, annual, of king’s power at Babylon, 356, 358

Resurrection, the divine, in Mexican ritual, 288, 296, 302; of the dead god, 400

Revelry at Purim, 363 _sq._

Revels, Master of the, 333 _sq._

Rhea, wife of Cronus, 351

Rhodians, their annual sacrifice of a man to Cronus, 353 _sq._, 397

Rhys, Sir John, 343 _n._; quoted, 70 _sq._

Ribhus, Vedic genii of the seasons, 325

Rice-harvest, carnival at the, 226 _n._ 1

Richalm, Abbot, his fear of devils, 105 _sq._

Riddles asked at certain seasons or on certain occasions, 120 _sq._, _n._

“Ride of the Beardless One,” a Persian New Year ceremony, 402 _sq._

Ridgeway, W., 353 _n._ 4; on the origin of Greek tragedy, 384 _n._ 2

Ridley, Rev. W., quoted, 123 _sq._

Riedel, J. G. F., quoted, 85

Rig Veda, story of creation in the, 410

Ring suspended in Purim bonfire, 393

Rings, headache transferred to, 2

Ritual murder, accusations of, brought against the Jews, 394 _sqq._

River of Good Fortune, 28

Rivers used to sweep away evils, 3 _sq._, 5; offerings and prayers to, 27 _sq._

Rivros, a month of the Gallic calendar, 343

Rockhill, W. W., 220 _n._ 1

Rogations, 277

Roman cure for fever, 47; for epilepsy, 68

—— festival in honour of ghosts, 154 _sq._

—— husbandman, his prayers to Mars, 229

—— seasons of sowing, 232

—— soldiers, celebration of the Saturnalia by, 308 _sq._

Romans, their mode of reckoning a day, 326 _n._ 2

Rome, the knocking of nails in ancient, 64 _sqq._; Piazza Navona at, 166 _sq._; ancient, human scapegoats in, 229 _sqq._; the Saturnalia at, 307 _sq._

Romulus, disappearance of, 258

Roocooyen Indians of French Guiana, 263; their tug-of-war, 181

Roof, dances on the, 315

Rook, expulsion of devil in island of, 109

Rope, ceremony of sliding down a, 196 _sqq._

Ropes used to keep off demons, 120, 149; used to exclude ghosts, 152 _sq._, 154 _n._

Roscher, W. H., on the Salii, 231 _n._ 3

Roscommon, Twelfth Night in, 321 _sq._

Rosemary, used to beat people with, 270, 271

Rouen, ceremony on Ascension Day at, 215 _sq._

Roumanians of Transylvania, 16; their belief in demons, 106 _sq._

Rowan-tree, cattle beaten with branches of, on May Day, 266 _sq._; used to keep witches from cows, 267

Rue, fumigation with, as a precaution against witches, 158

Rupture, popular cures for, 52, 60

Russia, the Wotyaks of, 155 _sq._

Russian custom on Palm Sunday, 268

—— villagers, their precautions against epidemics, 172 _sq._

_Rutuburi_, a dance of the Tarahumare Indians, 237

Sacaea, a Babylonian festival, 354 _sqq._; in relation to Purim, 359 _sqq._; and Zakmuk, 399; celebrated by the Persians, 402

Sacred dramas, as magical rites, 373 _sqq._

—— harlots, 370, 371, 372

—— slaves, 370

Sacrifice, human, successive mitigations of, 396 _sq._, 408; the Brahmanical theory of, 410 _sq._

Sacrifices, human, their influence on cosmogonical theories, 409 _sqq._; of deified men, 409

Sacrificial victims, beating people with the skins of, 265

Sagar in India, use of scapegoat at, 190 _sq._

Sahagun, B. de, 276, 280, 300 _n._ 1, 301 _n._ 1

“Saining,” a protection against spirits, 168

St. Barbara’s Day, custom of putting rods in pickle on, 270

St. Dasius, martyrdom of, 308 _sqq._

St. Edmund’s Day in November, 332

St. Eustorgius, church of, at Milan, 331

St. George, Eve of, witches active on the, 158

St. George’s Day among the South Slavs, 54

St. Guirec, 70

St. Hiztibouzit, 413 _n._ 2

St. John the Baptist, 53

St. John (the Evangelist), festival of, 334

St. John’s Day in Abyssinia, 133

St. John’s wort a protection against witchcraft, 160

St. Joseph, feast of, 297

St. Nicholas Day, 337, 338

St. Paul’s, London, the Boy Bishop at 337

St. Peter’s, Canterbury, the Boy Bishop at, 337

St. Peter’s Day (22nd February), ceremony on, 159 _n._ 1

St. Pierre d’Entremont in Normandy, 183

St. Romain, the shrine of, at Rouen, 216

St. Stephen’s Day, 333, 334; custom of beating young women on, 270

St. Sylvester’s Day (New Year’s Eve), precautions against witches on, 164 _sq._

—— Eve at Trieste, 165

St. Tecla, 52

St. Thomas’s Eve, witches active on, 160

Saints, cairns near shrines of, 21; Mohammedan, 21, 22

Salii, the dancing priests of Mars, 231 _sqq._

Salisbury, the Boy Bishop at, 337, 338

Salt, the goddess of, 278, 283

—— -makers worship the goddess of Salt, 283; their dance, 284

Saluting the rising sun, a Syrian custom, 416

Salzburg, the _Perchten_ in, 240, 242 _sqq._

Samon, a month of the Gallic calendar, 343

Sampson, Agnes, a witch, 38

Samsi-Adad, king of Assyria, 370 _n._ 1

Samyas monastery near Lhasa, 220

San Pellegrino, church of, at Ancona, 310

Sandan, 368; legendary or mythical hero of Western Asia, 388 _sqq._

Sandes, the Persian Hercules, 389. _See_ Sandan

Santiago Tepehuacan, Indians of, 4, 347. 4

Sarawak, the Sea Dyaks of, 154

Sardan or Sandan, the burning of, 389 _sq._

Sardanapalus, 368; the epitaph of, 388

—— and Ashurbanapal, 387 _sq._

Sardes in Lydia, 389, 391

Sarn, valley of the, in Salzburg, 245

Sarum use, service-books of the, 338

Satan annually expelled by the Wotyaks, 155 _sq._; by the Cheremiss, 156

Saturn, the Roman god of sowing, 232, 306, 307 _n._ 1; his festival the Saturnalia, 306 _sqq._; and the Golden Age, 306, 344, 386; man put to death in the character of, 309; dedication of the temple of, 345 _n._ 1; the old Italian god of sowing, 346

Saturnalia among the Hos and Mundaris of N. E. India, 136 _sq._; and kindred festivals, 306 _sqq._; the Roman, 306 _sqq._; as celebrated by Roman soldiers, 308 _sq._; the King of the, 308, 311, 312; its relation to the Carnival, 312, 345 _sqq._; and Lent, 345 _sqq._; in ancient Greece, 350 _sqq._; in Western Asia, 354 _sqq._; wide prevalence of festivals like the, 407 _sqq._

Savages, their regulation of the calendar, 326

Saxon cure for rupture, 52

Scapegoat, plantain-tree as a, 5; decked with women’s ornaments, 192; Jewish use of, 210; a material vehicle for the expulsion of evils, 224

Scapegoats, immaterial objects as, 1 _sqq._; animals as, 31 _sqq._, 190 _sqq._, 208 _sqq._; birds as, 35 _sq._; human beings as, 38 _sqq._, 210 _sqq._; public, 170 _sqq._; divine animals as, 216 _sq._, 226 _sq._; divine men as, 217 _sqq._, 226 _sq._; in general, 224 _sqq._

——, human, 194 _sqq._; in classical antiquity, 229 _sqq._; in ancient Greece, 252 _sqq._; beaten, 252, 255; stoned, 253, 254; cast into the sea, 254 _sq._; reason for beating the, 256 _sq._

“Scaring away the devil” at Penzance on the Eve of May Day, 163 _sq._

Scarlet thread in charm against witchcraft, 267

Schechter, Dr. S., 364 _n._ 1

Scheil, Father, on Elamite inscriptions, 367 _n._ 3

_Schmeckostern_ in Germany and Austria, 268 _sq._

Schönthal, the abbot of, 105

Schönwert, village of Bohemia, 161

Schrader, O., 326 _n._

Schuyler, E., 45

Schwaz, on the Inn, the “grass-ringers” at, 247

Scorpion’s bite, cure for, 49 _sq._

Scotch witch, 38 _sq._

Scotland, the Highlands of, 20; cure of warts in, 48; witches burnt in, 165; Abbot of Unreason in, 331. _See also_ Highlands

Scourgings, mutual, of South American Indians, 262

Scythian kings married the wives of their predecessors, 368 _n._ 1

Scythians, revellers disguised as, 355

Sea, scapegoats cast into the, 254 _sq._

—— Dyaks of Sarawak, their Festival of Departed Spirits, 154

Sea-god, sacrifice to, 255

—— -slugs, ceremonies at the annual appearance of, 141 _sqq._

Secret Societies in North-Western America, 377 _sq._

Sedna, Mistress of the Nether World, among the Esquimaux, 125 _sq._

Seed-time, annual expulsion of demons at, 138

Selangor, demons of disease expelled in a ship from, 187 _sq._

Selemnus, the river, 3

Seler, E., 277

Seleucia, 64

Semiramis, mythical and historical, 369 _sqq._; the mounds of, 370, 371, 373, 388 _n._ 1; the sad fate of her lovers, 371; burnt herself on a pyre, 407 _n._ 2

Sena-speaking people, 7

Senegambia, 16; the Banmanas of, 261

Senseless Thursday in Carnival, 248

September, expulsion of evils by the Incas of Peru in, 128

Serpents and lizards supposed to renew their youth by casting their skins, 302 _sqq._

Servians, their precaution against vampyres, 153 _n._ 1

Set, the birth of, 341

Sham fight at New Year, 184; as religious rite, 289

Shaman, function of the, 79 _sq._

Shamans, necessity of, 99, 100; expel demons, 126; among the Esquimaux, 379, 380

Shammuramat and Semiramis, 370 _n._ 1

Shampoo, the fatal, 42

Shans of Kengtung, their expulsion of demons, 116 _sq._; of Southern China, their annual expulsion of the fire-spirit, 141

Shawms blown to ban witches, 160

Sheepskins, people beaten with, 265

Shepherd beloved by Ishtar, 371

Shetland Islands, Yule in the, 167 _sqq._

Shinto priest, 116

Ship, sicknesses expelled in a, 185 _sqq._; demons expelled in a, 201 _sq._

Shogun’s palace in Japan, 144

“Shooting the Witches,” 164

Shropshire, 182; the sin-eater in, 44; fires on Twelfth Night in, 321

Shrove Tuesday, the tug-of-war on, 182 _sq._; dances to promote the growth of the crops on, 239, 347

Siam, the Laosians of, 97; annual expulsion of demons in, 149 _sqq._; human scapegoats in, 212

Siamese year of twelve lunar months, 149 _n._ 2

Sicily, Ascension Day in, 54

Sickness transferred to animals in Europe, 49 _sqq._; ascribed to demons, 109 _sqq._

Sicknesses expelled in a ship, 185 _sqq._

Sihanaka, the, of Madagascar, 2

Sikhim, cairns in, 26; demonolatry in, 94

Silence, compulsory, to deceive demons, 132 _sq._, 140. _Compare_ 142

Silesia, expulsion of witches on Good Friday in, 157; precautions against witches in, 162 _sq._, 164; “Easter Smacks” in, 268, 269; mode of reckoning the Twelve Days in, 327

Silili, a Babylonian goddess, 371

Sin-eater, the, 43 _sq._

Sin-eating in Wales, 43 _sq._

Singalang Burong, a Dyak war-god, 383

Sins, confession of, 36, 127; transferred to a buffalo calf, 36 _sq._; transferred vicariously to human beings, 39 _sqq._; of people transferred to animals, 210; Delaware Indian remedies for, 263

Sirius associated with Ishtar, 359 _n._ 1

Situa, annual festival of the Incas, 128

Siyins, of N. E. India, their belief in demons, 93

Skin disease, supposed remedy for, 266; Mexican remedy for, 298

Skins, creatures that slough their, supposed to renew their youth, 302 _sqq._

—— of human victims, worn by men in Mexico, 265 _sq._, 288, 290, 294 _sq._, 296 _sqq._, 301 _sq._

—— of sacrificial victims used to beat people, 265

Sky-goddess, the Egyptian, 341

Sladen, Colonel, 141

Slave Coast, 74

—— women, religious ceremony performed by, 258

Slaves, license granted to, at the Saturnalia, 307 _sq._, 350 _sq._, 351 _sq._; feasted by their masters, 308, 350 _sq._; feasted by their mistresses, 346

Slavonia, Good Friday custom in, 268

Slavonic custom of “carrying out Death,” 230

—— peoples, “Easter Smacks” among the, 268

—— year, the beginning of the, 228

Slavs, black god and white god among the, 92

Sleeman, General Sir William, 191

Sloth, the animal, imitated by masker, 381

Sloughing the skin supposed to be a mode of renewing youth, 302 _sqq._

Smallpox, cure for, 6; attributed to a devil, 117, 119, 120, 123; expelled in a proa, 186

——, demon of, 172; sent away in a canoe, 188 _sq._

Smell, foul, used to drive demons away, 112

Smith, W. Robertson, on Semiramis, 369 _sq._

Smut in wheat, ceremony to prevent, 318

Snails as scapegoats, 52, 53

Snake or lizard in annual ceremony for the riddance of evils, 208

Snipe as scapegoat, 51

Social ranks, inversion of, at festivals, 350, 407

Socrates, church historian, 394

Sods, freshly cut, a protection against witches, 163

Soldiers, Roman, celebration of the Saturnalia by, 308 _sq._

Solomon Islanders, their expulsion of demons, 116

—— Islands, 9

Solstice, the winter, ceremony after the, 127

Soma, worship of, 90

Songs, liturgical, revealed by gods, 381

—— and dances, how they originate, 378 _sq._

Sonnenberg, popular cure for gout in, 56

Soracte, Mount, 311

Sorcerers as protectors against demons, 94; exorcise demons, 113

_Soule_, a ball contended for in Normandy, 183

Souls of the dead received once a year by their relations, 150 _sqq._

South American Indians, 12, 20

Sow as scapegoat, 33

Sowing, prayer at, 138; expulsion of demons at, 225; the god of, 232; dances at, 234 _sqq._; Saturn the god of, 346; in Italy, season of the spring, 346

Sown fields, fire applied to, on Eve of Twelfth Night, 316, 318, 321

Spain, the Boy Bishop in, 338

Spear, sacred, 218

Spears used to expel demons, 115, 116

Spirits, retreat of the army of, 72 _sq._; guardian, 98; good and evil, personated by children, 139; Festival of Departed, 154

