Chapter XVII: Types of Animal Sacrament (8)

922 Diogenes Laertius, _Vit. Philosoph._ viii. 2. 62; H. Diels, _Die
Fragmente der Vorsokratiker_,2 i. (Berlin, 1906) p. 205, frag. 112.
Compare _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 390.

M227 The doctrine of the transmigration of souls in Plato.

923 Plato, _Phaedo_, pp. 81 B-84 C; _Republic_, x. pp. 617 D-620 D;
_Timaeus_, pp. 41 D-42 D; _Phaedrus_, p. 249 B.

924 This is the view of E. Zeller (_Die Philosophie der Griechen_, ii.3
Leipsic, 1875, pp. 706 _sqq._), Sir W. E. Geddes (on Plato,
_Phaedo_, p. 81 E), and J. Adam (on Plato, _Republic_, x. p. 618 A).
We have no right, with some interpreters ancient and modern, to
dissolve the theory into an allegory because it does not square with
our ideas.

925 In our own time the theory of transmigration is favoured by Dr.
McTaggart, who argues that human beings may have lived before birth
and may live many, perhaps an infinite number of, lives after death.
Like Plato he further suggests that the nature of the body into
which a person transmigrates at death may be appropriate to and
determined by his or her character in the preceding life. See J.
McT. Ellis McTaggart, _Some Dogmas of Religion_ (London, 1906), pp.
112-139. However, Dr. McTaggart seems only to contemplate the
transmigration of human souls into human bodies; he does not discuss
the possibility of their transmigration into animals.

M228 The ambiguous behaviour of the Aino and the Gilyaks towards bears explained. M229 Two forms of the worship of animals.

926 This is known, for example, of the Yuchi Indians, for among them
“members of each clan will not do violence to wild animals having
the form and name of their totem. For instance, the Bear clan people
never molest bears.” See F. G. Speck, _Ethnology of the Yuchi
Indians_ (Philadelphia, 1909), p. 70. But in spite of the attention
which has been paid to American totemism, we possess very little
information as to the vital point of the system, the relation
between a man and his totemic animal. Compare _Totemism and
Exogamy_, iii. 88 _sq._, 311.

927 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 85 _sqq._
However, Collins reports that among the natives of New South Wales
the women were “compelled to sit in their canoe, exposed to the
fervour of the mid-day sun, hour after hour, chaunting their little
song, and inviting the fish beneath them to take their bait” (D.
Collins, _An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales_,
London, 1804, p. 387). This may have been a form of conciliation
like that employed by the American Indians towards the fish and
game. But the account is not precise enough to allow us to speak
with confidence. It is sometimes reported that the Australians
attempt to appease the kangaroos which they have killed, assuring
the animals of their affection and begging them not to come back
after death to torment them. But the writer who mentions the report
disbelieves it. See Dom Théophile Bérengier, in _Les Missions
Catholiques_, x. (1878) p. 197.

928 G. Catlin, _O-Kee-pa, a Religious Ceremony, and other Customs of the
Mandans_ (London, 1867), Folium reservatum; Lewis and Clarke,
_Travels to the Source of the Missouri River_ (London, 1815), i. 205
_sq._

M230 Two types of animal sacrament, the Egyptian and the Aino type. M231 Examples of animal sacraments among pastoral tribes. Aino or expiatory type of animal sacrament among the Abchases and Kalmucks.

929 A. Bastian, in _Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für
Anthropologie, Ethnologie, und Urgeschichte_, 1870-71, p. 59. J.
Reinegg (_Beschreibung des Kaukasus_, Gotha, St. Petersburg, and
Hildesheim, 1796-97, ii. 12 sq.) describes what seems to be a
sacrament of the Abghazses (Abchases). It takes place in the middle
of autumn. A white ox called Ogginn appears from a holy cave, which
is also called Ogginn. It is caught and led about amongst the
assembled men (women are excluded) amid joyful cries. Then it is
killed and eaten. Any man who did not get at least a scrap of the
sacred flesh would deem himself most unfortunate. The bones are then
carefully collected, burned in a great hole, and the ashes buried
there.

930 A. Bastian, _Die Völker des östlichen Asien_, vi. (Jena, 1871) pp.
632, note. On the Kalmucks as a people of shepherds and on their
diet of mutton, see J. G. Georgi, _Beschreibung aller Nationen des
russischen Reichs_ (St. Petersburg, 1776), pp. 406 _sq._, compare p.
207; B. Bergmann, _Nomadische Streifereien unter den Kalmücken_
(Riga, 1804-5), ii. 80 _sqq._, 122; P. S. Pallas, _Reise durch
verschiedene Provinzen des russischen Reichs_ (St. Petersburg,
1771-1776), i. 319, 325. According to Pallas, it is only rich
Kalmucks who commonly kill their sheep or cattle for eating;
ordinary Kalmucks do not usually kill them except in case of
necessity or at great merry-makings. It is, therefore, especially
the rich who need to make expiation.

