Chapter VIII: The Corn-Spirit as an Animal (5)

M114 The corn-spirit as the Old Woman or Old Man at threshing.

491 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 333 _sq._

_ 492 Ibid._ p. 334.

493 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 334.

_ 494 Ibid._ p. 336.

M115 The man who gives the last stroke at threshing is called the
Corn-fool, the Oats-fool, etc.

495 A. Kuhn and W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche_
(Leipsic, 1848), p. 397.

496 A. Peter, _Volksthümliches aus Österreichisch-Schlesien_ (Troppau,
1865-1867), ii. 270.

M116 The man who gives the last stroke at threshing is said to get the
Old Woman or the Old Man. The Corn-woman at threshing.

_ 497 Bavaria Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_, iii.
(Munich, 1865) pp. 344, 969.

498 P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic,
1903-1906), ii. 67.

499 A. John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in deutschen Westböhmen_
(Prague, 1905), pp. 193, 194, 197.

500 R. Wuttke, _Sächsische Volkskunde_ (Dresden, 1901), p. 360.

501 W. Mannhardt. _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 336.

_ 502 Ibid._ p. 336; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 612.

503 A. John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_
(Prague, 1905), p. 194.

504 E. H. Meyer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), p. 437.

M117 The corn-spirit as a child at harvest.

505 A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebräuche und Märchen aus Westfalen_ (Leipsic,
1859), ii. 184 _sq._, § 515.

506 W. Mannhardt, _Die Korndämonen_ (Berlin, 1868), p. 28.

507 W. Mannhardt, _l.c._

508 W. Mannhardt, _l.c._

M118 The last corn cut called the _mell_, the _kirn_, or the _churn_ in
various parts of England. The _churn_ cut by throwing sickles at it.

509 Joseph Wright, _English Dialect Dictionary_, vol. i. (London, 1898)
p. 605 _s.v._ “Churn”; _id._, vol. iii. (London, 1902) p. 453 _s.v._
“Kirn”; _id._ vol. iv. (London, 1903) pp. 82 _sq._ Sir James Murray,
editor of the _New English Dictionary_, kindly informs me that the
popular etymology which identifies _kern_ or _kirn_ in this sense
with _corn_ is entirely mistaken; and that “baby” or “babbie” in the
same phrase means only “doll,” not “infant.” He writes,
“_Kirn-babbie_ does not mean ‘corn-baby,’ but merely _kirn-doll_,
_harvest-home doll_. _Bab_, _babbie_ was even in my youth the
regular name for ‘doll’ in the district, as it was formerly in
England; the only woman who sold dolls in Hawick early in the
[nineteenth] century, and whose toy-shop all bairns knew, was known
as ‘Betty o’ the Babs,’ Betty of the dolls.”

510 W. Henderson, _Folk-lore of the Northern Counties of England_
(London, 1879), pp. 88 _sq._; M. C. F. Morris, _Yorkshire
Folk-talk_, pp. 212-214. Compare F. Grose, _Provincial Glossary_
(London, 1811), _s.v._ “Mell-supper”; J. Brand, _Popular
Antiquities_, ii. 27 _sqq._, Bohn’s edition; _The Denham Tracts_,
edited by Dr. James Hardy (London, 1892-1895), ii. 2 _sq._ The sheaf
out of which the Mell-doll was made was no doubt the Mell-sheaf,
though this is not expressly said. Dr. Joseph Wright, editor of _The
English Dialect Dictionary_, kindly informs me that the word _mell_
is well known in these senses in all the northern counties of
England down to Cheshire. He tells me that the proposals to connect
_mell_ with “meal” or with “maiden” (through a form like the German
_Mädel_) are inadmissible.

511 Joseph Wright, _The English Dialect Dictionary_, vol. iv. (London,
1903) _s.v._ “Mell,” p. 83.

512 R. Chambers, _The Book of Days_ (Edinburgh, 1886), ii. 377 _sq._ The
expression “Corn Baby” used by the writer is probably his
interpretation of the correct expression _kirn_ or _kern_ baby. See
above, p. 151, note 3. It is not clear whether the account refers to
England or Scotland. Compare F. Grose, _Provincial Glossary_ (London
1811), _s.v._ “Kern-baby,” “an image dressed up with corn, carried
before the reapers to their mell-supper, or harvest-home”; J. Brand,
_Popular Antiquities_, ii. 20; W. Henderson, _Folk-lore of the
Northern Counties of England_, p. 87.

513 Joseph Wright, _The English Dialect Dictionary_, iii. (London, 1902)
_s.v._ “Kirn,” p. 453.

514 Joseph Wright, _The English Dialect Dictionary_, i. (London, 1898)
p. 605.

515 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, ii. 21 _sq._

M119 The last corn cut called the _kirn_ in some parts of Scotland. The
_kirn_ cut by reapers blindfold.

516 J. Jamieson, _Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language_, New
Edition (Paisley, 1879-1882), iii. 42 _sq._, _s.v._ “Kirn.”

517 Mrs. A. B. Gomme, “A Berwickshire Kirn-dolly,” _Folk-lore_, xii.
(1901) p. 215.

518 Mrs. A. B. Gomme, “Harvest Customs,” _Folk-lore_, xiii. (1902) p.
178.

519 J. G. Frazer, “Notes on Harvest Customs,” _Folk-lore_, vii. (1889)
p. 48.

M120 The _churn_ in Ireland cut by throwing the sickles at it.

520 (Rev.) H. W. Lett, “Winning the Churn (Ulster),” _Folk-lore_, xvi.
(1905) p. 185. My friend Miss Welsh, formerly Principal of Girton
College, Cambridge, told me (30th May 1901) that she remembers the
custom of the _churn_ being observed in the north of Ireland; the
reapers cut the last handful of standing corn (called the _churn_)
by throwing their sickles at it, and the corn so cut was taken home
and kept for some time.

M121 The last corn cut called the Maiden in the Highlands of Scotland.

521 J. Jamieson, _Dictionary of the Scottish Language_, New Edition
(Paisley, 1879-1882), iii. 206, _s.v._ “Maiden.” An old Scottish
name for the Maiden (_autumnalis nymphula_) was _Rapegyrne_. See
Fordun, _Scotichren_. ii. 418, quoted by J. Jamieson, _op. cit._
iii. 624, _s.v._ “Rapegyrne.”

522 R. C. Maclagan, in _Folk-lore_, vi. (1895) pp. 149, 151.

M122 The cutting of the Maiden at harvest in Argyleshire.

523 Rev. M. MacPhail (Free Church Manse, Kilmartin, Lochgilphead),
“Folk-lore from the Hebrides,” _Folk-lore_, xi. (1900) p. 441. That
the Maiden, hung up in the house, is thought to keep out witches
till the next harvest is mentioned also by the Rev. J. G. Campbell,
_Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow,
1900), p. 20. So with the _churn_ (above, p. 153).

M123 The cutting of the Maiden at harvest in Perthshire.

524 Sir John Sinclair, _Statistical Account of Scotland_, xix.
(Edinburgh, 1797), pp. 550 _sq._ Compare Miss E. J. Guthrie, _Old
Scottish Customs_ (London and Glasgow, 1885), pp. 130 _sq._

_ 525 Folk-lore Journal_, vi. (1888) pp. 268 _sq._

526 The late Mrs. Macalister, wife of Professor Alexander Macalister,
Cambridge. Her recollections referred especially to the
neighbourhood of Glen Farg, some ten or twelve miles to the south of
Perth.

