{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_42067/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_42067","id":"gutenberg_42067","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/42067","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Magic","Mythology","Religion","Superstition"],"text":"The Golden Bough\n\n                      A Study in Magic and Religion\n\n                                    By\n\n               James George Frazer, D.C.L., LL.D., Litt.D.\n\n                   Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge\n\n     Professor of Social Anthropology in the University of Liverpool\n\n                            Vol. VII. of XII.\n\n               Part V: Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild.\n\n                               Vol. 1 of 2.\n\n                           New York and London\n\n                            MacMillan and Co.\n\n                                   1912\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\nPreface.\nChapter I. Dionysus.\nChapter II. Demeter And Persephone.\nChapter III. Magical Significance of Games in Primitive Agriculture.\nChapter IV. Woman\u2019s Part in Primitive Agriculture.\nChapter V. The Corn-Mother and the Corn-Maiden in Northern Europe.\nChapter VI. The Corn-Mother in Many Lands.\n   \u00a7 1. The Corn-mother in America.\n   \u00a7 2. The Mother-cotton in the Punjaub.\n   \u00a7 3. The Barley Bride among the Berbers.\n   \u00a7 4. The Rice-mother in the East Indies.\n   \u00a7 5. The Spirit of the Corn embodied in Human Beings.\n   \u00a7 6. The Double Personification of the Corn as Mother and Daughter.\nChapter VII. Lityerses.\n   \u00a7 1. Songs of the Corn Reapers.\n   \u00a7 2. Killing the Corn-spirit.\n   \u00a7 3. Human Sacrifices for the Crops.\n   \u00a7 4. The Corn-spirit slain in his Human Representatives.\nChapter VIII. The Corn-Spirit as an Animal.\n   \u00a7 1. Animal Embodiments of the Corn-spirit.\n   \u00a7 2. The Corn-spirit as a Wolf or a Dog.\n   \u00a7 3. The Corn-spirit as a Cock.\n   \u00a7 4. The Corn-spirit as a Hare.\n   \u00a7 5. The Corn-spirit as a Cat.\n   \u00a7 6. The Corn-spirit as a Goat.\n   \u00a7 7. The Corn-spirit as a Bull, Cow, or Ox.\n   \u00a7 8. The Corn-spirit as a Horse or Mare.\n   \u00a7 9. The Corn-spirit as a Bird.\n   \u00a7 10. The Corn-spirit as a Fox.\n   \u00a7 11. The Corn-spirit as a Pig (Boar or Sow).\n   \u00a7 12. On the Animal Embodiments of the Corn-spirit.\nNote. The Pleiades in Primitive Calendars.\nFootnotes\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                               [Cover Art]\n\n[Transcriber\u2019s Note: The above cover image was produced by the submitter\nat Distributed Proofreaders, and is being placed into the public domain.]\n\n\n\n\n\nPREFACE.\n\n\nIn the last part of this work we examined the figure of the Dying and\nReviving God as it appears in the Oriental religions of classical\nantiquity. With the present instalment of _The Golden Bough_ we pursue the\nsame theme in other religions and among other races. Passing from the East\nto Europe we begin with the religion of ancient Greece, which embodies the\nnow familiar conception in two typical examples, the vine-god Dionysus and\nthe corn-goddess Persephone, with her mother and duplicate Demeter. Both\nof these Greek divinities are personifications of cultivated plants, and a\nconsideration of them naturally leads us on to investigate similar\npersonifications elsewhere. Now of all the plants which men have\nartificially reared for the sake of food the cereals are on the whole the\nmost important; therefore it is natural that the religion of primitive\nagricultural communities should be deeply coloured by the principal\noccupation of their lives, the care of the corn. Hence the frequency with\nwhich the figures of the Corn-mother and Corn-maiden, answering to the\nDemeter and Persephone of ancient Greece, meet us in other parts of the\nworld, and not least of all on the harvest-fields of modern Europe. But\nedible roots as well as cereals have been cultivated by many races,\nespecially in the tropical regions, as a subsidiary or even as a principal\nmeans of subsistence; and accordingly they too enter largely into the\nreligious ideas of the peoples who live by them. Yet in the case of the\nroots, such as yams, taro, and potatoes, the conception of the Dying and\nReviving God appears to figure less prominently than in the case of the\ncereals, perhaps for the simple reason that while the growth and decay of\nthe one sort of fruit go on above ground for all to see, the similar\nprocesses of the other are hidden under ground and therefore strike the\npopular imagination less forcibly.\n\nHaving surveyed the variations of our main theme among the agricultural\nraces of mankind, we prosecute the enquiry among savages who remain more\nor less completely in the hunting, fishing, and pastoral stages of\nsociety. The same motive which leads the primitive husbandman to adore the\ncorn or the roots, induces the primitive hunter, fowler, fisher, or\nherdsman to adore the beasts, birds, or fishes which furnish him with the\nmeans of subsistence. To him the conception of the death of these\nworshipful beings is naturally presented with singular force and\ndistinctness; since it is no figurative or allegorical death, no poetical\nembroidery thrown over the skeleton, but the real death, the naked\nskeleton, that constantly thrusts itself importunately on his attention.\nAnd strange as it may seem to us civilised men, the notion of the\nimmortality and even of the resurrection of the lower animals appears to\nbe almost as familiar to the savage and to be accepted by him with nearly\nas unwavering a faith as the obvious fact of their death and destruction.\nFor the most part he assumes as a matter of course that the souls of dead\nanimals survive their decease; hence much of the thought of the savage\nhunter is devoted to the problem of how he can best appease the naturally\nincensed ghosts of his victims so as to prevent them from doing him a\nmischief. This refusal of the savage to recognise in death a final\ncessation of the vital process, this unquestioning faith in the unbroken\ncontinuity of all life, is a fact that has not yet received the attention\nwhich it seems to merit from enquirers into the constitution of the human\nmind as well as into the history of religion. In the following pages I\nhave collected examples of this curious faith; I must leave it to others\nto appraise them.\n\nThus on the whole we are concerned in these volumes with the reverence or\nworship paid by men to the natural resources from which they draw their\nnutriment, both vegetable and animal. That they should invest these\nresources with an atmosphere of wonder and awe, often indeed with a halo\nof divinity, is no matter for surprise. The circle of human knowledge,\nilluminated by the pale cold light of reason, is so infinitesimally small,\nthe dark regions of human ignorance which lie beyond that luminous ring\nare so immeasurably vast, that imagination is fain to step up to the\nborder line and send the warm, richly coloured beams of her fairy lantern\nstreaming out into the darkness; and so, peering into the gloom, she is\napt to mistake the shadowy reflections of her own figure for real beings\nmoving in the abyss. In short, few men are sensible of the sharp line that\ndivides the known from the unknown; to most men it is a hazy borderland\nwhere perception and conception melt indissolubly into one. Hence to the\nsavage the ghosts of dead animals and men, with which his imagination\npeoples the void, are hardly less real than the solid shapes which the\nliving animals and men present to his senses; and his thoughts and\nactivities are nearly as much absorbed by the one as by the other. Of him\nit may be said with perhaps even greater truth than of his civilised\nbrother, \u201cWhat shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue!\u201d\n\nBut having said so much in this book of the misty glory which the human\nimagination sheds round the hard material realities of the food supply, I\nam unwilling to leave my readers under the impression, natural but\nerroneous, that man has created most of his gods out of his belly. That is\nnot so, at least that is not my reading of the history of religion. Among\nthe visible, tangible, perceptible elements by which he is surrounded\u2014and\nit is only of these that I presume to speak\u2014there are others than the\nmerely nutritious which have exerted a powerful influence in touching his\nimagination and stimulating his energies, and so have contributed to build\nup the complex fabric of religion. To the preservation of the species the\nreproductive faculties are no less essential than the nutritive; and with\nthem we enter on a very different sphere of thought and feeling, to wit,\nthe relation of the sexes to each other, with all the depths of tenderness\nand all the intricate problems which that mysterious relation involves.\nThe study of the various forms, some gross and palpable, some subtle and\nelusive, in which the sexual instinct has moulded the religious\nconsciousness of our race, is one of the most interesting, as it is one of\nthe most difficult and delicate tasks, which await the future historian of\nreligion.\n\nBut the influence which the sexes exert on each other, intimate and\nprofound as it has been and must always be, is far indeed from exhausting\nthe forces of attraction by which mankind are bound together in society.\nThe need of mutual protection, the economic advantages of co-operation,\nthe contagion of example, the communication of knowledge, the great ideas\nthat radiate from great minds, like shafts of light from high\ntowers,\u2014these and many other things combine to draw men into communities,\nto drill them into regiments, and to set them marching on the road of\nprogress with a concentrated force to which the loose skirmishers of mere\nanarchy and individualism can never hope to oppose a permanent resistance.\nHence when we consider how intimately humanity depends on society for many\nof the boons which it prizes most highly, we shall probably admit that of\nall the forces open to our observation which have shaped human destiny the\ninfluence of man on man is by far the greatest. If that is so, it seems to\nfollow that among the beings, real or imaginary, which the religious\nimagination has clothed with the attributes of divinity, human spirits are\nlikely to play a more important part than the spirits of plants, animals,\nor inanimate objects. I believe that a careful examination of the\nevidence, which has still to be undertaken, will confirm this conclusion;\nand that if we could strictly interrogate the phantoms which the human\nmind has conjured up out of the depths of its bottomless ignorance and\nenshrined as deities in the dim light of temples, we should find that the\nmajority of them have been nothing but the ghosts of dead men. However, to\nsay this is necessarily to anticipate the result of future research; and\nif in saying it I have ventured to make a prediction, which like all\npredictions is liable to be falsified by the event, I have done so only\nfrom a fear lest, without some such warning, the numerous facts recorded\nin these volumes might lend themselves to an exaggerated estimate of their\nown importance and hence to a misinterpretation and distortion of history.\n\nJ. G. Frazer.\n\nCAMBRIDGE, _4th May 1912_.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I. DIONYSUS.\n\n\n(M1) In the preceding part of this work we saw that in antiquity the\ncivilised nations of western Asia and Egypt pictured to themselves the\nchanges of the seasons, and particularly the annual growth and decay of\nvegetation, as episodes in the life of gods, whose mournful death and\nhappy resurrection they celebrated with dramatic rites of alternate\nlamentation and rejoicing. But if the celebration was in form dramatic, it\nwas in substance magical; that is to say, it was intended, on the\nprinciples of sympathetic magic, to ensure the vernal regeneration of\nplants and the multiplication of animals, which had seemed to be menaced\nby the inroads of winter. In the ancient world, however, such ideas and\nsuch rites were by no means confined to the Oriental peoples of Babylon\nand Syria, of Phrygia and Egypt; they were not a product peculiar to the\nreligious mysticism of the dreamy East, but were shared by the races of\nlivelier fancy and more mercurial temperament who inhabited the shores and\nislands of the Aegean. We need not, with some enquirers in ancient and\nmodern times, suppose that these Western peoples borrowed from the older\ncivilisation of the Orient the conception of the Dying and Reviving God,\ntogether with the solemn ritual, in which that conception was dramatically\nset forth before the eyes of the worshippers. More probably the\nresemblance which may be traced in this respect between the religions of\nthe East and the West is no more than what we commonly, though\nincorrectly, call a fortuitous coincidence, the effect of similar causes\nacting alike on the similar constitution of the human mind in different\ncountries and under different skies. The Greek had no need to journey into\nfar countries to learn the vicissitudes of the seasons, to mark the\nfleeting beauty of the damask rose, the transient glory of the golden\ncorn, the passing splendour of the purple grapes. Year by year in his own\nbeautiful land he beheld, with natural regret, the bright pomp of summer\nfading into the gloom and stagnation of winter, and year by year he hailed\nwith natural delight the outburst of fresh life in spring. Accustomed to\npersonify the forces of nature, to tinge her cold abstractions with the\nwarm hues of imagination, to clothe her naked realities with the gorgeous\ndrapery of a mythic fancy, he fashioned for himself a train of gods and\ngoddesses, of spirits and elves, out of the shifting panorama of the\nseasons, and followed the annual fluctuations of their fortunes with\nalternate emotions of cheerfulness and dejection, of gladness and sorrow,\nwhich found their natural expression in alternate rites of rejoicing and\nlamentation, of revelry and mourning. A consideration of some of the Greek\ndivinities who thus died and rose again from the dead may furnish us with\na series of companion pictures to set side by side with the sad figures of\nAdonis, Attis, and Osiris. We begin with Dionysus.\n\n(M2) The god Dionysus or Bacchus is best known to us as a personification\nof the vine and of the exhilaration produced by the juice of the grape.(1)\nHis ecstatic worship, characterised by wild dances, thrilling music, and\ntipsy excess, appears to have originated among the rude tribes of Thrace,\nwho were notoriously addicted to drunkenness.(2) Its mystic doctrines and\nextravagant rites were essentially foreign to the clear intelligence and\nsober temperament of the Greek race. Yet appealing as it did to that love\nof mystery and that proneness to revert to savagery which seem to be\ninnate in most men, the religion spread like wildfire through Greece until\nthe god whom Homer hardly deigned to notice had become the most popular\nfigure of the pantheon. The resemblance which his story and his ceremonies\npresent to those of Osiris have led some enquirers both in ancient and\nmodern times to hold that Dionysus was merely a disguised Osiris, imported\ndirectly from Egypt into Greece.(3) But the great preponderance of\nevidence points to his Thracian origin, and the similarity of the two\nworships is sufficiently explained by the similarity of the ideas and\ncustoms on which they were founded.\n\n(M3) While the vine with its clusters was the most characteristic\nmanifestation of Dionysus, he was also a god of trees in general. Thus we\nare told that almost all the Greeks sacrificed to \u201cDionysus of the\ntree.\u201d(4) In Boeotia one of his titles was \u201cDionysus in the tree.\u201d(5) His\nimage was often merely an upright post, without arms, but draped in a\nmantle, with a bearded mask to represent the head, and with leafy boughs\nprojecting from the head or body to shew the nature of the deity.(6) On a\nvase his rude effigy is depicted appearing out of a low tree or bush.(7)\nAt Magnesia on the Maeander an image of Dionysus is said to have been\nfound in a plane-tree, which had been broken by the wind.(8) He was the\npatron of cultivated trees;(9) prayers were offered to him that he would\nmake the trees grow;(10) and he was especially honoured by husbandmen,\nchiefly fruit-growers, who set up an image of him, in the shape of a\nnatural tree-stump, in their orchards.(11) He was said to have discovered\nall tree-fruits, amongst which apples and figs are particularly\nmentioned;(12) and he was referred to as \u201cwell-fruited,\u201d \u201che of the green\nfruit,\u201d and \u201cmaking the fruit to grow.\u201d(13) One of his titles was\n\u201cteeming\u201d or \u201cbursting\u201d (as of sap or blossoms);(14) and there was a\nFlowery Dionysus in Attica and at Patrae in Achaia.(15) The Athenians\nsacrificed to him for the prosperity of the fruits of the land.(16)\nAmongst the trees particularly sacred to him, in addition to the vine, was\nthe pine-tree.(17) The Delphic oracle commanded the Corinthians to worship\na particular pine-tree \u201cequally with the god,\u201d so they made two images of\nDionysus out of it, with red faces and gilt bodies.(18) In art a wand,\ntipped with a pine-cone, is commonly carried by the god or his\nworshippers.(19) Again, the ivy and the fig-tree were especially\nassociated with him. In the Attic township of Acharnae there was a\nDionysus Ivy;(20) at Lacedaemon there was a Fig Dionysus; and in Naxos,\nwhere figs were called _meilicha_, there was a Dionysus Meilichios, the\nface of whose image was made of fig-wood.(21)\n\n(M4) Further, there are indications, few but significant, that Dionysus\nwas conceived as a deity of agriculture and the corn. He is spoken of as\nhimself doing the work of a husbandman:(22) he is reported to have been\nthe first to yoke oxen to the plough, which before had been dragged by\nhand alone; and some people found in this tradition the clue to the bovine\nshape in which, as we shall see, the god was often supposed to present\nhimself to his worshippers. Thus guiding the ploughshare and scattering\nthe seed as he went, Dionysus is said to have eased the labour of the\nhusbandman.(23) Further, we are told that in the land of the Bisaltae, a\nThracian tribe, there was a great and fair sanctuary of Dionysus, where at\nhis festival a bright light shone forth at night as a token of an abundant\nharvest vouchsafed by the deity; but if the crops were to fail that year,\nthe mystic light was not seen, darkness brooded over the sanctuary as at\nother times.(24) Moreover, among the emblems of Dionysus was the\nwinnowing-fan, that is the large open shovel-shaped basket, which down to\nmodern times has been used by farmers to separate the grain from the chaff\nby tossing the corn in the air. This simple agricultural instrument\nfigured in the mystic rites of Dionysus; indeed the god is traditionally\nsaid to have been placed at birth in a winnowing-fan as in a cradle: in\nart he is represented as an infant so cradled; and from these traditions\nand representations he derived the epithet of _Liknites_, that is, \u201cHe of\nthe Winnowing-fan.\u201d(25)\n\n(M5) At first sight this symbolism might be explained very simply and\nnaturally by supposing that the divine infant cradled in the winnowing-fan\nwas identified with the corn which it is the function of the instrument to\nwinnow and sift. Yet against this identification it may be urged with\nreason that the use of a winnowing-fan as a cradle was not peculiar to\nDionysus; it was a regular practice with the ancient Greeks to place their\ninfants in winnowing-fans as an omen of wealth and fertility for the\nfuture life of the children.(26) Customs of the same sort have been\nobserved, apparently for similar reasons, by other peoples in other lands.\nFor example, in Java it is or used to be customary to place every child at\nbirth in a bamboo basket like the sieve or winnowing-basket which Javanese\nfarmers use for separating the rice from the chaff.(27) It is the midwife\nwho places the child in the basket, and as she does so she suddenly knocks\nwith the palms of both hands on the basket in order that the child may not\nbe timid and fearful. Then she addresses the child thus: \u201cCry not, for\nNja\u00ef-among and Kaki-among\u201d (two spirits) \u201care watching over you.\u201d Next she\naddresses these two spirits, saying, \u201cBring not your grandchild to the\nroad, lest he be trampled by a horse; bring him not to the bank of the\nriver, lest he fall into the river.\u201d The object of the ceremony is said to\nbe that these two spirits should always and everywhere guard the\nchild.(28) On the first anniversary of a child\u2019s birthday the Chinese of\nFoo-Chow set the little one in a large bamboo sieve, such as farmers\nemploy in winnowing grain, and in the sieve they place along with the\nchild a variety of articles, such as fruits, gold or silver ornaments, a\nset of money-scales, books, a pencil, pen, ink, paper, and so on, and they\ndraw omens of the child\u2019s future career from the object which it first\nhandles and plays with. Thus, if the infant first grasps the money-scale,\nhe will be wealthy; if he seizes on a book, he will be learned, and so\nforth.(29) In the Bilaspore district of India it is customary for\nwell-to-do people to place a newborn infant in a winnowing-fan filled with\nrice and afterwards to give the grain to the nurse in attendance.(30) In\nUpper Egypt a newly-born babe is immediately laid upon a corn-sieve and\ncorn is scattered around it; moreover, on the seventh day after birth the\ninfant is carried on a sieve through the whole house, while the midwife\nscatters wheat, barley, pease and salt. The intention of these ceremonies\nis said to be to avert evil spirits from the child,(31) and a like motive\nis assigned by other peoples for the practice of placing newborn infants\nin a winnowing-basket or corn-sieve. For example, in the Punjaub, when\nseveral children of a family have died in succession, a new baby will\nsometimes be put at birth into an old winnowing-basket (_chhaj_) along\nwith the sweepings of the house, and so dragged out into the yard; such a\nchild may, like Dionysus, in after life be known by the name of\nWinnowing-basket (_Chhajju_) or Dragged (_Ghasit\u00e2_).(32) The object of\ntreating the child in this way seems to be to save its life by deceiving\nthe spirits, who are supposed to have carried off its elder brothers and\nsisters; these malevolent beings are on the look-out for the new baby, but\nthey will never think of raking for it in the dust-bin, that being the\nlast place where they would expect to find the hope of the family. The\nsame may perhaps be the intention of a ceremony observed by the Gaolis of\nthe Deccan. As soon as a child is born, it is bathed and then placed on a\nsieve for a few minutes. On the fifth day the sieve, with a lime and _pan_\nleaves on it, is removed outside the house and then, after the worship of\nChetti has been performed, the sieve is thrown away on the road.