Part 13

When an American Indian falls sick, he believes his illness to be the work of some spiteful demon. Therefore, when he gets well, he changes his name, so that the demon may not be able to recognize him again.[374]

The chief aim of the medicine-man, in treating a patient, is the expulsion of the evil spirit; and this is the prime object of the various superstitious ceremonies and incantations which are a prominent feature in medical practice among savages.[375] The medicine-man strives to drive away the demon by frightful sounds and gesticulations, and by hideous grimaces and contortions. Sometimes he makes a small image typifying the spirit of sickness, and this image is then maliciously broken in pieces.[376]

The natives of West Africa believe that the mere mention of unpleasant names suffices to frighten away the demons who cause sickness; and these spirits may moreover be deceived by simply changing the name of a sick child. In the province of Tonquin, a French possession in southeastern Asia, hateful names given to ailing children are likewise thought to terrify the evil spirits; but when the little patients are convalescent, pleasanter names are substituted.[377]

The Indians of Nootka Sound, Vancouver Island, attribute physical ailments either to the absence or irregular conduct of the soul, or to the agency of spirits, and medical practice is governed accordingly; therefore the Okanogons of the State of Washington subject patients affected with serious illnesses to the magical treatment of the medicine-man.[378]

The islanders of the South Pacific have their own doctrine about the philosophy of sneezing. They believe that, when the spirit goes traveling about, its return naturally occasions some commotion, as is evident from the violent act of sneezing. They therefore deem it proper to welcome back the wandering spirit, the form of greeting varying in the different islands. The phrase employed by the natives of Raratonga, for example, means “Ha! you have come back!”[379]

The “Sadda,” one of the sacred books of the Parsees, counsels the faithful to have recourse to prayer when they sneeze, because at that critical moment the demon is especially active.

The Parsees regard sneezing as a manifestation that the evil spirits, who are constantly seeking to enter the body, have been forcibly expelled by the interior fire which, in their belief, animates every human being. When, therefore, a Parsee hears any one sneeze, he exclaims, “Blessed be Ormuzd!” thus praising his chief deity. The Parsees are forbidden to talk while eating, because at such times demons are on the alert, watching for opportunities to gain admission to the body through the mouth while a person is engaged in conversation.[380]

Pious Brahmins are careful to touch the right ear when they happen to sneeze either during the performance of a religious ceremony or at certain other times specified in the “Shastra,” or holy books of the Hindus. Evil spirits were believed to enter the body through the ears, as well as by the nose or mouth, and the object of touching the ear was to prevent their gaining admission there.

In reference to this subject, Gerald Massey says, in the “Natural Genesis” (vol. i. pp. 83-85):—

Sneezing is not only a vigorous form of breathing, but it is involuntary; hence inspired, or of extraordinary origin. A hearty sneeze, when one is ill and faint, would imply a sudden accession of the breathing power, which was inwardly inspiring and outwardly expelling. The good spirit enters and the bad spirit departs, cast out by the sudden impulsion. The expulsion and repudiation implied in sneezing is yet glanced at in the saying that such a thing is “not to be sneezed at.”

The natives of Turkistan consider yawning to be a reprehensible act, originating from an evil place in one’s heart, and indicative of a state of preparedness for the reception of demons. When, therefore, they yawn, the hand is placed, palm outwards, before the open mouth, thus barring out the demons.[381]

The once popular opinion, which is still met with to-day, that the efficacy of a medicine is proportionate to its harshness of flavor, is probably a relic of the ancient theory which attributed illnesses to possession by evil spirits. When one’s body was believed to be the abode of such a spirit, the natural desire was to drive out the unwelcome visitor, and to force him to seek some other habitation. Nowadays we have so far abandoned this theory that, while we may have faith in the virtues of bitter herbs, we are ready to welcome also the palatable remedies of the modern pharmacopœia; but until comparatively recent times the science of therapeutics was dominated by superstition, and physicians prescribed remedies composed of the most repulsive and uncanny ingredients.