M124 The Maiden at harvest in Lochaber. The cutting of the Maiden at
harvest on the Gareloch in Dumbartonshire.

527 Rev. James Macdonald, _Religion and Myth_ (London, 1893), pp. 141
_sq._

528 From information supplied by Archie Leitch, late gardener to my
father at Rowmore, Garelochhead. The Kirn was the name of the
harvest festivity in the south of Scotland also. See Lockhart’s
_Life of Scott_, ii. 184 (first edition); _Early Letters of Thomas
Carlyle_, ed. Norton, ii. 325 _sq._

529 Communicated by the late Mr. Macfarlane of Faslane, Gareloch.

M125 The cutting of the _clyack_ sheaf at harvest in Aberdeenshire. M126 The _clyack_ sheaf cut by the youngest girl and not allowed to touch the ground.

530 A slightly different mode of making up the _clyack_ sheaf is
described by the Rev. Walter Gregor elsewhere (_Notes on the
Folk-lore of the North-east of Scotland_, London, 1881, pp. 181
sq.): “The _clyack_ sheaf was cut by the maidens on the harvest
field. On no account was it allowed to touch the ground. One of the
maidens seated herself on the ground, and over her knees was the
band of the sheaf laid. Each of the maidens cut a handful, or more
if necessary, and laid it on the band. The sheaf was then bound,
still lying over the maiden’s knees, and dressed up in woman’s
clothing.”

M127 The _clyack_ feast or “meal and ale.” M128 The _clyack_ sheaf in the dance. M129 The _clyack_ sheaf given to a mare in foal or to a cow in calf.

531 W. Gregor, “Quelques coutumes du Nord-est du Comté d’Aberdeen,”
_Revue des Traditions populaires_, iii. (October, 1888) pp. 484-487
(wrong pagination; should be 532-535). This account, translated into
French by M. Loys Brueyre from the author’s English and translated
by me back from French into English, is fuller than the account
given by the same writer in his _Notes on the Folk-lore of the
North-east of Scotland_ (London, 1881), pp. 181-183. I have
translated “_une jument ayant son poulain_” by “a mare in foal,” and
“_la plus ancienne vache ayant son veau_” by “the oldest cow in
calf,” because in the author’s _Notes on the Folk-lore of the
North-east of Scotland_ (p. 182) we read that the last sheaf was
“carefully preserved till Christmas or New Year morning. On that
morning it was given to a mare in foal,” etc. Otherwise the French
words might naturally be understood of a mare with its foal and a
cow with its calf.

M130 Sanctity attributed to the _clyack_ sheaf. The sacrament of
barley-meal and water at Eleusis.

532 See above, pp. 115 _sq._

533 See below, vol. ii. p. 110.

534 The drinking of the draught (called the κυκεών) as a solemn rite in
the Eleusinian mysteries is mentioned by Clement of Alexandria
(_Protrept._ 21, p. 18, ed. Potter) and Arnobius (_Adversus
Nationes_, v. 26). The composition of the draught is revealed by the
author of the Homeric _Hymn to Demeter_ (verses 206-211), where he
represents Demeter herself partaking of the sacred cup. That the
compound was a kind of thick gruel, half-solid, half-liquid, is
mentioned by Eustathius (on Homer, _Iliad_, xi. 638, p. 870).
Compare Miss J. E. Harrison, _Prolegomena to the Study of Greek
Religion_, Second Edition (Cambridge, 1908), pp. 155 _sqq._

535 Rev. J. Macdonald, _Religion and Myth_ (London, 1893), pp. 140
_sq._, from MS. notes of Miss J. Ligertwood.

_ 536 Folk-lore Journal_, vii. (1889) p. 51; _The Quarterly Review_,
clxxii. (1891) p. 195.

537 As to Inverness-shire my old friend Mr. Hugh E. Cameron, formerly of
Glen Moriston, Inverness-shire, wrote to me many years ago: “As a
boy, I remember the last bit of corn cut was taken home, and neatly
tied up with a ribbon, and then stuck up on the wall above the
kitchen fire-place, and there it often remained till the ‘maiden’ of
the following year took its place. There was no ceremony about it,
beyond often a struggle as to who would get, or cut, the last sheaf
to select the ‘maiden’ from” (_The Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 1889,
pp. 50 _sq._). As to Sutherlandshire my mother was told by a
servant, Isabella Ross, that in that county “they hang up the
‘maiden’ generally over the mantel-piece (chimney-piece) till the
next harvest. They have always a kirn, whipped cream, with often a
ring in it, and sometimes meal sprinkled over it. The girls must all
be dressed in lilac prints, they all dance, and at twelve o’clock
they eat potatoes and herrings” (_op. cit._ pp. 53 _sq._).

M131 The corn-spirit as a bride.

538 W. Mannhardt, _Die Korndämonen_ (Berlin, 1868), p. 30.

539 W. Müller, _Beiträge zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in Mähren_ (Vienna
and Olmütz, 1893), p. 327.

540 J. E. Waldfreund, “Volksgebräuche und Aberglaube in Tirol und dem
Salzburger Gebirg,” _Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie und
Sittenkunde_, iii. (1855) p. 340.

541 Th. Vernaleken, _Mythen und Bräuche des Volkes in Oesterreich_
(Vienna, 1859), p. 310.

542 Mr. R. Matheson, in _The Folk-lore Journal_, vii. (1889) pp. 49, 50.

M132 The corn-spirit as Bride and Bridegroom.

543 W. Mannhardt, _Die Korndämonen_ (Berlin, 1868), p. 30.

544 E. Sommer, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Sachsen und Thüringen_
(Halle, 1846), pp. 160 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _l.c._

545 W. Mannhardt, _l.c._; E. Peter, _Volksthümliches aus
Österreichisch-Schlesien_ (Troppau, 1865-1867), ii. 269.

M133 The corn-spirit in the double form of the Old Wife and the Maiden
simultaneously at harvest in the Highlands of Scotland.

546 Alexander Nicolson, _A Collection of Gaelic Proverbs and Familiar
Phrases, based on Macintosh’s Collection_ (Edinburgh and London,
1881), p. 248.

547 A. Nicolson, _op. cit._ pp. 415 _sq._

548 R. C. Maclagan, “Corn-maiden in Argyleshire,” _Folk-lore_, vii.
(1896) pp. 78 _sq._

M134 In these customs the Old Wife represents the old corn of last year,
and the Maiden the new corn of this year.

549 See above, p. 149, where, however, the corn-spirit is conceived as
an Old Man.

M135 Analogy of the harvest customs to the spring customs of Europe.

550 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 73 _sqq._

551 Above, pp. 134, 137, 138 _sq._, 142, 145, 147, 148, 149.

552 See below, pp. 237 _sq._

_ 553 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 47 _sqq._

554 Above, pp. 134, 135.

555 Above, pp. 141, 155, 156, 158, 160 _sq._, 162, 165.

556 See above, p. 135.

557 Above, p. 145. Compare A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebräuche und Märchen aus
Westfalen_ (Leipsic, 1859), ii. p. 185, § 516.