(33)\nAgain, the same notion of rescuing the child from dangerous spirits comes\nout very clearly in a similar custom observed by the natives of Laos, a\nprovince of Siam. These people \u201cbelieve that an infant is the child, not\nof its parents, but of the spirits, and in this belief they go through the\nfollowing formalities. As soon as an infant is born it is bathed and\ndressed, laid upon a rice-sieve, and placed\u2014by the grandmother if present,\nif not, by the next near female relative\u2014at the head of the stairs or of\nthe ladder leading to the house. The person performing this duty calls out\nin a loud tone to the spirits to come and take the child away to-day, or\nfor ever after to let it alone; at the same moment she stamps violently on\nthe floor to frighten the child, or give it a jerk, and make it cry. If it\ndoes not cry this is regarded as an evil omen. If, on the other hand, it\nfollows the ordinary laws of nature and begins to exercise its vocal\norgans, it is supposed to have a happy and prosperous life before it.\nSometimes the spirits do come and take the infant away, _i.e._ it dies\nbefore it is twenty-four hours old, but, to prevent such a calamity,\nstrings are tied round its wrists on the first night after its birth, and\nif it sickens or is feeble the spirit-doctors are called in to prescribe\ncertain offerings to be made to keep away the very spirits who, only a few\nhours previously, were ceremoniously called upon to come and carry the\nchild off. On the day after its birth the child is regarded as being the\nproperty no longer of the spirits, who could have taken it if they had\nwanted it, but of the parents, who forthwith sell it to some relation for\na nominal sum\u2014an eighth or a quarter of a rupee perhaps. This again is a\nfurther guarantee against molestation by the spirits, who apparently are\nregarded as honest folk that would not stoop to take what has been bought\nand paid for.\u201d(34)\n\n(M6) A like intention of averting evil in some shape from a child is\nassigned in other cases of the same custom. Thus in Travancore, \u201cif an\ninfant is observed to distort its limbs as if in pain, it is supposed to\nbe under the pressure of some one who has stooped over it, to relieve\nwhich the mother places it with a nut-cracker on a winnowing fan and\nshakes it three or four times.\u201d(35) Again, among the Tanala people of\nMadagascar almost all children born in the unlucky month of Faosa are\nburied alive in the forest. But if the parents resolve to let the child\nlive, they must call in the aid of a diviner, who performs a ceremony for\naverting the threatened ill-luck. The child is placed in a winnowing-fan\nalong with certain herbs. Further, the diviner takes herbs of the same\nsort, a worn-out spade, and an axe, fastens them to the father\u2019s spear,\nand sets the spear up in the ground. Then the child is bathed in water\nwhich has been medicated with some of the same herbs. Finally the diviner\nsays: \u201cThe worn-out spade to the grandchild; may it (the child) not\ndespoil its father, may it not despoil its mother, may it not despoil the\nchildren; let it be good.\u201d This ceremony, we are told, \u201cputs an end to the\nchild\u2019s evil days, and the father gets the spear to put away all evil. The\nchild then joins its father and mother; its evil days are averted, and the\nwater and the other things are buried, for they account them evil.\u201d(36)\nSimilarly the ancient Greeks used to bury, or throw into the sea, or\ndeposit at cross-roads, the things that had been used in ceremonies of\npurification, no doubt because the things were supposed to be tainted by\nthe evil which had been transferred to them in the rites.(37) Another\nexample of the use of a winnowing-fan in what may be called a purificatory\nceremony is furnished by the practice of the Chinese of Foo-Chow. A lad\nwho is suffering from small-pox is made to squat in a large winnowing\nsieve. On his head is placed a piece of red cloth, and on the cloth are\nlaid some parched beans, which are then allowed to roll off. As the name\nfor beans, pronounced in the local dialect, is identical with the common\nname for small-pox, and as moreover the scars left by the pustules are\nthought to resemble beans, it appears to be imagined that just as the\nbeans roll off the boy\u2019s head, so will the pustules vanish from his body\nwithout leaving a trace behind.(38) Thus the cure depends on the principle\nof homoeopathic magic. Perhaps on the same principle a winnowing-fan is\nemployed in the ceremony from a notion that it will help to waft or fan\naway the disease like chaff from the grain. We may compare a purificatory\nceremony observed by the Karens of Burma at the naming of a new-born\nchild. Amongst these people \u201cchildren are supposed to come into the world\ndefiled, and unless that defilement is removed, they will be unfortunate,\nand unsuccessful in their undertakings. An Elder takes a thin splint of\nbamboo, and, tying a noose at one end, he fans it down the child\u2019s arm,\nsaying:\n\n\n    \u2018_Fan away ill luck, fan away ill success:_\n    _Fan away inability, fan away unskilfulness:_\n    _Fan away slow growth, fan away difficulty of growth:_\n    _Fan away stuntedness, fan away puniness:_\n    _Fan away drowsiness, fan away stupidity:_\n    _Fan away debasedness, fan away wretchedness:_\n            _Fan away the whole completely._\u2019\n\n\n\u201cThe Elder now changes his motion and fans up the child\u2019s arm, saying:\n\n\n    \u2018_Fan on power, fan on influence:_\n    _Fan on the paddy bin, fan on the paddy barn:_\n    _Fan on followers, fan on dependants:_\n    _Fan on good things, fan on appropriate things._\u2019 \u201d(39)\n\n\n(M7) Thus in some of the foregoing instances the employment of the\nwinnowing-fan may have been suggested by the proper use of the implement\nas a means of separating the corn from the chaff, the same operation being\nextended by analogy to rid men of evils of various sorts which would\notherwise adhere to them like husks to the grain. It was in this way that\nthe ancients explained the use of the winnowing-fan in the mysteries.(40)\nBut one motive, and perhaps the original one, for setting a newborn child\nin a winnowing-fan and surrounding it with corn was probably the wish to\ncommunicate to the infant, on the principle of sympathetic magic, the\nfertility and especially the power of growth possessed by the grain. This\nwas in substance the explanation which W. Mannhardt gave of the\ncustom.(41) He rightly insisted on the analogy which many peoples, and in\nparticular the ancient Greeks, have traced between the sowing of seed and\nthe begetting of children,(42) and he confirmed his view of the function\nof the winnowing-fan in these ceremonies by aptly comparing a German\ncustom of sowing barley or flax seed over weakly and stunted children in\nthe belief that this will make them grow with the growth of the barley or\nthe flax.(43) An Esthonian mode of accomplishing the same object is to set\nthe child in the middle of a plot of ground where a sower is sowing hemp\nand to leave the little one there till the sowing is finished; after that\nthey imagine that the child will shoot up in stature like the hemp which\nhas just been sown.(44)\n\n(M8) With the foregoing evidence before us of a widespread custom of\nplacing newborn children in winnowing-fans we clearly cannot argue that\nDionysus must necessarily have been a god of the corn because Greek\ntradition and Greek art represent him as an infant cradled in a\nwinnowing-fan. The argument would prove too much, for it would apply\nequally to all the infants that have been so cradled in all parts of the\nworld. We cannot even press the argument drawn from the surname \u201cHe of the\nWinnowing-fan\u201d which was borne by Dionysus, since we have seen that\nsimilar names are borne for similar reasons in India by persons who have\nno claim whatever to be regarded as deities of the corn. Yet when all\nnecessary deductions have been made on this score, the association of\nDionysus with the winnowing-fan appears to be too intimate to be explained\naway as a mere reminiscence of a practice to which every Greek baby,\nwhether human or divine, had to submit. That practice would hardly account\neither for the use of the winnowing-fan in the mysteries or for the\nappearance of the implement, filled with fruitage of various kinds, on the\nmonuments which set forth the ritual of Dionysus.(45) This last emblem\npoints plainly to a conception of the god as a personification of the\nfruits of the earth in general; and as if to emphasise the idea of\nfecundity conveyed by such a symbol there sometimes appears among the\nfruits in the winnowing-fan an effigy of the male organ of generation. The\nprominent place which that effigy occupied in the worship of Dionysus(46)\nhints broadly, if it does not strictly prove, that to the Greek mind the\ngod stood for the powers of fertility in general, animal as well as\nvegetable. In the thought of the ancients no sharp line of distinction\ndivided the fertility of animals from the fertility of plants; rather the\ntwo ideas met and blended in a nebulous haze. We need not wonder,\ntherefore, that the same coarse but expressive emblem figured\nconspicuously in the ritual of Father Liber, the Italian counterpart of\nDionysus, who in return for the homage paid to the symbol of his creative\nenergy was believed to foster the growth of the crops and to guard the\nfields against the powers of evil.(47)\n\n(M9) Like the other gods of vegetation whom we considered in the last\nvolume, Dionysus was believed to have died a violent death, but to have\nbeen brought to life again; and his sufferings, death, and resurrection\nwere enacted in his sacred rites. His tragic story is thus told by the\npoet Nonnus. Zeus in the form of a serpent visited Persephone, and she\nbore him Zagreus, that is, Dionysus, a horned infant. Scarcely was he\nborn, when the babe mounted the throne of his father Zeus and mimicked the\ngreat god by brandishing the lightning in his tiny hand. But he did not\noccupy the throne long; for the treacherous Titans, their faces whitened\nwith chalk, attacked him with knives while he was looking at himself in a\nmirror. For a time he evaded their assaults by turning himself into\nvarious shapes, assuming the likeness successively of Zeus and Cronus, of\na young man, of a lion, a horse, and a serpent. Finally, in the form of a\nbull, he was cut to pieces by the murderous knives of his enemies.(48) His\nCretan myth, as related by Firmicus Maternus, ran thus. He was said to\nhave been the bastard son of Jupiter, a Cretan king. Going abroad, Jupiter\ntransferred the throne and sceptre to the youthful Dionysus, but, knowing\nthat his wife Juno cherished a jealous dislike of the child, he entrusted\nDionysus to the care of guards upon whose fidelity he believed he could\nrely. Juno, however, bribed the guards, and amusing the child with rattles\nand a cunningly-wrought looking-glass lured him into an ambush, where her\nsatellites, the Titans, rushed upon him, cut him limb from limb, boiled\nhis body with various herbs, and ate it. But his sister Minerva, who had\nshared in the deed, kept his heart and gave it to Jupiter on his return,\nrevealing to him the whole history of the crime. In his rage, Jupiter put\nthe Titans to death by torture, and, to soothe his grief for the loss of\nhis son, made an image in which he enclosed the child\u2019s heart, and then\nbuilt a temple in his honour.(49) In this version a Euhemeristic turn has\nbeen given to the myth by representing Jupiter and Juno (Zeus and Hera) as\na king and queen of Crete. The guards referred to are the mythical Curetes\nwho danced a war-dance round the infant Dionysus, as they are said to have\ndone round the infant Zeus.(50) Very noteworthy is the legend, recorded\nboth by Nonnus and Firmicus, that in his infancy Dionysus occupied for a\nshort time the throne of his father Zeus. So Proclus tells us that\n\u201cDionysus was the last king of the gods appointed by Zeus. For his father\nset him on the kingly throne, and placed in his hand the sceptre, and made\nhim king of all the gods of the world.\u201d(51) Such traditions point to a\ncustom of temporarily investing the king\u2019s son with the royal dignity as a\npreliminary to sacrificing him instead of his father. Pomegranates were\nsupposed to have sprung from the blood of Dionysus, as anemones from the\nblood of Adonis and violets from the blood of Attis: hence women refrained\nfrom eating seeds of pomegranates at the festival of the Thesmophoria.(52)\nAccording to some, the severed limbs of Dionysus were pieced together, at\nthe command of Zeus, by Apollo, who buried them on Parnassus.(53) The\ngrave of Dionysus was shewn in the Delphic temple beside a golden statue\nof Apollo.(54) However, according to another account, the grave of\nDionysus was at Thebes, where he is said to have been torn in pieces.(55)\nThus far the resurrection of the slain god is not mentioned, but in other\nversions of the myth it is variously related. According to one version,\nwhich represented Dionysus as a son of Zeus and Demeter, his mother pieced\ntogether his mangled limbs and made him young again.(56) In others it is\nsimply said that shortly after his burial he rose from the dead and\nascended up to heaven;(57) or that Zeus raised him up as he lay mortally\nwounded;(58) or that Zeus swallowed the heart of Dionysus and then begat\nhim afresh by Semele,(59) who in the common legend figures as mother of\nDionysus. Or, again, the heart was pounded up and given in a portion to\nSemele, who thereby conceived him.(60)\n\nTurning from the myth to the ritual, we find that the Cretans celebrated a\nbiennial(61) festival at which the passion of Dionysus was represented in\nevery detail. All that he had done or suffered in his last moments was\nenacted before the eyes of his worshippers, who tore a live bull to pieces\nwith their teeth and roamed the woods with frantic shouts. In front of\nthem was carried a casket supposed to contain the sacred heart of\nDionysus, and to the wild music of flutes and cymbals they mimicked the\nrattles by which the infant god had been lured to his doom.(62) Where the\nresurrection formed part of the myth, it also was acted at the rites,(63)\nand it even appears that a general doctrine of resurrection, or at least\nof immortality, was inculcated on the worshippers; for Plutarch, writing\nto console his wife on the death of their infant daughter, comforts her\nwith the thought of the immortality of the soul as taught by tradition and\nrevealed in the mysteries of Dionysus.(64) A different form of the myth of\nthe death and resurrection of Dionysus is that he descended into Hades to\nbring up his mother Semele from the dead.(65) The local Argive tradition\nwas that he went down through the Alcyonian lake; and his return from the\nlower world, in other words his resurrection, was annually celebrated on\nthe spot by the Argives, who summoned him from the water by trumpet\nblasts, while they threw a lamb into the lake as an offering to the warder\nof the dead.(66) Whether this was a spring festival does not appear, but\nthe Lydians certainly celebrated the advent of Dionysus in spring; the god\nwas supposed to bring the season with him.(67) Deities of vegetation, who\nare supposed to pass a certain portion of each year under ground,\nnaturally come to be regarded as gods of the lower world or of the dead.\nBoth Dionysus and Osiris were so conceived.(68)\n\n(M10) A feature in the mythical character of Dionysus, which at first\nsight appears inconsistent with his nature as a deity of vegetation, is\nthat he was often conceived and represented in animal shape, especially in\nthe form, or at least with the horns, of a bull. Thus he is spoken of as\n\u201ccow-born,\u201d \u201cbull,\u201d \u201cbull-shaped,\u201d \u201cbull-faced,\u201d \u201cbull-browed,\u201d\n\u201cbull-horned,\u201d \u201chorn-bearing,\u201d \u201ctwo-horned,\u201d \u201chorned.\u201d(69) He was believed\nto appear, at least occasionally, as a bull.(70) His images were often, as\nat Cyzicus, made in bull shape,(71) or with bull horns;(72) and he was\npainted with horns.(73) Types of the horned Dionysus are found amongst the\nsurviving monuments of antiquity.(74) On one statuette he appears clad in\na bull\u2019s hide, the head, horns, and hoofs hanging down behind.(75) Again,\nhe is represented as a child with clusters of grapes round his brow, and a\ncalf\u2019s head, with sprouting horns, attached to the back of his head.(76)\nOn a red-figured vase the god is portrayed as a calf-headed child seated\non a woman\u2019s lap.(77) The people of Cynaetha in north-western Arcadia held\na festival of Dionysus in winter, when men, who had greased their bodies\nwith oil for the occasion, used to pick out a bull from the herd and carry\nit to the sanctuary of the god. Dionysus was supposed to inspire their\nchoice of the particular bull,(78) which probably represented the deity\nhimself; for at his festivals he was believed to appear in bull form. The\nwomen of Elis hailed him as a bull, and prayed him to come with his bull\u2019s\nfoot. They sang, \u201cCome hither, Dionysus, to thy holy temple by the sea;\ncome with the Graces to thy temple, rushing with thy bull\u2019s foot, O goodly\nbull, O goodly bull!\u201d(79) The Bacchanals of Thrace wore horns in imitation\nof their god.(80) According to the myth, it was in the shape of a bull\nthat he was torn to pieces by the Titans;(81) and the Cretans, when they\nacted the sufferings and death of Dionysus, tore a live bull to pieces\nwith their teeth.(82) Indeed, the rending and devouring of live bulls and\ncalves appear to have been a regular feature of the Dionysiac rites.(83)\nWhen we consider the practice of portraying the god as a bull or with some\nof the features of the animal, the belief that he appeared in bull form to\nhis worshippers at the sacred rites, and the legend that in bull form he\nhad been torn in pieces, we cannot doubt that in rending and devouring a\nlive bull at his festival the worshippers of Dionysus believed themselves\nto be killing the god, eating his flesh, and drinking his blood.\n\n(M11) Another animal whose form Dionysus assumed was the goat. One of his\nnames was \u201cKid.\u201d(84) At Athens and at Hermion he was worshipped under the\ntitle of \u201cthe one of the Black Goatskin,\u201d and a legend ran that on a\ncertain occasion he had appeared clad in the skin from which he took the\ntitle.(85) In the wine-growing district of Phlius, where in autumn the\nplain is still thickly mantled with the red and golden foliage of the\nfading vines, there stood of old a bronze image of a goat, which the\nhusbandmen plastered with gold-leaf as a means of protecting their vines\nagainst blight.(86) The image probably represented the vine-god himself.\nTo save him from the wrath of Hera, his father Zeus changed the youthful\nDionysus into a kid;(87) and when the gods fled to Egypt to escape the\nfury of Typhon, Dionysus was turned into a goat.(88) Hence when his\nworshippers rent in pieces a live goat and devoured it raw,(89) they must\nhave believed that they were eating the body and blood of the god.\n\n(M12) The custom of tearing in pieces the bodies of animals and of men and\nthen devouring them raw has been practised as a religious rite by savages\nin modern times. We need not therefore dismiss as a fable the testimony of\nantiquity to the observance of similar rites among the frenzied\nworshippers of Bacchus. An English missionary to the Coast Indians of\nBritish Columbia has thus described a scene like the cannibal orgies of\nthe Bacchanals. After mentioning that an old chief had ordered a female\nslave to be dragged to the beach, murdered, and thrown into the water, he\nproceeds as follows: \u201cI did not see the murder, but, immediately after, I\nsaw crowds of people running out of those houses near to where the corpse\nwas thrown, and forming themselves into groups at a good distance away.\nThis I learnt was from fear of what was to follow. Presently two bands of\nfurious wretches appeared, each headed by a man in a state of nudity. They\ngave vent to the most unearthly sounds, and the two naked men made\nthemselves look as unearthly as possible, proceeding in a creeping kind of\nstoop, and stepping like two proud horses, at the same time shooting\nforward each arm alternately, which they held out at full length for a\nlittle time in the most defiant manner. Besides this, the continual\njerking their heads back, causing their long black hair to twist about,\nadded much to their savage appearance. For some time they pretended to be\nseeking the body, and the instant they came where it lay they commenced\nscreaming and rushing round it like so many angry wolves. Finally they\nseized it, dragged it out of the water, and laid it on the beach, where I\nwas told the naked men would commence tearing it to pieces with their\nteeth. The two bands of men immediately surrounded them, and so hid their\nhorrid work. In a few minutes the crowd broke into two, when each of the\nnaked cannibals appeared with half of the body in his hands. Separating a\nfew yards, they commenced, amid horrid yells, their still more horrid\nfeast. The sight was too terrible to behold. I left the gallery with a\ndepressed heart. I may mention that the two bands of savages just alluded\nto belong to that class which the whites term \u2018medicine-men.\u2019 \u201d The same\nwriter informs us that at the winter ceremonials of these Indians \u201cthe\ncannibal, on such occasions, is generally supplied with two, three, or\nfour human bodies, which he tears to pieces before his audience. Several\npersons, either from bravado or as a charm, present their arms for him to\nbite. I have seen several whom he has bitten, and I hear two have died\nfrom the effects.\u201d And when corpses were not forthcoming, these cannibals\napparently seized and devoured living people. Mr. Duncan has seen hundreds\nof the Tsimshian Indians sitting in their canoes which they had just\npushed off from the shore in order to escape being torn to pieces by a\nparty of prowling cannibals. Others of these Indians contented themselves\nwith tearing dogs to pieces, while their attendants kept up a growling\nnoise, or a whoop, \u201cwhich was seconded by a screeching noise made from an\ninstrument which they believe to be the abode of a spirit.\u201d(90)\n\n(M13) Mr. Duncan\u2019s account of these savage rites has been fully borne out\nby later observation. Among the Kwakiutl Indians the Cannibals\n(_Hamatsas_) are the highest in rank of the Secret Societies. They devour\ncorpses, bite pieces out of living people, and formerly ate slaves who had\nbeen killed for the purpose. But when their fury has subsided, they are\nobliged to pay compensation to the persons whom they have bitten and to\nthe owners of slaves whom they have killed. The indemnity consists\nsometimes of blankets, sometimes of canoes. In the latter case the tariff\nis fixed: one bite, one canoe. For some time after eating human flesh the\ncannibal has to observe a great many rules, which regulate his eating and\ndrinking, his going out and his coming in, his clothing and his\nintercourse with his wife.(91) Similar customs prevail among other tribes\nof the same coast, such as the Bella Coola, the Tsimshian, the Niska, and\nthe Nootka. In the Nootka tribe members of the Panther Society tear dogs\nto pieces and devour them. They wear masks armed with canine teeth.