In Tibet antiseptics are employed in surgical operations, the rationale of their use in that country being the preservation of the wound from evil spirits; and when smallpox rages in the neighborhood of the city of Leh, capital of the province of Ladakh, the country people seek to ward off the epidemic by placing thorns on their bridges and at their boundary lines.[382] This practice is strikingly analogous in principle to some of the superstitious uses of iron and steel in the form of sharp instruments, of which mention has been made elsewhere in this volume.

The aboriginal Tibetans ascribe illnesses to the spite of demons, and hence a chief object of their religious rites is the pacification of these malignant beings by the sacrifice of a cow, pig, goat, or other animal.[383]

Throughout Christendom it is customary for those present to invoke the divine blessing upon a person who sneezes, and the Moslem, under like circumstances, prays to Allah for aid against the powers of evil. In either case the underlying idea appears to be the same, namely, the doctrine of invading spirits.

In ancient Egypt illnesses were thought to be caused by demons who had somehow entered the patient’s body and taken up their abode there; and the Chaldean physicians, actuated by the same belief, were wont to prescribe the most nauseating medicines in order to thoroughly disgust the demon in possession, and thus enforce his departure.[384]

This doctrine of spiritual possession was formerly even supposed to be warranted by Scripture, and especially by a verse of the 141st Psalm: “Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.” This passage was interpreted as an entreaty for preservation from evil spirits, who were likely to enter the body through the mouth,[385] especially during the acts of yawning, sneezing, talking, and eating. The Hindus consider yawning as dangerous for this reason, and hence the practice of mouth-washing, which is a part of their daily ritual. Hence also their custom of cracking their fingers and exclaiming “Great God!” after yawning, to intimidate the _Bhúts_, or malignant spirits. Sneezing is usually accounted lucky in India, except at the commencement of an undertaking, because it means the expulsion of a _Bhút_.[386]

Josephus relates having seen a Jew named Eleazar exorcise devils from people who were possessed, in the presence of the Emperor Vespasian and many of his soldiers. His mode of procedure consisted in applying to the demoniac’s nose a ring containing a piece of the root of a magical herb, and then withdrawing the evil spirit through the nostrils, meanwhile repeating certain incantations originally composed by Solomon.

V. SALUTATION AFTER SNEEZING

The origin of the benediction after sneezing, a custom well-nigh universal, is involved in obscurity. A popular legend says that, before the time of Jacob, men sneezed but once, as the shock proved fatal. The patriarch, however, obtained by intercession a relaxation of this law, on condition that every sneeze should be consecrated by an ejaculatory prayer.[387] According to a well-known myth of classical antiquity, Prometheus formed of clay the model of a man, and desiring to animate the lifeless figure, was borne to heaven by the Goddess Minerva, where he filled a reed with celestial fire stolen from a wheel of the Sun’s chariot. Returning then to earth, he applied the magical reed to the nostrils of the image, which thereupon became a living man, and began its existence by sneezing. Prometheus, delighted with his success, uttered a fervent wish for the welfare of his newly formed creature. The latter thenceforward always repeated aloud the same benediction whenever he heard any one sneeze, and enjoined upon his children the same practice, which was thus transmitted to succeeding generations.

Famianus Strada, the Italian Jesuit historian (1572-1649), in his “Prolusiones Academicæ,” relates that one day, when Cicero was present at a performance of the Roman opera, he began to sneeze, whereupon the entire audience, irrespective of rank, arose and with one accord cried out, “God bless you!” or, as the common phrase was, “May Jupiter be with thee!” Whereat three young men named Fannius, Fabalus, and Lemniscus, who were lounging in one of the boxes, began an animated discussion in regard to the antiquity of this custom, which all believed to have originated with Prometheus.[388]

Even in the time of Aristotle, salutation after sneezing was considered an ancient custom;[389] and references to it are to be found in the writings of Roman authors. Pliny narrates in his “Natural History” that the Emperor Tiberius Cæsar, who was known as one of the most melancholy and unsociable of men, scrupulously exacted a benediction from his attendants whenever he sneezed, whether in his palace or while driving in his chariot; and Apuleius, the platonic philosopher of the second century, alludes to the subject in his story of “The Fuller’s Wife.”