Spitting as a mode of transferring evil, 3, 10, 11; as a mode of transferring disease, 187; at ceremony for expulsion of evils, 208

Spittle as a protection against demons, 118

Spring, rites to ensure the revival of life in, 400

Squills used to beat human scapegoats, etc., 255 _sq._

Star, the Morning, personated by a man, 238; of Bethlehem, 330

Steele, Sir Richard, quoted, 333

Sternberg, L., quoted, 101 _sq._

Sticks, fertilizing virtue attributed to certain, 264 _sq._

—— and stones, evils transferred to, 8 _sqq._; piled on the scene of crimes, 13 _sqq._ _See also_ Throwing

Stinging young people with ants and wasps, custom of, 263

Stone-throwing at Mecca, rite of, 24; in ancient Greece, 24 _sq._

Stones heaped up near shrines of saints, 21; communion by means of, 21 _sq._; thrown at demons, 131, 146, 152

—— and sticks, evil transferred to, 8 _sqq._; piled on the scene of crimes, 13 _sqq._ _See also_ Throwing

Stoning, execution by, 24 _n._ 2

—— human scapegoats, 253, 254

_Stopfer_, maskers in Switzerland, 239

Stow, John, on Lords of Misrule, quoted, 331 _sq._

Strabo, on the Sacaea, 355, 369; on the worship at Zela, 370 _n._ 4; on the sanctuary at Zela, 421 _n._ 1

Strack, H. L., 395 _n._ 3

Stratification of religious beliefs among the Malays, 90 _n._ 1

Straw wrapt round fruit-trees as a protection against evil spirits, 164

Strehlitz, in Silesia, 157

Strudeli and Strätteli, 165

Substitutes in human sacrifice, 396 _sq._, 408

Sucla-Tirtha in India, expulsion of sins in, 202

Suffering, principle of vicarious, 1 _sq._

Suffolk cure for ague, 68

Suicides, ghosts of, feared, 17 _sq._

Sukandar river, 60

Sumatra, the Battas or Bataks of, 87, 213

Sun, appeal to the, 3; charm to prevent the sun from setting, 30 _n._ 2; reappearance of, in the Arctic regions, ceremonies at, 124 _sq._, 125 _n._ 1; temple of the, at Cuzco, 129; spirit who lives in the, 186; hearts of human victims offered to the, 279, 298; Mexican story of the creation of the, 410; Syrian custom of saluting the rising, 416

—— -god, Christmas, an old pagan festival of the, 328; the Egyptian, 341

Sunderland, cure for cough in, 52

_Süntevögel_ or _Sunnenvögel_, 159 _n._ 1

Superhuman power supposed to be acquired by actors in sacred dramas, 382, 383

Supplementary days of the year, 171

Supreme Being in West Africa, 74 _sq._

—— God of the Oraons, 92 _sq._

Susa, capital of the Elamites, 366

Swabia, the “Twelve Lot Days” in, 322

Swahili, the, of East Africa, their New Year’s Day, 226 _n._ 1

Swallow dance, 381

Swallows as scapegoats, 35

Sweden, 14, 20, 27

Sweeping misfortune out of house with brooms, 5

—— out the town, annual ceremony of, 135

Swords used to ward off or expel demons, 113, 118, 119, 120, 123, 203; carried by mummers, 245

Syria, 17, 21; Aphrodite and Adonis in, 386

Syro-Macedonian calendar, 358 _n._ 1

Tagbanuas of the Philippines, their custom of sending spirits of disease away in little ships, 189

Tahiti, transference of sins in, 45 _sq._

Tahitians, the, 80

Taigonos Peninsula, 126

Taleins, the, of Burma, their worship of demons, 96

Talmud, the, on Purim, 363

Tamanachiers, Indian tribe of the Orinoco, 303

_Tamanawas_, dramatic performances of myths, 376, 377

Tamarisk branches used to beat people ceremonially, 263

_Tambaran_, demons, 82, 83

Tammuz, the lover of Ishtar, 371, 373; annual death and resurrection of, 398; at Jerusalem, the weeping for, 400. _See also_ Adonis

—— and Ishtar, 399, 406

Tanganyika, Lake, 10

Tangkhuls of Assam, 177

Tanjore, Rajah of, 44

Taoism, 99

Tar to keep out ghosts and witches, 153 _n._ 1

—— -barrels burnt, 169

Tarahumares, the, of Mexico, 10; their dances for the crops, 236 _sqq._

Taros, mode of fertilizing, 264

Tarsus in Cilicia, Sandan at, 388, 389, 391, 392

_Taupes et Mulots_, fire ceremony on Eve of Twelfth Night, 317

Tavernier, J. B., quoted, 148 _n._ 1

Taylor, Rev. J. C., quoted, 133, 211

Taylor, Rev. R., quoted, 81

Tellemarken in Norway, 14

Telugu remedy for a fever, 38

Temple, Sir Richard C., quoted, 88

Temple, the Inner and the Middle, Lords of Misrule in the, 333

—— church, Lord of Misrule in the, 333

Temporary king, 403 _sq._; in Siam, 151

Tench as scapegoat, 52

Tenggerese of Java, their sham fight at New Year, 184

Tepehuanes, the, of Mexico, 10

Teshu Lama, the, 203

—— Lumbo in Tibet, 203

Teso people of Central Africa, their use of bells to exorcise fiends, 246 _sq._

Tezcatlipoca, great Mexican god, 276; young man annually sacrificed in the character of, 276 _sqq._

Thales on spirits, 104

Thargelia, human scapegoats at the festival of the, 254, 255, 256, 257, 259, 272, 273

Thay, the, of Indo-China, their worship of spirits, 97 _sq._

Theal, G. McCall, on fear of demons, 77 _sq._

_Theckydaw_, expulsion of demons, 147 _sq._

_Then_, spirits, 97

Theodosius and Honorius, decree of, 392

Theory of sacrifice, the Brahmanical, 410 _sq._

Thompson Indians of British Columbia, their charms against ghosts, 154 _n._

Thorns, wreaths of, 140

Thrace, Abdera in, 254

Thrashing people to do them good, 262 _sqq._ _See also_ Beating _and_ Whipping

Thread, red, in popular cure, 55

Three Kings on Twelfth Day, 329 _sqq._

Threshold protected against witches by knives, 162; by sods, 163

Throwing of sticks or stones interpreted as an offering or token of respect, 20 _sqq._, 25 _sqq._; as a mode of riddance of evil, 23 _sqq._

Thule, ceremony in Thule at the annual reappearance of the sun, 125 _n._ 1

Thunder, the first peal heard in spring, 144; demon of, exorcised by bells, 246 _sq._

Thüringen, expulsion of witches in, 160; custom of beating people on Holy Innocents’ Day in, 271

Tiamat, mythical Babylonian monster, 410

Tibet, demonolatry in, 94; human scapegoats in, 218 _sqq._

Tiger-spirits, 199

Tikopia, island of, 189

Timbo in French Guinea, 235

Time, personification of periods of, 230

Timor, the island of, 8; belief in the spirits of the dead in, 85

_Timor fecit deos_, 93

Timor-laut Islands, the tug-of-war in the, 176; demons of sicknesses expelled in a proa from, 185 _sq._

Tinchebray in Normandy, 183

Tjingilli tribe of Central Australia, 2

Tlacaxipeualiztli, Mexican festival, 296

Tlaloc, temple of, in Mexico, 284, 292

Tlemcen in Algeria, 31

Toad as scapegoat, 193, 206 _sq._

Toboongkoo, the, of Central Celebes, riddles among the, 112 _n._

Toci, Mexican goddess, 289

Todas, the, of the Neilgherry Hills, 37

Togoland, 3; the Hos of, 134, 206; the negroes of, their remedy for influenza, 193

Tokio, annual expulsion of demons at, 213

Tomb of Moses, 21

Tonan, Mexican goddess, 287; woman sacrificed in the character of, 287 _sq._

Tonocotes. _See_ Lules

Tonquin, demon of sickness expelled in, 119; annual expulsion of demons in, 147 _sq._

Toothache, cure for, 6, 57, 58, 59 _sq._, 62, 63, 71

Toradjas, the, of Central Celebes, 34; their cure by beating, 265

Torches used in the expulsion of demons, 110, 117, 120, 130, 131, 132, 133 _sq._, 139, 140, 146, 157, 171; used in the expulsion of witches, etc., 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 163, 165, 166; carried in procession by maskers, 243; applied to fruit-trees on Eve of Twelfth Night, 316 _sq._

Torquemada, J. de, Spanish historian of Mexico, 279 _n._ 1, 286 _n._ 1, 300 _n._ 1

Totec, Mexican god, 297, 298; personated by a man wearing the skin of a human victim, 300

Totonacs, their worship of the corn-spirit, 286 _n._ 1

Tototectin, men clad in skins of human victims, 298

Toxcatl, fifth month of old Mexican year, 149 _n._ 2; Mexican festival, 276

Trajan, Pliny’s letter to, 420

Transference of evil, 1 _sqq._; to other people, 5 _sqq._; to sticks and stones, 8 _sqq._; to animals, 31 _sqq._; to men, 38 _sqq._; in Europe, 47 _sqq._

Transformation of animals into men, 380

Transylvania, the Roumanians of, 16, 106 _sq._

Travancore, Rajah of, 42 _sq._; demon-worship in, 94

Tree, disease transferred to, 6; use of stick cut from a fruitful, 264

Trees, evils transferred to, 52, 54 _sqq._

Trieste, St. Sylvester’s Eve at, 165

Trinity, the Batta, 88 _n._ 1

—— College, Cambridge, Lord of Misrule at, 332

_Trinouxtion_, 343 _n._

Tripoli, mode of laying ghosts in, 63

Troezenians, their festival resembling the Saturnalia, 350

Trows in Shetland, 168 _sq._

Trumpets blown to expel demons, 116, 117, 156; blown at the feast of Purim, 394

_Tsuina_, expulsion of demons in Japan, 212 _sq._

Tsûl, a Berber tribe, 179

Tuaran district of British North Borneo, 200

Tug-of-war as a religious or magical rite, 173 _sqq._; as a charm to produce rain, 175 _sq._, 178 _sq._

Tul-ya’s e’en in Shetland, 168

Tullus Hostilius, 345 _n._ 1

Tumleo, annual fight in, 142 _sq._

Tuna, a spirit, expulsion of, 124 _sq._

Tung ak, a powerful spirit, 79, 80

Turkestan, 45; Ferghana in, 184

Turkish tribes of Central Asia, riddles among the, 122 _n._

Turner, L. M., quoted, 79 _sq._

Tuscan Romagna, the, 167

Twelfth Day, serious significance of, 315; the Three Kings on, 329 _sqq._ _See also_ Twelfth Night

—— Day, Eve of, 318; expulsion of witches, etc., on, 166 _sq._

—— Night, expulsion of the powers of evil on, 165 _sqq._; dances on, 238; Perchta’s Day, 244; (Epiphany), the King of the Bean on, 313 _sqq._ _See also_ Twelfth Day

—— Night, Eve of, 316; old Mrs. Perchta on, 240, 241; ceremonial fires on, 316 _sqq._

Twelve Days, weather of the twelve months supposed to be determined by the weather of the, 322 _sqq._; in Macedonia, superstitions as to the, 320; in ancient India, 324 _sq._; accounted a miniature of the year, 324; in the Highlands of Scotland, 324; difference of opinion as to the date of the, 324, 327; probably an old intercalary period at midwinter, 338 _sq._, 342

—— Days from Christmas to Twelfth Night (Epiphany), precautions against witches during the, 158 _sqq._, 164 _sqq._

—— Days or Twelve Nights not of Christian origin, 326 _sqq._

—— fires on Eve of Twelfth Day, 318 _sq._, 321 _sq._

Two-faced mask worn by image of goddess, 287

Typhon, the birth of, 341

Tyre and Sidon, 17

Tyrol, annual “Burning out of the Witches” in the, 159 _sq._; the _Perchten_ in the, 240, 242 _sq._; Senseless Thursday in the, 248

Uganda Protectorate, 6, 42; funeral ceremony in, 45 _n,_ 2; human scapegoats in, 194 _sq._ _See also_ Baganda

Unalashka, one of the Aleutian Islands, 16

Unkareshwar, the goddess of cholera at, 194

Unreason, Abbot of, in Scotland, 331

Up-helly-a’ in Shetland, 168 _sq._

Urquhart, Sir Thomas, quoted, 332

Usener, H., 167 _n._ 1, 229 _n._ 2

Utch Kurgan, in Turkestan, 45

Vampyres, charms against, 153 _n._ 1

Vashti and Esther, temporary queens, 401

—— and Haman the duplicates of Esther and Mordecai, 406

Vedic times, 3; cure for consumption in, 51; the creed of the, 90; riddles in, 122 _n._; the Aryans of the, 324

Vegetation, Mars a deity of, 229 _sq._; out-worn deity of, 231; processions representing spirits of, 250

—— -god, Easter an old vernal festival of the, 328

Vehicle, expulsion of evils in a material, 185 _sqq._, 198 _sqq._, 224

Vehicles, material, of immaterial things (fear, misfortune, disease, etc.), 1 _sqq._, 22 _n._ 2, 23 _sqq._

Venus and Adonis, 406. _See also_ Adonis, Aphrodite

Verrall, A. W., 391 _n._ 4

Vicarious suffering, principle of, 1 _sq._

Vienne, the Boy Bishop at, 337 _n._ 1

Vieux-Pont, in Orne, 183 _n._ 3

Vitzilopochtli, great Mexican god, 280; young man annually sacrificed in the character of, 280 _sq._

Vohumano or Vohu Manah, a Persian archangel, 373 _n._ 1

Voigtland, cure for toothache in, 59; belief in witchcraft in, 160; “Easter Smacks” in, 268; young people beat each other at Christmas in, 271

Vosges, cure for toothache in the, 59

—— Mountains, dances on Twelfth Day in the, 315; the Three Kings of Twelfth Day in the, 330

Vulsinii in Etruria, 67

Wagogo, the, of German East Africa, 6

Walpurgis Night, witches abroad on, 158 _sqq._; annual expulsion of witches on, 159 _sqq._; dances on, 238

Warramunga tribe of Central Australia, 2

Warts, transference of, 48 _sq._; popular cures for, 54, 57

Washamba, the, of German East Africa, 29

Wasps, stinging people with, 263

Wassailing on Eve of Twelfth Day, 319

Wax figures in magic, 47

Weapons turned against spiritual foes, 233

Weariness transferred to stones or sticks, 8 _sqq._

Weather of the twelve months determined by the weather of the Twelve Days, 322 _sqq._