(92) So\namong the Haida Indians of the Queen Charlotte Islands there is one\nreligion of cannibalism and another of dog-eating. The cannibals in a\nstate of frenzy, real or pretended, bite flesh out of the extended arms of\ntheir fellow villagers. When they issue forth with cries of _Hop-pop_ to\nobserve this solemn rite, all who are of a different religious persuasion\nmake haste to get out of their way; but men of the cannibal creed and of\nstout hearts will resolutely hold out their arms to be bitten. The sect of\ndog-eaters cut or tear dogs to pieces and devour some of the flesh; but\nthey have to pay for the dogs which they consume in their religious\nenthusiasm.(93) In the performance of these savage rites the frenzied\nactors are believed to be inspired by a Cannibal Spirit and a Dog-eating\nSpirit respectively.(94) Again, in Morocco there is an order of saints\nknown as Isowa or A\u00efsawa, followers of Mohammed ben Isa or A\u00efsa of\nMequinez, whose tomb is at Fez. Every year on their founder\u2019s birthday\nthey assemble at his shrine or elsewhere and holding each other\u2019s hands\ndance a frantic dance round a fire. \u201cWhile the mad dance is still\nproceeding, a sudden rush is made from the sanctuary, and the dancers,\nlike men delirious, speed away to a place where live goats are tethered in\nreadiness. At sight of these animals the fury of the savage and excited\ncrowd reaches its height. In a few minutes the wretched animals are cut,\nor rather torn to pieces, and an orgy takes place over the raw and\nquivering flesh. When they seem satiated, the Emkaddim, who is generally\non horseback, and carries a long stick, forms a sort of procession,\npreceded by wild music, if such discordant sounds will bear the name.\nWords can do no justice to the frightful scene which now ensues. The naked\nsavages\u2014for on these occasions a scanty piece of cotton is all their\nclothing\u2014with their long black hair, ordinarily worn in plaits, tossed\nabout by the rapid to-and-fro movements of the head, with faces and hands\nreeking with blood, and uttering loud cries resembling the bleating of\ngoats, again enter the town. The place is now at their mercy, and the\npeople avoid them as much as possible by shutting themselves up in their\nhouses. A Christian or a Jew would run great risk of losing his life if\neither were found in the street. Goats are pushed out from the doors, and\nthese the fanatics tear immediately to pieces with their hands, and then\ndispute over the morsels of bleeding flesh, as though they were ravenous\nwolves instead of men. Snakes also are thrown to them as tests of their\ndivine frenzy, and these share the fate of the goats. Sometimes a luckless\ndog, straying as dogs will stray in a tumult, is seized on. Then the\nlaymen, should any be at hand, will try to prevent the desecration of\npious mouths. But the fanatics sometimes prevail, and the unclean animal,\nabhorred by the mussulman, is torn in pieces and devoured, or pretended to\nbe devoured, with indiscriminating rage.\u201d(95)\n\n(M14) The custom of killing a god in animal form, which we shall examine\nmore in detail further on, belongs to a very early stage of human culture,\nand is apt in later times to be misunderstood. The advance of thought\ntends to strip the old animal and plant gods of their bestial and\nvegetable husk, and to leave their human attributes (which are always the\nkernel of the conception) as the final and sole residuum. In other words,\nanimal and plant gods tend to become purely anthropomorphic. When they\nhave become wholly or nearly so, the animals and plants which were at\nfirst the deities themselves, still retain a vague and ill-understood\nconnexion with the anthropomorphic gods who have been developed out of\nthem. The origin of the relationship between the deity and the animal or\nplant having been forgotten, various stories are invented to explain it.\nThese explanations may follow one of two lines according as they are based\non the habitual or on the exceptional treatment of the sacred animal or\nplant. The sacred animal was habitually spared, and only exceptionally\nslain; and accordingly the myth might be devised to explain either why it\nwas spared or why it was killed. Devised for the former purpose, the myth\nwould tell of some service rendered to the deity by the animal; devised\nfor the latter purpose, the myth would tell of some injury inflicted by\nthe animal on the god. The reason given for sacrificing goats to Dionysus\nexemplifies a myth of the latter sort. They were sacrificed to him, it was\nsaid, because they injured the vine.(96) Now the goat, as we have seen,\nwas originally an embodiment of the god himself. But when the god had\ndivested himself of his animal character and had become essentially\nanthropomorphic, the killing of the goat in his worship came to be\nregarded no longer as a slaying of the deity himself, but as a sacrifice\noffered to him; and since some reason had to be assigned why the goat in\nparticular should be sacrificed, it was alleged that this was a punishment\ninflicted on the goat for injuring the vine, the object of the god\u2019s\nespecial care. Thus we have the strange spectacle of a god sacrificed to\nhimself on the ground that he is his own enemy. And as the deity is\nsupposed to partake of the victim offered to him, it follows that, when\nthe victim is the god\u2019s old self, the god eats of his own flesh. Hence the\ngoat-god Dionysus is represented as eating raw goat\u2019s blood;(97) and the\nbull-god Dionysus is called \u201ceater of bulls.\u201d(98) On the analogy of these\ninstances we may conjecture that wherever a deity is described as the\neater of a particular animal, the animal in question was originally\nnothing but the deity himself.(99) Later on we shall find that some\nsavages propitiate dead bears and whales by offering them portions of\ntheir own bodies.(100)\n\n(M15) All this, however, does not explain why a deity of vegetation should\nappear in animal form. But the consideration of that point had better be\ndeferred till we have discussed the character and attributes of Demeter.\nMeantime it remains to mention that in some places, instead of an animal,\na human being was torn in pieces at the rites of Dionysus. This was the\npractice in Chios and Tenedos;(101) and at Potniae in Boeotia the\ntradition ran that it had been formerly the custom to sacrifice to the\ngoat-smiting Dionysus a child, for whom a goat was afterwards\nsubstituted.(102) At Orchomenus, as we have seen, the human victim was\ntaken from the women of an old royal family.(103) As the slain bull or\ngoat represented the slain god, so, we may suppose, the human victim also\nrepresented him.\n\n(M16) The legends of the deaths of Pentheus and Lycurgus, two kings who\nare said to have been torn to pieces, the one by Bacchanals, the other by\nhorses, for their opposition to the rites of Dionysus, may be, as I have\nalready suggested,(104) distorted reminiscences of a custom of sacrificing\ndivine kings in the character of Dionysus and of dispersing the fragments\nof their broken bodies over the fields for the purpose of fertilising\nthem. In regard to Lycurgus, king of the Thracian tribe of the Edonians,\nit is expressly said that his subjects at the bidding of an oracle caused\nhim to be rent in pieces by horses for the purpose of restoring the\nfertility of the ground after a period of barrenness and dearth.(105)\nThere is no improbability in the tradition. We have seen that in Africa\nand other parts of the world kings or chiefs have often been put to death\nby their people for similar reasons.(106) Further, it is significant that\nKing Lycurgus is said to have slain his own son Dryas with an axe in a fit\nof madness, mistaking him for a vine-branch.(107) Have we not in this\ntradition a reminiscence of a custom of sacrificing the king\u2019s son in\nplace of the father? Similarly Athamas, a King of Thessaly or Boeotia, is\nsaid to have been doomed by an oracle to be sacrificed at the altar in\norder to remove the curse of barrenness which afflicted his country;\nhowever, he contrived to evade the sentence and in a fit of madness killed\nhis own son Learchus, mistaking him for a wild beast. That this legend was\nnot a mere myth is made probable by a custom observed at Alus down to\nhistorical times: the eldest male scion of the royal house was regularly\nsacrificed in due form to Laphystian Zeus if he ever set foot within the\ntown-hall.(108) The close resemblance between the legends of King Athamas\nand King Lycurgus furnishes a ground for believing both legends to be\nbased on a real custom of sacrificing either the king himself or one of\nhis sons for the good of the country; and the story that the king\u2019s son\nDryas perished because his frenzied father mistook him for a vine-branch\nfits in well with the theory that the victim in these sacrifices\nrepresented the vine-god Dionysus. It is probably no mere coincidence that\nDionysus himself is said to have been torn in pieces at Thebes,(109) the\nvery place where according to legend the same fate befell king Pentheus at\nthe hands of the frenzied votaries of the vine-god.(110)\n\n(M17) The theory that in prehistoric times Greek and Thracian kings or\ntheir sons may have been dismembered in the character of the vine-god or\nthe corn-god for the purpose of fertilising the earth or quickening the\nvines has received of late years some confirmation from the discovery that\ndown to the present time in Thrace, the original home of Dionysus, a drama\nis still annually performed which reproduces with remarkable fidelity some\nof the most striking traits in the Dionysiac myth and ritual.(111) In a\nformer part of this work I have already called attention to this\ninteresting survival of paganism among a Christian peasantry;(112) but it\nseems desirable and appropriate in this place to draw out somewhat more\nfully the parallelism between the modern drama and the ancient worship.\n\n(M18) The drama, which may reasonably be regarded as a direct descendant\nof the Dionysiac rites, is annually performed at the Carnival in all the\nChristian villages which cluster round Viza, the ancient Bizya, a town of\nThrace situated about midway between Adrianople and Constantinople. In\nantiquity the city was the capital of the Thracian tribe of the Asti; the\nkings had their palace there,(113) probably in the acropolis, of which\nsome fine walls are still standing. Inscriptions preserved in the modern\ntown record the names of some of these old kings.(114) The date of the\ncelebration is Cheese Monday, as it is locally called, which is the Monday\nof the last week of Carnival. At Viza itself the mummery has been shorn of\nsome of its ancient features, but these have been kept up at the villages\nand have been particularly observed and recorded at the village of St.\nGeorge (Haghios Gheorgios). It is to the drama as acted at that village\nthat the following description specially applies. The principal parts in\nthe drama are taken by two men disguised in goatskins. Each of them wears\na headdress made of a complete goatskin, which is stuffed so as to rise a\nfoot or more like a shako over his head, while the skin falls over the\nface, forming a mask with holes cut for the eyes and mouth. Their\nshoulders are thickly padded with hay to protect them from the blows which\nused to be rained very liberally on their backs. Fawnskins on their\nshoulders and goatskins on their legs are or used to be part of their\nequipment, and another indispensable part of it is a number of sheep-bells\ntied round their waists. One of the two skin-clad actors carries a bow and\nthe other a wooden effigy of the male organ of generation. Both these\nactors must be married men. According to Mr. Vizyenos, they are chosen for\nperiods of four years. Two unmarried boys dressed as girls and sometimes\ncalled brides also take part in the play; and a man disguised as an old\nwoman in rags carries a mock baby in a basket; the brat is supposed to be\na seven-months\u2019 child born out of wedlock and begotten by an unknown\nfather. The basket in which the hopeful infant is paraded bears the\nancient name of the winnowing-fan (_likni_, contracted from _liknon_) and\nthe babe itself receives the very title \u201cHe of the Winnowing-fan\u201d\n(_Liknites_) which in antiquity was applied to Dionysus. Two other actors,\nclad in rags with blackened faces and armed with stout saplings, play the\nparts of a gypsy-man and his wife; others personate policemen armed with\nswords and whips; and the troupe is completed by a man who discourses\nmusic on a bagpipe.\n\n(M19) Such are the masqueraders. The morning of the day on which they\nperform their little drama is spent by them going from door to door\ncollecting bread, eggs, or money. At every door the two skin-clad maskers\nknock, the boys disguised as girls dance, and the gypsy man and wife enact\nan obscene pantomime on the straw-heap before the house. When every house\nin the village has been thus visited, the troop takes up position on the\nopen space before the village church, where the whole population has\nalready mustered to witness the performance. After a dance hand in hand,\nin which all the actors take part, the two skin-clad maskers withdraw and\nleave the field to the gypsies, who now pretend to forge a ploughshare,\nthe man making believe to hammer the share and his wife to work the\nbellows. At this point the old woman\u2019s baby is supposed to grow up at a\ngreat pace, to develop a huge appetite for meat and drink, and to clamour\nfor a wife. One of the skin-clad men now pursues one of the two pretended\nbrides, and a mock marriage is celebrated between the couple. After these\nnuptials have been performed with a parody of a real wedding, the mock\nbridegroom is shot by his comrade with the bow and falls down on his face\nlike dead. His slayer thereupon feigns to skin him with a knife; but the\ndead man\u2019s wife laments over her deceased husband with loud cries,\nthrowing herself across his prostrate body. In this lamentation the slayer\nhimself and all the other actors join in: a Christian funeral service is\nburlesqued; and the pretended corpse is lifted up as if to be carried to\nthe grave. At this point, however, the dead man disconcerts the\npreparations for his burial by suddenly coming to life again and getting\nup. So ends the drama of death and resurrection.\n\n(M20) The next act opens with a repetition of the pretence of forging a\nploughshare, but this time the gypsy man hammers on a real share. When the\nimplement is supposed to have been fashioned, a real plough is brought\nforward, the mockery appears to cease, the two boys dressed as girls are\nyoked to the plough and drag it twice round the village square contrary to\nthe way of the sun. One of the two skin-clad men walks at the tail of the\nplough, the other guides it in front, and a third man follows in the rear\nscattering seed from a basket. After the two rounds have been completed,\nthe gypsy and his wife are yoked to the plough, and drag it a third time\nround the square, the two skin-clad men still playing the part of\nploughmen. At Viza the plough is drawn by the skin-clad men themselves.\nWhile the plough is going its rounds, followed by the sower sowing the\nseed, the people pray aloud, saying, \u201cMay wheat be ten piastres the\nbushel! Rye five piastres the bushel! Amen, O God, that the poor may eat!\nYea, O God, that poor folk be filled!\u201d This ends the performance. The\nevening is spent in feasting on the proceeds of the house-to-house\nvisitation which took place in the morning.(115)\n\n(M21) A kindred festival is observed on the same day of the Carnival at\nKosti, a place in the extreme north of Thrace, near the Black Sea. There a\nman dressed in sheepskins or goatskins, with a mask on his face, bells\nround his neck, and a broom in his hand, goes round the village collecting\nfood and presents. He is addressed as a king and escorted with music. With\nhim go boys dressed as girls, and another boy, not so disguised, who\ncarries wine in a wooden bottle and gives of it to every householder to\ndrink in a cup, receiving a gift in return. The king then mounts a\ntwo-wheeled cart and is drawn to the church. He carries seed in his hand,\nand at the church two bands of men, one of married men and the other of\nunmarried men, try each in turn to induce the king to throw the seed on\nthem. Finally he casts it on the ground in front of the church. The\nceremony ends with stripping the king of his clothes and flinging him into\nthe river, after which he resumes his usual dress.(116)\n\n(M22) In these ceremonies, still annually held at and near an old capital\nof Thracian kings, the points of similarity to the ritual of the ancient\nThracian deity Dionysus are sufficiently obvious.(117) The goatskins in\nwhich the principal actors are disguised remind us of the identification\nof Dionysus with a goat: the infant, cradled in a winnowing-fan and taking\nits name from the implement, answers exactly to the traditions and the\nmonuments which represent the infant Dionysus as similarly cradled and\nsimilarly named: the pretence that the baby is a seven-months\u2019 child born\nout of wedlock and begotten by an unknown father tallies precisely with\nthe legend that Dionysus was born prematurely in the seventh month as the\noffspring of an intrigue between a mortal woman and a mysterious divine\nfather:(118) the same coarse symbol of reproductive energy which\ncharacterised the ancient ritual of Dionysus figures conspicuously in the\nmodern drama: the annual mock marriage of the goatskin-clad mummer with\nthe pretended bride may be compared with the annual pretence of marrying\nDionysus to the Queen of Athens: and the simulated slaughter and\nresurrection of the same goatskin-clad actor may be compared with the\ntraditional slaughter and resurrection of the god himself. Further, the\nceremony of ploughing, in which after his resurrection the goatskin-clad\nmummer takes a prominent part, fits in well not only with the legend that\nDionysus was the first to yoke oxen to the plough, but also with the\nsymbolism of the winnowing-fan in his worship; while the prayers for\nplentiful crops which accompany the ploughing accord with the omens of an\nabundant harvest which were drawn of old from the mystic light seen to\nillumine by night one of his ancient sanctuaries in Thrace. Lastly, in the\nceremony as observed at Kosti the giving of wine by the king\u2019s attendant\nis an act worthy of the wine-god: the throwing of seed by the king can\nonly be interpreted, like the ploughing, as a charm to promote the\nfertility of the ground; and the royal title borne by the principal masker\nharmonises well with the theory that the part of the god of the corn and\nthe wine was of old sustained by the Thracian kings who reigned at Bisya.\n\n(M23) If we ask, To what ancient festival of Dionysus does the modern\ncelebration of the Carnival in Thrace most nearly correspond? the answer\ncan be hardly doubtful. The Thracian drama of the mock marriage of the\ngoatskin-clad mummer, his mimic death and resurrection, and his subsequent\nploughing, corresponds both in date and in character most nearly to the\nAthenian festival of the Anthesteria, which was celebrated at Athens\nduring three days in early spring, towards the end of February or the\nbeginning of March. Thus the date of the Anthesteria could not fall far\nfrom, and it might sometimes actually coincide with, the last week of the\nCarnival, the date of the Thracian celebration. While the details of the\nfestival of the Anthesteria are obscure, its general character is well\nknown. It was a festival both of wine-drinking and of the dead, whose\nsouls were supposed to revisit the city and to go about the streets, just\nas in modern Europe and in many other parts of the world the ghosts of the\ndeparted are still believed to return to their old homes on one day of the\nyear and to be entertained by their relatives at a solemn Feast of All\nSouls.(119) But the Dionysiac nature of the festival was revealed not\nmerely by the opening of the wine-vats and the wassailing which went on\nthroughout the city among freemen and slaves alike; on the second day of\nthe festival the marriage of Dionysus with the Queen of Athens was\ncelebrated with great solemnity at the Bucolium or Ox-stall.(120) It has\nbeen suggested with much probability(121) that at this sacred marriage in\nthe Ox-stall the god was represented wholly or partly in bovine shape,\nwhether by an image or by an actor dressed in the hide and wearing the\nhorns of a bull; for, as we have seen, Dionysus was often supposed to\nassume the form of a bull and to present himself in that guise to his\nworshippers. If this conjecture should prove to be correct\u2014though a\ndemonstration of it can hardly be expected\u2014the sacred marriage of the\nQueen to the Bull-god at Athens would be parallel to the sacred marriage\nof the Queen to the Bull-god at Cnossus, according to the interpretation\nwhich I have suggested of the myth of Pasiphae and the Minotaur;(122) only\nwhereas the bull-god at Cnossus, if I am right, stood for the Sun, the\nbull-god at Athens stood for the powers of vegetation, especially the corn\nand the vines. It would not be surprising that among a cattle-breeding\npeople in early days the bull, regarded as a type of strength and\nreproductive energy, should be employed to symbolise and represent more\nthan one of the great powers of nature. If Dionysus did indeed figure as a\nbull at his marriage, it is not improbable that on that occasion his\nrepresentative, whether a real bull or a man dressed in a bull\u2019s hide,\ntook part in a ceremony of ploughing; for we have seen that the invention\nof yoking oxen to the plough was ascribed to Dionysus, and we know that\nthe Athenians performed a sacred ceremony of ploughing, which went by the\nname of the Ox-yoked Ploughing and took place in a field or other open\npiece of ground at the foot of the Acropolis.(123) It is a reasonable\nconjecture that the field of the Ox-yoked Ploughing may have adjoined the\nbuilding called the Ox-stall in which the marriage of Dionysus with the\nQueen was solemnised;(124) for that building is known to have been near\nthe Prytaneum or Town-Hall on the northern slope of the Acropolis.(125)\n\n(M24) Thus on the whole the ancient festival of the Anthesteria, so far as\nits features are preserved by tradition or can be restored by the use of\nreasonable conjecture, presents several important analogies to the modern\nThracian Carnival in respect of wine-drinking, a mock marriage of\ndisguised actors, and a ceremony of ploughing. The resemblance between the\nancient and the modern ritual would be still closer if some eminent modern\nscholars, who wrote before the discovery of the Thracian Carnival, and\nwhose judgment was therefore not biassed by its analogy to the Athenian\nfestival, are right in holding that another important feature of the\nAnthesteria was the dramatic death and resurrection of Dionysus.(126) They\npoint out that at the marriage of Dionysus fourteen Sacred Women\nofficiated at fourteen altars;(127) that the number of the Titans, who\ntore Dionysus in pieces, was fourteen, namely seven male and seven\nfemale;(128) and that Osiris, a god who in some respects corresponded\nclosely to Dionysus, is said to have been rent by Typhon into fourteen\nfragments.