Although the fact of the existence of this custom centuries before the Christian era is beyond cavil, yet a very general popular belief attributes its origin to a much later period. The Italian historian, Carlo Sigonio, voices this belief in his statement that the practice began in the sixth century, during the pontificate of Gregory the Great. At this period a virulent pestilence raged in Italy, which proved fatal to those who sneezed. The Pope, therefore, ordered prayers to be said against it, accompanied by certain signs of the cross.[390] And the people were wont also to say to those who sneezed, “God help ye!”[391] a revival of a custom dating back to prehistoric times.

Again, Jacobus de Voragine (1230-98) wrote as follows in the “Golden Legend,” a popular religious work of the Middle Ages:—

For a right grete and grevous maladye: for as the Romayns had in the lenton lyved sobrely and in contynence, and after at Ester had receyvd theyr Savyour; after they disordered them in etyng, in drynkyng, in playes, and in lecherye. And therefore our Lord was meuyed ayenst them and sent them a grete pestelence, which was called the Botche of impedymye, and that was cruell and sodayne, and caused peple to dye in goyng by the waye, in pleying, in leeying atte table, and in spekyng one with another sodeynly they deyed. In this manere somtyme snesyng they deyed; so that whan any persone was herd snesyng, anone they that were by said to hym, _God helpe you_, or _Cryst helpe_, and yet endureth the custome. And also whan he sneseth or gapeth, he maketh to fore his face the signe of the crosse and blessith hym. And yet endureth this custome.

The Icelander, when he sneezes, says, “God help me!” and to another person who sneezes he says, “God help you!” In Icelandic tradition the custom dates from a remote period, when the Black Pest raged virulently in portions of the country, and the mortality therefrom was great. At length the scourge reached a certain farm where lived a brother and sister, and they observed that the members of the household who succumbed to the disease were first attacked by a violent paroxysm of sneezing; therefore they were wont to exclaim “God help me!” when they themselves sneezed. Of all the inhabitants of that district, these two were the only ones who survived the pest, and hence the Icelanders, throughout succeeding generations, have continued the pious custom thus originated.[392]

In mediæval German poetry are to be found occasional references to this subject, as in the following passage quoted in Grimm’s “Teutonic Mythology:” “The pagans durst not sneeze, even though one should say, ‘God help thee.’” And in the same work allusion is made to a quaint bit of fairy-lore about enchanted sprites sneezing under a bridge, that some one may call out “God help,” and undo the spell.

In the year 1542 the Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto, received a visit in Florida from a native chief named Guachoya, and during their interview the latter sneezed. Immediately his attendants arose and saluted him with respectful gestures, at the same time saying: “May the Sun guard thee, be with thee, enlighten thee, magnify thee, protect thee, favor thee,” and other similar good wishes. And the Spaniards who were present were impressed by the fact that, in connection with sneezing, even more elaborate ceremonies were observed by savage tribes than those which obtained among civilized nations. And hence they reasoned that such observances were natural and instinctive with all mankind.[393] We have the testimony of the earliest English explorers that the custom of salutation after sneezing was common in the remotest portions of Africa and in the far East. Speke and Grant were unable to discover any trace of religion among the natives of equatorial Africa, except in their practice of uttering an Arabic ejaculation or prayer whenever a person sneezed.[394]

The Portuguese traveler, Godinho, wrote that whenever the emperor of Monomotapa sneezed, acclamations were universal throughout his realm; and in Guinea in the last century, whenever a person of rank sneezed, every one present knelt down, clapped their hands, and wished him every blessing. The courtiers of the king of Sennaar in Nubia are wont on the occasion of a royal sneeze to turn their backs on their sovereign while vigorously slapping the right hip.[395] Among the Zulu tribes, sneezing is viewed as a favorable symptom in a sick person, and the natives are accustomed to return thanks after it. In Madagascar, when a child sneezes, its mother invokes the divine blessing, conformably to European usage; and in Persia the sneezer is the recipient of congratulations and good wishes.