Weber, A., on origin of the Twelve Days, 325 _n._ 3

Weeks, Rev. John H., quoted, 76 _sq._

Weights and measures, false, corrected in time of epidemic, 115

Weinhold, K., 327 _n._ 4

Welsh cure for cough, 51

—— custom of sin-eating, 43 _sq._

Wendland, P., on the crucifixion of Christ, 412 _sq._, 418 _n._ 1

Wends of Saxony, their precautions against witches, 163

Westermarck, Dr. Edward, 180

Westphalia, 266

Westphalian form of the expulsion of evil, 159 _n._ 1

Whale represented dramatically as a mystery, 377

Whipping people to rid them of ghosts, 260 _sqq._

Whips used in the expulsion of demons and witches, 156, 159, 160, 161, 165, 214; used by maskers, 243, 244

White as a colour to repel demons, 115

—— and black in relation to human scapegoats, 220; figs worn by human scapegoats, 253, 257, 272

—— cock, disease transferred to, 187; as scapegoat, 210 _n._ 4

—— crosses made by the King of the Bean, 314

—— dog, sacrifice of, 127; as scapegoat, 209 _sq._

—— god and black god among the Slavs, 92

—— Nile, the Dinkas of the, 193

Whitsuntide, 359

Whydah, the King of, 234

Widow, bald-headed, in cure, 38

Widows, cleansing of, 35 _sq._

Wild Huntsman, 164, 241

Willcock, Dr. J., 169 _n._ 2

William of Wykeham, 338

Williams, Monier, quoted, 91 _sq._

Willow used to beat people with at Easter and Christmas, 269, 270

—— -trees in popular remedies, 56, 58, 59

Willow-wood used against witches, 160

Winchester College, Boy Bishop at, 338

Wind, charm to produce a rainy or dry, 176, 178 _sq._

Winnowing-basket beaten at ceremony, 145

Winter, ceremony at the end of, 124; dances performed only in, 376; ceremony of the expulsion of, 404 _sq._; effigies of, destroyed, 408 _sq._

—— solstice, ceremony after the, 126

Witch, fire to burn old, on Twelfth Day, 319

Witchcraft in Scotland, 38 _sq._; on the Congo, dread of, 77 _n._ 2; permanence of the belief in, 89; in Moravia, precautions against, 162

Witches burnt alive, 19; the burning out of the, in the Tyrol, 158 _sq._; in Bohemia, 161; in Silesia and Saxony, 163; special precautions against, at certain seasons of the year, 157 _sqq._; annually expelled in Calabria, Silesia, and other parts of Europe, 157 _sqq._; active during the Twelve Days from Christmas to Twelfth Night, 158 _sqq._; shooting the, 164; driving out the, 164; burnt in Scotland, 165; beaten with buckthorn, 266; rob cows of milk on May Day, 267

Wives of a king taken by his successor, 368 _n._ 1

Woman’s ornaments, scapegoat decked with, 192

Women impregnated by ghosts, 18; fertilized by effigy of a baby, 245, 249; mode of fertilizing, 264; put to death in the character of goddesses in Mexico, 283 _sqq._

Wood, King of the, at Aricia, 409

World conceived as animated, 90 _sq._; daily created afresh by the self-sacrifice of the deity, 411

Worship of the dead, 97; paid to human representatives of gods in Mexico, 278, 282, 289, 293

Wotyaks of Russia, annual expulsion of Satan among the, 155 _sq._

Wuttke, A., 327 _n._ 4

Xerxes identified with Ahasuerus, 360

Xilonen, Mexican goddess of the Young Maize, 285; woman annually sacrificed in the character of, 285 _sq._

Xipe, Mexican god, 297, 298, 299; statuette of, 291 _n._ 1; his festival, 296 _sqq._; his image, 297

Xixipeme, men clad in skins of human victims, 298, 299

Yabim of German New Guinea, their custom of sending disease away in a small canoe, 188 _sq._

Yams, ceremonies before eating the new, 134

Year, burning out the Old, 165, 230 _n._ 7; the old Roman, began in March, 229; supposed representatives of the old, 230. _See also_ New Year

——, lunar, of old Roman calendar, 232; equated to solar year by intercalation, 325, 342 _sq._

——, solar, intercalation of the, 407 _n._ 1

—— -man, the, in Japan, 144

Years named after eponymous magistrates, 39 _sq._

——, the King of the, 220, 221

Yellow the royal colour among the Malays, 187

Yopico, temple in Mexico, 299

York, the Boy Bishop at, 337, 338

Yoruba negroes of West Africa, their use of human scapegoats, 211 _sq._

Younghusband, Sir Francis, 13

Youth supposed to be renewed by sloughing of skin, 302 _sqq._

Yucatan, the Mayas of, 171, 340

Yukon River, the Lower, 380

Yules, the, in Shetland, 168

_Yumari_, a dance of the Tarahumare Indians, 237 _sq._

Zakmuk or Zagmuk, the Babylonian festival of the New Year, 356 _sqq._

—— and the Sacaea, 399

Zambesi, the river, 7, 11

Zela in Pontus, Anaitis and the Sacaea at, 370, 372, 373, 421 _n._ 1; Omanos and Anadates at, 373 _n._ 1

Zeus, cake with twelve knobs offered to, 351; an upstart at Olympia, 352; identified with the Babylonian Bel, 389

——, Laphystian, associated with human sacrifices, 354

——, Lycaean, human sacrifices to, 353, 354

——, Olympian, his temple at Athens, 351

——, Pelorian, 350

Zimmern, H., 358 _n._, 359 _n._ 1, 361 _n._ 4, 406 _n._ 2

Zoganes, a mock king at Babylon, 355, 357, 365, 368, 369, 387, 388, 406

Zoroaster, 389

Zündel, G., on demonolatry in West Africa, 74 _sqq._

Zuni sacrifice of turtle, 217

FOOTNOTES

M1 The principle of vicarious suffering. M2 Transference of evil to things. Evils swept away by rivers.

1 J. G. F. Riedel, _De sluik- en kroesharige rassen tusschen Selebes en Papua_ (The Hague, 1886), pp. 266 _sq._, 305, 357 _sq._; compare _id._, pp. 141, 340.

2 Baldwin Spencer and F. J. Gillen, _The Northern Tribes of Central Australia_ (London, 1904), p. 474.

3 J. Pearse, “Customs connected with Death and Burial among the Sihanaka,” _The Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine_, vol. ii., _Reprint of the Second four Numbers_ (Antananarivo, 1896), pp. 146 _sq._

4 Ivan Petroff, _Report on the Population, Industries, and Resources of Alaska_, p. 158.

5 H. Oldenberg, _Die Religion des Veda_ (Berlin, 1894), p. 322.

6 J. Spieth, _Die Ewe-Stämme_ (Berlin, 1906), p. 800.

7 Pausanias, vii. 23. 3.

8 P. J. de Arriaga, _Extirpacion de la Idolatria del Piru_ (Lima, 1621), p. 29.

M3 Transference of evil to things.

9 This I learned from my friend W. Robertson Smith, who mentioned as his authority David of Antioch, _Tazyin_, in the story “Orwa.”

10 R. Andree, _Ethnographische Parallele und Vergleiche_ (Stuttgart, 1878), pp. 29 _sq._

11 “Lettre du curé de Santiago Tepehuacan à son évêque sur les mœurs et coutumes des Indiens soumis à ses soins,” _Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_ (Paris), Deuxième Série, ii. (1834) p. 182.

12 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), pp. 309 _sq._

M4 Dyak transference of evil to things.

13 C. Hupe, “Korte Verhandeling over de Godsdienst, Zeden enz. der Dajakkers,” _Tijdschrift voor Neêrlands Indië_, 1846, dl. iii. pp. 149 _sq._; F. Grabowsky, “Die Theogonie der Dajaken auf Borneo,” _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, v. (1892) p. 131.

M5 Evils transferred to other persons through the medium of things.

14 J. Dawson, _Australian Aborigines_ (Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide, 1881), p. 59.

15 W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_ (Westminster, 1896), i. 164 _sq._

16 Rev. J. Roscoe, “The Bahima, a Cow Tribe of Enkole,” _Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute_, xxxvii. (1907) p. 103.

17 Rev. J. Cole, “Notes on the Wagogo of German East Africa,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxiii. (1902) p. 313.

M6 Evils transferred to images. Mongol transference of evil to things.

18 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), pp. 343 _sq._

19 Dudley Kidd, _The Essential Kafir_ (London, 1904), p. 146.

_ 20 Central Provinces, Ethnographic Survey_, iii., _Draft Articles on Forest Tribes_ (Allahabad, 1907), p. 63.

21 M. v. Beguelin, “Religiöse Volksbräuche der Mongolen,” _Globus_, lvii. (1890) pp. 209 _sq._

M7 Fatigue transferred to stones, sticks, or leaves.

22 J. G. F. Riedel, “Die Landschaft Dawan oder West-Timor,” _Deutsche geographische Blätter_, x. 231.

23 J. G. F. Riedel, _De sluik- en kroesharige rassen tusschen Selebes en Papua_ (The Hague, 1886), p. 340.

24 R. H. Codrington, D.D., _The Melanesians_ (Oxford, 1891), p. 186.

M8 Heaps of stones or sticks among the American Indians.

25 G. F. de Oviedo, _Histoire du Nicaragua_ (Paris, 1840), pp. 42 _sq._ (Ternaux-Compans, _Voyages, Relations et Mémoires originaux, pour servir à l’Histoire de la Découverte de l’Amérique_).

26 P. J. de Arriaga, _Extirpacion de la Idolatria del Piru_ (Lima, 1621), pp. 37, 130. As to the custom compare J. J. von Tschudi, _Peru_ (St. Gallen, 1846), ii. 77 _sq._; H. A. Weddell, _Voyage dans le Nord de la Bolivia et dans les parties voisines du Pérou_ (Paris and London, 1853), pp. 74 _sq._ These latter writers interpret the stones as offerings.

27 Baron E. Nordenskiöld, “Travels on the Boundaries of Bolivia and Argentina,” _The Geographical Journal_, xxi. (1903) p. 518.

28 C. Lumholtz, _Unknown Mexico_ (London, 1903), ii. 282.

29 Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de l’Amérique-Centrale_ (Paris, 1857-1859), ii. 564; compare iii. 486. Indians of Guatemala, when they cross a pass for the first time, still commonly add a stone to the cairn which marks the spot. See C. Sapper, “Die Gebräuche und religiösen Anschauungen der Kekchi-Indianer,” _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, viii. (1895) p. 197.

M9 Heaps of stones or sticks among the natives of Africa.

30 F. F. R. Boileau, “The Nyasa-Tanganyika Plateau,” _The Geographical Journal_, xiii. (1899) p. 589. In the same region Mr. L. Decle observed many trees or rocks on which were placed little heaps of stones or bits of wood, to which in passing each of his men added a fresh stone or bit of wood or a tuft of grass. “This,” says Mr. L. Decle, “is a tribute to the spirits, the general precaution to ensure a safe return” (_Three Years in Savage Africa_, London, 1898, p. 289). A similar practice prevails among the Wanyamwezi (_ibid._ p. 345). Compare J. A. Grant, _A Walk across Africa_ (Edinburgh and London, 1864), pp. 133 _sq._

31 Cowper Rose, _Four Years in Southern Africa_ (London, 1829), p. 147.

32 Dudley Kidd, _The Essential Kafir_ (London, 1904), p. 264.

M10 The heaps of stones or sticks generally on the tops of mountains or passes.

33 S. Kay, _Travels and Researches in Caffraria_ (London, 1833), pp. 211 _sq._; Rev. H. Callaway, _Religious System of the Amazulu_, i. 66; D. Leslie, _Among the Zulus and Amatongas_ (Edinburgh, 1875), pp. 146 _sq._ Compare H. Lichtenstein, _Reisen im südlichen Africa_ (Berlin, 1811-1812), i. 411.

34 W. Gowland, “Dolmens and other Antiquities of Corea,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxiv. (1895) pp. 328 _sq._; Mrs. Bishop, _Korea and her Neighbours_ (London, 1898), i. 147, ii. 223. Both writers speak as if the practice were to spit on the cairn rather than on the particular stone which the traveller adds to it; indeed, Mrs. Bishop omits to notice the custom of adding to the cairns. Mr. Gowland says that almost every traveller carries up at least one stone from the valley and lays it on the pile.

35 D. Forbes, “On the Aymara Indians of Peru and Bolivia,” _Journal of the Ethnological Society of London_, ii. (1870) pp. 237 _sq._; G. C. Musters, “Notes on Bolivia,” _Journal of the Royal Geographical Society_, xlvii. (1877) p. 211; T. T. Cooper, _Travels of a Pioneer of Commerce_ (London, 1871), p. 275; J. A. H. Louis, _The Gates of Thibet, a Bird’s Eye View of Independent Sikkhim, British Bhootan, and the Dooars_ (Calcutta, 1894), pp. 111 _sq._; A. Bastian, _Die Völker des östlichen Asien_, ii. (Leipsic, 1866) p. 483. So among the Mrus of Aracan, every man who crosses a hill, on reaching the crest, plucks a fresh young shoot of grass and lays it on a pile of the withered deposits of former travellers (T. H. Lewin, _Wild Races of South-Eastern India_, London, 1870, pp. 232 _sq._).

M11 Fatigue let out with the blood.

36 A. d’Orbigny, _Voyage dans l’Amérique Méridionale_, ii. (Paris and Strasburg, 1839-1843) pp. 92 _sq._

M12 Piles of stones or sticks on the scene of crimes. The Liar’s Heap.

37 (Sir) F. E. Younghusband, “A Journey across Central Asia,” _Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society_, x. (1888) p. 494.

38 F. Liebrecht, _Zur Volkskunde_ (Heilbronn, 1879), pp. 274 _sq._

39 F. Liebrecht, _Zur Volkskunde_, p. 274; J. B. Holzmayer, “Osiliana,” _Verhandlungen der gelehrten Estnischen Gesellschaft zu Dorpat_, vii. (1872) p. 73.

40 Spenser St. John, _Life in the Forests of the Far East_2 (London, 1863), i. 88.

41 E. H. Gomes, _Seventeen Years among the Sea Dyaks of Borneo_ (London, 1911), pp. 66 _sq._

42 Ch. Hose and W. McDougall, _The Pagan Tribes of Borneo_ (London, 1912), i. 123.

M13 Heaps of stones, sticks, or leaves on scenes of murder. Heaps of stones or sticks on graves.