558 Above, pp. 136, 139, 155, 157 _sq._, 162; compare p. 160.

M136 The spring and harvest customs of Europe are parts of a primitive heathen ritual. M137 Marks of a primitive ritual.

_ 559 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 220 _sqq._

M138 Reasons for regarding the spring and harvest customs of modern
Europe as a primitive ritual.

560 Above, p. 146. The common custom of wetting the last sheaf and its
bearer is no doubt also a rain-charm; indeed the intention to
procure rain or make the corn grow is sometimes avowed. See above,
pp. 134, 137, 143, 144, 145; _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second
Edition, pp. 195-197.

561 Above, pp. 135 _sq._, 138, 139, 152.

562 Above, p. 134.

563 Above, pp. 134, 155, 158, 161.

M139 The Corn-mother in many lands. M140 The Maize-mother among the Peruvian Indians.

564 Above, pp. 136, 138, 140, 143, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158: W.
Mannhardt, _Die Korndämonen_, pp. 7, 26.

565 J. de Acosta, _Natural and Moral History of the Indies_, bk. v. ch.
28, vol. ii. p. 374 (Hakluyt Society, London, 1880). In quoting the
passage I have modernised the spelling. The original Spanish text of
Acosta’s work was reprinted in a convenient form at Madrid in 1894.
See vol. ii. p. 117 of that edition.

M141 The Maize-mother, the Quinoa-mother, the Coca-mother, and the
Potato-mother among the Peruvian Indians.

566 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 342 _sq._ Mannhardt’s
authority is a Spanish tract (_Carta pastorale de exortacion e
instruccion contra las idolatrias de los Indios del arçobispado de
Lima_) by Pedro de Villagomez, Archbishop of Lima, published at Lima
in 1649, and communicated to Mannhardt by J. J. v. Tschudi. The
_Carta Pastorale_ itself seems to be partly based on an earlier
work, the _Extirpacion de la Idolatria del Piru. Dirigido al Rey
N.S. en Su real conseio de Indias, por el Padre Pablo Joseph de
Arriaga de la Compañia de Jesus_ (Lima, 1621). A copy of this work
is possessed by the British Museum, where I consulted it. The writer
explains (p. 16) that the Maize-mothers (_Zaramamas_) are of three
sorts, namely (1) those which are made of maize stalks, dressed up
like women, (2) those which are carved of stone in the likeness of
cobs of maize, and (3) those which consist simply of fruitful stalks
of maize or of two maize-cobs naturally joined together. These last,
the writer tells us, were the principal _Zaramamas_, and were
revered by the natives as Mothers of the Maize. Similarly, when two
potatoes were found growing together the Indians called them
Potato-mothers (_Axomamas_) and kept them in order to get a good
crop of potatoes. As Arriaga’s work is rare, it may be well to give
his account of the Maize-mothers, Coca-mothers, and Potato-mothers
in his own words. He says (p. 16): “_Zaramamas, son de tres maneras,
y son las que se quentan entre las cosas halladas en los pueblos. La
primera es una como muñeca hecha de cañas de maiz, vestida como
muger con su anaco, y llicilla, y sus topos de plata, y entienden,
que como madre tiene virtud de engendrar, y parir mucho maiz. A este
modo tienen tambien Cocamamas para augmento de la coca. Otras son de
piedra labradas como choclos, o mazorcas de maiz, con sus granos
relevados, y de estas suelen tener muchas en lugar de Conopas_
[household gods]. _Otras son algunas cañas fertiles de maiz, que con
la fertilidad de la tierra dieron muchas maçorcas, y grandes, o
quando salen dos maçorcas juntas, y estas son las principales,
Zaramamas, y assi las reverencian como a madres del maiz, a estas
llaman tambien Huantayzara, o Ayrihuayzara. A este tercer genero no
le dan la adoracion que a Huaca, ni Conopa, sino que le tienen
supersticiosamente como una cosa sagrada, y colgando estas cañas con
muchos choclos de unos ramos de sauce bailen con ellas el bayle, que
llaman Ayrihua, y acabado el bayle, las queman, y sacrifican a
Libiac para que les de buena cosecha. Con la misma supersticion
guardan las mazorcas del maiz, que salen muy pintadas, que llaman
Micsazara, o Mantayzara, o Caullazara, y otros que llaman Piruazara,
que son otras maçorcas en que van subiendo los granos no derechos
sino haziendo caracol. Estas Micsazara, o Piruazara, ponen
supersticiosamente en los montones de maiz, y en las Piruas (que son
donde guardan el maiz) paraque se las guarde, y el dia de las
exhibiciones se junta tanto de estas maçorcas, que tienen bien que
comer las mulas. La misma supersticion tienen con las que llaman
Axomamas, que son quando salen algunas papas juntas, y las guardan
para tener buena cosecha de papas._” The _exhibiciones_ here
referred to are the occasions when the Indians brought forth their
idols and other relics of superstition and delivered them to the
ecclesiastical visitors. At Tarija in Bolivia, down to the present
time, a cross is set up at harvest in the maize-fields, and on it
all maize-spadices growing as twins are hung. They are called
Pachamamas (Earth-mothers) and are thought to bring good harvests.
See Baron E. Nordenskiöld, “Travels on the Boundaries of Bolivia and
Argentina,” _The Geographical Journal_, xxi. (1903) pp. 517, 518.
Compare E. J. Payne, _History of the New World called America_
(Oxford, 1892), i. 414 _sq._

M142 Customs of the ancient Mexicans at the maize-harvest.

567 Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique
et de l’Amérique Centrale_ (Paris 1857-1859), iii. 40 _sqq._ Compare
_id._, iii. 505 _sq._; E. J. Payne, _History of the New World called
America_, i. 419 _sq._

M143 Sahagun’s account of the ancient Mexican religion. M144 Sahagun’s description of the Mexican Maize-goddess and her festival.

568 E. Seler, “Altmexikanische Studien, ii.,” _Veröffentlichungen aus
dem königlichen Museum für Völkerkunde_, vi. (Berlin, 1899) 2/4
Heft, pp. 67 _sqq._ Another chapter of Sahagun’s work, describing
the costumes of the Mexican gods, has been edited and translated
into German by Professor E. Seler in the same series of publications
(“Altmexikanische Studien,” _Veröffentlichungen aus dem königlichen
Museum für Völkerkunde_, i. 4 (Berlin, 1890) pp. 117 _sqq._).
Sahagun’s work as a whole is known to me only in the excellent
French translation of Messrs. D. Jourdanet and R. Simeon (_Histoire
Générale des choses de la Nouvelle-Espagne par le R. P. Fray
Bernardino de Sahagun_, Paris, 1880). As to the life and character
of Sahagun see M. R. Simeon’s introduction to the translation, pp.
vii. _sqq._

569 B. de Sahagun, Aztec text of book ii., translated by Professor E.
Seler, “Altmexikanische Studien, ii.,” _Veröffentlichungen aus dem
königlichen Museum für Völkerkunde_, vi. 2/4 Heft (Berlin, 1899),
pp. 188-194. The account of the ceremonies given in the Spanish
version of Sahagun’s work is a good deal more summary. See B. de
Sahagun, _Histoire Générale des choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_
(Paris, 1880), pp. 94-96.

M145 The Corn-mother among the North American Indians.