(129) Hence they conjecture that at Athens the body of Dionysus\nwas dramatically broken into fourteen fragments, one for each of the\nfourteen altars, and that it was afterwards dramatically pieced together\nand restored to life by the fourteen Sacred Women, just as the broken body\nof Osiris was pieced together by a company of gods and goddesses and\nrestored to life by his sister Isis.(130) The conjecture is ingenious and\nplausible, but with our existing sources of information it must remain a\nconjecture and nothing more. Could it be established, it would forge\nanother strong link in the chain of evidence which binds the modern\nThracian Carnival to the ancient Athenian Anthesteria; for in that case\nthe drama of the divine death and resurrection would have to be added to\nthe other features which these two festivals of spring possess in common,\nand we should have to confess that Greece had what we may call its Good\nFriday and its Easter Sunday long before the events took place in Judaea\nwhich diffused these two annual commemorations of the Dying and Reviving\nGod over a great part of the civilised world. From so simple a beginning\nmay flow consequences so far-reaching and impressive; for in the light of\nthe rude Thracian ceremony we may surmise that the high tragedy of the\ndeath and resurrection of Dionysus originated in a rustic mummers\u2019 play\nacted by ploughmen for the purpose of fertilising the brown earth which\nthey turned up with the gleaming share in sunshiny days of spring, as they\nfollowed the slow-paced oxen down the long furrows in the fallow field.\nLater on we shall see that a play of the same sort is still acted, or was\nacted down to recent years, by English yokels on Plough Monday.\n\n(M25) But before we pass from the tragic myth and ritual of Dionysus to\nthe sweeter story and milder worship of Demeter and Persephone, the true\nGreek deities of the corn, it is fair to admit that the legends of human\nsacrifice, which have left so dark a stain on the memory of the old\nThracian god, may have been nothing more than mere misinterpretations of a\nsacrificial ritual in which an animal victim was treated as a human being.\nFor example, at Tenedos the new-born calf sacrificed to Dionysus was shod\nin buskins, and the mother cow was tended like a woman in child-bed.(131)\nAt Rome a she-goat was sacrificed to Vedijovis as if it were a human\nvictim.(132) Yet on the other hand it is equally possible, and perhaps\nmore probable, that these curious rites were themselves mitigations of an\nolder and ruder custom of sacrificing human beings, and that the later\npretence of treating the sacrificial victims as if they were human beings\nwas merely part of a pious and merciful fraud, which palmed off on the\ndeity less precious victims than living men and women. This interpretation\nis supported by the undoubted cases in which animals have been substituted\nfor human victims.(133) On the whole we may conclude that neither the\npolished manners of a later age, nor the glamour which Greek poetry and\nart threw over the figure of Dionysus, sufficed to conceal or erase the\ndeep lines of savagery and cruelty imprinted on the features of this\nbarbarous deity.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II. DEMETER AND PERSEPHONE.\n\n\n(M26) Dionysus was not the only Greek deity whose tragic story and ritual\nappear to reflect the decay and revival of vegetation. In another form and\nwith a different application the old tale reappears in the myth of Demeter\nand Persephone. Substantially their myth is identical with the Syrian one\nof Aphrodite (Astarte) and Adonis, the Phrygian one of Cybele and Attis,\nand the Egyptian one of Isis and Osiris. In the Greek fable, as in its\nAsiatic and Egyptian counterparts, a goddess mourns the loss of a loved\none, who personifies the vegetation, more especially the corn, which dies\nin winter to revive in spring; only whereas the Oriental imagination\nfigured the loved and lost one as a dead lover or a dead husband lamented\nby his leman or his wife, Greek fancy embodied the same idea in the\ntenderer and purer form of a dead daughter bewailed by her sorrowing\nmother.\n\n(M27) The oldest literary document which narrates the myth of Demeter and\nPersephone is the beautiful Homeric _Hymn to Demeter_, which critics\nassign to the seventh century before our era.(134) The object of the poem\nis to explain the origin of the Eleusinian mysteries, and the complete\nsilence of the poet as to Athens and the Athenians, who in after ages took\na conspicuous part in the festival, renders it probable that the hymn was\ncomposed in the far off time when Eleusis was still a petty independent\nstate, and before the stately procession of the Mysteries had begun to\ndefile, in bright September days, over the low chain of barren rocky hills\nwhich divides the flat Eleusinian cornland from the more spacious\nolive-clad expanse of the Athenian plain. Be that as it may, the hymn\nreveals to us the conception which the writer entertained of the character\nand functions of the two goddesses: their natural shapes stand out sharply\nenough under the thin veil of poetical imagery. The youthful Persephone,\nso runs the tale, was gathering roses and lilies, crocuses and violets,\nhyacinths and narcissuses in a lush meadow, when the earth gaped and\nPluto, lord of the Dead, issuing from the abyss carried her off on his\ngolden car to be his bride and queen in the gloomy subterranean world. Her\nsorrowing mother Demeter, with her yellow tresses veiled in a dark\nmourning mantle, sought her over land and sea, and learning from the Sun\nher daughter\u2019s fate she withdrew in high dudgeon from the gods and took up\nher abode at Eleusis, where she presented herself to the king\u2019s daughters\nin the guise of an old woman, sitting sadly under the shadow of an olive\ntree beside the Maiden\u2019s Well, to which the damsels had come to draw water\nin bronze pitchers for their father\u2019s house. In her wrath at her\nbereavement the goddess suffered not the seed to grow in the earth but\nkept it hidden under ground, and she vowed that never would she set foot\non Olympus and never would she let the corn sprout till her lost daughter\nshould be restored to her. Vainly the oxen dragged the ploughs to and fro\nin the fields; vainly the sower dropped the barley seed in the brown\nfurrows; nothing came up from the parched and crumbling soil. Even the\nRarian plain near Eleusis, which was wont to wave with yellow harvests,\nlay bare and fallow.(135) Mankind would have perished of hunger and the\ngods would have been robbed of the sacrifices which were their due, if\nZeus in alarm had not commanded Pluto to disgorge his prey, to restore his\nbride Persephone to her mother Demeter. The grim lord of the Dead smiled\nand obeyed, but before he sent back his queen to the upper air on a golden\ncar, he gave her the seed of a pomegranate to eat, which ensured that she\nwould return to him. But Zeus stipulated that henceforth Persephone should\nspend two thirds of every year with her mother and the gods in the upper\nworld and one third of the year with her husband in the nether world, from\nwhich she was to return year by year when the earth was gay with spring\nflowers. Gladly the daughter then returned to the sunshine, gladly her\nmother received her and fell upon her neck; and in her joy at recovering\nthe lost one Demeter made the corn to sprout from the clods of the\nploughed fields and all the broad earth to be heavy with leaves and\nblossoms. And straightway she went and shewed this happy sight to the\nprinces of Eleusis, to Triptolemus, Eumolpus, Diocles, and to the king\nCeleus himself, and moreover she revealed to them her sacred rites and\nmysteries. Blessed, says the poet, is the mortal man who has seen these\nthings, but he who has had no share of them in life will never be happy in\ndeath when he has descended into the darkness of the grave. So the two\ngoddesses departed to dwell in bliss with the gods on Olympus; and the\nbard ends the hymn with a pious prayer to Demeter and Persephone that they\nwould be pleased to grant him a livelihood in return for his song.(136)\n\n(M28) It has been generally recognised, and indeed it seems scarcely open\nto doubt, that the main theme which the poet set before himself in\ncomposing this hymn was to describe the traditional foundation of the\nEleusinian mysteries by the goddess Demeter. The whole poem leads up to\nthe transformation scene in which the bare leafless expanse of the\nEleusinian plain is suddenly turned, at the will of the goddess, into a\nvast sheet of ruddy corn; the beneficent deity takes the princes of\nEleusis, shews them what she has done, teaches them her mystic rites, and\nvanishes with her daughter to heaven. The revelation of the mysteries is\nthe triumphal close of the piece. This conclusion is confirmed by a more\nminute examination of the poem, which proves that the poet has given, not\nmerely a general account of the foundation of the mysteries, but also in\nmore or less veiled language mythical explanations of the origin of\nparticular rites which we have good reason to believe formed essential\nfeatures of the festival. Amongst the rites as to which the poet thus\ndrops significant hints are the preliminary fast of the candidates for\ninitiation, the torchlight procession, the all-night vigil, the sitting of\nthe candidates, veiled and in silence, on stools covered with sheepskins,\nthe use of scurrilous language, the breaking of ribald jests, and the\nsolemn communion with the divinity by participation in a draught of\nbarley-water from a holy chalice.(137)\n\n(M29) But there is yet another and a deeper secret of the mysteries which\nthe author of the poem appears to have divulged under cover of his\nnarrative. He tells us how, as soon as she had transformed the barren\nbrown expanse of the Eleusinian plain into a field of golden grain, she\ngladdened the eyes of Triptolemus and the other Eleusinian princes by\nshewing them the growing or standing corn. When we compare this part of\nthe story with the statement of a Christian writer of the second century,\nHippolytus, that the very heart of the mysteries consisted in shewing to\nthe initiated a reaped ear of corn,(138) we can hardly doubt that the poet\nof the hymn was well acquainted with this solemn rite, and that he\ndeliberately intended to explain its origin in precisely the same way as\nhe explained other rites of the mysteries, namely by representing Demeter\nas having set the example of performing the ceremony in her own person.\nThus myth and ritual mutually explain and confirm each other. The poet of\nthe seventh century before our era gives us the myth\u2014he could not without\nsacrilege have revealed the ritual: the Christian father reveals the\nritual, and his revelation accords perfectly with the veiled hint of the\nold poet. On the whole, then, we may, with many modern scholars,\nconfidently accept the statement of the learned Christian father Clement\nof Alexandria, that the myth of Demeter and Persephone was acted as a\nsacred drama in the mysteries of Eleusis.(139)\n\n(M30) But if the myth was acted as a part, perhaps as the principal part,\nof the most famous and solemn religious rites of ancient Greece, we have\nstill to enquire, What was, after all, stripped of later accretions, the\noriginal kernel of the myth which appears to later ages surrounded and\ntransfigured by an aureole of awe and mystery, lit up by some of the most\nbrilliant rays of Grecian literature and art? If we follow the indications\ngiven by our oldest literary authority on the subject, the author of the\nHomeric hymn to Demeter, the riddle is not hard to read; the figures of\nthe two goddesses, the mother and the daughter, resolve themselves into\npersonifications of the corn.(140) At least this appears to be fairly\ncertain for the daughter Persephone. The goddess who spends three or,\naccording to another version of the myth, six months of every year with\nthe dead under ground and the remainder of the year with the living above\nground;(141) in whose absence the barley seed is hidden in the earth and\nthe fields lie bare and fallow; on whose return in spring to the upper\nworld the corn shoots up from the clods and the earth is heavy with leaves\nand blossoms\u2014this goddess can surely be nothing else than a mythical\nembodiment of the vegetation, and particularly of the corn, which is\nburied under the soil for some months of every winter and comes to life\nagain, as from the grave, in the sprouting cornstalks and the opening\nflowers and foliage of every spring. No other reasonable and probable\nexplanation of Persephone seems possible.(142) And if the daughter goddess\nwas a personification of the young corn of the present year, may not the\nmother goddess be a personification of the old corn of last year, which\nhas given birth to the new crops? The only alternative to this view of\nDemeter would seem to be to suppose that she is a personification of the\nearth, from whose broad bosom the corn and all other plants spring up, and\nof which accordingly they may appropriately enough be regarded as the\ndaughters. This view of the original nature of Demeter has indeed been\ntaken by some writers, both ancient and modern,(143) and it is one which\ncan be reasonably maintained. But it appears to have been rejected by the\nauthor of the Homeric hymn to Demeter, for he not only distinguishes\nDemeter from the personified Earth but places the two in the sharpest\nopposition to each other. He tells us that it was Earth who, in accordance\nwith the will of Zeus and to please Pluto, lured Persephone to her doom by\ncausing the narcissuses to grow which tempted the young goddess to stray\nfar beyond the reach of help in the lush meadow.(144) Thus Demeter of the\nhymn, far from being identical with the Earth-goddess, must have regarded\nthat divinity as her worst enemy, since it was to her insidious wiles that\nshe owed the loss of her daughter. But if the Demeter of the hymn cannot\nhave been a personification of the earth, the only alternative apparently\nis to conclude that she was a personification of the corn.\n\n(M31) With this conclusion all the indications of the hymn-writer seem to\nharmonise. He certainly represents Demeter as the goddess by whose power\nand at whose pleasure the corn either grows or remains hidden in the\nground; and to what deity can such powers be so fittingly ascribed as to\nthe goddess of the corn? He calls Demeter yellow and tells how her yellow\ntresses flowed down on her shoulders;(145) could any colour be more\nappropriate with which to paint the divinity of the yellow grain? The same\nidentification of Demeter with the ripe, the yellow corn is made even more\nclearly by a still older poet, Homer himself, or at all events the author\nof the fifth book of the _Iliad_. There we read: \u201cAnd even as the wind\ncarries the chaff about the sacred threshing-floors, when men are\nwinnowing, what time yellow Demeter sifts the corn from the chaff on the\nhurrying blast, so that the heaps of chaff grow white below, so were the\nAchaeans whitened above by the cloud of dust which the hoofs of the horses\nspurned to the brazen heaven.\u201d(146) Here the yellow Demeter who sifts the\ngrain from the chaff at the threshing-floor can hardly be any other than\nthe goddess of the yellow corn; she cannot be the Earth-goddess, for what\nhas the Earth-goddess to do with the grain and the chaff blown about a\nthreshing-floor? With this interpretation it agrees that elsewhere Homer\nspeaks of men eating \u201cDemeter\u2019s corn\u201d;(147) and still more definitely\nHesiod speaks of \u201cthe annual store of food, which the earth bears,\nDemeter\u2019s corn,\u201d(148) thus distinguishing the goddess of the corn from the\nearth which bears it. Still more clearly does a later Greek poet personify\nthe corn as Demeter when, in allusion to the time of the corn-reaping, he\nsays that then \u201cthe sturdy swains cleave Demeter limb from limb.\u201d(149) And\njust as the ripe or yellow corn was personified as the Yellow Demeter, so\nthe unripe or green corn was personified as the Green Demeter. In that\ncharacter the goddess had sanctuaries at Athens and other places;\nsacrifices were appropriately offered to Green Demeter in spring when the\nearth was growing green with the fresh vegetation, and the victims\nincluded sows big with young,(150) which no doubt were intended not merely\nto symbolise but magically to promote the abundance of the crops.\n\n(M32) In Greek the various kinds of corn were called by the general name\nof \u201cDemeter\u2019s fruits,\u201d(151) just as in Latin they were called the \u201cfruits\nor gifts of Ceres,\u201d(152) an expression which survives in the English word\ncereals. Tradition ran that before Demeter\u2019s time men neither cultivated\ncorn nor tilled the ground, but roamed the mountains and woods in search\nof the wild fruits which the earth produced spontaneously from her womb\nfor their subsistence. The tradition clearly implies not only that Demeter\nwas the goddess of the corn, but that she was different from and younger\nthan the goddess of the Earth, since it is expressly affirmed that before\nDemeter\u2019s time the earth existed and supplied mankind with nourishment in\nthe shape of wild herbs, grasses, flowers and fruits.(153)\n\n(M33) In ancient art Demeter and Persephone are characterised as goddesses\nof the corn by the crowns of corn which they wear on their heads and by\nthe stalks of corn which they hold in their hands.(154) Theocritus\ndescribes a smiling image of Demeter standing by a heap of yellow grain on\na threshing-floor and grasping sheaves of barley and poppies in both her\nhands.(155) Indeed corn and poppies singly or together were a frequent\nsymbol of the goddess, as we learn not only from the testimony of ancient\nwriters(156) but from many existing monuments of classical art.(157) The\nnaturalness of the symbol can be doubted by no one who has seen\u2014and who\nhas not seen?\u2014a field of yellow corn bespangled thick with scarlet\npoppies; and we need not resort to the shifts of an ancient mythologist,\nwho explained the symbolism of the poppy in Demeter\u2019s hand by comparing\nthe globular shape of the poppy to the roundness of our globe, the\nunevenness of its edges to hills and valleys, and the hollow interior of\nthe scarlet flower to the caves and dens of the earth.(158) If only\nstudents would study the little black and white books of men less and the\ngreat rainbow-tinted book of nature more; if they would more frequently\nexchange the heavy air and the dim light of libraries for the freshness\nand the sunshine of the open sky; if they would oftener unbend their minds\nby rural walks between fields of waving corn, beside rivers rippling by\nunder grey willows, or down green lanes, where the hedges are white with\nthe hawthorn bloom or red with wild roses, they might sometimes learn more\nabout primitive religion than can be gathered from many dusty volumes, in\nwhich wire-drawn theories are set forth with all the tedious parade of\nlearning.\n\n(M34) Nowhere, perhaps, in the monuments of Greek art is the character of\nPersephone as a personification of the young corn sprouting in spring\nportrayed more gracefully and more truly than on a coin of Lampsacus of\nthe fourth century before our era. On it we see the goddess in the very\nact of rising from the earth. \u201cHer face is upraised; in her hand are three\nears of corn, and others together with grapes are springing behind her\nshoulder. Complete is here the identification of the goddess and her\nattribute: she is embowered amid the ears of growing corn, and like it\nhalf buried in the ground. She does not make the corn and vine grow, but\nshe _is_ the corn and vine growing, and returning again to the face of the\nearth after lying hidden in its depths. Certainly the artist who designed\nthis beautiful figure thoroughly understood Hellenic religion.\u201d(159)\n\n(M35) As the goddess who first bestowed corn on mankind and taught them to\nsow and cultivate it,(160) Demeter was naturally invoked and propitiated\nby farmers before they undertook the various operations of the\nagricultural year. In autumn, when he heard the sonorous trumpeting of the\ncranes, as they winged their way southward in vast flocks high overhead,\nthe Greek husbandman knew that the rains were near and that the time of\nploughing was at hand; but before he put his hand to the plough he prayed\nto Underground Zeus and to Holy Demeter for a heavy crop of Demeter\u2019s\nsacred corn. Then he guided the ox-drawn plough down the field, turning up\nthe brown earth with the share, while a swain followed close behind with a\nhoe, who covered up the seed as fast as it fell to protect it from the\nvoracious birds that fluttered and twittered at the plough-tail.(161) But\nwhile the ordinary Greek farmer took the signal for ploughing from the\nclangour of the cranes, Hesiod and other writers who aimed at greater\nexactness laid it down as a rule that the ploughing should begin with the\nautumnal setting of the Pleiades in the morning, which in Hesiod\u2019s time\nfell on the twenty-sixth of October.(162) The month in which the Pleiades\nset in the morning was generally recognised by the Greeks as the month of\nsowing; it corresponded apparently in part to our October, in part to our\nNovember. The Athenians called it Pyanepsion; the Boeotians named it\nsignificantly Damatrius, that is, Demeter\u2019s month, and they celebrated a\nfeast of mourning because, says Plutarch, who as a Boeotian speaks with\nauthority on such a matter, Demeter was then in mourning for the descent\nof Persephone.(163) Is it possible to express more clearly the true\noriginal nature of Persephone as the corn-seed which has just been buried\nin the earth? The obvious, the almost inevitable conclusion did not escape\nPlutarch. He tells us that the mournful rites which were held at the time\nof the autumn sowing nominally commemorated the actions of deities, but\nthat the real sadness was for the fruits of the earth, some of which at\nthat season dropped of themselves and vanished from the trees, while\nothers in the shape of seed were committed with anxious thoughts to the\nground by men, who scraped the earth and then huddled it up over the seed,\njust as if they were burying and mourning for the dead.(164) Surely this\ninterpretation of the custom and of the myth of Persephone is not only\nbeautiful but true.\n\n(M36) And just as the Greek husbandman prayed to the Corn Goddess when he\ncommitted the seed, with anxious forebodings, to the furrows, so after he\nhad reaped the harvest and brought back the yellow sheaves with rejoicing\nto the threshing-floor, he paid the bountiful goddess her dues in the form\nof a thank-offering of golden grain. Theocritus has painted for us in\nglowing colours a picture of a rustic harvest-home, as it fell on a bright\nautumn day some two thousand years ago in the little Greek island of\nCos.(165) The poet tells us how he went with two friends from the city to\nattend a festival given by farmers, who were offering first-fruits to\nDemeter from the store of barley with which she had filled their barns.\nThe day was warm, indeed so hot that the very lizards, which love to bask\nand run about in the sun, were slumbering in the crevices of the\nstone-walls, and not a lark soared carolling into the blue vault of\nheaven. Yet despite the great heat there were everywhere signs of autumn.