In the “Zend-Avesta,” or sacred writings of the Persian religion, is the injunction: “And whensoever it be that thou hearest a sneeze given by thy neighbor, thou shalt say unto him, _Ahunavar Ashim-Vuhu_, and so shall it be well with thee.”[396] In Egypt, if a man sneeze, he says, “Praise be to God!” and all present, with the exception of servants, rejoin, “God have mercy upon you!”[397]

The Omahas, Dakotas, and other Sioux tribes of American Indians attach a peculiar importance to sneezing. Thus, if one of their number sneeze once, he believes that his name has been called either by his son, his wife, or some intimate friend. Hence he at once exclaims, “My son!” But if he sneeze twice, he says, “My son and his mother!”[398]

In France the rules of etiquette formerly required that a gentleman who sneezed in the presence of another should take off his hat, and on the subsidence of the paroxysm he was expected formally to return the salutes of all present. The salutation of sneezers by removal of the hat was customary in England also. Joseph Hall, who was Bishop of Exeter in 1627, wrote that when a superstitious man sneezed he did not reckon among his friends those present who failed to uncover.

The Italians are wont to salute the sneezer with the ejaculation _Viva_, or _Felicità_; and it has been reasoned that the latter expression may have been sometimes employed under like circumstances by the ancient Romans, because an advertisement on the walls of Pompeii concludes by wishing the people Godspeed with the single word _Felicitas_!

So, too, in Ireland the sneezer is greeted with fervent benedictions, such as, “The blessing of God and the holy Mary be upon you!” for such invocations are thought to counteract the machinations of evil-disposed fairies.[399]

The Siamese have a unique theory of their own on this subject. They believe that the Supreme Judge of the spiritual world is continually turning over the pages of a book containing an account of the life and doings of every human being; and when he comes to the page relating to any individual, the latter never fails to sneeze. In this way the Siamese endeavor to give a plausible reason for the prevalence of sneezing among men, and also for the accompanying salutation. In Siam and Laos the ordinary expression is, “May the judgment be favorable to you.”[400]

In the Netherlands a person who sneezes is believed thereby to place himself in the power of a witch, unless some one invokes a divine blessing; and such notions afford a plausible explanation of one theory of the origin of this custom.[401]

Grimm (vol. iv. p. 1637) refers to a passage in the “Avadanas,” or Buddhist parables, in which the rat is represented as wishing the cat joy when she sneezes. And in the department of Finistère in northwest France, when a horse sneezes or coughs the people say, “May St. Eloy assist you!” St. Eloy was the guardian of farriers and the tutelar god of horses.[402]

The natives of the Fiji Islands exclaim after a sneeze, “_Mbula_,” that is, “May you live!” or “Health to you!” And the sneezer politely responds with “_Mole_,” “Thanks.” Formerly Fijian etiquette was yet more exacting and required the sneezer to add, “May you club some one!” or “May your wife have twins!”[403]

A Spanish writer, Juan Cervera Bachiller, in his book “Creencias y superstitiones,” Madrid, 1883, says that this widely diffused practice appears to have originated partly from religious motives and partly from gallantry, and that it is as obviously a relic of pagan times as are the various omens which have ever been associated with sneezing.

The apparently independent origin of the custom of salutation after sneezing among nations remote from each other, and its prevalence from time immemorial alike in the most cultured communities and among uncivilized races, have been thought to furnish striking evidence of the essential similarity of human minds, whatever their environment.

VI. LEGENDS RELATING TO SNEEZING

In the traditional lore of ancient Picardy is the following legend:—

In the vicinity of Englebelmer nocturnal wayfarers were often surprised at hearing repeated sneezes by the roadside, and the young people of the neighboring villages made frequent attempts to ascertain the origin of the mysterious sounds, but without avail. The mischievous spirit or _lutin_ took pleasure in seeing them run about in a vain search while he himself remained invisible. Finally people became accustomed to hearing these phantom sneezes, and, as no harm had ever resulted to any one, with the contempt bred of familiarity they gave little heed to the spiritual manifestations, and were content with merely crossing themselves devoutly.