43 A. C. Haddon, “A Batch of Irish Folk-lore,” _Folk-lore_, iv. (1893) pp. 357, 360; Laisnel de la Salle, _Croyances et Légendes du Centre de la France_ (Paris, 1875), ii. 75, 77; J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, ii. 309; Hylten-Cavallius, quoted by F. Liebrecht, _Zur Volkskunde_, p. 274; K. Haupt, _Sagenbuch der Lausitz_ (Leipsic, 1862-1863), ii. 65; K. Müllenhoff, _Sagen, Märchen und Lieder der Herzogthümer Schleswig, Holstein und Lauenburg_ (Kiel, 1845), p. 125; A. Kuhn, _Märkische Sagen und Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. 113; A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche_ (Leipsic, 1848), p. 85; A. Treichel, “Reisighäufung und Steinhäufung an Mordstellen,” _Am Ur-Quelle_, vi. (1896) p. 220; Georgeakis et Pineau, _Folk-lore de Lesbos_, p. 323; A. Leared, _Morocco and the Moors_ (London, 1876), pp. 105 _sq._; E. Doutté, “Figuig,” _La Géographie, Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_ (Paris), vii. (1903) p. 197; _id._, _Magie et Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers, 1908), pp. 424 _sq._; A. von Haxthausen, _Transkaukasia_ (Leipsic, 1856), i. 222; C. T. Wilson, _Peasant Life in the Holy Land_ (London, 1906), p. 285; W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_ (Westminster, 1896), i. 267 _sq._; J. Bricknell, _The Natural History of North Carolina_ (Dublin, 1737), p. 380; J. Adair, _History of the American Indians_ (London, 1775), p. 184; K. Martin, _Bericht über eine Reise nach Nederlandsch West-Indien_, Erster Theil (Leyden, 1887), p. 166; G. C. Musters, “Notes on Bolivia,” _Journal of the Royal Geographical Society_, xlvii. (1877) p. 211; B. F. Matthes, _Einige Eigenthümlichkeiten in den Festen und Gewohnheiten der Makassaren und Büginesen_, p. 25 (separate reprint from _Travaux de la 6e Session du Congrès International des Orientalistes à Leide_, vol. ii.); R. A. Cruise, _Journal of a Ten Months’ Residence in New Zealand_ (London, 1823), p. 186.

44 Ch. Wilkes, _Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition_, New Edition (New York, 1851), iii. 50.

45 Captain James Cook, _Voyages_ (London, 1809), vi. 479.

46 E. Gerard, _The Land beyond the Forest_ (Edinburgh and London, 1888), i. 311, 318.

47 H. Lichtenstein, _Reisen im Südlichen Africa_ (Berlin, 1811-1812), i. 349 _sq._; Sir James E. Alexander, _Expedition of Discovery into the Interior of Africa_ (London, 1838), i. 166; C. J. Andersson, _Lake Ngami_, Second Edition (London, 1856), p. 327; W. H. I. Bleek, _Reynard the Fox in South Africa_ (London, 1864), p. 76; Th. Hahn, _Tsuni-Goam, the Supreme Being of the Khoi-Khoi_ (London, 1881), p. 56. Compare _The Dying God_, p. 3.

48 Th. Hahn, “Die Buschmänner,” _Globus_, xviii. 141.

49 Th. Waitz, _Anthropologie der Naturvölker_, ii. (Leipsic, 1860) p. 195, referring to Raffenel, _Nouveau Voyage dans le pays des nègres_ (Paris, 1856), i. 93 _sq._

50 Eijūb Abēla, “Beiträge zur Kenntniss abergläubischer Gebräuche in Syrien,” _Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palaestina-Vereins_, vii. (1884) p. 102.

51 Note by G. P. Badger, on _The Travels of Ludovico di Varthema_, translated by J. W. Jones (Hakluyt Society, 1863), p. 45. For more evidence of the custom in Syria see W. M. Thomson, _The Land and the Book_ (London, 1859), p. 490; F. Sessions, “Some Syrian Folklore Notes,” _Folk-lore_, ix. (1898) p. 15; A. Jaussen, _Coutumes des Arabes au pays de Moab_ (Paris, 1908), p. 336.

M14 Stones and sticks hurled as missiles at dangerous ghosts and demons. Missiles to ward off dangerous ghosts.

52 A. Treichel, “Reisig- und Steinhäufung bei Ermordeten oder Selbstmördern,” _Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte, 1888_, p. (569) (bound up with _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, xx. 1888).

53 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), pp. 20 _sq._, 46 _sq._, 124 _sq._, 126 _sq._, 289 _sq._ Stones are not mentioned among the missiles hurled at ghosts, probably because stones are scarce in Uganda. See J. Roscoe, _op. cit._ p. 5.

54 Father Finaz, S.J., in _Les Missions Catholiques_, vii. (1875) p. 328.

55 “Der Muata Cazembe und die Völkerstämme der Maraves, Chevas, Muembas, Lundas, und andere von Süd-Afrika,” _Zeitschrift für allgemeine Erdkunde_, vi. (1856) p. 287.

_ 56 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal_, lxxii. Part iii. (Calcutta, 1904) p. 87.

57 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _In Centraal Borneo_ (Leyden, 1900), i. 146.

58 Euripides, _Electra_, 327 _sq._

59 Propertius, v. 5. 77 _sq._

M15 But the stones and sticks thrown on heaps cannot always be explained as missiles discharged at spiritual foes. Cairns raised in honour of Moslem saints.

60 M. Merker, _Die Masai_ (Berlin, 1904), p. 193.

61 A. C. Hollis, _The Masai_ (Oxford, 1905), pp. 305 _sq._

62 E. D. Clarke, _Travels in various Countries of Europe and Asia_, vi. (London, 1823) p. 165.

63 W. H. D. Rouse, “Notes from Syria,” _Folk-lore_, vi. (1895) p. 173. Compare F. Sessions, “Some Syrian Folklore Notes, gathered on Mount Lebanon,” _Folk-lore_, ix. (1898) p. 15.

64 E. Doutté, _Magie et Religion dans l’ Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers, 1908), pp. 420-422.

M16 Stones as channels of communication with saints, living or dead.

65 E. Doutté, _Magie et Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_, p. 440, quoting De Ségonzac, _Voyage au Maroc_, p. 82.

66 I follow the exposition of E. Doutté, whose account of the sanctity or magical influence (_baraka_) ascribed to the persons of living Mohammedan saints (marabouts) is very instructive. See his _Magie et Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_, pp. 438 _sqq._ Mr. E. S. Hartland had previously explained the custom of throwing stones and sticks on cairns as acts of ceremonial union with the spirit who is supposed to reside in the cairn. See his _Legend of Perseus_, ii. (London, 1895) p. 128. While this theory offers a plausible explanation of some cases of the custom, I do not think that it will cover them all. M. René Dussaud argues that the stones deposited at shrines of holy men are simply material embodiments of the prayers which at the same time the suppliants address to the saints; and he holds that the practice of depositing stones at such places rests on a principle entirely different from that of throwing stones for the purpose of repelling evil spirits. See René Dussaud, “La matérialisation de la prière en Orient,” _Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’ Anthropologie de Paris_, V. Série, vii. (1906) pp. 213-220. If I am right, the fundamental idea in these customs is neither that the stones or sticks are offerings presented to good spirits nor that they are missiles hurled at bad ones, but that they embody the evil, whether disease, misfortune, fear, horror, or what not, of which the person attempts to rid himself by transferring it to a material vehicle. But I am far from confident that this explanation applies to all cases. In particular it is difficult to reconcile it with the custom, described in the text, of throwing a marked stone at a holy man and then recovering it. Are we to suppose that the stone carries away the evil to the good man and brings back his blessing instead? The idea is perhaps too subtle and far-fetched.

The word _baraka_, which in North Africa describes the powerful and in general beneficent, yet dangerous, influence which emanates from holy persons and things, is no doubt identical with the Hebrew _bĕrakhah_ (ברכה) “blessing.” The importance which the ancient Hebrews ascribed to the blessing or the curse of a holy man is familiar to us from many passages in the Old Testament. See, for example, Genesis xxvii., xlviii. 8 _sqq._; Deuteronomy xxvii. 11 _sqq._, xxviii. 1 _sqq._

M17 The rite of throwing sticks or stones is perhaps best explained as a mode of purification, the evil being thought to be embodied in the missile which is thrown away.

67 E. Doutté, _Magie et Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers, 1908), pp. 430 sq.; J. Wellhausen, _Reste arabischen Heidentums_2 (Berlin, 1897), p. 111. The explanation given in the text is regarded as probable by Professor M. J. de Goeje (_Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, xvi. ,1904, p. 42.)

M18 This interpretation of stone-throwing agrees with ancient Greek and Indian tradition and custom.

_ 68 Etymologicum Magnum_, _s.v._ Ἑρμαῖον, pp. 375 _sq._; Eustathius on Homer, _Odyssey_, xvi. 471. As to the heaps of stones see Cornutus, _Theologiae Graecae Compendium_, 16; Babrius, _Fabulae_, xlviii. 1 _sq._; Suidas, _s.v._ Ἑρμαῖον; Scholiast on Nicander, _Ther._ 150; M. P. Nilsson, _Griechische Feste_ (Leipsic, 1906), pp. 388 _sqq._ The method of execution by stoning may perhaps have been resorted to in order to avoid the pollution which would be entailed by contact with the guilty and dying man.

69 Plato, _Laws_, ix. 12, p. 873 A-C λίθον ἕκαστος φέρων ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ νεκροῦ βάλλων ἀφοσιούτω τὴν πόλιν ὅλην.

_ 70 Satapatha Brahmana_, ix. 1. 2. 9-12, Part iv. p. 171 of J. Eggeling’s translation (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xliii., Oxford, 1897). As to Nirriti, the Goddess of Destruction, see H. Oldenberg, _Die Religion des Veda_ (Berlin, 1894), pp. 323, 351, 354, 489 note 3.

M19 The throwing of sticks or stones on piles is sometimes explained as a sacrifice. Certainly the throwing of stones is sometimes accompanied by sacrifices. Heaps of sticks at the fords of rivers in Africa.

71 See, for example, O. Baumann, _Durch Massailand zur Nilquelle_ (Berlin, 1894), p. 214; G. M. Dawson, “Notes on the Shuswap People of British Columbia,” _Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada_, ix. (1891) section ii. p. 38; F. Liebrecht, _Zur Volkskunde_ (Heilbronn, 1879), pp. 267 _sq._, 273 _sq._, 276, 278 _sq._; R. Andree, _Ethnographische Parallelen und Vergleiche_ (Stuttgart, 1878), p. 48; Catat, in _Le Tour du Monde_, lxv. (1893), p. 40. Some of these writers have made a special study of the practices in question. See F. Liebrecht, “Die geworfenen Steine,” _Zur Volkskunde_, pp. 267-284; R. Andree, “Steinhaufen,” _Ethnographische Parallelen und Vergleiche_, pp. 46-58; E. S. Hartland, _The Legend of Perseus_, ii. (London, 1895) pp. 204 _sqq._; E. Doutté, _Magie et Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers, 1908), pp. 419 _sqq._ With the views of the last of these writers I am in general agreement.

72 However, at the waterfall of Kriml, in the Tyrol, it is customary for every passer-by to throw a stone into the water; and this attention is said to put the water-spirits in high good humour; for they follow the wayfarer who has complied with the custom and guard him from all the perils of the dangerous path. See F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), ii. 236 _sq._

73 J. A. H. Louis, _The Gates of Thibet_, Second Edition (Calcutta, 1894), pp. 111 _sq._

74 L. A. Waddell, _Among the Himalayas_ (Westminster, 1899), pp. 115, 188.

75 Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des nations civilisées du Mexique et de l’Amérique-Centrale_, ii. 564.

76 C. Sapper, “Die Gebräuche und religiösen Anschauungen der Kekchí-Indianer,” _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, viii. (1895) pp. 197 _sq._

77 D. Forbes, “On the Aymara Indians of Bolivia and Peru,” _Journal of the Ethnological Society of London_, ii. (1870) pp. 237 _sq._; G. C. Musters, “Notes on Bolivia,” _Journal of the Royal Geographical Society_, xlvii. (1877) p. 211; Baron E. Nordenskiöld, “Travels on the Boundaries of Bolivia and Argentina,” _The Geographical Journal_, xxi. (1903) p. 518.

78 P. J. de Arriaga, _Extirpacion de la Idolatria del Piru_ (Lima, 1621), pp. 37, 130.

79 F. Liebrecht, _Zur Volkskunde_, p. 274; Brett, “Dans la Corée Septentrionale,” _Les Missions Catholiques_, xxxi. (1899) p. 237.

80 W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_ (Westminster, 1896), i. 115. “In some parts of Bilaspore there may be seen heaps of stones, which are known as _kuriyā_, from the word _kurhonā_, meaning to heap or pile-up. Just how and why the practice was started the people cannot explain; but to this day every one who passes a _kuriyā_ will take up a stone and throw it on the pile. This, they say, has been done as long as they can remember” (E. M. Gordon, _Indian Folk Tales_, London, 1908, p. 14).

81 W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_ (Westminster, 1896), i. 267 _sq._

82 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), p. 163.

83 P. Amaury Talbot, _In the Shadow of the Bush_ (London, 1912), p. 242. As to the goddess Nimm, see _id._, pp. 2 _sq._

84 P. Amaury Talbot, _op. cit._ p. 91.

85 A. Karasek, “Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Waschambaa,” _Baessler-Archiv_, i. (1911) p. 194.

86 M. Martin, “A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland,” in John Pinkerton’s _Voyages and Travels_ (London, 1808-1814), iii. 691.

M20 The throwing of stones and sticks is sometimes accompanied by prayers. Gradual transformation of an old magical ceremony into a religious rite.

87 E. Aymonier, _Notes sur le Laos_ (Saigon, 1885), p. 198.

88 E. T. Atkinson, _The Himalayan Districts of the North-Western Provinces of India_, ii. (Allahabad, 1884) p. 832.

89 T. T. Cooper, _Travels of a Pioneer of Commerce_ (London, 1871), p. 275. Compare W. W. Rockhill, _The Land of the Lamas_ (London, 1891), pp. 126 _sq._

90 Rev. J. Macdonald, “Manners, Customs, Superstitions, and Religions of South African Tribes,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xx. (1891) p. 126.