570 J. Mooney, “Myths of the Cherokee,” _Nineteenth Annual Report of the
Bureau of American Ethnology_, Part I. (Washington, 1900) pp. 423,
432. See further _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 296
_sq._

571 L. H. Morgan, _League of the Iroquois_ (Rochester, 1851), pp. 161
_sq._, 199. According to the Iroquois the corn plant sprang from the
bosom of the mother of the Great Spirit after her burial (L. H.
Morgan, _op. cit._ p. 199 note 1).

572 C. Lumholtz, _Unknown Mexico_ (London, 1903), ii. 280.

M146 The Mother-cotton in the Punjaub.

573 H. M. Elliot, _Supplemental Glossary of Terms used in the
North-Western Provinces_, edited by J. Beames (London, 1869), i.
254.

M147 The Barley Bride among the Berbers.

574 W. B. Harris, “The Berbers of Morocco,” _Journal of the
Anthropological Institute_, xxvii. (1898) p. 68.

M148 Another account of the Barley Bride among the Berbers. Competitions
for the possession of the image that represents the Corn-mother.

575 Sir John Drummond Hay, _Western Barbary, its Wild Tribes and Savage
Animals_ (1844), p. 9, quoted in _Folk-lore_, vii. (1896) pp. 306
_sq._

576 See above, pp. 70 _sqq._

M149 Comparison of the European ritual of the corn with the Indonesian ritual of the rice. M150 The Indonesian ritual of the rice is based on the belief that the rice is animated by a soul. M151 Parallelism between the human soul and the rice-soul.

577 R. J. Wilkinson (of the Civil Service of the Federated Malay
States), _Malay Beliefs_ (London and Leyden, 1906), pp. 49-51. On
the conception of the soul as a bird, see _Taboo and the Perils of
the Soul_, pp. 33 _sqq._ The Toradjas of Central Celebes think that
the soul of the rice is embodied in a pretty little blue bird, which
builds its nest in the rice-field when the ears are forming and
vanishes after harvest. Hence no one may drive away, much less kill,
these birds; to do so would not only injure the crop, the
sacrilegious wretch himself would suffer from sickness, which might
end in blindness. See A. C. Kruyt, “De Rijstmoeder in den Indischen
Archipel,” p. 374 (see the full reference in the next note).

M152 The soul-stuff of rice.

578 A. C. Kruyt, “De Rijstmoeder in den Indischen Archipel,” _Verslagen
en Mededeelingen der koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen_,
Afdeeling Letterkunde, Vierde Reeks, v. part 4 (Amsterdam, 1903),
pp. 361 _sq._ This essay (pp. 361-411) contains a valuable
collection of facts relating to what the writer calls the
Rice-mother in the East Indies. But it is to be observed that while
all the Indonesian peoples seem to treat a certain portion of the
rice at harvest with superstitious respect and ceremony, only a part
of them actually call it “the Rice-mother.” Mr. Kruyt prefers to
speak of “soul-stuff” rather than of “a soul,” because, according to
him, in living beings the animating principle is conceived, not as a
tiny being confined to a single part of the body, but as a sort of
fluid or ether diffused through every part of the body. See his
work, _Het Animisme in den Indischen Archipel_ (The Hague, 1906),
pp. 1 _sqq._ In the latter work (pp. 145-150) the writer gives a
more summary account of the Indonesian theory of the rice-soul.

M153 Rice treated by the Indonesians as if it were a woman.

579 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 28 _sq._; A. C.
Kruyt, “De Rijstmoeder,” _op. cit._ pp. 363 _sq._, 370 _sqq._

580 See above, pp. 113 _sqq._

581 See above, p. 181.

582 See _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 411 _sq._; A. C. Kruyt,
“De Rijstmoeder,” _op. cit._ p. 372.

M154 The Kayans of Borneo, their treatment of the soul of the rice.

583 See above, pp. 92 _sqq._

584 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _Quer durch Borneo_ (Leyden, 1904-1907), i. 157
_sq._

M155 Instruments used by the Kayans for the purpose of catching and
detaining the soul of the rice. Ceremonies performed by Kayan
housewives at fetching rice from the barn.

585 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _op. cit._ i. 118-121. Compare _id._, _In
Centraal Borneo_ (Leyden, 1900), i. 154 _sqq._

M156 Masquerade performed by the Kayans before sowing for the purpose of
attracting the soul of the rice.

586 A similar belief probably explains the masked dances and pantomimes
of many savage tribes. If that is so, it shews how deeply the
principle of imitative magic has influenced savage religion.

587 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _Quer durch Borneo_, i. 322-330. Compare _id._,
_In Centraal Borneo_, i. 185 _sq._ As to the masquerades performed
and the taboos observed at the sowing season by the Kayans of the
Mendalam river, see above, pp. 94 _sqq._

588 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _op. cit._ i. 317.

M157 Comparison of the Kayan masquerade with the Eleusinian drama. M158 Securing the soul of the rice among the Dyaks of Northern Borneo.

589 Spenser St. John, _Life in the Forests of the Far East_2 (London,
1863), i. 187, 192 _sqq._; W. Chalmers, quoted in H. Ling Roth’s
_Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo_ (London, 1896), i.
412-414.

M159 Recalling the soul of the rice among the Karens of Burma.

590 Rev. E. B. Cross, “On the Karens,” _Journal of the American Oriental
Society_, iv. (1854) p. 309.

M160 Securing the soul of the rice in various parts of Burma.

591 (Sir) J. G. Scott and J. P. Hardiman, _Gazetteer of Upper Burma and
of the Shan States_ (Rangoon, 1900-1901), Part i. vol. i. p. 559.

592 J. Mooney, “Myths of the Cherokee,” _Nineteenth Annual Report of the
Bureau of American Ethnology_, Part i. (Washington, 1900) p. 423.
Compare _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 296 _sq._

593 (Sir) J. G. Scott and J. P. Hardiman, _op. cit._ Part ii. vol. i. p.
172.

594 From a letter written to me by Mr. J. S. Furnivall and dated Pegu
Club, Rangoon, 6/6 (_sic_). Mr. Furnivall adds that in Upper Burma
the custom of the _Bonmagyi_ sheaf is unknown.

M161 The Rice-mother among the Minangkabauers of Sumatra.

595 J. L. van der Toorn, “Het animisme bij den Minangkabauer der
Padangsche Bovenlanden,” _Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en
Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch Indië_, xxxix. (1890) pp. 63-65. In the
charm recited at sowing the Rice-mother in the bed, I have
translated the Dutch word _stoel_ as “root,” but I am not sure of
its precise meaning in this connexion. It is doubtless identical
with the English agricultural term “to stool,” which is said of a
number of stalks sprouting from a single seed, as I learn from my
friend Professor W. Somerville of Oxford.

M162 The Rice-mother among the Tomori of Celebes. Special words used at
reaping among the Tomori. Riddles and stories in connexion with the
rice.

596 A. C. Kruijt, “Eenige ethnografische aanteekeningen omtrent de
Toboengkoe en de Tomori,” _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche
Zendelinggenootschap_, xliv. (1900) pp. 227, 230 _sq._

597 See _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 411 _sq._

598 A. C. Kruijt, _op. cit._ p. 228.

599 A. C. Kruijt, “Een en ander aangaande het geestelijk en
maatschapelijk leven van den Poso-Alfoer,” _Mededeelingen van wege
het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xxxix. (1895) pp. 142 _sq._

M163 The Rice-mother among the Toradjas of Celebes.