M232 Egyptian type of animal sacrament among the Todas and Madi.

931 W. E. Marshall, _Travels amongst the Todas_ (London, 1873), pp. 129
_sq._

932 W. E. Marshall, _op. cit._ pp. 80 _sq._, 130.

933 R. W. Felkin, “Notes on the Madi or Moru Tribe of Central Africa,”
_Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh_, xii. (1882-84) pp.
336 _sq._

934 Mutton appears to be now eaten by the tribe as a regular article of
food (R. W. Felkin, _op. cit._ p. 307), but this is not inconsistent
with the original sanctity of the sheep.

935 See W. R. Smith, _Religion of the Semites_2 (London, 1894), pp. 344
_sqq._ As to communion by means of an external application, see
above, pp. 162 _sqq._

M233 Form of communion with a sacred animal by taking it from house to
house. Effigy of a snake carried from house to house by members of
the Snake tribe.

936 See above, pp. 190, 192.

_ 937 Panjab Notes and Queries_, ii. p. 91, § 555 (March 1885).

M234 “Hunting the Wren” in Europe. Sacred character of the wren in
popular superstition.

938 See Ch. Vallancey, _Collectanea de rebus Hibernicis_, iv. (Dublin,
1786) p. 97; J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_ (London, 1882-1883),
iii. 195 _sq._ (Bohn’s ed.); Rev. C. Swainson, _Folk-lore of British
Birds_ (London, 1886), p. 36; E. Rolland, _Faune populaire de la
France_, ii. 288 _sqq._ The names for the bird are βασιλίσκος,
_regulus_, _rex avium_ (Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ viii. 90, x. 203), _re
di siepe_, _reyezuelo_, _roitelet_, _roi des oiseaux_, _Zaunkönig_,
etc. On the custom of hunting the wren see further N. W. Thomas,
“The Scape-Goat in European Folklore,” _Folk-lore_, xvii. (1906) pp.
270 _sqq._, 280; Miss L. Eckstein, _Comparative Studies in Nursery
Rhymes_ (London, 1906), pp. 172 _sqq._ Miss Eckstein suggests that
the killing of the bird called “the king” may have been a mitigation
of an older custom of killing the real king.

939 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, iii. 194.

940 R. Chambers, _Popular Rhymes of Scotland_, New Edition (London and
Edinburgh, N.D.), p. 188.

_ 941 Ibid._ p. 186.

942 P. Sébillot, _Traditions et Superstitions de la Haute-Bretagne_
(Paris, 1882), ii. 214.

943 A. Bosquet, _La Normandie Romanesque et Merveilleuse_ (Paris and
Rouen, 1845), p. 221; E. Rolland, _op. cit._ ii. 294 _sq._; P.
Sébillot, _l.c._; Rev. C. Swainson, _op. cit._ p. 42.

M235 Hunting the Wren in the Isle of Man.

944 G. Waldron, _Description of the Isle of Man_ (reprinted for the Manx
Society, Douglas, 1865), pp. 49 _sqq._; J. Train, _Account of the
Isle of Man_ (Douglas, 1845), ii. 124 _sqq._, 141.

945 In _The Morning Post_ of Wednesday, 27th December 1911, we read that
“the observance of the ancient and curious custom known as ‘the hunt
of the wren’ was general throughout the Isle of Man yesterday.
Parties of boys bearing poles decked with ivy and streamers went
from house to house singing to an indescribable tune a quaint ballad
detailing the pursuit and death of the wren, subsequently demanding
recompense, which is rarely refused. Formerly boys actually engaged
in the chase, stoning the bird to death with the object of
distributing the feathers ‘for luck.’ ” From this account we may
gather that in the Isle of Man the hunting of the wren is now merely
nominal and that the pretence of it is kept up only as an excuse for
collecting gratuities. It is thus that the solemnity of ritual
dwindles into the pastime of children. I have to thank Mrs. J. H.
Deane, of 41 Iverna Court, Kensington, for kindly sending me the
extract from _The Morning Post_.

M236 Hunting the Wren in Ireland and England.

946 Ch. Vallancey, _Collectanea de rebus Hibernicis_, iv. (Dublin, 1786)
p. 97; J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, iii. 195.