91 Sir James E. Alexander, _Expedition of Discovery into the Interior of Africa_ (London, 1838), i. 166.

92 S. Kay, _Travels and Researches in Caffraria_ (London, 1833), pp. 211 _sq._ When the Bishop of Capetown once passed a heap of stones on the top of a mountain in the Amapondo country he was told that “it was customary for every traveller to add one to the heap that it might have a favourable influence on his journey, and enable him to arrive at some kraal while the pot is yet boiling” (J. Shooter, _The Kaffirs of Natal_, London, 1857, p. 217). Here there is no mention of a prayer. Similarly a Basuto on a journey, when he fears that the friend with whom he is going to stay may have eaten up all the food before his guest’s arrival, places a stone on a cairn to avert the danger (E. Casalis, _The Basutos_, London, 1861, p. 272). The reason alleged for the practice in these cases is perhaps equivalent to the one assigned by the Melanesians and others; by ridding the traveller of his fatigue it enables him to journey faster and so to reach his destination before supper is over. But sometimes a travelling Mowenda will place a stone, not on a cairn, but in the fork of a tree, saying, “May the sun not set before I reach my destination.” See Rev. E. Gottschling, “The Bawenda,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxv. (1905) p. 381. This last custom is a charm to prevent the sun from setting. See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 318. In Senegal the custom of throwing stones on cairns by the wayside is said to be observed “in order to ensure a speedy and prosperous return.” See Dr. Bellamy, “Notes ethnographiques recueillies dans le Haut-Sénégal,” _Revue d’ Ethnographie_, v. (1886) p. 83. In the Fan country of West Africa the custom of adding a leafy branch to a heap of such branches in the forest was explained by a native, who said that it was done to prevent the trees and branches from falling on the traveller’s head, and their roots from wounding his feet. See Father Trilles, “Mille lieues dans l’inconnu,” _Les Missions Catholiques_, xxxiv. (1902) p. 142.

93 Th. Hahn, “Die Buschmänner,” _Globus_, xviii. 141. As to the cairn in question, see above, p. 16.

M21 Evils transferred to animals in Africa.

94 J. Smith, _Trade and Travels in the Gulph of Guinea_ (London, 1851), p. 77.

95 O. Dapper, _Description de l’Afrique_ (Amsterdam, 1686), p. 117.

96 A. Leared, _Morocco and the Moors_ (London, 1876), p. 301. Compare E. Doutté, _Magie et Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers, 1908), p. 454.

97 E. Doutté, _op. cit._ pp. 454 _sq._

98 Dudley Kidd, _The Essential Kafir_ (London, 1904), p. 261.

99 Rev. John Campbell, _Travels in South Africa_ (London, 1822), ii. 207 _sq._

100 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), pp. 342 _sq._

101 P. Cayzac, “La religion des Kikuyu,” _Anthropos_, v. (1910) p. 311.

102 Rev. J. Roscoe, “The Bahima, a Cow Tribe of Enkole,” _Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute_, xxxvii. (1907) p. 111.

M22 Evils transferred to animals in various parts of the world.

103 Dr. R. F. Kaindl, “Zauberglaube bei den Huzulen,” _Globus_, lxxvi. (1899) p. 254.

104 J. Goldziher, _Muhammedanische Studien_ (Halle a. S., 1888-1890), i. 34.

105 E. Diguet, _Les Annamites_ (Paris, 1906), pp. 283 _sq._

106 W. Müller, “Über die Wildenstämme der Insel Formosa,” _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, xlii. (1910) p. 237. The writer’s use of the pronoun (_sie_) is ambiguous.

107 Father E. Amat, in _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_, lxx. (1898) pp. 266 _sq._

M23 Vehicles for the transference of evils in Madagascar.

108 Rev. W. Ellis, _History of Madagascar_ (London, N.D.), i. 422 _sq._; compare _id._, pp. 232, 435, 436 _sq._; Rev. J. Sibree, _The Great African Island_ (London, 1880), pp. 303 _sq._ As to divination by the _sikidy_, see J. Sibree, “Divination among the Malagasy,” _Folk-lore_, iii. (1892) pp. 193-226.

109 W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 374; J. Sibree, _The Great African Island_, p. 304; J. Cameron, in _Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine, Reprint of the First Four Numbers_ (Antananarivo, 1885), p. 263.

M24 Extraction of kleptomania by spiders and crabs. Evils transferred to birds, which fly away with them.

110 N. Adriani en Alb. C. Kruijt, _De Bare’e-sprekende Toradja’s van Midden-Celebes_, i. (Batavia, 1912) p. 399.

111 W. Ködding, “Die Batakschen Götter,” _Allgemeine Missions-Zeitschrift_, xii. (1885) p. 478; Dr. R. Römer, “Bijdrage tot de Geneeskunst der Karo-Batak’s,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, l. (1908) p. 223.

112 W. E. Maxwell, “The Folklore of the Malays,” _Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society_, No. 7 (June, 1881), p. 27; W. W. Skeat, _Malay Magic_ (London, 1900), pp. 534 _sq._

113 Dio Chrysostom, _Orat._ liii. vol. ii. pp. 164 _sq._ ed. L. Dindorf (Leipsic, 1857). Compare Plato, _Republic_, iii. 9, p. 398 A, who ironically proposes to dismiss poets from his ideal state in the same manner. These passages of Plato and Dio Chrysostom were pointed out to me by my friend Professor Henry Jackson. There was a Greek saying, attributed to Pythagoras, that swallows should not be allowed to enter a house (Plutarch, _Quaest. Conviv._ viii. 7, 1).

114 Dr. R. F. Kaindl, “Zauberglaube bei den Huzulen,” _Globus_, lxxvi. (1899) pp. 255 _sq._

115 Leviticus xiv. 7, 53.

116 J. Wellhausen, _Reste arabischen Heidentumes_ (Berlin, 1887), p. 156; W. Robertson Smith, _Religion of the Semites_, New Edition (London, 1894), pp. 422, 428.

M25 Evils transferred to animals in India.

117 W. Crooke, _Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh_ (Calcutta, 1896), iii. 434.

118 E. Thurston, _Castes and Tribes of Southern India_ (Madras, 1909), i. 113-117; _id._, _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_ (Madras, 1906), pp. 192-196; Captain H. Harkness, _Description of a Singular Aboriginal Race inhabiting the Summit of the Neilgherry Hills_ (London, 1832), p. 133; F. Metz, _The Tribes inhabiting the Neilgherry Hills_, Second Edition (Mangalore, 1864), p. 78; Jagor, “Ueber die Badagas im Nilgiri-Gebirge,” _Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie_ (1876), pp. 196 _sq._ At the Badaga funerals witnessed by Mr. E. Thurston “no calf was brought near the corpse, and the celebrants of the rites were satisfied with the mere mention by name of a calf, which is male or female according to the sex of the deceased.”

119 H. Harkness, _l.c._

120 J. W. Breeks, _An Account of the Primitive Tribes and Monuments of the Nīlagiris_ (London, 1873), pp. 23 _sq._; W. H. R. Rivers, _The Todas_ (London, 1906), pp. 376 _sq._

121 E. T. Atkinson, _The Himalayan Districts of the North-Western Provinces of India_, ii. (Allahabad, 1884) pp. 927 _sq._ In other parts of North-Western India on the eleventh day after a death a bull calf is let loose with a trident branded on its shoulder or quarter “to become a pest.” See (Sir) Denzil C. J. Ibbetson, _Report on the Revision of Settlement of the Panipat Tahsil and Karnal Parganah of the Karnal District_ (Allahabad, 1883), p. 137. In Behar, a district of Bengal, a bullock is also let loose on the eleventh day of mourning for a near relative. See G. A. Grierson, _Bihār Peasant Life_ (Calcutta, 1885), p. 409.

M26 Evils transferred to human beings in India and elsewhere.

122 W. Caland, _Altindisches Zauberritual_ (Amsterdam, 1900), p. 83; _Hymns of the Atharva-Veda_, translated by Maurice Bloomfield (Oxford, 1897), pp. 308 _sq._ (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xlii.).

123 M. N. Venketswami, “Telugu Superstitions,” _The Indian Antiquary_, xxiv. (1895) p. 359.

124 A. Grünwedel, “Sinhalesische Masken,” _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, vi. (1893) pp. 85 _sq._

125 J. G. Dalyell, _Darker Superstitions of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1834), pp. 104 _sq._ I have modernised the spelling.

126 J. Perham, “Sea Dyak Religion,” _Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society_, No. 10 (December 1882), p. 232.

M27 Sins and misfortunes transferred to human scapegoats in New Zealand and Manipur. Annual eponyms in Manipur. Eponymous magistrates as public scapegoats.

127 Rev. Richard Taylor, _Te Ika A Maui, or New Zealand and its Inhabitants_, Second Edition (London, 1870), p. 101.

128 T. C. Hodson, “The Native Tribes of Manipur,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxi. (1901) p. 302; _id._, _The Meitheis_ (London, 1908), pp. 106 _sq._

129 T. C. Hodson, “The Native Tribes of Manipur,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxi. (1901) p. 302.

130 T. C. Hodson, _The Meitheis_ (London, 1908), pp. 104-106.

131 Compare _The Dying God_, pp. 116 _sq._

M28 Indian story of the transference of sins to a holy man.

_ 132 The Jataha or Stories of the Buddha’s former Births_, vol. v., translated by H. T. Francis (Cambridge, 1905), pp. 71 _sq._

M29 Transference of evils to human scapegoats in Uganda.

133 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), p. 342.

M30 Transference of sins to a Brahman in Travancore. Transference of sins to a Sin-eater in England.

134 Rev. S. Mateer, _Native Life in Travancore_ (London, 1883), p. 136.

135 J. Aubrey, _Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme_ (Folk-lore Society, London, 1881), pp. 35 _sq._

136 Bagford’s letter in Leland’s _Collectanea_, i. 76, quoted by J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, ii. 246 _sq._, Bohn’s edition (London, 1882-1883).

137 In _The Academy_, 13th Nov. 1875, p. 505, Mr. D. Silvan Evans stated that he knew of no such custom anywhere in Wales; and the custom seems to be now quite unknown in Shropshire. See C. S. Burne and G. F. Jackson, _Shropshire Folk-lore_ (London, 1883), pp. 307 _sq._

138 The authority for the statement is a Mr. Moggridge, reported in _Archaeologia Cambrensis_, second series, iii. 330. But Mr. Moggridge did not speak from personal knowledge, and as he appears to have taken it for granted that the practice of placing bread and salt upon the breast of a corpse was a survival of the custom of “sin-eating,” his evidence must be received with caution. He repeated his statement, in somewhat vaguer terms, at a meeting of the Anthropological Institute, 14th December 1875. See _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, v. (1876) pp. 423 _sq._

M31 Transference of sins to a sin-eater in India.

139 J. A. Dubois, _Mœurs des Peuples de l’Inde_ (Paris, 1825), ii. 32 _sq._

140 R. Richardson, in _Panjab Notes and Queries_, i. p. 86, § 674 (May, 1884).

_ 141 Panjab Notes and Queries_, i. p. 86, § 674, ii. p. 93, § 559 (March, 1885). Some of these customs have been already referred to in a different connexion. See _The Dying God_, p. 154. In Uganda the eldest son used to perform a funeral ceremony, which consisted in chewing some seeds which he took with his lips from the hand of his dead father; some of these seeds he then blew over the corpse and the rest over one of the childless widows who thereafter became his wife. The meaning of the ceremony is obscure. The eldest son in Uganda never inherited his father’s property. See the Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), p. 117.

_ 142 Panjab Notes and Queries_, iii. p. 179, § 745 (July, 1886).

143 E. Schuyler, _Turkistan_ (London, 1876), ii. 28.

M32 Transference of sins in Tahiti.

144 W. Ellis, _Polynesian Researches_, Second Edition (London, 1832-1836), i. 401 _sqq._

145 The Welsh custom of “sin-eating” has been interpreted by Mr. E. S. Hartland as a modification of an older custom of eating the corpse. See his article, “The Sin-eater,” _Folk-lore_, iii. (1892) 145-157; _The Legend of Perseus_, ii. 291 _sqq._, iii. p. ix. I cannot think his interpretation probable or borne out by the evidence. The Badaga custom of transferring the sins of the dead to a calf which is then let loose and never used again (above, pp. 36 _sq._), the Tahitian custom of burying the sins of a person whose body is carefully preserved by being embalmed, and the Manipur and Travancore customs of transferring the sins of a Rajah before his death (pp. 39, 42 _sq._) establish the practice of transferring sins in cases where there can be no question of eating the corpse. The original intention of such practices was perhaps not so much to take away the sins of the deceased as to rid the survivors of the dangerous pollution of death. This comes out to some extent in the Tahitian custom.

M33 Transference of evils in ancient Greece. The transference of warts. Transference of sickness in Scotland, Germany, and Austria.

146 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxviii. 86.

147 Plato, _Laws_, xi. 12, p. 933 B.

148 Ἐφημερὶς ἀρχαιολογική, 1883, col. 213, 214; G. Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 802, lines 48 _sqq._ (vol. ii. pp. 652 _sq._).

149 Marcellus, _De medicamentis_, xxxiv. 102. A similar cure is described by Pliny (_Nat. Hist._ xxii. 149); you are to touch the warts with chick-peas on the first day of the moon, wrap the peas in a cloth, and throw them away behind you. But Pliny does not say that the warts will be transferred to the person who picks up the peas. On this subject see further J. Hardy, “Wart and Wen Cures,” _Folk-lore Record_, i. (1878) pp. 216-228.

150 Z. Zanetti, _La Medicina delle nostre donne_ (Città di Castello, 1892), pp. 224 _sq._; J. B. Thiers, _Traité des Superstitions_ (Paris, 1679), p. 321; B. Souché, _Croyances, présages et traditions diverses_ (Niort, 1880), p. 19; J. W. Wolf, _Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Göttingen, 1852-1857), i. 248, § 576; Dr. R. F. Kaindl, “Aus dem Volksglauben der Rutenen in Galizien,” _Globus_, lxiv. (1893) p. 93; J. Harland and T. T. Wilkinson, _Lancashire Folk-lore_ (Manchester and London, 1882), p. 157; G. W. Black, _Folk-medicine_ (London, 1883), p. 41; W. Gregor, _Folk-lore of the North-East of Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 49; J. G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), pp. 94 _sq._

151 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), ii. 71, § 85; E. Monseur, _Le Folklore Wallon_ (Brussels, N.D.), p. 29; H. Zahler, _Die Krankheit im Volksglauben des Simmenthals_ (Bern, 1898), p. 93; R. Andree, _Braunschweiger Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), p. 306.

152 A. Birlinger, _Volksthümliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1861-1862), i. 483.

153 Thiers, Souché, Strackerjan, Monseur, _ll.cc._; J. G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), p. 95.

154 Ch. Rogers, _Social Life in Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1884-1886), iii. 226.

155 G. Lammert, _Volksmedizin und medizinischer Aberglaube in Bayern_ (Würzburg, 1869), p. 264.

_ 156 Ibid._ p. 263.

157 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_ (Prague and Leipsic, 1864), p. 167, § 1180.

158 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), i. 71, § 85.

M34 Sickness transferred to asses, frogs, dogs, and other animals.

_ 159 Geoponica_, xiii. 9, xv. 1; Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxviii. 155. The authorities for these cures are respectively Apuleius and Democritus. The latter is probably not the atomic philosopher. See J. G. Frazer, “The Language of Animals,” _The Archæological Review_, vol. i. (May, 1888) p. 180, note 140.