600 G. Maan, “Eenige mededeelingen omtrent de zeden en gewoonten der
Toerateya ten opzichte van den rijstbouw,” _Tijdschrift voor
Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xlvi. (1903) pp. 330-337. The
writer dates his article from Tanneteya (in Celebes?), but otherwise
gives no indication of the geographical position of the people he
describes. A similar omission is common with Dutch writers on the
geography and ethnology of the East Indies, who too often appear to
assume that the uncouth names of these barbarous tribes and obscure
hamlets are as familiar to European readers as Amsterdam or the
Hague. The Toerateyas whose customs Mr. Maan describes in this
article are the inland inhabitants of Celebes. Their name Toerateyas
or Toradjas signifies simply “inlanders” and is applied to them by
their neighbours who live nearer the sea; it is not a name used by
the people themselves. The Toradjas include many tribes and the
particular tribe whose usages in regard to the Rice-mother are
described in the text is probably not one of those whose customs and
beliefs have been described by Mr. A. C. Kruijt in many valuable
papers. See above, p. 183 note 1, and _The Magic Art and the
Evolution of Kings_, i. 109 note 1.

M164 The rice personified as a young woman among the Bataks of Sumatra.

601 M. Joustra, “Het leven, de zeden en gewoonten der Bataks,”
_Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_,
xlvi. (1902) pp. 425 _sq._

602 J. H. Neumann, “Iets over den landbouw bij de Karo-Bataks,”
_Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_,
xlvi. (1902) pp. 380 _sq._ As to the employment in ritual of young
people whose parents are both alive, see _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_,
Second Edition, pp. 413 _sqq._

M165 The King of the Rice in Mandeling.

603 A. L. van Hasselt, “Nota, betreffende de rijstcultuur in de
Residentie Tapanoeli,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en
Volkenkunde_, xxxvi. (1893) pp. 526-529; Th. A. L. Heyting,
“Beschrijving der Onderafdeeling Groot- mandeling en Batangnatal,”
_Tijdschrift van het Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig Genootschap_,
Tweede Serie, xiv. (1897) pp. 290 _sq._ As to the rule of sowing
seed on a full stomach, which is a simple case of homoeopathic or
imitative magic, see further _The Magic Art and the Evolution of
Kings_, i. 136.

M166 The Rice-mother and the Rice-child at harvest in the Malay
Peninsula.

604 W. W. Skeat, _Malay Magic_ (London, 1900), pp. 225 _sq._

605 W. W. Skeat, _Malay Magic_, pp. 235-249.

M167 The Rice-bride and the Rice-bridegroom at harvest in Java.

606 See above, pp. 163 _sq._

607 P. J. Veth, _Java_ (Haarlem, 1875-1884), i. 524-526. The ceremony
has also been described by Miss Augusta de Wit (_Facts and Fancies
about Java_, Singapore, 1898, pp. 229-241), who lays stress on the
extreme importance of the rice-harvest for the Javanese. The whole
island of Java, she tells us, “is one vast rice-field. Rice on the
swampy plains, rice on the rising ground, rice on the slopes, rice
on the very summits of the hills. From the sod under one’s feet to
the verge of the horizon, everything has one and the same colour,
the bluish-green of the young, or the gold of the ripened rice. The
natives are all, without exception, tillers of the soil, who reckon
their lives by seasons of planting and reaping, whose happiness or
misery is synonymous with the abundance or the dearth of the
precious grain. And the great national feast is the harvest home,
with its crowning ceremony of the Wedding of the Rice” (_op. cit._
pp. 229 _sq._). I have to thank my friend Dr. A. C. Haddon for
directing my attention to Miss de Wit’s book.

M168 Another account of the Javanese custom.

608 A. C. Kruijt, “Gebruiken bij den rijstoogst in enkele streken op
Oost-Java,” _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche
Zendelinggenootschap_, xlvii. (1903) pp. 132-134. Compare _id._, “De
rijst-moeder in den Indischen Archipel,” _Verslagen en Mededeelingen
der koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen_, Afdeeling Letterkunde,
Vierde Reeks, v. part 4 (Amsterdam, 1903), pp. 398 _sqq._

M169 The rice-spirit as husband and wife in Bali and Lombok.

609 J. C. van Eerde, “Gebruiken bij den rijstbouw en rijstoogst op
Lombok,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_,
xlv. (1902) pp. 563-565 note.

610 J. C. van Eerde, “Gebruiken bij den rijstbouw en rijstoogst op
Lombok,” _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_,
xlv. (1902) pp. 563-573.

M170 The Father and Mother of the Rice among the Szis of Burma.

611 (Sir) J. G. Scott and J. P. Hardiman, _Gazetteer of Upper Burma and
the Shan States_, Part i. vol. i. (Rangoon, 1900) p. 426.

M171 The spirit of the corn sometimes thought to be embodied in men or
women.
M172 The Old Woman who Never Dies, the goddess of the crops among the
Mandans and Minnitarees.

612 Maximilian, Prinz zu Wied, _Reise in das innere Nord-America_
(Coblenz, 1839-1841), ii. 182 _sq._

M173 Miami myth of the Corn-spirit in the form of a broken-down old man.

613 H. R. Schoolcraft, _Indian Tribes of the United States_, v.
(Philadelphia, 1856) pp. 193-195.

M174 The harvest-goddess Gauri represented by a girl and a bundle of
plants.

614 B. A. Gupte, “Harvest Festivals in honour of Gauri and Ganesh,”
_Indian Antiquary_, xxxv. (1906) p. 61. For details see _The Magic
Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 77 _sq._

M175 Analogy of Demeter and Persephone to the Corn-mother, the
Harvest-maiden, and similar figures in the harvest customs of modern
European peasantry. The rustic analogues of Demeter and Persephone.

615 It is possible that the image of Demeter with corn and poppies in
her hands, which Theocritus (vii. 155 _sqq._) describes as standing
on a rustic threshing-floor (see above, p. 47), may have been a
Corn-mother or a Corn-maiden of the kind described in the text. The
suggestion was made to me by my learned and esteemed friend Dr. W.
H. D. Rouse.

616 Homer, _Odyssey_, v. 125 _sqq._; Hesiod, _Theog._ 969 _sqq._

617 See above, pp. 150 _sq._

618 It is possible that a ceremony performed in a Cyprian worship of
Ariadne may have been of this nature: at a certain annual sacrifice
a young man lay down and mimicked a woman in child-bed. See
Plutarch, _Theseus_, 20: ἐν δὴ τῇ θυσίᾳ τοῦ Γορπιαίου μηνὸς
ἰσταμένου δευτέρᾳ κατακλινόμενόν τινα τῶν νεανίσκων φθέγγεσθαι καὶ
ποιεῖν ἅπερ ὠδινοῦσαι γυναῖκες. We have already seen grounds for
regarding Ariadne as a goddess or spirit of vegetation. See _The
Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 138. Amongst the
Minnitarees in North America, the Prince of Neuwied saw a tall
strong woman pretend to bring up a stalk of maize out of her
stomach; the object of the ceremony was to secure a good crop of
maize in the following year. See Maximilian, Prinz zu Wied, _Reise
in das innere Nord-America_ (Coblenz, 1839-1841), ii. 269.