947 G. H. Kinahan, “Notes on Irish Folk-lore,” _Folk-lore Record_, iv.
(1881) p. 108; Rev. C. Swainson, _Folk-lore of British Birds_, pp.
36 _sq._; E. Rolland, _Faune populaire de la France_, ii. 297;
Professor W. Ridgeway, in _Academy_, 10th May 1884, p. 332; T. F.
Thiselton Dyer, _British Popular Customs_ (London, 1876), p. 497; L.
L. Duncan, “Further Notes from County Leitrim,” _Folk-lore_, v.
(1894) p. 197. The custom is still, or was down to a few years ago,
practised in County Meath, where the verses sung are practically the
same as those in the text. Wrens are scarce in that part of the
country, “but as the boys go round more for the fun of dressing up
and collecting money, the fact that there is no wren in their basket
is quite immaterial.” These particulars I learn from a letter of
Miss A. H. Singleton, dated Appey-Leix, Ireland, 24th February 1904.

948 W. Henderson, _Folk-lore of the Northern Counties_ (London, 1879),
p. 125.

949 Rev. C. Swainson, _op. cit._ pp. 40 _sq._

M237 Hunting the Wren in France.

950 Madame Clément, _Histoire des Fêtes civiles et religieuses_, etc.,
_de la Belgique Méridionale_ (Avesnes, 1846), pp. 466-468; A. De
Nore, _Coutumes, Mythes et Traditions des provinces de France_
(Paris and Lyons, 1846), pp. 77 _sqq._; E. Rolland, _Faune populaire
de la France_, ii. 295 _sq._; J. W. Wolf, _Beiträge zur deutschen
Mythologie_, ii. (Göttingen, 1857) pp. 437 _sq._ The ceremony was
abolished at the revolution of 1789, revived after the restoration,
and suppressed again after 1830.

951 E. Rolland, _op. cit._ ii. 296 _sq._

952 C. S. Sonnini, _Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt_, translated from
the French (London, 1800), pp. 11 _sq._; J. Brand, _Popular
Antiquities_, iii. 198. The “hunting of the wren” may be compared
with a Swedish custom. On the 1st of May children rob the magpies’
nests of both eggs and young. These they carry in a basket from
house to house in the village and shew to the housewives, while one
of the children sings some doggerel lines containing a threat that,
if a present is not given, the hens, chickens, and eggs will fall a
prey to the magpie. They receive bacon, eggs, milk, etc., upon which
they afterwards feast. See L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_
(London, 1870), pp. 237 _sq._ The resemblance of such customs to the
“swallow song” and “crow song” of the ancient Greeks (on which see
Athenaeus, viii. 59 _sq._, pp. 359, 360) is obvious and has been
remarked before now. Probably the Greek swallow-singers and
crow-singers carried about dead swallows and crows or effigies of
them. The “crow song” is referred to in a Greek inscription found in
the south of Russia ἕξ δεκάδας λυκάβας κεκορώνικα. See _Compte
Rendu_ of the Imperial Archaeological Commission, St. Petersburg,
1877, pp. 276 _sqq._ In modern Greece and Macedonia it is still
customary for children on 1st March to go about the streets singing
spring songs and carrying a wooden swallow, which is kept turning on
a cylinder. See J. Grimm, _Deutsche Mythologie_,4 ii. 636; A.
Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_ (Vienna,
1878), p. 301; G. F. Abbott, _Macedonian Folk-lore_ (Cambridge,
1903), p. 18; J. C. Lawson, _Modern Greek Folklore and ancient Greek
Religion_ (Cambridge, 1910), p. 35. The custom of making the image
of the swallow revolve on a pivot, which is practised in Macedonia
as well as Greece, may be compared with the pirouetting of the girl
in the Servian rain-making ceremony. The meaning of these
revolutions is obscure. See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of
Kings_, i. 273, 275.

M238 Religious processions with sacred animals. Ceremony of beating a man
clad in a cow’s skin in the Highlands of Scotland.

953 S. Johnson, _A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland_, pp. 128
_sq._ (_The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D._, edited by the Rev. R.
Lynam, London, 1825, vol. vi.).

954 John Ramsay, _Scotland and Scotsmen in the Eighteenth Century_
(Edinburgh and London, 1888), ii. 438 _sq._ The custom is clearly
referred to in the “Penitential of Theodore,” quoted by Kemble,
_Saxons in England_, i. 525; Ch. Elton, _Origins of English History_
(London, 1882), p. 411: “_Si quis in Kal. Januar. in cervulo vel
vitula vadit, id est in ferarum habitus se communicant, et
vestiuntur pellibus pecudum et assumunt capita bestiarum_,” etc.

M239 Another description of the Highland custom.

955 J. G. Campbell, _Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and
Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1902), pp. 230-232. Shinty is the
Scotch name for hockey: the game is played with a ball and curved
sticks or clubs.

956 R. Chambers, _Popular Rhymes of Scotland_, New Edition (London and
Edinburgh, N.D.), pp. 166 _sq._

957 See above, vol. i. pp. 246 _sq._

M240 Processions of men disguised as animals, in which the animal seems
to represent the corn-spirit. The Shrovetide Bear in Bohemia.