160 Marcellus, _De medicamentis_, xii. 24.

161 W. G. Black, _Folk-medicine_ (London, 1883), pp. 35 _sq._

162 Marcellus, _De medicamentis_, xvii. 18.

163 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxx. 61; Marcellus, _De medicamentis_, xxvii. 33. The latter writer mentions (_op. cit._ xxviii. 123) that the same malady might similarly be transferred to a live frog.

164 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxx. 64; Marcellus, _De medicamentis_, xxviii. 132.

165 Marcellus, _De medicamentis_, xxix. 35.

166 W. Henderson, _Folk-lore of the Northern Counties_ (London, 1879), p. 143; W. G. Black, _Folk-medicine_, p. 35; Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, 1909), p. 226.

167 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), i. 72, § 86.

M35 Sickness transferred to birds, snails, fish, and fowls.

168 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_ (Prague and Leipsic, 1864), p. 166, § 1173, quoting Kuhn’s translation of _Rig-veda_, x. 97. 13. A slightly different translation of the verse is given by H. Grassmann, who here follows R. Roth (_Rig-veda übersetzt_, vol. ii. p. 379). Compare _Hymns of the Rigveda_, translated by R. T. H. Griffith (Benares, 1889-1892), iv. 312.

169 L. Strackerjan, _op. cit._ i. 72, § 87.

170 W. Henderson, _Folk-lore of the Northern Counties_ (London, 1879), p. 143.

171 J. D. H. Temme, _Die Volkssagen der Altmark_ (Berlin, 1839), p. 83; A. Kuhn, _Märkische Sagen und Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. 384, § 62.

172 R. Wuttke, _Sächsische Volkskunde_2 (Dresden, 1901), p. 372.

173 J. V. Grohmann, _op. cit._ p. 230, § 1663. A similar remedy is prescribed in Bavaria. See G. Lammert, _Volksmedizin und medizinischer Aberglaube in Bayern_ (Würzburg, 1869), p. 249.

174 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, ii. 375; W. G. Black, _Folk-medicine_, p. 46.

175 Marie Trevelyan, _Folk-lore and Folk-stories of Wales_ (London, 1909), pp. 229 _sq._

M36 Sickness and ill-luck transferred to inanimate objects.

176 B. Schmidt, _Das Volksleben der Neugriechen_ (Leipsic, 1871), p. 82.

177 A. Kuhn, _Märkische Sagen und Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. 386.

178 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), i. 74, § 91.

M37 Sickness and trouble transferred to trees and bushes.

179 F. J. Wiedemann, _Aus dem inneren und äussern Leben der Ehsten_ (St. Petersburg, 1876), pp. 451 _sq._

_ 180 Le Tour du Monde_, lxvii. (1894) p. 308; _id._, Nouvelle Série, v. (1899) p. 521.

181 F. S. Krauss, _Volksglaube und religiöser Brauch der Südslaven_ (Münster i. W., 1890), pp. 35 _sq._

182 F. S. Krauss, _op. cit._ p. 39.

183 A. Strausz, _Die Bulgaren_ (Leipsic, 1898), p. 400, compare p. 401.

_ 184 Blackwood’s Magazine_, February 1886, p. 239.

185 Z. Zanetti, _La medicina delle nostre donne_ (Città di Castello, 1892), p. 73.

186 J. B. Thiers, _Traité des Superstitions_ (Paris, 1679), pp. 323 _sq._

187 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_ (Prague and Leipsic, 1864), p. 167, § 1178. A Belgian cure of the same sort is reported by J. W. Wolf (_Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie_, Göttingen, 1852-1857, i. 223 (wrongly numbered 219), § 256).

M38 Sickness transferred to trees by means of knots.

188 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg, 1867), i. 74, § 90.

189 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_4 (Berlin, 1875-1878), ii. 979.

_ 190 Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_, iv. 2 (Munich, 1867), p. 406.

191 A. Schleicher, _Volkstümliches aus Sonnenberg_ (Weimar, 1858), p. 150; A. Witschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_ (Vienna, 1878), p. 283, § 82.

192 W. Kolbe, _Hessische Volks-Sitten und Gebrauche_2 (Marburg, 1888), pp. 88 _sq._

M39 Sickness transferred to trees by means of the patient’s hair or nails.

193 C. Meyer, _Der Aberglaube des Mittelalters_ (Bâle, 1884), p. 104.

194 H. Zahler, _Die Krankheit im Volksglauben des Simmenthals_ (Bern, 1898), p. 94.

195 W. G. Black, _Folk-medicine_, p. 38.

196 F. Chapiseau, _Le Folk-lore de la Beauce et du Perche_ (Paris, 1902), i. 213.

197 W. G. Black, _Folk-medicine_, p. 39.

M40 Toothache, headache, and fevers plugged up in trees.

198 A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 310, § 490.

199 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_, p. 165, § 1160.

200 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_, ii. 74 _sq._, § 89.

201 J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 979.

202 T. J. Pettigrew, _On Superstitions connected with the History and Practice of Medicine and Surgery_ (London, 1844), p. 77; W. G. Black, _Folk-medicine_, p. 37.

M41 Sickness and pain pegged or nailed into trees.

203 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_, p. 167, § 1182.

204 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_, i. 73, § 89; A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_,2 pp. 309 _sq._, § 490.

205 L. F. Sauvé, _Le Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), p. 40; A. Meyrac, _Traditions, Coutumes, Légendes et Contes des Ardennes_ (Charleville, 1890), p. 174; A. Schleicher, _Volkstümliches aus Sonnenberg_ (Weimer, 1858), p. 149; J. A. E. Köhler, _Volksbrauch, Aberglauben, Sagen und andre alte Ueberlieferungen im Voigtlande_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 414; A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_ (Vienna, 1878), p. 283, § 79; H. Zahler, _Die Krankheit im Volksglauben des Simmenthals_ (Bern, 1898), p. 93.

206 R. Andree, _Braunschweiger Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), p. 307.

207 A. Kuhn, _Märkische Sagen und Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. 384, § 66.

208 H. Zahler, _loc. cit._

209 P. Wagler, _Die Eiche in alter und neuer Zeit_, i. (Wurzen, N.D.) p. 23.

M42 Ghosts and gods bunged up in India. Demon plugged up and ghost nailed down.

210 E. Doutté, _Magie et Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers, 1908), p. 436.

211 W. Crooke, _The Tribes and Castes of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh_ (Calcutta, 1896), iii. 436 _sq._; compare _id._, _Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_ (Westminster, 1896), i. 43, 162. Compare E. Thurston, _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_ (Madras, 1906), pp. 313, 331.

212 W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern India_ (Westminster, 1896), i. 102 _sq._

213 Mrs. Bishop, _Korea and her Neighbours_ (London, 1898), ii. 143 _sq._

214 P. Giran, _Magie et Religion Annamites_ (Paris, 1912), pp. 132 _sq._

M43 Evils nailed into stones, walls, door-posts, and so on.

215 R. C. Maclagan, “Notes on folk-lore Objects collected in Argyleshire,” _Folk-lore_, vi. (1895) p. 158.

216 R. Andree, _Braunschweiger Volkskunde_ (Brunswick, 1896), p. 307.

217 F. Chapiseau, _Le Folk-lore de la Beauce et du Perche_ (Paris, 1902), i. 170.

218 E. Doutté, _Magie et Religion dans l’Afrique du Nord_ (Algiers, 1908), pp. 228 _sq._

219 J. V. Grohmann, _Aberglauben und Gebräuche aus Böhmen und Mähren_, p. 116, § 1172.

M44 Devils and ghosts nailed down in Morocco, Tunis, and Egypt. Headache nailed into a door or a wall. Plague pegged into a hole.

220 A. Leared, _Morocco and the Moors_ (London, 1876), pp. 275 _sqq._

221 R. C. Thompson, _Semitic Magic_ (London, 1908), p. 17. It would seem that in Macedonia demons and ghosts can be hammered into walls. See G. F. Abbott, _Macedonian Folklore_ (Cambridge, 1903), p. 221. In Chittagong, as soon as a coffin has been carried out of the house, a nail is knocked into the threshold “to prevent death from entering the dwelling, at least for a time.” See Th. Bérengier, “Les funérailles à Chittagong,” _Les Missions Catholiques_, xiii. (1881) p. 504.

222 E. W. Lane, _Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians_ (Paisley and London, 1895), ch. x. p. 240.

223 R. C. Thompson, _Semitic Magic_ (London, 1908), p. 18.

224 L. Strackerjan, _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_, ii. 120, § 428 _a_. A similar story is told of a house in Neuenburg (_op. cit._ ii. 182, § 512 _c_).

225 Ammianus Marcellinus, xxiii. 6. 24.

M45 Plague nailed down in ancient Rome.

226 Livy, vii. 1-3. The plague raged from 365 to 363 B.C., when it was happily stayed in the manner described in the text.

M46 Pestilence and civil discord nailed into a wall in Rome.

227 Livy, ix. 28. This happened in the year 313 B.C.

228 Livy, viii. 18. These events took place in 331 B.C.

M47 The annual ceremony of knocking in a nail at Rome.

229 Livy, vii. 3. Livy says nothing as to the place where the nails were affixed; but from Festus (p. 56 ed. C. O. Müller) we learn that it was the wall of a temple, and as the date of the ceremony was also the date of the dedication of the temple of Jupiter on the Capitol (Plutarch, _Publicola_, 14), we may fairly conjecture that this temple was the scene of the rite. It is the more necessary to call attention to the uncertainty which exists on this point because modern writers, perhaps misunderstanding the words of Livy, have commonly stated as a fact what is at best only a more or less probable hypothesis. Octavian seems to have provided for the knocking of a nail into the temple of Mars by men who had held the office of censor. See Dio Cassius, lv. 10, ἧλόν τε αὐτῷ ὑπὸ τῶν τιμητευσάντων προσπήγνυσθαι.

M48 The ceremony was probably a purificatory rite designed to disarm and disable all evils that might threaten the Roman state in the course of the year. Roman cure for epilepsy.

230 Livy, vii. 3. Festus speaks (p. 56 ed. C. O. Müller) of “the annual nail, which was fixed in the walls of temples for the purpose of numbering the years,” as if the practice were common. From Cicero’s passing reference to the custom (“_Ex hoc die clavum anni movebis_,” _Epist. ad Atticum_, v. 15. 1) we see that it was matter of notoriety. Hence we may safely reject Mommsen’s theory, which Mr. W. Warde Fowler is disposed to accept (_The Roman Festivals of the period of the Republic_, London, 1899, pp. 234 _sq._), that the supposed annual custom never existed except in the brains of Roman Dryasdusts.

231 See Livy and Festus, _ll.cc._

232 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxviii. 63.

_ 233 County Folk-lore, Suffolk_, edited by Lady E. C. Gurdon (London, 1893), p. 14. In the north-west Highlands of Scotland it used to be customary to bury a black cock alive on the spot where an epileptic patient fell down. Along with the cock were buried parings of the patient’s nails and a lock of his hair. See (Sir) Arthur Mitchell, _On various Superstitions in the North-West Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Edinburgh, 1862), p. 26; J. G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), p. 97. Probably the disease was supposed to be buried with the cock in the ground. The ancient Hindoos imagined that epilepsy was caused by a dog-demon. When a boy fell down in a fit, his father or other competent person used to wrap the sufferer in a net, and carry him into the hall, not through the door, but through an opening made for the purpose in the roof. Then taking up some earth in the middle of the hall, at the place where people gambled, he sprinkled the spot with water, cast dice on it, and laid the boy on his back on the dice. After that he prayed to the dog-demon, saying, “Doggy, let him loose! Reverence be to thee, barker, bender! Doggy, let him loose! Reverence be to thee, barker, bender!” See _The Grihya Sutras_, translated by H. Oldenberg, Part i. (Oxford, 1886) pp. 296 _sq._; _id._ Part ii. (Oxford, 1892) pp. 219 _sq._, 286 _sq._ (_Sacred Books of the East_, vols. xxix. and xxx.). Apparently the place where people gambled was for some reason supposed to be a spot where an epileptic could divest himself most readily of his malady. But the connexion of thought is obscure.

234 The analogy of the Roman custom to modern superstitious practices has been rightly pointed out by Mr. E. S. Hartland (_Folk-lore_, iv. (1893) pp. 457, 464; _Legend of Perseus_, ii. 188), but I am unable to accept his general explanation of these and some other practices as modes of communion with a divinity.

M49 Knocking nails into idols as a means of attracting the attention of the deity or spirit.

235 A. Bastian, _Die deutsche Expedition an der Loango-Küste_ (Jena, 1874-1875), ii. 176.

236 A. Bastian, _op. cit._ ii. 175-178. Compare Father Campana, “Congo, Mission Catholique de Landana,” _Les Missions Catholiques_, xxvii. (1895) p. 93; _Notes Analytiques sur les Collections Ethnographiques du Musée du Congo_, i. (Brussels, 1902-1906) pp. 153, 246; B. H. Mullen, “Fetishes from Landana, South-West Africa,” _Man_, v. (1905) pp. 102-104; R. E. Dennett, “Bavili Notes,” _Folk-lore_, xvi. (1905) pp. 382 _sqq._; _id._, _At the Back of the Black Man’s Mind_ (London, 1906), pp. 85 _sqq._, 91 _sqq._ The Ethnological Museum at Berlin possesses a number of rude images from Loango and Congo, which are thickly studded with nails hammered into their bodies. The intention of the custom, as explained to me by Professor von Luschan, is to pain the fetish and so to refresh his memory, lest he should forget to do his duty.

237 Sir John Rhys, “Celtae and Galli,” _Proceedings of the British Academy_, ii. (1905-1906) pp. 114 _sq._

238 Lafcadio Hearn, _Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan_ (London, 1894), ii. 598 _sq._, note.

M50 Two different spiritual applications of nails or pins. M51 Attempts to get rid of the accumulated sorrows of a whole people. M52 Sorrows conceived of as the work of demons. M53 Primitive belief in the omnipresence of demons. M54 Demons in Australia and West Africa.

239 A. Oldfield, “The Aborigines of Australia,” _Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London_, N.S., iii. (1865) p. 228.

240 J. Büttikoffer, “Einiges über die Eingebornen von Liberia,” _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, i. (1888) p. 85.

241 Mary H. Kingsley, _Travels in West Africa_ (London, 1897) pp. 442 _sq._

242 G. Zündel, “Land und Volk der Eweer auf der Sclavenküste in Westafrika,” _Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin_, xii. (1877) pp. 412-414. Full details as to the religious creed of the Ewes, including their belief in a Supreme Being (_Mawu_), are given, to a great extent in the words of the natives themselves, by the German missionary Jakob Spieth in his elaborate and valuable works _Die Ewe-Stämme_ (Berlin, 1906) and _Die Religion der Eweer in Süd-Togo_ (Leipsic, 1911). As to _Mawu_ in particular, the meaning of whose name is somewhat uncertain, see J. Spieth, _Die Ewe-Stämme_, pp. 421 _sqq._; _Die Religion der Eweer in Süd-Togo_, pp. 15 _sqq._

M55 Demons on the Congo. Demons in South Africa.