619 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 97 _sqq._

M176 Why did the Greeks personify the corn as a mother and a daughter? M177 Demeter was perhaps the ripe crop and Persephone the seed-corn.

620 See above, p. 135.

621 See above, pp. 140 _sqq._, 155 _sqq._, 164 _sqq._, 197 _sqq._

622 However, the Sicilians seem on the contrary to have regarded Demeter
as the seed-corn and Persephone as the ripe crop. See above, pp. 57,
58 _sq._

623 According to Augustine (_De civitate Dei_, iv. 8) the Romans
imagined a whole series of distinct deities, mostly goddesses, who
took charge of the corn at all its various stages from the time when
it was committed to the ground to the time when it was lodged in the
granary. Such a multiplication of mythical beings to account for the
process of growth is probably late rather than early.

M178 Or the Greeks may have started with the personification of the corn
as a single goddess, and the conception of a second goddess may have
been a later development. Duplication of deities as a consequence of
the anthropomorphic tendency. Example of such duplication in Japan,
where there are two distinct deities of the sun. Perhaps the Greek
personification of the corn as a mother and a daughter (Demeter and
Persephone) is a case of such a mythical duplication.

624 In some places it was customary to kneel down before the last sheaf,
in others to kiss it. See W. Mannhardt, _Korndämonen_, p. 26; _id._,
_Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 339. The custom of kneeling and
bowing before the last corn is said to have been observed, at least
occasionally, in England. See _Folk-lore Journal_, vii. (1888) p.
270; and Herrick’s evidence, above, p. 147, note 1. The Malay
sorceress who cut the seven ears of rice to form the Rice-child
kissed the ears after she had cut them (W. W. Skeat, _Malay Magic_,
p. 241).

625 Above, pp. 132 _sq._

626 Even in one of the oldest documents, the Homeric _Hymn to Demeter_,
Demeter is represented as the goddess who controls the growth of the
corn rather than as the spirit who is immanent in it. See above, pp.
36 _sq._

627 W. G. Aston, _Shinto_ (London, 1905), p. 127.

628 See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 323 _sqq._, 330
_sqq._, 346 _sqq._

629 A. Pauly, _Real-Encyclopädie der classischen
Alterthumswissenschaft_, v. (Stuttgart, 1849) p. 1011.

M179 Death and resurrection a leading incident in the myth of Persephone, as in the myths of Adonis, Attis, Osiris, and Dionysus. M180 Popular harvest and vintage customs in ancient Egypt, Syria, and Phrygia. M181 Maneros, a plaintive song of Egyptian reapers.

630 Diodorus Siculus, i. 14, ἔτι γὰρ καὶ νῦν κατὰ τὸν θερισμὸν τοὺς
πρώτους ἀμηθέντας στάχυς θέντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους κόπτεσθαι πλησίον τοῦ
δράγματοσ καὶ τὴν Ἶσιν ἀνακαλεῖσθαι κτλ. For θέντας we should
perhaps read σύνθεντας, which is supported by the following
δράγματος.

631 Herodotus, ii. 79; Julius Pollux, iv. 54; Pausanias, ix. 29. 7;
Athenaeus, xiv. 11, p. 620 A.

632 H. Brugsch, _Die Adonisklage und das Linoslied_ (Berlin, 1852), p.
24. According to another interpretation, however, Maneros is the
Egyptian _manurosh_, “Let us be merry.” See Lauth, “Über den
ägyptischen Maneros,” _Sitzungsberichte der königl. bayer._
_Akademie der Wissenschaften zu München_, 1869, ii. 163-194.

633 Above, pp. 197 _sqq._

634 W. R. S. Ralston, _Songs of the Russian People_ (London, 1872), pp.
249 _sq._

635 See above, pp. 158 _sq._

636 W. Gregor, “Quelques coutumes du Nord-est du comté d’Aberdeen,”
_Revue des Traditions populaires_, iii. (1888) p. 487 (should be
535).

M182 Linus or Ailinus, a plaintive song sung at the vintage in Phoenicia.

637 Homer, _Iliad_, xviii. 570; Herodotus, ii. 79; Pausanias, ix. 29.
6-9; Conon, _Narrat_. 19. For the form Ailinus see Suidas, _s.v._;
Euripides, _Orestes_, 1395; Sophocles, _Ajax_, 627. Compare Moschus,
_Idyl._ iii. 1; Callimachus, _Hymn to Apollo_, 20. See Greve, _s.v._
“Linos,” in W. H. Roscher’s _Ausführliches Lexikon der griech, und
röm. Mythologie_, ii. 2053 _sqq._

638 Conon, _Narrat._ 19.

639 F. C. Movers, _Die Phönizier_, i. (Bonn, 1841), p. 246; W.
Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_ (Berlin, 1877), p. 281. In
Hebrew the expression would be _oï lanu_ (אוי לנו), which occurs in
1 Samuel, iv. 7 and 8; Jeremiah, iv. 13, vi. 4. However, the
connexion of the Linus song with the lament for Adonis is regarded
by Baudissin as very doubtful. See W. W. Graf Baudissin, _Adonis und
Esmun_ (Leipsic, 1911), p. 360, note 3.

640 Pausanias, ix. 29. 8.

M183 Bormus, a plaintive song sung by Mariandynian reapers in Bithynia.

641 Julius Pollux, iv. 54; Athenaeus, xiv. 11, pp. 619 F-620 A;
Hesychius, _svv._ Βῶρμον and Μαριανουνὸς θρῆνος.

M184 Lityerses, a song sung at reaping and threshing in Phrygia. Legend
of Lityerses.

642 The story was told by Sositheus in his play of _Daphnis_. His verses
have been preserved in the tract of an anonymous writer. See
_Scriptores rerum mirabilium Graeci_, ed. A. Westermann (Brunswick,
1839), pp. 220 _sq._; also Athenaeus, x. 8, p. 415 B; Scholiast on
Theocritus, x. 41; Photius, _Lexicon_, Suidas, and Hesychius, _s.v._
“Lityerses”; Apostolius, _Centur._ x. 74; Servius, on Virgil,
_Bucol._ viii. 68. Photius mentions the sickle with which Lityerses
beheaded his victims. Servius calls Lityerses a king and says that
Hercules cut off his head with the sickle that had been given him to
reap with. Lityerses is the subject of a special study by W.
Mannhardt (_Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 1 _sqq._), whom I
follow. Compare O. Crusius, _s.v._ “Lityerses,” in W. H. Roscher’s
_Ausführliches Lexikon der griech. und röm. Mythologie_, ii. 2065
_sqq._

643 Julius Pollux, iv. 54.

M185 The story of Lityerses seems to reflect an old Phrygian harvest
custom of killing strangers as embodiments of the corn-spirit.

644 In this comparison I closely follow W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische
Forschungen_, pp. 18 _sqq._

M186 Contests among reapers, binders, and threshers in order not to be
the last at their work.