One fine moonlight evening in summer a peasant returning from market heard the usual _Atchi, atchi_, but pursued his way with equanimity. However, the _lutin_ pursued him for about a mile, sneezing repeatedly. At length the peasant impatiently exclaimed, “May the good Lord bless you and your cold in the head!” Scarcely had he spoken when there appeared before him the apparition of a man clad in a long white garment. “Thank you, my friend,” said he: “you have just released me from the spell under which I have long rested. In consequence of my sins, God condemned me to wander about this village sneezing without rest from eve till morn, until some charitable person should deliver me by saying a benediction. For at least five hundred years I have thus roamed about, and you are the first one who has said to me ‘God bless you.’ Fortunately it occurred to me to follow you, and thus I have been set free. I thank you. Good-by.”

Thereafter the mysterious sounds were no longer heard; and thus, in the belief of the peasants of Picardy, arose the custom of salutation after sneezing.[404]

Under a bridge near the town of Paderborn, in Prussia, there lives a poor soul who does nothing but sneeze at frequent intervals. If a wagon happens to pass over the bridge at the moment when a sneeze is heard, and the driver fails to say “God help thee,” the vehicle will surely be overturned, and the driver will become poor and break his leg.

Tradition says that a godless fellow who died long ago of incessant sneezing, during an epidemic of the plague at Wurmlingen in Würtemberg, was condemned on account of his sins to wander about the neighborhood, still sneezing at intervals. One day, while one of the villagers was crossing a bridge over some meadows near the town, he heard some one underneath sneeze twice, and each time he piously responded, “God help thee!” When, however, he heard a third sneeze, the villager thought to himself, “That fellow may keep on sneezing for a long time and make a fool of me.” So he cried out angrily, “May the Devil help you!” Thereupon a voice from under the bridge exclaimed pitifully, “If you had only said, ‘God help thee!’ a third time, I should have been freed from the spell which binds me.”[405]

DAYS OF GOOD AND EVIL OMEN

Friday’s moon, Come when it will, it comes too soon.

_Proverb._

I. EGYPTIAN DAYS

The belief in lucky and unlucky days appears to have been first taught by the magicians of ancient Chaldea, and we learn from history that similar notions affected every detail of primitive Babylonian life, thousands of years before Christ. Reference to an “unlucky month” is to be found in a list of deprecatory incantations contained in a document from the library of the royal palace at Nineveh. This document is written in the Accadian dialect of the Turanian language, which was akin to that spoken in the region of the lower Euphrates; a language already obsolete and unintelligible to the Assyrians of the seventh century B. C.[406] Certain days were called _Dies Egyptiaci_, because they were thought to have been pronounced unlucky by the astrologers of ancient Egypt.

In that country the unlucky days were, however, fewer in number than the fortunate ones, and they also differed in the degree of their ill-luck. Thus, while some were markedly ominous, others merely threatened misfortune, and still others were of mixed augury, partly good and partly evil. There were certain days upon which absolute idleness was enjoined upon the people, when they were expected to sit quietly at home, indulging in _dolce far niente_.[407]

The poet Hesiod, who is believed to have flourished about one thousand years B. C., in the third book of his poem, “Works and Days,” which is indeed a kind of metrical almanac, distinguishes lucky days from others, and gives advice to farmers regarding the most favorable days for the various operations of agriculture. Thus he recommends the eleventh of the month as excellent for reaping corn, and the twelfth for shearing sheep. But the thirteenth was an unlucky day for sowing, though favorable for planting. The fifth of each month was an especially unfortunate day, while the thirtieth was the most propitious of all.

Some of the most intelligent and learned Greeks were very punctilious in their observance of Egyptian days. The philosopher Proclus (A. D. 412-485) was said to be even more scrupulous in this regard than the Egyptians themselves. And Plotinus (A. D. 204-270), another eminent Grecian philosopher, believed with the astrologers of a later day, that the positions of the planets in the heavens exerted an influence over human affairs.[408]