\n\u201cAll things,\u201d says the poet, \u201csmelt of summer, but smelt of autumn too.\u201d\nIndeed the day was really autumnal; for a goat-herd who met the friends on\ntheir way to the rural merry-making, asked them whether they were bound\nfor the treading of the grapes in the wine-presses. And when they had\nreached their destination and reclined at ease in the dappled shade of\nover-arching poplars and elms, with the babble of a neighbouring fountain,\nthe buzz of the cicadas, the hum of bees, and the cooing of doves in their\nears, the ripe apples and pears rolled in the grass at their feet and the\nbranches of the wild-plum trees were bowed down to the earth with the\nweight of their purple fruit. So couched on soft beds of fragrant lentisk\nthey passed the sultry hours singing ditties alternately, while a rustic\nimage of Demeter, to whom the honours of the day were paid, stood smiling\nbeside a heap of yellow grain on the threshing-floor, with corn-stalks and\npoppies in her hands.\n\n(M37) In this description the time of year when the harvest-home was\ncelebrated is clearly marked. Apart from the mention of the ripe apples,\npears, and plums, the reference to the treading of the grapes is decisive.\nThe Greeks gather and press the grapes in the first half of October,(166)\nand accordingly it is to this date that the harvest-festival described by\nTheocritus must be assigned. At the present day in Greece the\nmaize-harvest immediately precedes the vintage, the grain being reaped and\ngarnered at the end of September. Travelling in rural districts of Argolis\nand Arcadia at that time of the year you pass from time to time piles of\nthe orange-coloured cobs laid up ready to be shelled, or again heaps of\nthe yellow grain beside the pods. But maize was unknown to the ancient\nGreeks, who, like their modern descendants, reaped their wheat and barley\ncrops much earlier in the summer, usually from the end of April till\nJune.(167) However, we may conclude that the day immortalised by\nTheocritus was one of those autumn days of great heat and effulgent beauty\nwhich in Greece may occur at any time up to the very verge of winter. I\nremember such a day at Panopeus on the borders of Phocis and Boeotia. It\nwas the first of November, yet the sun shone in cloudless splendour and\nthe heat was so great, that when I had examined the magnificent remains of\nancient Greek fortification-walls which crown the summit of the hill, it\nwas delicious to repose on a grassy slope in the shade of some fine\nholly-oaks and to inhale the sweet scent of the wild thyme, which perfumed\nall the air. But it was summer\u2019s farewell. Next morning the weather had\ncompletely changed. A grey November sky lowered sadly overhead, and grey\nmists hung like winding-sheets on the lower slopes of the barren mountains\nwhich shut in the fatal plain of Chaeronea.\n\n(M38) Thus we may infer that in the rural districts of ancient Greece\nfarmers offered their first-fruits of the barley harvest to Demeter in\nautumn about the time when the grapes were being trodden in the\nwine-presses and the ripe apples and pears littered the ground in the\norchards. At first sight the lateness of the festival in the year is\nsurprising; for in the lowlands of Greece at the present day barley is\nreaped at the end of April and wheat in May,(168) and in antiquity the\ntime of harvest would seem not to have been very different, for Hesiod\nbids the husbandman put the sickle to the corn at the morning rising of\nthe Pleiades,(169) which in his time took place on the eleventh of\nMay.(170) But if the harvest was reaped in spring or early summer, why\ndefer the offerings of corn to the Corn Goddess until the middle of\nautumn? The reason for the delay is not, so far as I am aware, explained\nby any ancient author, and accordingly it must remain for us a matter of\nconjecture. I surmise that the reason may have been a calculation on the\npart of the practical farmer that the best time to propitiate the Corn\nGoddess was not after harvest, when he had got all that was to be got out\nof her, but immediately before ploughing and sowing, when he had\neverything to hope from her good-will and everything to fear from her\ndispleasure. When he had reaped his corn, and the sheaves had been safely\ngarnered in his barns, he might, so to say, snap his fingers at the Corn\nGoddess. What could she do for him on the bare stubble-field which lay\nscorched and baking under the fierce rays of the sun all the long rainless\nsummer through? But matters wore a very different aspect when, with the\nshortening and cooling of the days, he began to scan the sky for\nclouds(171) and to listen for the cries of the cranes as they flew\nsouthward, heralding by their trumpet-like notes the approach of the\nautumnal rains. Then he knew that the time had come to break up the ground\nthat it might receive the seed and be fertilised by the refreshing water\nof heaven; then he bethought him of the Corn Goddess once more and brought\nforth from the grange a share of the harvested corn with which to woo her\nfavour and induce her to quicken the grain which he was about to commit to\nthe earth. On this theory the Greek offering of first-fruits was prompted\nnot so much by gratitude for past favours as by a shrewd eye to favours to\ncome, and perhaps this interpretation of the custom does no serious\ninjustice to the cool phlegmatic temper of the bucolic mind, which is more\napt to be moved by considerations of profit than by sentiment. At all\nevents the reasons suggested for delaying the harvest-festival accord\nperfectly with the natural conditions and seasons of farming in Greece.\nFor in that country the summer is practically rainless, and during the\nlong months of heat and drought the cultivation of the two ancient\ncereals, barley and wheat, is at a standstill. The first rains of autumn\nfall about the middle of October,(172) and that was the Greek farmer\u2019s\ngreat time for ploughing and sowing.(173) Hence we should expect him to\nmake his offering of first-fruits to the Corn Goddess shortly before he\nploughed and sowed, and this expectation is entirely confirmed by the date\nwhich we have inferred for the offering from the evidence of Theocritus.\nThus the sacrifice of barley to Demeter in the autumn would seem to have\nbeen not so much a thank-offering as a bribe judiciously administered to\nher at the very moment of all the year when her services were most\nurgently wanted.\n\n(M39) When with the progress of civilisation a number of petty\nagricultural communities have merged into a single state dependent for its\nsubsistence mainly on the cultivation of the ground, it commonly happens\nthat, though every farmer continues to perform for himself the simple old\nrites designed to ensure the blessing of the gods on his crops, the\ngovernment undertakes to celebrate similar, though more stately and\nelaborate, rites on behalf of the whole people, lest the neglect of public\nworship should draw down on the country the wrath of the offended deities.\nHence it comes about that, for all their pomp and splendour, the national\nfestivals of such states are often merely magnified and embellished copies\nof homely rites and uncouth observances carried out by rustics in the open\nfields, in barns, and on threshing-floors. In ancient Egypt the religion\nof Isis and Osiris furnishes examples of solemnities which have been thus\nraised from the humble rank of rural festivities to the dignity of\nnational celebrations;(174) and in ancient Greece a like development may\nbe traced in the religion of Demeter. If the Greek ploughman prayed to\nDemeter and Underground Zeus for a good crop before he put his hand to the\nplough in autumn, the authorities of the Athenian state celebrated about\nthe same time and for the same purpose a public festival in honour of\nDemeter at Eleusis. It was called the Proerosia, which signifies \u201cBefore\nthe Ploughing\u201d; and as the festival was dedicated to her, Demeter herself\nbore the name of Proerosia. Tradition ran that once on a time the whole\nworld was desolated by a famine, and that to remedy the evil the Pythian\noracle bade the Athenians offer the sacrifice of the Proerosia on behalf\nof all men. They did so, and the famine ceased accordingly. Hence to\ntestify their gratitude for the deliverance people sent the first-fruits\nof their harvest from all quarters to Athens.(175)\n\n(M40) But the exact date at which the Proerosia or Festival before\nPloughing took place is somewhat uncertain, and enquirers are divided in\nopinion as to whether it fell before or after the Great Mysteries, which\nbegan on the fifteenth or sixteenth of Boedromion, a month corresponding\nroughly to our September. Another name for the festival was Proarcturia,\nthat is, \u201cBefore Arcturus,\u201d(176) which points to a date either before the\nmiddle of September, when Arcturus is a morning star, or before the end of\nOctober, when Arcturus is an evening star.(177) In favour of the earlier\ndate it may be said, first, that the morning phase of Arcturus was well\nknown and much observed, because it marked the middle of autumn, whereas\nlittle use was made of the evening phase of Arcturus for the purpose of\ndating;(178) and, second, that in an official Athenian inscription the\nFestival before Ploughing (_Proerosia_) is mentioned immediately before\nthe Great Mysteries.(179) On the other hand, in favour of the later date,\nit may be said that as the autumnal rains in Greece set in about the\nmiddle of October, the latter part of that month would be a more suitable\ntime for a ceremony at the opening of ploughing than the middle of\nSeptember, when the soil is still parched with the summer drought; and,\nsecond, that this date is confirmed by a Greek inscription of the fourth\nor third century B.C., found at Eleusis, in which the Festival before\nPloughing is apparently mentioned in the month of Pyanepsion immediately\nbefore the festival of the Pyanepsia, which was held on the seventh day of\nthat month.(180) It is difficult to decide between these conflicting\narguments, but on the whole I incline, not without hesitation, to agree\nwith some eminent modern authorities in placing the Festival before\nPloughing in Pyanepsion (October) after the Mysteries, rather than in\nBoedromion (September) before the Mysteries.(181) However, we must bear in\nmind that as the Attic months, like the Greek months generally, were\nlunar,(182) their position in the solar year necessarily varied from year\nto year, and though these variations were periodically corrected by\nintercalation, nevertheless the beginning of each Attic month sometimes\ndiverged by several weeks from the beginning of the corresponding month to\nwhich we equate it.(183) From this it follows that the Great Mysteries,\nwhich were always dated by the calendar month, must have annually shifted\ntheir place somewhat in the solar year; whereas the Festival before\nPloughing, if it was indeed dated either by the morning or by the evening\nphase of Arcturus, must have occupied a fixed place in the solar year.\nHence it appears to be not impossible that the Great Mysteries,\noscillating to and fro with the inconstant moon, may sometimes have fallen\nbefore and sometimes after the Festival before Ploughing, which apparently\nalways remained true to the constant star. At least this possibility,\nwhich seems to have been overlooked by previous enquirers, deserves to be\ntaken into account. It is a corollary from the shifting dates of the lunar\nmonths that the official Greek calendar, in spite of its appearance of\nexactness, really furnished the ancient farmer with little trustworthy\nguidance as to the proper seasons for conducting the various operations of\nagriculture; and he was well advised in trusting to various natural\ntimekeepers, such as the rising and setting of the constellations, the\narrival and departure of the migratory birds, the flowering of certain\nplants,(184) the ripening of fruits, and the setting in of the rains,\nrather than to the fallacious indications of the public calendar. It is by\nnatural timekeepers, and not by calendar months, that Hesiod determines\nthe seasons of the farmer\u2019s year in the poem which is the oldest existing\ntreatise on husbandry.(185)\n\n(M41) Just as the ploughman\u2019s prayer to Demeter, before he drove the share\nthrough the clods of the field, was taken up and reverberated, so to say,\nwith a great volume of sound in the public prayers which the Athenian\nstate annually offered to the goddess before the ploughing on behalf of\nthe whole world, so the simple first-fruits of barley, presented to the\nrustic Demeter under the dappled shade of rustling poplars and elms on the\nthreshing-floor in Cos, were repeated year by year on a grander scale in\nthe first-fruits of the barley and wheat harvest, which were presented to\nthe Corn Mother and the Corn Maiden at Eleusis, not merely by every\nhusbandman in Attica, but by all the allies and subjects of Athens far and\nnear, and even by many free Greek communities beyond the sea. The reason\nwhy year by year these offerings of grain poured from far countries into\nthe public granaries at Eleusis, was the widespread belief that the gift\nof corn had been first bestowed by Demeter on the Athenians and afterwards\ndisseminated by them among all mankind through the agency of Triptolemus,\nwho travelled over the world in his dragon-drawn car teaching all peoples\nto plough the earth and to sow the seed.(186) In the fifth century before\nour era the legend was celebrated by Sophocles in a play called\n_Triptolemus_, in which he represented Demeter instructing the hero to\ncarry the seed of the fruits which she had bestowed on men to all the\ncoasts of Southern Italy,(187) from which we may infer that the cities of\nMagna Graecia were among the number of those that sent the thank-offering\nof barley and wheat every year to Athens. Again, in the fourth century\nbefore our era Xenophon represents Callias, the braggart Eleusinian\nTorchbearer, addressing the Lacedaemonians in a set speech, in which he\ndeclared that \u201cOur ancestor Triptolemus is said to have bestowed the seed\nof Demeter\u2019s corn on the Peloponese before any other land. How then,\u201d he\nasked with pathetic earnestness, \u201ccan it be right that you should come to\nravage the corn of the men from whom you received the seed?\u201d(188) Again,\nwriting in the fourth century before our era Isocrates relates with a\nswell of patriotic pride how, in her search for her lost daughter\nPersephone, the goddess Demeter came to Attica and gave to the ancestors\nof the Athenians the two greatest of all gifts, the gift of the corn and\nthe gift of the mysteries, of which the one reclaimed men from the life of\nbeasts and the other held out hopes to them of a blissful eternity beyond\nthe grave. The antiquity of the tradition, the orator proceeds to say, was\nno reason for rejecting it, but quite the contrary it furnished a strong\nargument in its favour, for what many affirmed and all had heard might be\naccepted as trustworthy. \u201cAnd moreover,\u201d he adds, \u201cwe are not driven to\nrest our case merely on the venerable age of the tradition; we can appeal\nto stronger evidence in its support. For most of the cities send us every\nyear the first-fruits of the corn as a memorial of that ancient benefit,\nand when any of them have failed to do so the Pythian priestess has\ncommanded them to send the due portions of the fruits and to act towards\nour city according to ancestral custom. Can anything be supported by\nstronger evidence than by the oracle of god, the assent of many Greeks,\nand the harmony of ancient legend with the deeds of to-day?\u201d(189)\n\n(M42) This testimony of Isocrates to the antiquity both of the legend and\nof the custom might perhaps have been set aside, or at least disparaged,\nas the empty bombast of a wordy rhetorician, if it had not happened by\ngood chance to be amply confirmed by an official decree of the Athenian\npeople passed in the century before Isocrates wrote. The decree was found\ninscribed on a stone at Eleusis and is dated by scholars in the latter\nhalf of the fifth century before our era, sometime between 446 and 420\nB.C.(190) It deals with the first-fruits of barley and wheat which were\noffered to the Two Goddesses, that is, to Demeter and Persephone, not only\nby the Athenians and their allies but by the Greeks in general. It\nprescribes the exact amount of barley and wheat which was to be offered by\nthe Athenians and their allies, and it directs the highest officials at\nEleusis, namely the Hierophant and the Torchbearer, to exhort the other\nGreeks at the mysteries to offer likewise of the first-fruits of the corn.\nThe authority alleged in the decree for requiring or inviting offerings of\nfirst-fruits alike from Athenians and from foreigners is ancestral custom\nand the bidding of the Delphic oracle. The Senate is further enjoined to\nsend commissioners, so far as it could be done, to all Greek cities\nwhatsoever, exhorting, though not commanding, them to send the\nfirst-fruits in compliance with ancestral custom and the bidding of the\nDelphic oracle, and the state officials are directed to receive the\nofferings from such states in the same manner as the offerings of the\nAthenians and their allies. Instructions are also given for the building\nof three subterranean granaries at Eleusis, where the contributions of\ngrain from Attica were to be stored. The best of the corn was to be\noffered in sacrifice as the Eumolpids might direct: oxen were to be bought\nand sacrificed, with gilt horns, not only to the two Goddesses but also to\nthe God (Pluto), Triptolemus, Eubulus, and Athena; and the remainder of\nthe grain was to be sold and with the produce votive offerings were to be\ndedicated with inscriptions setting forth that they had been dedicated\nfrom the offerings of first-fruits, and recording the names of all the\nGreeks who sent the offerings to Eleusis. The decree ends with a prayer\nthat all who comply with these injunctions or exhortations and render\ntheir dues to the city of Athens and to the Two Goddesses, may enjoy\nprosperity together with good and abundant crops. Writing in the second\ncentury of our era, under the Roman empire, the rhetorician Aristides\nrecords the custom which the Greeks observed of sending year by year the\nfirst-fruits of the harvest to Athens in gratitude for the corn, but he\nspeaks of the practice as a thing of the past.(191)\n\n(M43) We may suspect that the tribute of corn ceased to flow from far\ncountries to Athens, when, with her falling fortunes and decaying empire,\nher proud galleys had ceased to carry the terror of the Athenian arms into\ndistant seas. But if the homage was no longer paid in the substantial\nshape of cargoes of grain, it continued down to the latest days of\npaganism to be paid in the cheaper form of gratitude for that inestimable\nbenefit, which the Athenians claimed to have received from the Corn\nGoddess and to have liberally communicated to the rest of mankind. Even\nthe Sicilians, who, inhabiting a fertile corn-growing island, worshipped\nDemeter and Persephone above all the gods and claimed to have been the\nfirst to receive the gift of the corn from the Corn Goddess,(192)\nnevertheless freely acknowledged that the Athenians had spread, though\nthey had not originated, the useful discovery among the nations. Thus the\npatriotic Sicilian historian Diodorus, while giving the precedence to his\nfellow-countrymen, strives to be just to the Athenian pretensions in the\nfollowing passage.(193) \u201cMythologists,\u201d says he, \u201crelate that Demeter,\nunable to find her daughter, lit torches at the craters of Etna(194) and\nroamed over many parts of the world. Those people who received her best\nshe rewarded by giving them in return the fruit of the wheat; and because\nthe Athenians welcomed her most kindly of all, she bestowed the fruit of\nthe wheat on them next after the Sicilians. Wherefore that people honoured\nthe goddess more than any other folk by magnificent sacrifices and the\nmysteries at Eleusis, which for their extreme antiquity and sanctity have\nbecome famous among all men. From the Athenians many others received the\nboon of the corn and shared the seed with their neighbours, till they\nfilled the whole inhabited earth with it. But as the people of Sicily, on\naccount of the intimate relation in which they stood to Demeter and the\nMaiden, were the first to participate in the newly discovered corn, they\nappointed sacrifices and popular festivities in honour of each of the two\ngoddesses, naming the celebrations after them and signifying the nature of\nthe boons they had received by the dates of the festivals. For they\ncelebrated the bringing home of the Maiden at the time when the corn was\nripe, performing the sacrifice and holding the festivity with all the\nsolemnity and zeal that might be reasonably expected of men who desired to\ntestify their gratitude for so signal a gift bestowed on them before all\nthe rest of mankind. But the sacrifice to Demeter they assigned to the\ntime when the sowing of the corn begins; and for ten days they hold a\npopular festivity which bears the name of the goddess, and is remarkable\nas well for the magnificence of its pomp as for the costumes then worn in\nimitation of the olden time. During these days it is customary for people\nto rail at each other in foul language, because when Demeter was mourning\nfor the rape of the Maiden she laughed at a ribald jest.\u201d(195) Thus\ndespite his natural prepossession in favour of his native land, Diodorus\nbears testimony both to the special blessing bestowed on the Athenians by\nthe Corn Goddess, and to the generosity with which they had imparted the\nblessing to others, until it gradually spread to the ends of the earth.\nAgain, Cicero, addressing a Roman audience, enumerates among the benefits\nwhich Athens was believed to have conferred on the world, the gift of the\ncorn and its origin in Attic soil; and the cursory manner in which he\nalludes to it seems to prove that the tradition was familiar to his\nhearers.(196) Four centuries later the rhetorician Himerius speaks of\nDemeter\u2019s gift of the corn and the mysteries to the Athenians as the\nsource of the first and greatest service rendered by their city to\nmankind;(197) so ancient, widespread, and persistent was the legend which\nascribed the origin of the corn to the goddess Demeter and associated it\nwith the institution of the Eleusinian mysteries. No wonder that the\nDelphic oracle called Athens \u201cthe Metropolis of the Corn.