645 Compare above, pp. 134, 136, 137 _sq._, 140, 142, 143, 144, 145, 147
_sq._, 149, 164 _sq._ On the other hand, the last sheaf is sometimes
an object of desire and emulation. See above, pp. 136, 141, 153, 154
_sq._, 156, 162 note 3, 165. It is so at Balquhidder also
(_Folk-lore Journal_, vi. 269); and it was formerly so on the
Gareloch, Dumbartonshire, where there was a competition for the
honour of cutting it, and handfuls of standing corn used to be
hidden under sheaves in order that the last to be uncovered should
form the Maiden.—(From the information of Archie Leitch. See pp. 157
_sq._)

646 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 19 _sq._

647 A. Kuhn, _Märkische Sagen und Märchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. 342.

648 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 20; F. Panzer,
_Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), ii. p. 217,
§ 397; A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_
(Vienna, 1878), p. 222, § 69.

M187 Custom of wrapping up in corn-stalks the last reaper, binder, or
thresher.

649 Above, pp. 167 _sq._

650 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 22.

651 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 22.

_ 652 Ibid._ pp. 22 _sq._

_ 653 Ibid._ p. 23.

_ 654 Ibid._ pp. 23 _sq._

_ 655 Ibid._ p. 24.

_ 656 Ibid._ p. 24.

_ 657 Ibid._ p. 24.

_ 658 Ibid._ pp. 24 _sq._

_ 659 Ibid._ p. 25.

660 P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic,
1903-1906), ii. 65.

661 A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_ (Vienna,
1878), p. 223, § 70.

M188 The corn-spirit, driven out of the last corn, lives in the barn
during the winter.

662 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 25 _sq._

M189 Similar ideas as to the last corn in India.

663 C. A. Elliot, _Hoshangábád Settlement Report_, p. 178, quoted in
_Panjab Notes and Queries_, iii. §§ 8, 168 (October and December,
1885); W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India_
(Westminster, 1896), ii. 306.

664 W. Crooke, _op. cit._ ii. 306 _sq._

M190 The corn-spirit supposed to be killed at reaping or threshing.
Corn-spirit represented by a man, who is threshed.

665 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 31.

_ 666 Ibid._ p. 334.

_ 667 Ibid._ p. 330.

_ 668 Ibid._

_ 669 Ibid._ p. 331.

670 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 335.

_ 671 Ibid._ p. 335.

672 Above, pp. 135, 146.

673 J. Nicholson, _Folk-lore of East Yorkshire_ (London, Hull, and
Driffield, 1890), p. 28, supplemented by a letter of the author’s
addressed to Mr. E. S. Hartland and dated 33 Leicester Street, Hull,
11th September, 1890. I have to thank Mr. E. S. Hartland for calling
my attention to the custom and allowing me to see Mr. Nicholson’s
letter.

674 W. Mannhardt, _Die Korndämonen_, p. 26.

675 Above, pp. 149 _sq._

676 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 50.

_ 677 Ibid._ pp. 50 _sq._

678 See above, pp. 146, 170 note 1; _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second
Edition, pp. 195 sqq.

M191 Corn-spirit represented by a stranger or a visitor to the
harvest-field, who is treated accordingly.

679 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschunge_ pp. 32 _sqq._ Compare K.
Bartsch, _Sagen, Märchen und Gebräuche aus Meklenburg_ (Vienna,
1879-1880), ii. 296 _sq._; P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und
Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, 1903-1906), ii. 62 _sq._; A.
John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_
(Prague, 1905), p. 193; A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche
aus Thüringen_ (Vienna, 1878), p. 221, § 61; R. Krause, _Sitten,
Gebräuche und Aberglauben in Westpreussen_ (Berlin, preface dated
March, 1904), p. 51; _Revue des Traditions populaires_, iii. (1888)
p. 598.

680 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 35 _sq._

_ 681 Ibid._ p. 36.

682 A. John, _Sitte, Brauch, und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_,
(Prague, 1905), p. 194.

683 O. Hartung, “Zur Volkskunde aus Anhalt,” _Zeitschrift des Vereins
für Volkskunde_, vii. (1897) p. 153.

684 J. Lecœur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Condé-sur-Noireau,
1883-1887), ii. 240 _sq._

685 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 36.

686 For the evidence, see _ibid._ p. 36, note 2. The “key” in the
European custom is probably intended to serve the same purpose as
the “knot” in the Cingalese custom, as to which see _Taboo and the
Perils of the Soul_, pp. 308 _sq._

687 From a letter written to me by Colonel Henry Wilson, of Farnborough
Lodge, Farnborough, Kent. The letter is dated 21st March, 1901.

688 “Notes on Harvest Customs,” _The Folk-lore Journal_, vii. (1889) pp.
52 _sq._

M192 Ceremonies of the Tarahumare Indians at hoeing, ploughing, and
harvest.

689 C. Lumholtz, _Unknown Mexico_ (London, 1903), i. 214 _sq._

690 Compare _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 75 _sq._

691 K. Vetter, _Komm herüber und hilf uns!_ Heft 2 (Barmen, 1898), p. 7.

692 A. C. Kruijt, “Een en ander aangaande het geestelijk en
maatschappelijk leven van den Poso-Alfoer,” _Mededeelingen van wege
het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xxxix. (1895) p. 137. As to
influence which the spirits of the dead are thought to exercise on
the growth of the crops, see above, pp. 103 _sq._, and below, vol.
ii. pp. 109 _sqq._

M193 Pretence made by the reapers of killing some one with their scythes.

693 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 39.

694 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 39 _sq._

_ 695 Ibid._ p. 40. For the speeches made by the woman who binds the
stranger or the master, see _ibid._ p. 41; C. Lemke,
_Volksthümliches in Ostpreussen_ (Mohrungen, 1884-1887), i. 23 _sq._

696 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 41 _sq._

M194 Pretence made by threshers of choking a person with their flails.

697 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 42. See also above, p. 150.

698 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 42. See above, p. 149. In Thüringen a
being called the Rush-cutter (_Binsenschneider_) used to be much
dreaded. On the morning of St. John’s Day he was wont to walk
through the fields with sickles tied to his ankles cutting avenues
in the corn as he walked. To detect him, seven bundles of brushwood
were silently threshed with the flail on the threshing-floor, and
the stranger who appeared at the door of the barn during the
threshing was the Rush-cutter. See A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und
Gebräuche aus Thüringen_ (Vienna, 1878), p. 221. With the
_Binsenschneider_ compare the _Bilschneider_ and _Biberschneider_
(F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_, Munich, 1848-1855,
ii. pp. 210 _sq._, §§ 372-378).

M195 Custom observed at the madder-harvest in Zealand.

699 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 47 _sq._

M196 The spirit of the corn conceived as poor and robbed by the reapers.
Some of the corn left on the harvest-field for the corn-spirit.
Little fields or gardens cultivated for spirits or gods.

700 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 48.

701 W. Mannhardt, _l.c._

_ 702 Ibid._ pp. 48 _sq._

703 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 49.

_ 704 Ibid._ p. 337.

_ 705 Ibid._

706 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 337 _sq._

707 A. John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westböhmen_
(Prague, 1905), p. 189.

708 A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebräuche aus Thüringen_ (Vienna,
1878), p. 224, § 74.

_ 709 Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des Königreichs Bayern_ (Munich,
1860-1867), iii. 343 _sq._

_ 710 Zeitschrift des Vereins für Volkskunde_, vii. (1897) p. 154.