958 W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_ (Berlin, 1877), p. 183.

959 O. Freiherr von Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Fest- Kalender aus Böhmen_
(Prague, N.D., preface dated 1861), pp. 49-52. Compare E. Cortet,
_Essai sur les Fêtes Religieuses_ (Paris, 1867), p. 83. Similar
processions with a Shrovetide Bear take place among some of the
German peasantry of Moravia, though there the mummer is said to be
wrapt in skins and furs rather than in straw and to personate
Winter. See W. Müller, _Beiträge zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in
Mähren_ (Vienna and Olmütz, 1893), p. 431. This latter
interpretation may be due to a misunderstanding of the old custom.

960 On this custom see _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i.
137 _sqq._

961 Real bears and other animals were formerly promenaded about both
town and country with rags of coloured cloth attached to them.
Scraps of these cloths and hairs of the animals were given, rather
perhaps sold, to all who asked for them as preservatives against
sickness and the evil eye. The practice was condemned by the Council
of Constance. See J. B. Thiers, _Traité des Superstitions_ (Paris,
1679), pp. 315 _sq._ We need not suppose that these animals
represented the corn-spirit.

M241 The Oats-goat, the Pease-bear, etc. The Yule-goat in Sweden.

962 W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, pp. 183 _sq._

963 See above, vol. i. pp. 281 _sqq._

964 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 190.

965 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 188.

966 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 191-193.

967 L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), pp. 184 _sq._; W.
Mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 196 _sq._

968 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 196.

969 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 197 _sq._

970 See above, vol. i. pp. 275, 298 _sqq._

M242 The Straw-bear at Whittlesey.

971 Letter of Professor G. C. Moore Smith, dated The University,
Sheffield, 13th January, 1909.

M243 The ceremonies of Plough Monday in England.

972 R. Chambers, _The Book of Days_ (London and Edinburgh, 1886), i. 94
_sq._; J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, New Edition (London, 1883),
i. 506 _sqq._; T. F. Thiselton Dyer, _British Popular Customs_
(London, 1876), pp. 37 _sqq._; O. Freiherr von
Reinsberg-Düringsfeld, _Das festliche Jahr_ (Leipsic, 1863), pp. 27
_sq._ Compare W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_ (Berlin, 1875), pp. 557
_sq._; T. Fairman Ordish, “English Folk-drama,” _Folk-lore_, iv.
(1893) pp. 163 _sqq._; _Folk-lore_, viii. (1897) p. 184; E. K.
Chambers, _The Mediaeval Stage_ (Oxford, 1903), i. 208-210; H. Munro
Chadwick, _The Origin of the English Nation_ (Cambridge, 1907), p.
238. Counties in which the custom of Plough Monday is reported to
have been observed are Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire,
Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire,
Derbyshire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire. Thus the custom would seem to
have been characteristic of a group of counties in the centre of
England. In January 1887, I witnessed the ceremony in the streets of
Cambridge. Wooden ploughs of a primitive sort were dragged about by
bands of young men who were profusely decked with scarves and
ribbons. They ran at a good pace, and beside them ran a companion
with a money-box collecting donations. Amongst them I did not
observe any woman or man in female attire. Compare _The Folk-lore
Journal_, v. (1887) p. 161.

M244 The object of the dances on Plough Monday is probably to ensure the
growth of the corn.
M245 The Straw-bear a representative of the corn-spirit.
M246 The rites of Plough Monday resemble the rites at the end of the
Carnival in Thrace. Similar rites are performed at the same time by
the Bulgarian peasants of Thrace. The intention of the rites is
clearly to fertilise the ground.

973 See above, vol. i. pp. 25 _sqq._

974 G. Kazarow, “Karnevalbräuche in Bulgarien,” _Archiv für
Religionswissenschaft_, xi. (1908) pp. 407 _sq._

M247 Similar customs are observed at the Carnival in Bulgaria.

975 G. Kazarow, “Karnevalbräuche in Bulgarien,” _Archiv für
Religionswissenschaft,_ xi. (1908) pp. 408 _sq._

M248 In all these cases the ceremonial ploughing and sowing are probably charms to ensure the growth of the crops. M249 Such rites no doubt date from a remote antiquity. M250 Effigy of a horse in a harvest festival of the Garos.

976 Major A. Playfair, _The Garos_ (London, 1909), pp. 94 _sq._

M251 Major Playfair’s description of the festival. M252 Dance of a man wearing the mask of a horse’s head. M253 The effigy of the horse at rice-harvest perhaps represents the spirit of the rice.

977 See above, p. 21.

978 See my note on Pausanias, viii. 37. 3 (vol. iv. pp. 375 _sqq._).