\u201d(198)\n\n(M44) From the passage of Diodorus which I have quoted we learn that the\nSicilians celebrated the festival of Demeter at the beginning of sowing,\nand the festival of Persephone at harvest. This proves that they\nassociated, if they did not identify, the Mother Goddess with the\nseed-corn and the Daughter Goddess with the ripe ears. Could any\nassociation or identification be more easy and obvious to people who\npersonified the processes of nature under the form of anthropomorphic\ndeities? As the seed brings forth the ripe ear, so the Corn Mother Demeter\ngave birth to the Corn Daughter Persephone. It is true that difficulties\narise when we attempt to analyse this seemingly simple conception. How,\nfor example, are we to divide exactly the two persons of the divinity? At\nwhat precise moment does the seed cease to be the Corn Mother and begins\nto burgeon out into the Corn Daughter? And how far can we identify the\nmaterial substance of the barley and wheat with the divine bodies of the\nTwo Goddesses? Questions of this sort probably gave little concern to the\nsturdy swains who ploughed, sowed, and reaped the fat fields of Sicily. We\ncannot imagine that their night\u2019s rest was disturbed by uneasy meditations\non these knotty problems. It would hardly be strange if the muzzy mind of\nthe Sicilian bumpkin, who looked with blind devotion to the Two Goddesses\nfor his daily bread, totally failed to distinguish Demeter from the seed\nand Persephone from the ripe sheaves, and if he accepted implicitly the\ndoctrine of the real presence of the divinities in the corn without\ndiscriminating too curiously between the material and the spiritual\nproperties of the barley or the wheat. And if he had been closely\nquestioned by a rigid logician as to the exact distinction to be drawn\nbetween the two persons of the godhead who together represented for him\nthe annual vicissitudes of the cereals, Hodge might have scratched his\nhead and confessed that it puzzled him to say where precisely the one\ngoddess ended and the other began, or why the seed buried in the ground\nshould figure at one time as the dead daughter Persephone descending into\nthe nether world, and at another as the living Mother Demeter about to\ngive birth to next year\u2019s crop. Theological subtleties like these have\nposed longer heads than are commonly to be found on bucolic shoulders.\n\n(M45) The time of year at which the first-fruits were offered to Demeter\nand Persephone at Eleusis is not explicitly mentioned by ancient\nauthorities, and accordingly no inference can be drawn from the date of\nthe offering as to its religious significance. It is true that at the\nEleusinian mysteries the Hierophant and Torchbearer publicly exhorted the\nGreeks in general, as distinguished from the Athenians and their allies,\nto offer the first-fruits in accordance with ancestral custom and the\nbidding of the Delphic oracle.(199) But there is nothing to shew that the\nofferings were made immediately after the exhortation. Nor does any\nancient authority support the view of a modern scholar that the offering\nof the first-fruits, or a portion of them, took place at the Festival\nbefore Ploughing (_Proerosia_),(200) though that festival would no doubt\nbe an eminently appropriate occasion for propitiating with such offerings\nthe goddess on whose bounty the next year\u2019s crop was believed to depend.\n\n(M46) On the other hand, we are positively told that the first-fruits were\ncarried to Eleusis to be used at the Festival of the Threshing-floor\n(_Haloa_).(201) But the statement, cursorily reported by writers of no\nvery high authority, cannot be implicitly relied upon; and even if it\ncould, we should hardly be justified in inferring from it that all the\nfirst-fruits of the corn were offered to Demeter and Persephone at this\nfestival. Be that as it may, the Festival of the Threshing-floor was\nintimately connected with the worship both of Demeter and of Dionysus, and\naccordingly it deserves our attention. It is said to have been sacred to\nboth these deities;(202) and while the name seems to connect it rather\nwith the Corn Goddess than with the Wine God, we are yet informed that it\nwas held by the Athenians on the occasion of the pruning of the vines and\nthe tasting of the stored-up wine.(203) The festival is frequently\nmentioned in Eleusinian inscriptions, from some of which we gather that it\nincluded sacrifices to the two goddesses and a so-called Ancestral\nContest, as to the nature of which we have no information.(204) We may\nsuppose that the festival or some part of it was celebrated on the Sacred\nThreshing-floor of Triptolemus at Eleusis;(205) for as Triptolemus was the\nhero who is said to have diffused the knowledge of the corn all over the\nworld, nothing could be more natural than that the Festival of the\nThreshing-floor should be held on the sacred threshing-floor which bore\nhis name. As for Demeter, we have already seen how intimate was her\nassociation with the threshing-floor and the operation of threshing;\naccording to Homer, she is the yellow goddess who parts the yellow grain\nfrom the white chaff at the threshing, and in Cos her image with the\ncorn-stalks and the poppies in her hands stood on the\nthreshing-floor.(206) The festival lasted one day, and no victims might be\nsacrificed at it;(207) but special use was made, as we have seen, of the\nfirst-fruits of the corn. With regard to the dating of the festival we are\ninformed that it fell in the month Poseideon, which corresponds roughly to\nour December, and as the date rests on the high authority of the ancient\nAthenian antiquary Philochorus,(208) and is, moreover, indirectly\nconfirmed by inscriptional evidence,(209) we are bound to accept it. But\nit is certainly surprising to find a Festival of the Threshing-floor held\nso late in the year, long after the threshing, which in Greece usually\ntakes place not later than midsummer, though on high ground in Crete it is\nsometimes prolonged till near the end of August.(210) We seem bound to\nconclude that the Festival of the Threshing-floor was quite distinct from\nthe actual threshing of the corn.(211) It is said to have included certain\nmystic rites performed by women alone, who feasted and quaffed wine, while\nthey broke filthy jests on each other and exhibited cakes baked in the\nform of the male and female organs of generation.(212) If the latter\nparticulars are correctly reported we may suppose that these indecencies,\nlike certain obscenities which seem to have formed part of the Great\nMysteries at Eleusis,(213) were no mere wanton outbursts of licentious\npassion, but were deliberately practised as rites calculated to promote\nthe fertility of the ground by means of homoeopathic or imitative magic. A\nlike association of what we might call indecency with rites intended to\npromote the growth of the crops meets us in the Thesmophoria, a festival\nof Demeter celebrated by women alone, at which the character of the\ngoddess as a source of fertility comes out clearly in the custom of mixing\nthe remains of the sacrificial pigs with the seed-corn in order to obtain\na plentiful crop. We shall return to this festival later on.(214)\n\n(M47) Other festivals held at Eleusis in honour of Demeter and Persephone\nwere known as the Green Festival and the Festival of the Cornstalks.(215)\nOf the manner of their celebration we know nothing except that they\ncomprised sacrifices, which were offered to Demeter and Persephone. But\ntheir names suffice to connect the two festivals with the green and the\nstanding corn. We have seen that Demeter herself bore the title of Green,\nand that sacrifices were offered to her under that title which plainly\naimed at promoting fertility.(216) Among the many epithets applied to\nDemeter which mark her relation to the corn may further be mentioned\n\u201cWheat-lover,\u201d(217) \u201cShe of the Corn,\u201d(218) \u201cSheaf-bearer,\u201d(219) \u201cShe of\nthe Threshing-floor,\u201d(220) \u201cShe of the Winnowing-fan,\u201d(221) \u201cNurse of the\nCorn-ears,\u201d(222) \u201cCrowned with Ears of Corn,\u201d(223) \u201cShe of the Seed,\u201d(224)\n\u201cShe of the Green Fruits,\u201d(225) \u201cHeavy with Summer Fruits,\u201d(226)\n\u201cFruit-bearer,\u201d(227) \u201cShe of the Great Loaf,\u201d and \u201cShe of the Great Barley\nLoaf.\u201d(228) Of these epithets it may be remarked that though all of them\nare quite appropriate to a Corn Goddess, some of them would scarcely be\napplicable to an Earth Goddess and therefore they add weight to the other\narguments which turn the scale in favour of the corn as the fundamental\nattribute of Demeter.\n\n(M48) How deeply implanted in the mind of the ancient Greeks was this\nfaith in Demeter as goddess of the corn may be judged by the circumstance\nthat the faith actually persisted among their Christian descendants at her\nold sanctuary of Eleusis down to the beginning of the nineteenth century.\nFor when the English traveller Dodwell revisited Eleusis, the inhabitants\nlamented to him the loss of a colossal image of Demeter, which was carried\noff by Clarke in 1802 and presented to the University of Cambridge, where\nit still remains. \u201cIn my first journey to Greece,\u201d says Dodwell, \u201cthis\nprotecting deity was in its full glory, situated in the centre of a\nthreshing-floor, amongst the ruins of her temple. The villagers were\nimpressed with a persuasion that their rich harvests were the effect of\nher bounty, and since her removal, their abundance, as they assured me,\nhas disappeared.\u201d(229) Thus we see the Corn Goddess Demeter standing on\nthe threshing-floor of Eleusis and dispensing corn to her worshippers in\nthe nineteenth century of the Christian era, precisely as her image stood\nand dispensed corn to her worshippers on the threshing-floor of Cos in the\ndays of Theocritus. And just as the people of Eleusis last century\nattributed the diminution of their harvests to the loss of the image of\nDemeter, so in antiquity the Sicilians, a corn-growing people devoted to\nthe worship of the two Corn Goddesses, lamented that the crops of many\ntowns had perished because the unscrupulous Roman governor Verres had\nimpiously carried off the image of Demeter from her famous temple at\nHenna.(230) Could we ask for a clearer proof that Demeter was indeed the\ngoddess of the corn than this belief, held by the Greeks down to modern\ntimes, that the corn-crops depended on her presence and bounty and\nperished when her image was removed?\n\n(M49) In a former part of this work I followed an eminent French scholar\nin concluding, from various indications, that part of the religious drama\nperformed in the mysteries of Eleusis may have been a marriage between the\nsky-god Zeus and the corn-goddess Demeter, represented by the hierophant\nand the priestess of the goddess respectively.(231) The conclusion is\narrived at by combining a number of passages, all more or less vague and\nindefinite, of late Christian writers; hence it must remain to some extent\nuncertain and cannot at the best lay claim to more than a fair degree of\nprobability. It may be, as Professor W. Ridgeway holds, that this dramatic\nmarriage of the god and goddess was an innovation foisted into the\nEleusinian Mysteries in that great welter of religions which followed the\nmeeting of the East and the West in the later ages of antiquity.(232) If a\nmarriage of Zeus and Demeter did indeed form an important feature of the\nMysteries in the fifth century before our era, it is certainly remarkable,\nas Professor Ridgeway has justly pointed out, that no mention of Zeus\noccurs in the public decree of that century which regulates the offerings\nof first-fruits and the sacrifices to be made to the gods and goddesses of\nEleusis.(233) At the same time we must bear in mind that, if the evidence\nfor the ritual marriage of Zeus and Demeter is late and doubtful, the\nevidence for the myth is ancient and indubitable. The story was known to\nHomer, for in the list of beauties to whom he makes Zeus, in a burst of\ncandour, confess that he had lost his too susceptible heart, there occurs\nthe name of \u201cthe fair-haired Queen Demeter\u201d;(234) and in another passage\nthe poet represents the jealous god smiting with a thunderbolt the\nfavoured lover with whom the goddess had forgotten her dignity among the\nfurrows of a fallow field.(235) Moreover, according to one tradition,\nDionysus himself was the offspring of the intrigue between Zeus and\nDemeter.(236) Thus there is no intrinsic improbability in the view that\none or other of these unedifying incidents in the backstairs chronicle of\nOlympus should have formed part of the sacred peep-show in the Eleusinian\nMysteries. But it seems just possible that the marriage to which the\nChristian writers allude with malicious joy may after all have been of a\nmore regular and orthodox pattern. We are positively told that the rape of\nPersephone was acted at the Mysteries;(237) may that scene not have been\nfollowed by another representing the solemnisation of her nuptials with\nher ravisher and husband Pluto? It is to be remembered that Pluto was\nsometimes known as a god of fertility under the title of Subterranean\nZeus. It was to him under that title as well as to Demeter, that the Greek\nploughman prayed at the beginning of the ploughing;(238) and the people of\nMyconus used to sacrifice to Subterranean Zeus and Subterranean Earth for\nthe prosperity of the crops on the twelfth day of the month Lenaeon.(239)\nThus it may be that the Zeus whose marriage was dramatically represented\nat the Mysteries was not the sky-god Zeus, but his brother Zeus of the\nUnderworld, and that the writers who refer to the ceremony have confused\nthe two brothers. This view, if it could be established, would dispose of\nthe difficulty raised by the absence of the name of Zeus in the decree\nwhich prescribes the offerings to be made to the gods of Eleusis; for\nalthough in that decree Pluto is not mentioned under the name of\nSubterranean Zeus, he is clearly referred to, as the editors of the\ninscription have seen, under the vague title of \u201cthe God,\u201d while his\nconsort Persephone is similarly referred to under the title of \u201cthe\nGoddess,\u201d and it is ordained that perfect victims shall be sacrificed to\nboth of them. However, if we thus dispose of one difficulty, it must be\nconfessed that in doing so we raise another. For if the bridegroom in the\nSacred Marriage at Eleusis was not the sky-god Zeus, but the earth-god\nPluto, we seem driven to suppose that, contrary to the opinion of the\nreverend Christian scandal-mongers, the bride was his lawful wife\nPersephone and not his sister and mother-in-law Demeter. In short, on the\nhypothesis which I have suggested we are compelled to conclude that the\nancient busybodies who lifted the veil from the mystic marriage were\nmistaken as to the person both of the divine bridegroom and of the divine\nbride. In regard to the bridegroom I have conjectured that they may have\nconfused the two brothers, Zeus of the Upper World and Zeus of the Lower\nWorld. In regard to the bride, can any reason be suggested for confounding\nthe persons of the mother and daughter? On the view here taken of the\nnature of Demeter and Persephone nothing could be easier than to confuse\nthem with each other, for both of them were mythical embodiments of the\ncorn, the mother Demeter standing for the old corn of last year and the\ndaughter Persephone standing for the new corn of this year. In point of\nfact Greek artists, both of the archaic and of later periods, frequently\nrepresent the Mother and Daughter side by side in forms which resemble\neach other so closely that eminent modern experts have sometimes differed\nfrom each other on the question, which is Demeter and which is Persephone;\nindeed in some cases it might be quite impossible to distinguish the two\nif it were not for the inscriptions attached to the figures.(240) The\nancient sculptors, vase-painters, and engravers must have had some good\nreason for portraying the two goddesses in types which are almost\nindistinguishable from each other; and what better reason could they have\nhad than the knowledge that the two persons of the godhead were one in\nsubstance, that they stood merely for two different aspects of the same\nsimple natural phenomenon, the growth of the corn? Thus it is easy to\nunderstand why Demeter and Persephone may have been confused in ritual as\nwell as in art, why in particular the part of the divine bride in a Sacred\nMarriage may sometimes have been assigned to the Mother and sometimes to\nthe Daughter. But all this, I fully admit, is a mere speculation, and I\nonly put it forward as such. We possess far too little information as to a\nSacred Marriage in the Eleusinian Mysteries to be justified in speaking\nwith confidence on so obscure a subject.\n\n(M50) One thing, however, which we may say with a fair degree of\nprobability is that, if such a marriage did take place at Eleusis, no date\nin the agricultural year could well have been more appropriate for it than\nthe date at which the Mysteries actually fell, namely about the middle of\nSeptember. The long Greek summer is practically rainless and in the\nfervent heat and unbroken drought all nature languishes. The river-beds\nare dry, the fields parched. The farmer awaits impatiently the setting-in\nof the autumnal rains, which begin in October and mark the great season\nfor ploughing and sowing. What time could be fitter for celebrating the\nunion of the Corn Goddess with her husband the Earth God or perhaps rather\nwith her paramour the Sky God, who will soon descend in fertilising\nshowers to quicken the seed in the furrows? Such embraces of the divine\npowers or their human representatives might well be deemed, on the\nprinciples of homoeopathic or imitative magic, indispensable to the growth\nof the crops. At least similar ideas have been entertained and similar\ncustoms have been practised by many peoples;(241) and in the legend of\nDemeter\u2019s love-adventure among the furrows of the thrice-ploughed\nfallow(242) we seem to catch a glimpse of rude rites of the same sort\nperformed in the fields at sowing-time by Greek ploughmen for the sake of\nensuring the growth of the seed which they were about to commit to the\nbosom of the naked earth. In this connexion a statement of ancient writers\nas to the rites of Eleusis receives fresh significance. We are told that\nat these rites the worshippers looked up to the sky and cried \u201cRain!\u201d and\nthen looked down at the earth and cried \u201cConceive!\u201d(243) Nothing could be\nmore appropriate at a marriage of the Sky God and the Earth or Corn\nGoddess than such invocations to the heaven to pour down rain and to the\nearth or the corn to conceive seed under the fertilising shower; in Greece\nno time could well be more suitable for the utterance of such prayers than\njust at the date when the Great Mysteries of Eleusis were celebrated, at\nthe end of the long drought of summer and before the first rains of\nautumn.\n\n(M51) Different both from the Great Mysteries and the offerings of\nfirst-fruits at Eleusis were the games which were celebrated there on a\ngreat scale once in every four years and on a less scale once in every two\nyears.(244) That the games were distinct from the Mysteries is proved by\ntheir periods, which were quadriennial and biennial respectively, whereas\nthe Mysteries were celebrated annually. Moreover, in Greek epigraphy, our\nmost authentic evidence in such matters, the games and the Mysteries are\nclearly distinguished from each other by being mentioned separately in the\nsame inscription.(245) But like the Mysteries the games seem to have been\nvery ancient; for the Parian Chronicler, who wrote in the year 264 B.C.,\nassigns the foundation of the Eleusinian games to the reign of Pandion,\nthe son of Cecrops. However, he represents them as of later origin than\nthe Eleusinian Mysteries, which according to him were instituted by\nEumolpus in the reign of Erechtheus, after Demeter had planted corn in\nAttica and Triptolemus had sown seed in the Rarian plain at Eleusis.(246)\nThis testimony to the superior antiquity of the Mysteries is in harmony\nwith our most ancient authority on the rites of Eleusis, the author of the\n_Hymn to Demeter_, who describes the origin of the Eleusinian Mysteries,\nbut makes no reference or allusion to the Eleusinian Games. However, the\ngreat age of the games is again vouched for at a much later date by the\nrhetorician Aristides, who even declares that they were the oldest of all\nGreek games.(247) With regard to the nature and meaning of the games our\ninformation is extremely scanty, but an old scholiast on Pindar tells us\nthat they were celebrated in honour of Demeter and Persephone as a\nthank-offering at the conclusion of the corn-harvest.(248) His testimony\nis confirmed by that of the rhetorician Aristides, who mentions the\ninstitution of the Eleusinian games in immediate connexion with the\nofferings of the first-fruits of the corn, which many Greek states sent to\nAthens;(249) and from an inscription dated about the close of the third\ncentury before our era we learn that at the Great Eleusinian Games\nsacrifices were offered to Demeter and Persephone.(250) Further, we gather\nfrom an official Athenian inscription of 329 B.C. that both the Great and\nthe Lesser Games included athletic and musical contests, a horse-race, and\na competition which bore the name of the Ancestral or Hereditary Contest,\nand which accordingly may well have formed the original kernel of the\ngames.(251) Unfortunately nothing is known about this Ancestral Contest.\nWe might be tempted to identify it with the Ancestral Contest included in\nthe Eleusinian Festival of the Threshing-floor,(252) which was probably\nheld on the Sacred Threshing-floor of Triptolemus at Eleusis.(253) If the\nidentification could be proved, we should have another confirmation of the\ntradition which connects the games with Demeter and the corn; for\naccording to the prevalent tradition it was to Triptolemus that Demeter\nfirst revealed the secret of the corn, and it was he whom she sent out as\nan itinerant missionary to impart the beneficent discovery of the cereals\nto all mankind and to teach them to sow the seed.(254) On monuments of\nart, especially in vase-paintings, he is constantly represented along with\nDemeter in this capacity, holding corn-stalks in his hand and sitting in\nhis car, which is sometimes winged and sometimes drawn by dragons, and\nfrom which he is said to have sowed the seed down on the whole world as he\nsped through the air.(255) At Eleusis victims bought with the first-fruits\nof the wheat and barley were sacrificed to him as well as to Demeter and\nPersephone.(256) In short, if we may judge from the combined testimony of\nGreek literature and art, Triptolemus was the corn-hero first and\nforemost. Even beyond the limits of the Greek world, all men, we are told,\nfounded sanctuaries and erected altars in his honour because he had\nbestowed on them the gift of the corn.(257) His very name has been\nplausibly explained both in ancient and modern times as \u201cThrice-ploughed\u201d\nwith reference to the Greek custom of ploughing the land thrice a\nyear,(258) and the derivation is said to be on philological principles\nfree from objection.(259) In fact it would seem as if Triptolemus, like\nDemeter and Persephone themselves, were a purely mythical being, an\nembodiment of the conception of the first sower. At all events in the\nlocal Eleusinian legend, according to an eminent scholar, who has paid\nspecial attention to Attic genealogy, \u201cTriptolemus does not, like his\ncomrade Eumolpus or other founders of Eleusinian priestly families,\ncontinue his kind, but without leaving offspring who might perpetuate his\npriestly office, he is removed from the scene of his beneficent activity.\nAs he appeared, so he vanishes again from the legend, after he has\nfulfilled his divine mission.