711 P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch, und Volksglaube in Schlesien_
(Leipsic, 1903-1906), ii. 64, § 419.

712 W. R. S. Ralston, _Songs of the Russian People_, Second Edition
(London, 1872), pp. 251 _sq._ As to Perun, the old Slavonic
thunder-god, see _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii.
365.

713 Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-east of
Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 182.

714 See above, pp. 136 _sqq._

715 A. Germain, “Note zur Zanzibar et la Côte Orientale d’Afrique,”
_Bulletin de la Société de Géographie_ (Paris), Vème Série, xvi.
(1868) p. 555.

716 E. Modigliani, _Un Viaggio a Nías_ (Milan, 1890), p. 593.

717 J. Spieth, _Die Ewe-Stämme_ (Berlin, 1906), p. 303. In the Central
Provinces of India “sometimes the oldest man in the house cuts the
first five bundles of the crop and they are afterwards left in the
fields for the birds to eat. And at the end of harvest the last one
or two sheaves are left standing in the field and any one who likes
can cut and carry them away. In some localities the last sheaves are
left standing in the field and are known as _barhona_, or the giver
of increase. Then all the labourers rush together at this last patch
of corn and tear it up by the roots; everybody seizes as much as he
can [and] keeps it, the master having no share in this patch. After
the _barhona_ has been torn up all the labourers fall on their faces
to the ground and worship the field” (A. E. Nelson, _Central
Provinces Gazetteers, Bilaspur District_, vol. A, 1910, p. 75). This
quotation was kindly sent to me by Mr. W. Crooke; I have not seen
the original. It seems to shew that in the Central Provinces the
last corn is left standing on the field as a portion for the
corn-spirit, and that he is believed to be immanent in it; hence the
name of “the giver of increase” bestowed on it, and the eagerness
with which other people, though not the owner of the land, seek to
appropriate it.

M197 Hence perhaps we may explain the dedication of sacred fields and the
offering of first-fruits to gods and spirits.

718 See above, pp. 93 _sq._

719 See above, pp. 36, 74.

720 Leviticus, xix. 9 _sq._, xxiii. 22; Deuteronomy, xxiv. 19-21.

721 See above, pp. 46 _sq._, 53 _sqq._, and below, vol. ii. pp. 109
_sqq._

M198 Passing strangers treated as the spirit of the madder-roots.

722 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 49 _sq._; A. Wuttke,
_Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 254, § 400; M.
Töppen, _Aberglaube aus Masuren_2 (Danzig, 1867), p. 57. The same
belief is held and acted upon in Japan (L. Hearn, _Glimpses of
Unfamiliar Japan_, London, 1904, ii. 603).

723 The explanation of the custom is W. Mannhardt’s (_Mythologische
Forschungen_, p. 49).

_ 724 Odyssey_, xvii. 485 _sqq._ Compare Plato, _Sophist_, p. 216 A.

725 A. C. Kruijt, “Mijne eerste ervaringen te Poso,” _Mededeelingen van
wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xxxvi. (1892) p. 402.

M199 Killing of the personal representative of the corn-spirit.

726 For throwing him into the water, see p. 225.

M200 Human sacrifices for the crops in South and Central America.

727 Cieza de Leon, _Travels_, translated by C. R. Markham, p. 203
(Hakluyt Society, London, 1864).

728 Juan de Velasco, _Histoire du Royaume de Quito_, i. (Paris, 1840)
pp. 121 _sq._ (Ternaux-Compans, _Voyages, Relations et Mémoires
Originaux pour servir à l’Histoire de la Découverte de l’Amérique_,
vol. xviii.).

729 Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique
et de l’Amérique Centrale_ (Paris, 1857-1859), i. 274; H. H.
Bancroft, _Native Races of the Pacific States_ (London, 1875-1876),
ii. 340.

730 Brasseur de Bourbourg, “Aperçus d’un voyage dans les États de
San-Salvador et de Guatemala,” _Bulletin de la Société de
Géographie_ (Paris), IVème Série, xiii. (1857) pp. 278 _sq._

731 Herrera, quoted by A. Bastian, _Die Culturländer des alten Amerika_
(Berlin, 1878), ii. 379 _sq._ See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second
Edition, pp. 338 _sq._

M201 Human sacrifices for the crops among the Pawnees.

732 E. James, _Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky
Mountains_ (London, 1823), ii. 80 _sq._; H. R. Schoolcraft, _Indian
Tribes of the United States_ (Philadelphia, 1853-1856), v. 77
_sqq._; J. De Smet, in _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_, xi.
(1838) pp. 493 _sq._; _id._, in _Annales de la Propagation de la
Foi_, xv. (1843) pp. 277-279; _id._, _Voyages aux Montagnes
Rocheuses_, Nouvelle Edition (Paris and Brussels, 1873), pp. 121
_sqq._ The accounts by Schoolcraft and De Smet of the sacrifice of
the Sioux girl are independent and supplement each other. According
to De Smet, who wrote from the descriptions of four eye-witnesses,
the procession from hut to hut for the purpose of collecting wood
took place on the morning of the sacrifice. Another description of
the sacrifice is given by Mr. G. B. Grinnell from the recollection
of an eye-witness (_Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk-tales_, New York,
1889, pp. 362-369). According to this last account the victim was
shot with arrows and afterwards burnt. Before the body was consumed
in the fire a man pulled out the arrows, cut open the breast of the
victim, and having smeared his face with the blood ran away as fast
as he could.

M202 Human sacrifices for the crops in Africa.

733 J. B. Labat, _Relation historique de l’Ethiopie occidentale_ (Paris,
1732), i. 380.

734 John Adams, _Sketches taken during Ten Voyages in Africa between the
years 1786 and 1800_ (London, N.D.), p. 25.

735 P. Bouche, _La Côte des Esclaves_ (Paris, 1885), p. 132.

736 T. Arbousset et F. Daumas, _Voyage d’exploration au Nord-est de la
Colonie du Cap de Bonne-Espérance_ (Paris, 1842), pp. 117 _sq._ The
custom has probably long been obsolete.

737 From information given me by my friend the Rev. John Roscoe, who
resided for some time among the Wamegi and suppressed the sacrifice
in 1886.

M203 Human sacrifices for the crops in the Philippines.

738 F. Blumentritt, “Das Stromgebiet des Rio Grande de Mindanao,”
_Petermanns Mitteilungen_, xxxvii. (1891) p. 110.

739 A. Schadenberg, “Beiträge zur Kenntniss der im Innern Nordluzons
lebenden Stämme,” _Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für
Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte_, 1888, p. (39) (bound
with _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, xx. 1888).

740 Schadenberg, in _Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für
Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte_, 1889, p. (681) (bound
with _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, xxi. 1889).

M204 Human sacrifices for the crops among the Wild Wa of Burma.

741 (Sir) J. G. Scott and J. P. Hardiman, _Gazetteer of Upper Burma and
the Shan States_ (Rangoon, 1900-1901), Part i. vol. i. pp. 493-509.

M205 Human sacrifices for the crops among the Shans of Indo-China and the
Nagas and other tribes of India.

742 Col. R. G. Woodthorpe, “Some Account of the Shans and Hill Tribes of
the States on the Mekong,” _Journal of the Anthropological
Institute_, xxvi. (1897) p. 24.