243 Rev. J. H. Weeks, “Anthropological Notes on the Bangala of the Upper Congo River,” _Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute_, xl. (1910) p. 377.

244 Rev. John H. Weeks, _Among Congo Cannibals_ (London, 1913), p. 261.

245 Rev. J. H. Weeks, “Anthropological Notes on the Bangala of the Upper Congo River,” _Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute_, xl. (1910) pp. 368, 370. The singular form of _mingoli_ is _mongoli_, “a disembodied spirit.” Compare _id._, _Among Congo Cannibals_ (London, 1913), p. 252; and again _ibid._ p. 275. But great as is the fear of evil spirits among the natives of the Congo, their dread of witchcraft seems to be still more intense. See Rev. J. H. Weeks, “Notes on some Customs of the Lower Congo People,” _Folk-lore_, xx. (1909) pp. 51 _sq._: “The belief in witchcraft affects their lives in a vast number of ways, and touches them socially at a hundred different points. It regulates their actions, modifies their mode of thought and speech, controls their conduct towards each other, causes cruelty and callousness in a people not naturally cruel, and sets the various members of a family against each other. A man may believe any theory he likes about creation, about God, and about the abode of departed spirits, but he must believe in witches and their influence for evil, and must in unmistakable terms give expression to that belief, or be accused of witchcraft himself.... But for witchcraft no one would die, and the earnest longing of all right-minded men and women is to clear it out of the country by killing every discovered witch. It is an act of self-preservation.... Belief in witches is interwoved into the very fibre of every Bantu-speaking man and woman, and the person who does not believe in them is a monster, a witch, to be killed as soon as possible.” Could we weigh against each other the two great terrors which beset the minds of savages all over the world, it seems probable that the dread of witches would be found far to outweigh the dread of evil spirits. However, it is the fear of evil spirits with which we are at present concerned.

246 G. McCall Theal, _Records of South-Eastern Africa_, vii. (1901) pp. 405 _sq._

247 On this subject Mr. Dudley Kidd has made some judicious observations (_Savage Childhood_, London, 1906, pp. 131 _sq._). He says: “The Kafirs certainly do not live in everlasting dread of spirits, for the chief part of their life is not spent in thinking at all. A merrier set of people it would be hard to find. They are so easy-going that it would seem to them too much burden to be for ever thinking of spirits.”

M56 Demons in South America.

248 (Sir) E. F. im Thurn, _Among the Indians of Guiana_. (London, 1883), pp. 356 _sq._ As to the dread which the Brazilian Indians entertain of demons, see J. B. von Spix and C. F. Ph. von Martius, _Reise in Brasilien_ (Munich, 1823-1831), iii. 1108-1111.

249 W. Barbrooke Grubb, _An Unknown People in an Unknown Land_ (London, 1911), pp. 118, 119.

M57 Demons in Labrador.

250 L. M. Turner, “Ethnology of the Ungava District, Hudson Bay Territory,” _Eleventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1894), pp. 193 _sq._

M58 Demons in Polynesia. Demons in New Zealand.

251 W. Ellis, _Polynesian Researches_, Second Edition (London, 1832-1836), i. 331.

252 W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 406.

_ 253 The Voyages of Captain James Cook round the World_ (London, 1809), vi. 152.

254 R. Taylor, _Te Ika a Maui, or New Zealand and its Inhabitants_, Second Edition (London, 1870), p. 104.

M59 Demons in the Pelew Islands.

255 J. Kubary, “Die Religion der Pelauer,” in A. Bastian’s _Allerlei aus Volks- und Menschenkunde_ (Berlin, 1888), i. 46.

256 J. Kubary, “Die Bewohner der Mortlock-Inseln,” _Mittheilungen der geographischen Gesellschaft in Hamburg_, 1878-79, p. 36.

M60 Demons in the Philippines and in Melanesia.

257 W. A. Reed, _Negritos of Zambales_ (Manilla, 1904), p. 65 (_Ethnological Survey Publications_, vol. ii. Part i.).

258 Mgr. Couppé “En Nouvelle-Poméranie,” _Les Missions Catholiques_, xxiii. (1891) pp. 355 _sq._

259 P. A. Kleintitschen, _Die Küstenbewohner der Gazellehalbinsel_ (Hiltrup bei Münster, preface dated 1906), pp. 336 _sq._ Compare Joachim Graf Pfeil, _Studien und Beobachtungen aus der Südsee_ (Brunswick, 1899), p. 159; _id._, in _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxvii. (1898) pp. 183 _sq._

260 R. Parkinson, _Dreissig Jahre in der Südsee_ (Stuttgart, 1907), pp. 120, 121.

M61 Demons in Dutch New Guinea and German New Guinea.

261 J. L. van Hasselt, “Die Papuastämme an der Geelvinkbai (Neu-guinea),” _Mitteilungen der Geographischen Gesellschaft zu Jena_, ix. (1891) p. 98. As to Mr. van Hasselt’s twenty-five years’ residence among these savages, see _id._, p. 22.

262 Stefan Lehner, “Bukaua,” in R. Neuhauss’s _Deutsch Neu-Guinea_, iii. (Berlin, 1911) pp. 414-416.

M62 Demons in British New Guinea.

263 W. G. Lawes, “Notes on New Guinea and its Inhabitants,” _Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society_, 1880, p. 615.

M63 Demons in Timor and Celebes.

264 J. G. F. Riedel, “Die Landschaft Dawan oder West-Timor,” _Deutsche geographische Blätter_, x. 278 _sq._

265 G. W. W. C. Baron van Hoëvell, _Ambon en meer bepaaldelijk de Oeliasers_ (Dordrecht, 1875), p. 148.

266 N. P. Wilken en J. A. Schwarz, “Het heidendom en de Islam in Bolaang Mongondou,” _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xi. (1867) p. 259.

M64 Demons in Bali and Java.

267 R. van Eck, “Schetsen van het eiland Bali,” _Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië_, August, 1880, p. 83.

268 S. E. Harthoorn, “De Zending op Java en meer bepaald die van Malang,” _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, iv. (1860) pp. 116 _sq._

M65 Demons in Borneo and Sumatra.

269 C. A. L. M. Schwaner, _Borneo, Beschrijving van het stroomgebied van den Barito_ (Amsterdam, 1853-54), i. 176.

270 J. B. Neumann, “Het Pane- en Bila-stroomgebied,” _Tijdschrift van het Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig Genootschap_, Tweede Serie, iii. Afdeeling, meer uitgebreide artikelen, No. 2 (Amsterdam, 1886), p. 287.

271 B. Hagen, “Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Battareligion,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xxviii. (1883) p. 508. The persons of the Batta Trinity are Bataraguru, Sori, and Balabulan. The most fundamental distinction between the persons of the Trinity appears to be that one of them is allowed to eat pork, while the others are not (_ibid._ p. 505).

272 M. Joustra, “Het leven, de zeden en gewoonten der Bataks,” _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xlvi. (1902) p. 412.

M66 Demons in the Nicobars, in the Malay Peninsula, and in Kamtchatka..

_ 273 The Census of India, 1901_, vol. iii. _The Andaman and Nicobar Islands_, by Lieut.-Colonel Sir Richard C. Temple (Calcutta, 1903), p. 206.

274 Borie, “Notice sur les Mantras, tribu sauvage de la péninsule Malaise,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, x. (1860) p. 434.

275 S. Krascheninnikow, _Beschreibung des Landes Kamtschatka_ (Lemgo, 1766), p. 215.

M67 Demons in India. The high gods come and go, but demons remain.

276 We may compare the instructive remarks made by Mr. W. E. Maxwell on the stratification of religious beliefs among the Malays (“The Folk-lore of the Malays,” _Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society_, No. 7, June, 1881, pp. 11 _sq._). He says: “Two successive religious changes have taken place among them, and when we have succeeded in identifying the vestiges of Brahmanism which underly the external forms of the faith of Muhammed, long established in all Malay kingdoms, we are only half-way through our task. There yet remain the powerful influences of the still earlier indigenous faith to be noted and accounted for. Just as the Buddhists of Ceylon turn, in times of sickness and danger, not to the consolations offered by the creed of Buddha, but to the propitiation of the demons feared and reverenced by their early progenitors, and just as the Burmese and Talaings, though Buddhists, retain in full force the whole of the _Nat_ superstition, so among the Malays, in spite of centuries which have passed since the establishment of an alien worship, the Muhammedan peasant may be found invoking the protection of Hindu gods against the spirits of evil with which his primitive faith has peopled all natural objects.”

M68 Demons in ancient India.

277 H. Oldenberg, _Die Religion des Veda_ (Berlin, 1894), pp. 39 _sq._

M69 Demons in modern India.

278 Monier Williams, _Religious Thought and Life in India_ (London, 1883), pp. 210 _sq._

279 Monier Williams, _op. cit._ pp. 230 _sq._ The views here expressed by the late Professor Monier Williams are confirmed from personal knowledge by Mr. E. T. Atkinson, _The Himalayan Districts of the North-Western Provinces of India_, ii. (Allahabad, 1884) p. 840.

M70 Demons in Bengal, Assam, the Chin Hills Sikhim, Tibet, and Travancore.

280 E. T. Dalton, _Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal_ (Calcutta, 1872), pp. 256, 257, 258.

281 Rev. S. Endle, _The Kacharis_ (London, 1911), p. 33.

282 Bertram S. Carey and H. N. Tuck, _The Chin Hills_, i. (Rangoon, 1896) p. 196.

283 L. A. Waddell, “Demonolatry in Sikhim Lamaism,” _The Indian Antiquary_, xxiii. (1894) p. 197.

284 L. A. Waddell, _The Buddhism of Tibet_ (London, 1895), p. 152.

285 Lt.-Colonel J. Shakespear, _The Lushei Kuki Clans_ (London, 1912), pp. 61, 65 _sq._, 67.

286 Rev. S. Mateer, _The Land of Charity_ (London, 1883), p. 207.

M71 Demons in Ceylon.

287 R. Percival, _Account of the Island of Ceylon_, Second Edition (London, 1805), pp. 211-213.

M72 Demons in Burma.

288 C. J. F. S. Forbes, _British Burma_ (London, 1878), pp. 221 _sq._

289 Shway Yoe, _The Burman, his Life and Notions_ (London, 1882), i. 276 _sq._

290 Shway Yoe, _op. cit._ i. 278. “To the Burman,” says A. Bastian, “the whole world is filled with nats. Mountains, rivers, waters, the earth, etc., have all their nat.” (_Die Völker des östlichen Asien_, ii. 497).

M73 Demons in Siam and Indo-China.

291 Mgr. Pallegoix, _Description du royaume Thai ou Siam_ (Paris, 1854), i. 42.

292 C. Bock, _Temples and Elephants_ (London, 1884), p. 198.

293 Mgr. Bruguière, in _Annales de l’Association de la Propagation de la Foi_, v. (1831) p. 128.

294 J. Deniker, _The Races of Man_ (London, 1900), pp. 400 _sqq._

295 A. Bourlet, “Les Thay,” _Anthropos_, ii. (1907) p. 619.

296 A. Bourlet, _op. cit._ p. 632.

M74 Demons in China.

297 J. J. M. de Groot, _The Religious System of China_, v. (Leyden, 1907) p. 470.

298 J. J. M. de Groot, _op. cit._ vi. (Leyden, 1910) pp. 930-932. This sixth volume of Professor de Groot’s great work is mainly devoted to an account of the ceaseless war waged by the Chinese people on demons or spectres (_kwei_). A more summary notice of this curious national delusion will be found in his work _The Religion of the Chinese_ (New York, 1910), chapter ii., “The Struggle against Spectres,” pp. 33-61.

M75 Demons in Corea.

299 Mrs. Bishop (Isabella L. Bird), _Korea and her Neighbours_ (London, 1898), ii. 227 _sq._, 229. I have taken the liberty of changing the writer’s “daemon” and “daemoniacal” into “demon” and “demoniacal.”

M76 Demons among the Koryaks.

300 C. von Dittmar, “Über die Koräken und die ihnen sehr nahe verwandten Tschuktschen,” _Bulletin de la Classe Historico-philologique de l’Académie Impériale des Sciences de St. Pétersbourg_, xiii. (1856) coll. 123 _sq._

301 W. Jochelson, _The Koryak_ (Leyden and New York, 1908), p. 28 (_The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of Natural History_).

M77 Demons among the Gilyaks.

302 L. Sternberg, “Die Religion der Giljaken,” _Archiv für Religionswissenschaft_, viii. (1905) pp. 460 _sq._

M78 Demons in ancient Babylonia and Assyria.

303 M. Jastrow, _The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria_ (Boston, 1898), pp. 260 _sqq._; _id._, _Die Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens_, i. (Giessen, 1905) pp. 278 _sqq._; C. Fossey, _La Magie Assyrienne_ (Paris, 1902), pp. 27-30, 34; E. Schrader, _Die Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament_, Dritte Auflage, neu bearbeitet von H. Zimmern und H. Winckler (Berlin, 1902), pp. 458 _sqq._

M79 Demons in ancient and modern Egypt.

304 E. A. Wallis Budge, _Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection_ (London, 1911), ii. 150.

305 E. W. Lane, _Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians_ (Paisley and London, 1895), chap. x. pp. 231 _sq._

306 C. B. Klunzinger, _Bilder aus Oberägypten, der Wüste und dem Rothen Meere_ (Stuttgart, 1877), p. 382; compare _ibid._ pp. 374 _sq._

M80 Demons in ancient Greece and mediaeval Europe.

307 Aristotle, _De anima_, i. 5. 17; Diogenes Laertius, i. 1. 27.

308 Porphyry, quoted by Eusebius, _Praeparatio Evangelii_, iv. 23.

309 Elsewhere I have attempted to shew that a particular class of purifications—those observed by mourners—is intended to protect the living from the disembodied spirits of the dead (“On certain Burial Customs as illustrative of the Primitive Theory of the Soul,” _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xv. (1886) pp. 64 _sqq._).

310 C. Meyer, _Der Aberglaube des Mittelalters_ (Bâle, 1884), pp. 109-111, 191 _sq._

M81 Demons in modern Europe.

311 E. Gerard, _The Land beyond the Forest_ (Edinburgh and London, 1888), i. 328. The superstitions of the Roumanians of Transylvania have been collected by W. Schmidt in his tract _Das Jahr und seine Tage in Meinung und Brauch der Romänen Siebenbürgens_ (Hermannstadt, 1866).

M82 Demons in modern Armenia.