\u201d(260)\n\n(M52) However, there is no sufficient ground for identifying the Ancestral\nContest of the Eleusinian games with the Ancestral Contest of the\nThreshing-festival at Eleusis, and accordingly the connexion of the games\nwith the corn-harvest and with the corn-hero Triptolemus must so far\nremain uncertain. But a clear trace of such a connexion may be seen in the\ncustom of rewarding the victors in the Eleusinian games with measures of\nbarley; in the official Athenian inscription of 329 B.C., which contains\nthe accounts of the superintendents of Eleusis and the Treasurers of the\nTwo Goddesses, the amounts of corn handed over by these officers to the\npriests and priestesses for the purposes of the games is exactly\nspecified.(261) This of itself is sufficient to prove that the Eleusinian\ngames were closely connected with the worship of Demeter and Persephone.\nThe grain thus distributed in prizes was probably reaped on the Rarian\nplain near Eleusis, where according to the legend Triptolemus sowed the\nfirst corn.(262) Certainly we know that the barley grown on that plain was\nused in sacrifices and for the baking of the sacrificial cakes,(263) from\nwhich we may reasonably infer that the prizes of barley, to which no doubt\na certain sanctity attached in the popular mind, were brought from the\nsame holy fields. So sacred was the Rarian plain that no dead body was\nallowed to defile it. When such a pollution accidentally took place, it\nwas expiated by the sacrifice of a pig,(264) the usual victim employed in\nGreek purificatory rites.\n\n(M53) Thus, so far as the scanty evidence at our disposal permits us to\njudge, the Eleusinian games, like the Eleusinian Mysteries, would seem to\nhave been primarily concerned with Demeter and Persephone as goddesses of\nthe corn. At least that is expressly affirmed by the old scholiast on\nPindar and it is borne out by the practice of rewarding the victors with\nmeasures of barley. Perhaps the Ancestral Contest, which may well have\nformed the original nucleus of the games, was a contest between the\nreapers on the sacred Rarian plain to see who should finish his allotted\ntask before his fellows. For success in such a contest no prize could be\nmore appropriate than a measure of the sacred barley which the victorious\nreaper had just cut on the barley-field. In the sequel we shall see that\nsimilar contests between reapers have been common on the harvest fields of\nmodern Europe, and it will appear that such competitions are not purely\nathletic; their aim is not simply to demonstrate the superior strength,\nactivity, and skill of the victors; it is to secure for the particular\nfarm the possession of the blooming young Corn-maiden of the present year,\nconceived as the embodiment of the vigorous grain, and to pass on to\nlaggard neighbours the aged Corn-mother of the past year, conceived as an\nembodiment of the effete and outworn energies of the corn.(265) May it not\nhave been so at Eleusis? may not the reapers have vied with each other for\npossession of the young corn-spirit Persephone and for avoidance of the\nold corn-spirit Demeter? may not the prize of barley, which rewarded the\nvictor in the Ancestral Contest, have been supposed to house in the ripe\nears no less a personage than the Corn-maiden Persephone herself? And if\nthere is any truth in these conjectures (for conjectures they are and\nnothing more), we may hazard a guess as to the other Ancestral Contest\nwhich took place at the Eleusinian Festival of the Threshing-floor.\nPerhaps it in like manner was originally a competition between threshers\non the sacred threshing-floor of Triptolemus to determine who should\nfinish threshing his allotted quantity of corn before the rest. Such\ncompetitions have also been common, as we shall see presently, on the\nthreshing-floors of modern Europe, and their motive again has not been\nsimple emulation between sturdy swains for the reward of strength and\ndexterity; it has been a dread of being burdened with the aged and outworn\nspirit of the corn conceived as present in the bundle of corn-stalks which\nreceives the last stroke at threshing.(266) We know that effigies of\nDemeter with corn and poppies in her hands stood on Greek\nthreshing-floors.(267) Perhaps at the conclusion of the threshing these\neffigies, as representatives of the old Corn-spirit, were passed on to\nneighbours who had not yet finished threshing the corn. At least the\nsupposition is in harmony with modern customs observed on the\nthreshing-floor.\n\n(M54) It is possible that the Eleusinian games were no more than a popular\nmerrymaking celebrated at the close of the harvest. This view of their\ncharacter might be supported by modern analogies; for in some parts of\nGermany it has been customary for the harvesters, when their work is done,\nto engage in athletic competitions of various kinds, which have at first\nsight no very obvious connexion with the business of harvesting. For\nexample, at Besbau near Luckau great cakes were baked at the\nharvest-festival, and the labourers, both men and women, ran races for\nthem. He or she who reached them first received not only a cake, but a\nhandkerchief or the like as a prize. Again, at Bergkirchen, when the\nharvest was over, a garland was hung up and the harvesters rode at it on\nhorseback and tried to bring it down with a stab or a blow as they\ngalloped past. He who succeeded in bringing it down was proclaimed King.\nAgain, in the villages near F\u00fcrstenwald at harvest the young men used to\nfetch a fir-tree from the wood, peel the trunk, and set it up like a mast\nin the middle of the village. A handkerchief and other prizes were\nfastened to the top of the pole and the men clambered up for them.(268)\nAmong the peasantry of Silesia, we are told, the harvest-home broadened\nout into a popular festival, in which athletic sports figured prominently.\nThus, for example, at J\u00e4rischau, in the Strehlitz district, a scythe, a\nrake, a flail, and a hay-fork or pitchfork were fastened to the top of a\nsmooth pole and awarded as prizes, in order of merit, to the men who\ndisplayed most agility in climbing the pole. Younger men amused themselves\nwith running in sacks, high jumps, and so forth. At Prauss, near Nimptsch,\nthe girls ran a race in a field for aprons as prizes. In the central parts\nof Silesia a favourite amusement at harvest was a race between girls for a\ngarland of leaves or flowers.(269) Yet it seems probable that all such\nsports at harvest were in origin not mere pastimes, but that they were\nserious attempts to secure in one way or another the help and blessing of\nthe corn-spirit. Thus in some parts of Prussia, at the close of the\nrye-harvest, a few sheaves used to be left standing in the field after all\nthe rest of the rye had been carted home. These sheaves were then made up\ninto the shape of a man and dressed out in masculine costume, and all the\nyoung women were obliged to run a race, of which the corn-man was the\ngoal. She who won the race led off the dancing in the evening.(270) Here\nthe aim of the foot-race among the young women is clearly to secure the\ncorn-spirit embodied in the last sheaf left standing on the field; for, as\nwe shall see later on, the last sheaf is commonly supposed to harbour the\ncorn-spirit and is treated accordingly like a man or a woman.(271)\n\n(M55) If the Ancestral Contest at the Eleusinian games was, as I have\nconjectured, a contest between the reapers on the sacred barley-field, we\nshould have to suppose that the games were celebrated at barley-harvest,\nwhich in the lowlands of Greece falls in May or even at the end of April.\nThis theory is in harmony with the evidence of the scholiast on Pindar,\nwho tells us that the Eleusinian games were celebrated after the\ncorn-harvest.(272) No other ancient authority, so far as I am aware,\nmentions at what time of the year these games were held. Modern\nauthorities, arguing from certain slight and to some extent conjectural\ndata, have variously assigned them to Metageitnion (August) and to\nBoedromion (September), and those who assign them to Boedromion\n(September) are divided in opinion as to whether they preceded or followed\nthe Mysteries.(273) However, the evidence is far too slender and uncertain\nto allow of any conclusions being based on it.\n\n(M56) But there is a serious difficulty in the way of connecting the\nEleusinian games with the goddesses of the corn. How is the quadriennial\nor the biennial period of the games to be reconciled with the annual\ngrowth of the crops? Year by year the barley and the wheat are sown and\nreaped; how then could the games, held only every fourth or every second\nyear, have been regarded as thank-offerings for the annual harvest? On\nthis view of their nature, which is the one taken by the old scholiast on\nPindar, though the harvest was received at the hands of the Corn Goddess\npunctually every year, men thanked her for her bounty only every second\nyear or even only every fourth year. What were her feelings likely to be\nin the blank years when she got no thanks and no games? She might\nnaturally resent such negligence and ingratitude and punish them by\nforbidding the seed to sprout, just as she did at Eleusis when she mourned\nthe loss of her daughter. In short, men could hardly expect to reap crops\nin years in which they offered nothing to the Corn Goddess. That would\nindeed appear to be the view generally taken by the ancient Greeks; for we\nhave seen that year by year they presented the first-fruits of the barley\nand the wheat to Demeter, not merely in the solemn state ritual of\nEleusis, but also in rustic festivals held by farmers on their\nthreshing-floors. The pious Greek husbandman would no doubt have been\nshocked and horrified at a proposal to pay the Corn Goddess her dues only\nevery second or fourth year. \u201cNo offerings, no crops,\u201d he would say to\nhimself, and would anticipate nothing but dearth and famine in any year\nwhen he failed to satisfy the just and lawful demands of the divinity on\nwhose good pleasure he believed the growth of the corn to be directly\ndependent. Accordingly we may regard it as highly probable that from the\nvery beginning of settled and regular agriculture in Greece men annually\npropitiated the deities of the corn with a ritual of some sort, and\nrendered them their dues in the shape of offerings of the ripe barley and\nwheat. Now we know that the Mysteries of Eleusis were celebrated every\nyear, and accordingly, if I am right in interpreting them as essentially a\ndramatic representation of the annual vicissitudes of the corn performed\nfor the purpose of quickening the seed, it becomes probable that in some\nform or another they were annually held at Eleusis long before the\npractice arose of celebrating games there every fourth or every second\nyear. In short, the Eleusinian mysteries were in all probability far older\nthan the Eleusinian games. How old they were we cannot even guess. But\nwhen we consider that the cultivation of barley and wheat, the two cereals\nspecially associated with Demeter, appears to have been practised in\nprehistoric Europe from the Stone Age onwards,(274) we shall be disposed\nto admit that the annual performance of religious or magical rites at\nEleusis for the purpose of ensuring good crops, whether by propitiating\nthe Corn Goddess with offerings of first-fruits or by dramatically\nrepresenting the sowing and the growth of the corn in mythical form,\nprobably dates from an extremely remote antiquity.\n\n(M57) But in order to clear our ideas on this subject it is desirable to\nascertain, if possible, the reason for holding the Eleusinian games at\nintervals of two or four years. The reason for holding a harvest festival\nand thanksgiving every year is obvious enough; but why hold games only\nevery second or every fourth year? The reason for such limitations is by\nno means obvious on the face of them, especially if the growth of the\ncrops is deemed dependent on the celebration. In order to find an answer\nto this question it may be well at the outset to confine our attention to\nthe Great Eleusinian Games, which were celebrated only every fourth year.\nThat these were the principal games appears not only from their name, but\nfrom the testimony of Aristotle, or at least of the author of _The\nConstitution of Athens_, who notices only the quadriennial or, as in\naccordance with Greek idiom he calls it, the penteteric celebration of the\ngames.(275) Now the custom of holding games at intervals of four years was\nvery common in Greece; to take only a few conspicuous examples the Olympic\ngames at Olympia, the Pythian games at Delphi, the Panathenaic games at\nAthens, and the Eleutherian games at Plataea(276) were all celebrated at\nquadriennial or, as the Greeks called them, penteteric periods; and at a\nlater time when Augustus instituted, or rather renewed on a more splendid\nscale, the games at Actium to commemorate his great victory, he followed a\nwell-established Greek precedent by ordaining that they should be\nquadriennial.(277) Still later the emperor Hadrian instituted quadriennial\ngames at Mantinea in honour of his dead favourite Antinous.(278) But in\nregard to the two greatest of all the Greek games, the Olympian and the\nPythian, I have shewn reasons for thinking that they were originally\ncelebrated at intervals of eight instead of four years; certainly this is\nattested for the Pythian games,(279) and the mode of calculating the\nOlympiads by alternate periods of fifty and forty-nine lunar months,(280)\nwhich added together make up eight solar years, seems to prove that the\nOlympic cycle of four years was really based on a cycle of eight years,\nfrom which it is natural to infer that in the beginning the Olympic, like\nthe Pythian, games may have been octennial instead of quadriennial.(281)\nNow we know from the testimony of the ancients themselves that the Greeks\ninstituted the eight-years\u2019 cycle for the purpose of harmonising solar and\nlunar time.(282) They regulated their calendar primarily by observation of\nthe moon rather than of the sun; their months were lunar, and their\nordinary year consisted of twelve lunar months. But the solar year of\nthree hundred and sixty-five and a quarter days exceeds the lunar year of\ntwelve lunar months or three hundred and fifty-four days by eleven and a\nquarter days, so that in eight solar years the excess amounts to ninety\ndays or roughly three lunar months. Accordingly the Greeks equated eight\nsolar years to eight lunar years of twelve months each by intercalating\nthree lunar months of thirty days each in the octennial cycle; they\nintercalated one lunar month in the third year of the cycle, a second\nlunar month in the fifth year, and a third lunar month in the eighth\nyear.(283) In this way they, so to say, made the sun and moon keep time\ntogether by reckoning ninety-nine lunar months as equivalent to eight\nsolar years; so that if, for example, the full moon coincided with the\nsummer solstice in one year, it coincided with it again after the\nrevolution of the eight years\u2019 cycle, but not before. The equation was\nindeed not quite exact, and in order to render it so the Greeks afterwards\nfound themselves obliged, first, to intercalate three days every sixteen\nyears, and, next, to omit one intercalary month in every period of one\nhundred and sixty years.(284) But these corrections were doubtless\nrefinements of a later age; they may have been due to the astronomer\nEudoxus of Cnidus, or to Cleostratus of Tenedos, who were variously, but\nincorrectly, supposed to have instituted the octennial cycle.(285) There\nare strong grounds for holding that in its simplest form the octennial\ncycle of ninety-nine lunar months dates from an extremely remote antiquity\nin Greece; that it was in fact, as a well-informed Greek writer tell\nus,(286) the first systematic attempt to bring solar and the lunar time\ninto harmony. Indeed, if the Olympiads were calculated, as they appear to\nhave been, on the eight years\u2019 cycle, this of itself suffices to place the\norigin of the cycle not later than 776 B.C., the year with which the\nreckoning by Olympiads begins. And when we bear in mind the very remote\nperiod from which, judged by the wonderful remains of Mycenae, Tiryns,\nCnossus and other cities, civilisation in Greek lands appears to date, it\nseems reasonable to suppose that the octennial cycle, based as it was on\nvery simple observations, for which nothing but good eyes and almost no\nastronomical knowledge was necessary,(287) may have been handed down among\nthe inhabitants of these countries from ages that preceded by many\ncenturies, possibly by thousands of years, the great period of Greek\nliterature and art. The supposition is confirmed by the traces which the\noctennial cycle has left of itself in certain ancient Greek customs and\nsuperstitions, particularly by the evidence which points to the conclusion\nthat at two of the oldest seats of monarchy in Greece, namely Cnossus and\nSparta, the king\u2019s tenure of office was formerly limited to eight\nyears.(288)\n\n(M58) We are informed, and may readily believe, that the motive which led\nthe Greeks to adopt the eight years\u2019 cycle was religious rather than\npractical or scientific: their aim was not so much to ensure the punctual\ndespatch of business or to solve an abstract problem in astronomy, as to\nascertain the exact days on which they ought to sacrifice to the gods. For\nthe Greeks regularly employed lunar months in their reckonings,(289) and\naccordingly if they had dated their religious festivals simply by the\nnumber of the month and the day of the month, the excess of eleven and a\nquarter days of the solar over the lunar year would have had the effect of\ncausing the festivals gradually to revolve throughout the whole circle of\nthe seasons, so that in time ceremonies which properly belonged to winter\nwould come to be held in summer, and on the contrary ceremonies which were\nonly appropriate to summer would come to be held in winter. To avoid this\nanomaly, and to ensure that festivals dated by lunar months should fall at\nfixed or nearly fixed points in the solar year, the Greeks adopted the\noctennial cycle by the simple expedient of intercalating three lunar\nmonths in every period of eight years. In doing so they acted, as one of\ntheir writers justly pointed out, on a principle precisely the reverse of\nthat followed by the ancient Egyptians, who deliberately regulated their\nreligious festivals by a purely lunar calendar for the purpose of allowing\nthem gradually to revolve throughout the whole circle of the seasons.(290)\n\n(M59) Thus at an early stage of culture the regulation of the calendar is\nlargely an affair of religion: it is a means of maintaining the\nestablished relations between gods and men on a satisfactory footing; and\nin public opinion the great evil of a disordered calendar is not so much\nthat it disturbs and disarranges the ordinary course of business and the\nvarious transactions of civil life, as that it endangers the welfare or\neven the existence both of individuals and of the community by\ninterrupting their normal intercourse with those divine powers on whose\nfavour men believe themselves to be absolutely dependent. Hence in states\nwhich take this view of the deep religious import of the calendar its\nsuperintendence is naturally entrusted to priests rather than to\nastronomers, because the science of astronomy is regarded merely as\nancillary to the deeper mysteries of theology. For example, at Rome the\nmethod of determining the months and regulating the festivals was a secret\nwhich the pontiffs for ages jealously guarded from the profane vulgar; and\nin consequence of their ignorance and incapacity the calendar fell into\nconfusion and the festivals were celebrated out of their natural seasons,\nuntil the greatest of all the Roman pontiffs, Julius Caesar, remedied the\nconfusion and placed the calendar of the civilised world on the firm\nfoundation on which, with little change, it stands to this day.(291)\n\n(M60) On the whole, then, it appears probable that the octennial cycle,\nbased on considerations of religion and on elementary observations of the\ntwo great luminaries, dated from a very remote period among the ancient\nGreeks; if they did not bring it with them when they migrated southwards\nfrom the oakwoods and beechwoods of Central Europe, they may well have\ntaken it over from their civilised predecessors of different blood and\ndifferent language whom they found leading a settled agricultural life on\nthe lands about the Aegean Sea. Now we have seen reasons to hold that the\ntwo most famous of the great Greek games, the Pythian and the Olympian,\nwere both based on the ancient cycle of eight years, and that the\nquadriennial period at which they were regularly celebrated in historical\ntimes was arrived at by a subdivision of the older octennial cycle. It is\nhardly rash, therefore, to conjecture that the quadriennial period in\ngeneral, regarded as the normal period for the celebration of great games\nand festivals, was originally founded on elementary religious and\nastronomical considerations of the same kind, that is, on a somewhat crude\nattempt to harmonise the discrepancies of solar and lunar time and thereby\nto ensure the continued favour of the gods. It is, indeed, certain or\nprobable that some of these quadriennial festivals were celebrated in\nhonour of the dead;(292) but there seems to be nothing in the beliefs or\ncustoms of the ancient Greeks concerning the dead which would suggest a\nquadriennial period as an appropriate one for propitiating the ghosts of\nthe departed. At first sight it is different with the octennial period;\nfor according to Pindar, the souls of the dead who had been purged of\ntheir guilt by an abode of eight years in the nether world were born again\non earth in the ninth year as glorious kings, athletes, and sages.(293)\nNow if this belief in the reincarnation of the dead after eight years were\nprimitive, it might certainly furnish an excellent reason for honouring\nthe ghosts of great men at their graves every eight years in order to\nfacilitate their rebirth into the world. Yet the period of eight years\nthus rigidly applied to the life of disembodied spirits appears too\narbitrary and conventional to be really primitive, and we may suspect that\nin this application it was nothing but an inference drawn from the old\noctennial cycle, which had been instituted for the purpose of reconciling\nsolar and lunar time. If that was so, it will follow that the quadriennial\nperiod of funeral games was, like the similar period of other religious\nfestivals, obtained through the bisection of the octennial cycle, and\nhence that it was ultimately derived from astronomical considerations\nrather than from any beliefs touching a quadriennial revolution in the\nstate of the dead. Yet in historical times it may well have happened that\nthese considerations were forgotten, and that games and festivals were\ninstituted at quadriennial intervals, for example at Plataea(294) in\nhonour of the slain, at Actium to commemorate the great victory, and at\nMantinea in honour of Antinous,(295) without any conscious reference to\nthe sun and moon, and merely because that period had from time immemorial\nbeen regarded as the proper and normal one for the celebration of certain\nsolemn religious rites.