312 Manuk Abeghian, _Der armenische Volksglaube_ (Leipsic, 1899), pp. 31 _sq._

M83 General clearances of evils take the form of expulsions of demons. M84 General expulsions of demons in Melanesia, Australia and South Africa.

313 Paul Reina, “Über die Bewohner der Insel Rook,” _Zeitschrift für allgemeine Erdkunde_, N.F., iv. (1858) p. 356.

314 R. Parkinson, _Im Bismarck-Archipel_ (Leipsic, 1887), p. 142; _id._, _Dreissig Jahre in der Südsee_ (Stuttgart, 1907), p. 119.

315 O. Opigez, “Aperçu général sur la Nouvelle-Calédonie,” _Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_ (Paris), VII. Série, vii. (1886) p. 443.

316 S. Gason, in _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxiv. (1895) p. 170.

317 Rev. James Macdonald, _Religion and Myth_ (London, 1893), pp. 100-102. The writer, who describes the ceremony at first hand, remarks that “there is no periodic purging of devils, nor are more spirits than one expelled at a time.” He adds: “I have noticed frequently a connection between the quantity of grain that could be spared for making beer, and the frequency of gatherings for the purging of evils.”

M85 General expulsion of demons in Minahassa, Halmahera, and the Kei Islands.

318 [P. N. Wilken], “De godsdienst en godsdienstplegtigheden der Alfoeren in de Menahassa op het eiland Celebes,” _Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch Indië_, December 1849, pp. 392-394; _id._, “Bijdragen tot de kennis van de zeden en gewoonten der Alfoeren in de Minahassa,” _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, vii. (1863) pp. 149 _sqq._; J. G. F. Riedel, “De Minahasa in 1825,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xviii. (1872) pp. 521 _sq._ Wilken’s first and fuller account is reprinted in N. Graafland’s _De Minahassa_ (Rotterdam, 1869), i. 117-120. A German translation of Wilken’s earlier article is printed in _Zeitschrift für allgemeine Erdkunde_, N.F., x. (1861) pp. 43-61.

319 J. G. F. Riedel, “Galela und Tobeloresen,” _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, xvii. (1885) p. 82; G. A. Wilken, “Het Shamanisme bij de Volken van de Indischen Archipel,” _Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch Indie_, xxxvi. (1887) p. 484; _id._, _Verspreide Geschriften_ (The Hague, 1912), iii. 383. When smallpox is raging, the Toradjas of Central Celebes abandon the village and live in the bush for seven days in order to make the spirit of smallpox believe that they are all dead. But it does not appear that they forcibly expel him from the village. See N. Adriani en Alb. C. Kruijt, _De Bare’e-sprekende Toradja’s van Midden-Celebes_, i. (Batavia, 1912) p. 417.

320 C. M. Pleyte, “Ethnographische Beschrijving der Kei-eilanden,” _Tijdschrift van het Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig Genootschap_, Tweede Serie, x. (1893) pp. 834 _sq._ A briefer account of the custom had previously been given by J. G. F. Riedel (_De sluik- en kroesharige rassen tusschen Selebes en Papua_, The Hague, 1886, p. 239).

M86 Demons of sickness expelled in Nias.

321 J. T. Nieuwenhuisen en H. C. B. von Rosenberg, “Verslag omtrent het eiland Nias,” _Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschapen_, xxx. (Batavia, 1863) pp. 116 _sq._; H. von Rosenberg, _Der Malayische Archipel_ (Leipsic, 1878), pp. 174 _sq._ Compare L. N. H. A. Chatelin, “Godsdienst en Bijgeloof der Niassers,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xxvi. (1880) p. 139; E. Modigliani, _Un Viaggio a Nías_ (Milan, 1890), pp. 195, 382. The Dyaks also drive the devil at the point of the sword from a house where there is sickness. See C. Hupe, “Korte verhandeling over de godsdienst, zeden, enz. der Dajakkers,” _Tijdschrift voor Neérlands Indië_, 1846, dl. iii. p. 149.

M87 Spiritual quarantine against demons of sickness in Nias.

322 Fr. Kramer, “Der Götzendienst der Niasser,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xxxiii. (1890) pp. 486-488.

323 Herodotus, i. 172.

M88 Demons of sickness expelled in the Solomon Islands, Burma, India, China.

324 G. C. Wheeler, “Sketch of the Totemism and Religion of the People of the Islands in the Bougainville Straits (Western Solomon Islands),” _Archiv für Religionswissenschaft_, xv. (1912) pp. 49, 51 _sq._

325 C. J. F. S. Forbes, _British Burma_ (London, 1878), p. 233; Shway Yoe, _The Burman, his Life and Notions_ (London, 1882), i. 282, ii. 105 _sqq._; A. Bastian, _Die Völker des östlichen Asien_, ii. 98; Max and Bertha Ferrars, _Burma_ (London, 1900), p. 128.

326 (Sir) J. George Scott and J. P. Hardiman, _Gazetteer of Upper Burma and the Shan States_, Part ii. vol. i. (Rangoon, 1901) p. 440.

327 T. H. Lewin, _Wild Tribes of South-Eastern India_ (London, 1870), p. 226.

328 J. J. M. de Groot, _The Religious System of China_, vi. (Leyden, 1910) pp. 981 _sqq._; _id._, _The Religion of the Chinese_ (New York, 1910), pp. 40 _sqq._

M89 Demons of sickness expelled in Japan, Corea and Tonquin.

329 This description is taken from a newspaper-cutting, which was sent to me from the west of Scotland in October 1890, but without the name or date of the paper. The account, which is headed “Exorcism of the Pest Demon in Japan,” purports to be derived from a series of notes on medical customs of the Japanese, which were contributed by Dr. C. H. H. Hall, of the U.S. Navy, to the _Sei-I Kwai Medical Journal_. Compare Lafcadio Hearn, _Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan_ (London, 1894), i. 147.

330 Masanao Koike, “Zwei Jahren in Korea,” _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, iv. (1891) p. 10; Mrs. Bishop, _Korea and her Neighbours_ (London, 1898), ii. 240.

_ 331 Lettres édifiantes et curieuses_, Nouvelle Édition (Paris, 1780-1783), xvi. 206. It will be noticed that in this and the preceding case the principle of expulsion is applied for the benefit of an individual, not of a whole community. Yet the method of procedure in both is so similar to that adopted in the cases under consideration that I have allowed myself to cite them.

M90 Demons of sickness expelled in Africa, America.

332 G. Zündel, “Land und Volk der Eweer auf der Sclavenküste in Westafrika,” _Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin_, xii. (1877) pp. 414 _sq._

333 H. Hecquard, _Reise an die Küste und in das Innere von West-Afrika_ (Leipsic, 1854), p. 43.

334 Dr. A. Plehn, “Beobachtungen in Kamerun, über die Anschauungen und Gebräuche einiger Negerstämme,” _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, xxxvi. (1904) pp. 717 _sq._

335 Ph. Paulitschke, _Ethnographie Nordost-Afrikas: die materielle Cultur der Danâkil, Galla und Somâl_ (Berlin, 1893), p. 177.

336 F. Gabriel Sagard, _Le Grand Voyage du Pays des Hurons_, pp. 279 _sqq._ (195 _sq._ of the reprint, Paris, Libraire Tross, 1865). Compare _Relations des Jésuites_, 1639, pp. 88-92 (Canadian reprint, Quebec, 1858), from which it appears that each man demanded the subject of his dream in the form of a riddle, which the hearers tried to solve. The custom of asking riddles at certain seasons or on certain special occasions is curious and has not yet, so far as I know, been explained. Perhaps enigmas were originally circumlocutions adopted at times when for certain reasons the speaker was forbidden the use of direct terms. They appear to be especially employed in the neighbourhood of a dead body. Thus in Bolang Mongondo (Celebes) riddles may never be asked except when there is a corpse in the village. See N. P. Wilken en J. A. Schwarz, “Allerlei over het land en volk van Bolaäng Mongondou,” _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xi. (1867) p. 357. In the Aru archipelago, while a corpse is uncoffined, the watchers propound riddles to each other, or rather they think of things which the others have to guess. See J. G. F. Riedel, _De sluik- en kroesharige rassen tusschen Selebes en Papua_, pp. 267 _sq._ In Brittany after a burial, when the rest have gone to partake of the funeral banquet, old men remain behind in the graveyard, and having seated themselves on mallows, ask each other riddles. See A. de Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des Provinces de France_ (Paris and Lyons, 1846), p. 199. Among the Akamba of British East Africa boys and girls at circumcision have to interpret certain pictographs cut on sticks: these pictographs are called “riddles.” See C. W. Hobley, _Ethnology of A-Kamba and other East African Tribes_ (Cambridge, 1910), pp. 71 _sq._ In Vedic times the priests proposed enigmas to each other at the great sacrifice of a horse. See _The Satapatha Brahmana_, translated by J. Eggeling, Part v. (Oxford, 1900), pp. 314-316 (_Sacred Books of the East_, vol. xliv.); H. Oldenberg, _Die Religion des Veda_ (Berlin, 1894), p. 475. Compare O. Schrader, _Reallexikon der indogermanischen Altertumskunde_ (Strasburg, 1901), pp. 647 _sq._ Among Turkish tribes of Central Asia girls publicly propound riddles to their wooers, who are punished if they cannot read them. See H. Vambery, _Das Türkenvolk_ (Leipsic, 1885), pp. 232 _sq._ Among the Alfoors of Central Celebes riddles may only be asked during the season when the fields are being tilled and the crops are growing. People meeting together at this time occupy themselves with asking riddles and telling stories. As soon as some one has found the answer to a riddle, they all cry out, “Make our rice to grow, make fat ears to grow both in the valleys and on the heights.” But during the months which elapse between harvest and the preparation of new land for tillage the propounding of enigmas is strictly forbidden. The writer who reports the custom conjectures that the cry “Make our rice to grow” is addressed to the souls of the ancestors. See A. C. Kruijt, “Een en ander aangaande het geestelijk en maatschappelijk leven van den Poso-Alfoer,” _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xxxix. (1895) pp. 142 _sq._ Amongst the Toboongkoo of Central Celebes riddles are propounded at harvest and by watchers over a corpse. See A. C. Kruijt, “Eenige ethnografische aanteekeningen omtrent de Toboengkoe en de Tomori,” _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xliv. (1900) pp. 223, 228.

M91 Flight from the demons of sickness.

337 A. d’Orbigny, _Voyage dans l’Amérique Méridionale_, ii. (Paris and Strasburg, 1839-1843) p. 190.

338 Pedro Lozano, _Description Chorographica del Terreno, Rios, Arboles, y Animales de las dilatadissimas Provincias del Gran Chaco, Gualamba_, etc. (Cordova, 1733) p. 100.

339 H. H. Bancroft, _Natives Races of the Pacific States_ (London, 1875-1876), i. 589 note 259, quoting Arlegui, _Chrón. de Zacatecas_, pp. 152-3, 182.

340 Bertram S. Carey and H. N. Tuck, _The Chin Hills_, i. (Rangoon, 1896) p. 198.

M92 The periodic expulsion of evils. Annual expulsion of ghosts in Australia.

341 Rev. W. Ridley, in J. D. Lang’s _Queensland_ (London, 1861), p. 441. Compare Rev. W. Ridley, _Kamilaroi_ (Sydney, 1875), p. 149.

M93 Annual expulsion of Tuña among the Esquimaux of Alaska.

_ 342 Report of the International Polar Expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska_ (Washington, 1885), pp. 42 _sq._ It is said that in Thule, where the sun disappeared below the horizon for forty days every winter, the greatest festival of the year was held when the luminary reappeared. “It seems to me,” says Procopius, who records the fact, “that though the same thing happens every year, these islanders are very much afraid lest the sun should fail them altogether.” See Procopius, _De bello Gothico_, ii. 15.

M94 Annual expulsion of Sedna among the Esquimaux of Baffin Land.

343 Fr. Boas, “The Eskimo,” _Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada for 1887_, vol. v. (Montreal, 1888) sect. ii. 36 _sq._; _id._, “The Central Eskimo,” _Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1888), pp. 603 _sq._ Elsewhere, however, the writer mentions a different explanation of the custom of harpooning Sedna. He says: “Sedna feels kindly towards the people if they have succeeded in cutting her. If there is no blood on the knife, it is an ill omen. As to the reason why Sedna must be cut, the people say that it is an old custom, and that it makes her feel better, that it is the same as giving a thirsty person drink.” See Fr. Boas, “The Eskimo of Baffin Land and Hudson Bay,” _Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History_, xv. (New York, 1901) p. 139. However, this explanation may well be an afterthought devised to throw light on an old custom of which the original meaning had been forgotten.

M95 Annual expulsion of demons among the Koryaks.

344 W. Jochelson, _The Koryak_ (Leyden and New York, 1908), p. 88 (_The Jesup North Pacific Expedition_, vol. vi., _Memoir of the American Museum of Natural History_).

M96 Annual expulsion of demons among the Iroquois and the Cherokees..

345 Above, p. 121.

_ 346 Relations des Jésuites_, 1656, pp. 26-28 (Canadian reprint, Quebec, 1858); J. F. Lafitau, _Mœurs des Sauvages Ameriquains_ (Paris, 1724), i. 367-369; Charlevoix, _Histoire de la Nouvelle France_, vi. 82 _sqq._; Timothy Dwight, _Travels in New England and New York_ (London, 1823), iv. 201 _sq._; L. H. Morgan, _League of the Iroquois_ (Rochester, 1851), pp. 207 _sqq._; Mrs. E. A. Smith, “Myths of the Iroquois,” _Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_ (Washington, 1883), pp. 112 _sqq._; Horatio Hale, “Iroquois Sacrifice of the White Dog,” _American Antiquarian_, vii. (1885) pp. 7 _sqq._; W. M. Beauchamp, “Iroquois White Dog Feast,” _ibid._ pp. 235 _sqq._ “They had one day in the year which might be called the Festival of Fools; for in fact they pretended to be mad, rushing from hut to hut, so that if they ill-treated any one or carried off anything, they would say next day, ‘I was mad; I had not my senses about me.’ And the others would accept this explanation and exact no vengeance” (L. Hennepin, _Description de la Louisiane_, Paris, 1683, pp. 71 _sq._).

347 J. H. Payne, quoted in “Observations on the Creek and Cherokee Indians, by W. Bartram, 1789, with prefatory and supplementary notes by E. G. Squier,” _Transactions of the American Ethnological Society_, vol. iii. Part i. (1853) p. 78.

M97 Annual expulsion of evils among the Incas of Peru.

348 C. Gay, “Fragment d’un voyage dans le Chili et au Cusco patrie des anciens Incas,” _Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_ (Paris), ii. Série, xix. (1843) pp. 29 _sq._

349 Garcilasso de la Vega, _Royal Commentaries of the Yncas_, translated by (Sir) Clements R. Markham (Hakluyt Society, London, 1869-1871),