\n\n(M61) If we enquire why the Greeks so often bisected the old octennial\nperiod into two quadriennial periods for purposes of religion, the answer\ncan only be conjectural, for no positive information appears to be given\nus on the subject by ancient writers. Perhaps they thought that eight\nyears was too long a time to elapse between the solemn services, and that\nit was desirable to propitiate the deities at shorter intervals. But it is\npossible that political as well as religious motives may have operated to\nproduce the change. We have seen reason to think that at two of the oldest\nseats of monarchy in Greece, namely Cnossus and Sparta, kings formerly\nheld office for periods of eight years only, after which their sovereignty\neither terminated or had to be formally renewed. Now with the gradual\ngrowth of that democratic sentiment, which ultimately dominated Greek\npolitical life, men would become more and more jealous of the kingly power\nand would seek to restrict it within narrower limits, and one of the most\nobvious means of doing so was to shorten the king\u2019s tenure of office. We\nknow that this was done at Athens, where the dynasty of the Medontids was\nreduced from the rank of monarchs for life to that of magistrates holding\noffice for ten years only.(296) It is possible that elsewhere the king\u2019s\nreign was cut down from eight years to four years; and if I am right in my\nexplanation of the origin of the Olympic games this political revolution\nactually took place at Olympia, where the victors in the chariot-race\nwould seem at first to have personated the Sun-god and perhaps held office\nin the capacity of divine kings during the intervals between successive\ncelebrations of the games.(297) If at Olympia and elsewhere the games were\nof old primarily contests in which the king had personally to take part\nfor the purpose of attesting his bodily vigour and therefore his capacity\nfor office, the repetition of the test at intervals of four instead of\neight years might be regarded as furnishing a better guarantee of the\nmaintenance of the king\u2019s efficiency and thereby of the general welfare,\nwhich in primitive society is often supposed to be sympathetically bound\nup with the health and strength of the king.\n\n(M62) But while many of the great Greek games were celebrated at intervals\nof four years, others, such as the Nemean and the Isthmian, were\ncelebrated at intervals of two years only; and just as the quadriennial\nperiod seems to have been arrived at through a bisection of the octennial\nperiod, so we may surmise that the biennial period was produced by a\nbisection of the quadriennial period. This was the view which the\nadmirable modern chronologer L. Ideler took of the origin of the\nquadriennial and biennial festivals respectively,(298) and it appears far\nmore probable than the contrary opinion of the ancient chronologer\nCensorinus, that the quadriennial period was reached by doubling the\nbiennial, and the octennial period by doubling the quadriennial.(299) The\ntheory of Censorinus was that the Greeks started with a biennial cycle of\ntwelve and thirteen lunar months alternately in successive years for the\npurpose of harmonising solar and lunar time.(300) But as the cycle so\nproduced exceeds the true solar time by seven and a half days,(301) the\ndiscrepancy which it leaves between the two great celestial clocks, the\nsun and moon, was too glaring to escape the observation even of simple\nfarmers, who would soon have been painfully sensible that the times were\nout of joint, if they had attempted to regulate the various operations of\nthe agricultural year by reference to so very inaccurate an almanac. It is\nunlikely, therefore, that the Greeks ever made much use of a biennial\ncycle of this sort.\n\n(M63) Now to apply these conclusions to the Eleusinian games, which\nfurnished the starting-point for the preceding discussion. Whatever the\norigin and meaning of these games may have been, we may surmise that the\nquadriennial and biennial periods at which they were held were originally\nderived from astronomical considerations, and that they had nothing to do\ndirectly either with the agricultural cycle, which is annual, nor with the\nworship of the dead, which can scarcely be said to have any cycle at all,\nunless indeed it be an annual one. In other words, neither the needs of\nhusbandry nor the superstitions relating to ghosts furnish any natural\nexplanation of the quadriennial and biennial periods of the Eleusinian\ngames, and to discover such an explanation we are obliged to fall back on\nastronomy or, to be more exact, on that blend of astronomy with religion\nwhich appears to be mainly responsible for such Greek festivals as exceed\na year in their period. To admit this is not to decide the question\nwhether the Eleusinian games were agricultural or funereal in character;\nbut it is implicitly to acknowledge that the games were of later origin\nthan the annual ceremonies, including the Great Mysteries, which were\ndesigned to propitiate the deities of the corn for the very simple and\npractical purpose of ensuring good crops within the year. For it cannot\nbut be that men observed and laid their account with the annual changes of\nthe seasons, especially as manifested by the growth and maturity of the\ncrops, long before they attempted to reconcile the discrepancies of solar\nand lunar time by a series of observations extending over several years.\n\n(M64) On the whole, then, if, ignoring theories, we adhere to the evidence\nof the ancients themselves in regard to the rites of Eleusis, including\nunder that general term the Great Mysteries, the games, the Festival\nbefore Ploughing (_proerosia_), the Festival of the Threshing-floor, the\nGreen Festival, the Festival of the Cornstalks, and the offerings of\nfirst-fruits, we shall probably incline to agree with the most learned of\nancient antiquaries, the Roman Varro, who, to quote Augustine\u2019s report of\nhis opinion, \u201cinterpreted the whole of the Eleusinian mysteries as\nrelating to the corn which Ceres (Demeter) had discovered, and to\nProserpine (Persephone), whom Pluto had carried off from her. And\nProserpine herself, he said, signifies the fecundity of the seeds, the\nfailure of which at a certain time had caused the earth to mourn for\nbarrenness, and therefore had given rise to the opinion that the daughter\nof Ceres, that is, fecundity itself, had been ravished by Pluto and\ndetained in the nether world; and when the dearth had been publicly\nmourned and fecundity had returned once more, there was gladness at the\nreturn of Proserpine and solemn rites were instituted accordingly. After\nthat he says,\u201d continues Augustine, reporting Varro, \u201cthat many things\nwere taught in her mysteries which had no reference but to the discovery\nof the corn.\u201d(302)\n\n(M65) Thus far I have for the most part assumed an identity of nature\nbetween Demeter and Persephone, the divine mother and daughter\npersonifying the corn in its double aspect of the seed-corn of last year\nand the ripe ears of this, and I pointed out that this view of the\nsubstantial unity of mother and daughter is borne out by their portraits\nin Greek art, which are often so alike as to be indistinguishable. Such a\nclose resemblance between the artistic types of Demeter and Persephone\nmilitates decidedly against the view that the two goddesses are mythical\nembodiments of two things so different and so easily distinguishable from\neach other as the earth and the vegetation which springs from it. Had\nGreek artists accepted that view of Demeter and Persephone, they could\nsurely have devised types of them which would have brought out the deep\ndistinction between the goddesses. That they were capable of doing so is\nproved by the simple fact that they regularly represented the Earth\nGoddess by a type which differed widely both from that of Demeter and from\nthat of Persephone.(303) Not only so, but they sometimes set the two types\nof the Earth Goddess and the Corn Goddess (Demeter) side by side as if on\npurpose to demonstrate their difference. Thus at Patrae there was a\nsanctuary of Demeter, in which she and Persephone were portrayed standing,\nwhile Earth was represented by a seated image;(304) and on a vase-painting\nthe Earth Goddess is seen appropriately emerging from the ground with a\nhorn of plenty and an infant in her uplifted arms, while Demeter and\nPersephone, scarcely distinguishable from each other, stand at full height\nbehind her, looking down at her half-buried figure, and Triptolemus in his\nwheeled car sits directly above her.(305) In this instructive picture,\naccordingly, we see grouped together the principal personages in the myth\nof the corn: the Earth Goddess, the two Goddesses of the old and the new\ncorn, and the hero who is said to have been sent forth by the Corn Goddess\nto sow the seed broadcast over the earth. Such representations seem to\nprove that the artists clearly distinguished Demeter from the Earth\nGoddess.(306) And if Demeter did not personify the earth, can there be any\nreasonable doubt that, like her daughter, she personified the corn which\nwas so commonly called by her name from the time of Homer downwards? The\nessential identity of mother and daughter is suggested, not only by the\nclose resemblance of their artistic types, but also by the official title\nof \u201cthe Two Goddesses\u201d which was regularly applied to them in the great\nsanctuary at Eleusis without any specification of their individual\nattributes and titles,(307) as if their separate individualities had\nalmost merged in a single divine substance.(308)\n\n(M66) Surveying the evidence as a whole, we may say that from the myth of\nDemeter and Persephone, from their ritual, from their representations in\nart, from the titles which they bore, from the offerings of first-fruits\nwhich were presented to them, and from the names applied to the cereals,\nwe are fairly entitled to conclude that in the mind of the ordinary Greek\nthe two goddesses were essentially personifications of the corn, and that\nin this germ the whole efflorescence of their religion finds implicitly\nits explanation. But to maintain this is not to deny that in the long\ncourse of religious evolution high moral and spiritual conceptions were\ngrafted on this simple original stock and blossomed out into fairer\nflowers than the bloom of the barley and the wheat. Above all, the thought\nof the seed buried in the earth in order to spring up to new and higher\nlife readily suggested a comparison with human destiny, and strengthened\nthe hope that for man too the grave may be but the beginning of a better\nand happier existence in some brighter world unknown. This simple and\nnatural reflection seems perfectly sufficient to explain the association\nof the Corn Goddess at Eleusis with the mystery of death and the hope of a\nblissful immortality. For that the ancients regarded initiation in the\nEleusinian mysteries as a key to unlock the gates of Paradise appears to\nbe proved by the allusions which well-informed writers among them drop to\nthe happiness in store for the initiated hereafter.(309) No doubt it is\neasy for us to discern the flimsiness of the logical foundation on which\nsuch high hopes were built.(310) But drowning men clutch at straws, and we\nneed not wonder that the Greeks, like ourselves, with death before them\nand a great love of life in their hearts, should not have stopped to weigh\nwith too nice a hand the arguments that told for and against the prospect\nof human immortality. The reasoning that satisfied Saint Paul(311) and has\nbrought comfort to untold thousands of sorrowing Christians, standing by\nthe deathbed or the open grave of their loved ones, was good enough to\npass muster with ancient pagans, when they too bowed their heads under the\nburden of grief, and, with the taper of life burning low in the socket,\nlooked forward into the darkness of the unknown. Therefore we do no\nindignity to the myth of Demeter and Persephone\u2014one of the few myths in\nwhich the sunshine and clarity of the Greek genius are crossed by the\nshadow and mystery of death\u2014when we trace its origin to some of the most\nfamiliar, yet eternally affecting aspects of nature, to the melancholy\ngloom and decay of autumn and to the freshness, the brightness, and the\nverdure of spring.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III. MAGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF GAMES IN PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE.\n\n\n(M67) In the preceding chapter we saw that among the rites of Eleusis were\ncomprised certain athletic sports, such as foot-races, horse-races,\nleaping, wrestling, and boxing, the victors in which were rewarded with\nmeasures of barley distributed among them by the priests.(312) These\nsports the ancients themselves associated with the worship of Demeter and\nPersephone, the goddesses of the corn, and strange as such an association\nmay seem to us, it is not without its analogy among the harvest customs of\nmodern European peasantry.(313) But to discover clear cases of games\npractised for the express purpose of promoting the growth of the crops, we\nmust turn to more primitive agricultural communities than the Athenians of\nclassical antiquity or the peoples of modern Europe. Such communities may\nbe found at the present day among the savage tribes of Borneo and New\nGuinea, who subsist mainly by tilling the ground. Among them we take the\nKayans or Bahaus of central Borneo as typical. They are essentially an\nagricultural people, and devote themselves mainly to the cultivation of\nrice, which furnishes their staple food; all other products of the ground\nare of subordinate importance. Hence agriculture, we are told, dominates\nthe whole life of these tribes: their year is the year of the cultivation\nof the rice, and they divide it into various periods which are determined\nby the conditions necessary for the tilling of the fields and the\nmanipulation of the rice. \u201cIn tribes whose thoughts are so much engrossed\nby agriculture it is no wonder that they associate with it their ideas of\nthe powers which rule them for good or evil. The spirit-world stands in\nclose connexion with the agriculture of the Bahaus; without the consent of\nthe spirits no work in the fields may be undertaken. Moreover, all the\ngreat popular festivals coincide with the different periods of the\ncultivation of the rice. As the people are in an unusual state of\naffluence after harvest, all family festivals which require a large outlay\nare for practical reasons deferred till the New Year festival at the end\nof harvest. The two mighty spirits Amei Awi and his wife Buring Une, who,\naccording to the belief of the Kayans, live in a world under ground,\ndominate the whole of the tillage and determine the issue of the harvest\nin great measure by the behaviour of the owner of the land, not so much by\nhis moral conduct, as by the offerings he has made to the spirits and the\nattention he has paid to their warnings. An important part in agriculture\nfalls to the chief: at the festivals he has, in the name of the whole\ntribe, to see to it that the prescribed conjurations are carried out by\nthe priestesses. All religious ceremonies required for the cultivation of\nthe ground take place in a small rice-field specially set apart for that\npurpose, called _luma lali_: here the chief\u2019s family ushers in every fresh\noperation in the cultivation of the rice, such as sowing, hoeing, and\nreaping: the solemn actions there performed have a symbolical\nsignificance.\u201d(314)\n\n(M68) Not only the chief\u2019s family among the Kayans has such a consecrated\nfield; every family possesses one of its own. These little fields are\nnever cultivated for the sake of their produce: they serve only as the\nscene of religious ceremonies and of those symbolical operations of\nagriculture which are afterwards performed in earnest on the real\nrice-fields.(315) For example, at the festival before sowing a priestess\nsows some rice on the consecrated field of the chief\u2019s family and then\ncalls on a number of young men and girls to complete the work; the young\nmen then dig holes in the ground with digging-sticks, and the girls come\nbehind them and plant the rice-seed in the holes. Afterwards the\npriestesses lay offerings of food, wrapt in banana-leaves, here and there\non the holy field, while they croon prayers to the spirits in soft tones,\nwhich are half drowned in the clashing music of the gongs. On another day\nwomen gather all kinds of edible leaves in their gardens and fields, boil\nthem in water, and then sprinkle the water on the consecrated rice-field.\nBut on that and other days of the festival the people attend also to their\nown wants, banqueting on a favourite species of rice and other dainties.\nThe ceremonies connected with sowing last several weeks, and during this\ntime certain taboos have to be observed by the people. Thus on the first\nday of the festival the whole population, except the very old and the very\nyoung, must refrain from bathing; after that there follows a period of\nrest for eight nights, during which the people may neither work nor hold\nintercourse with their neighbours. On the tenth day the prohibition to\nbathe is again enforced; and during the eight following days the great\nrice-field of the village, where the real crops are raised, is sowed.(316)\nThe reason for excluding strangers from the village at these times is a\nreligious one. It is a fear lest the presence of strangers might frighten\nthe spirits or put them in a bad humour, and so defeat the object of the\nceremony; for, while the religious ceremonies which accompany the\ncultivation of the rice differ somewhat from each other in different\ntribes, the ideas at the bottom of them, we are told, are everywhere the\nsame: the aim always is to appease and propitiate the souls of the rice\nand the other spirits by sacrifices of all sorts.(317)\n\n(M69) However, during this obligatory period of seclusion and rest the\nKayans employ themselves in various pursuits, which, though at first sight\nthey might seem to serve no other purpose than that of recreation, have\nreally in the minds of the people a much deeper significance. For example,\nat this time the men often play at spinning tops. The tops are smooth,\nflat pieces of wood weighing several pounds. Each man tries to spin his\nown top so that it knocks down those of his neighbours and continues\nitself to revolve triumphantly. New tops are commonly carved for the\nfestival. The older men sometimes use heavy tops of iron-wood. Again,\nevery evening the young men assemble in the open space before the chief\u2019s\nhouse and engage in contests of strength and agility, while the women\nwatch them from the long gallery or verandah of the house. Another popular\npastime during the festival of sowing is a masquerade. It takes place on\nthe evening of the tenth day, the day on which, for the second time, the\npeople are forbidden to bathe. The scene of the performance is again the\nopen space in front of the chief\u2019s house. As the day draws towards\nevening, the villagers begin to assemble in the gallery or verandah of the\nhouse in order to secure good places for viewing the masquerade. All the\nmaskers at these ceremonies represent evil spirits. The men wear ugly\nwooden masks on their faces, and their bodies are swathed in masses of\nslit banana leaves so as to imitate the hideous faces and hairy bodies of\nthe demons. The young women wear on their heads cylindrical baskets, which\nconceal their real features, while they exhibit to the spectators\ngrotesque human faces formed by stitches on pieces of white cotton, which\nare fastened to the baskets. On the occasion when Dr. Nieuwenhuis\nwitnessed the ceremony, the first to appear on the scene were some men\nwearing wooden masks and helmets and so thickly wrapt in banana leaves\nthat they looked like moving masses of green foliage. They danced\nsilently, keeping time to the beat of the gongs. They were followed by\nother figures, some of whom executed war-dances; but the weight of their\nleafy envelope was such that they soon grew tired, and though they leaped\nhigh, they uttered none of the wild war-whoops which usually accompany\nthese martial exercises. When darkness fell, the dances ceased and were\nreplaced by a little drama representing a boar brought to bay by a pack of\nhounds. The part of the boar was played by an actor wearing a wooden\nboar\u2019s head mask, who ran about on all fours and grunted in a life-like\nmanner, while the hounds, acted by young men, snarled, yelped, and made\ndashes at him. The play was watched with lively interest and peals of\nlaughter by the spectators. Later in the evening eight disguised girls\ndanced, one behind the other, with slow steps and waving arms, to the\nglimmering light of torches and the strains of a sort of jew\u2019s harp.(318)\n\n(M70) The rites which accompany the sowing of the fields are no sooner\nover than those which usher in the hoeing begin. Like the sowing\nceremonies, they are inaugurated by a priestess, who hoes the sacred field\nround about a sacrificial stage and then calls upon other people to\ncomplete the work. After that the holy field is again sprinkled with a\ndecoction of herbs.(319)\n\n(M71) But the crowning point of the Kayan year is the New Year festival.\nThe harvest has then been fully housed: abundance reigns in every family,\nand for eight days the people, dressed out in all their finery, give\nthemselves up to mirth and jollity. The festival was witnessed by the\nDutch explorer Dr. Nieuwenhuis. To lure the good spirits from the spirit\nland baskets filled with precious objects were set out before the windows,\nand the priestesses made long speeches, in which they invited these\nbeneficent beings to come to the chief\u2019s house and to stay there during\nthe whole of the ceremonies. Two days afterwards one of the priestesses\nharangued the spirits for three-quarters of an hour, telling them who the\nKayans were, from whom the chief\u2019s family was descended, what the tribe\nwas doing, and what were its wishes, not forgetting to implore the\nvengeance of the spirits on the Batang-Lupars, the hereditary foes of the\nKayans. The harangue was couched in rhyming verse and delivered in\nsing-song tones. Five days later eight priestesses ascended a sacrificial\nstage, on which food was daily set forth for the spirits. There they\njoined hands and crooned another long address to the spirits, marking the\ntime with their hands. Then a basket containing offerings of food was\nhanded up to them, and one of the priestesses opened it and invited the\nspirits to enter the basket. When they were supposed to have done so, the\nlid was shut down on them, and the basket with the spirits in it was\nconveyed into the chief\u2019s house. As the priestesses in the performance of\nthe sacred ceremonies might not touch the ground, planks were cut from a\nfruit-tree and laid on the ground for them to step on. But the great\nfeature of the New Year festival is the sacrifice of pigs, of which the\nspiritual essence is appropriately offered to the spirits, while their\nmaterial substance is consumed by the worshippers. In carrying out this\nhighly satisfactory arrangement, while the live pigs lay tethered in a row\non the ground, the priestesses danced solemnly round a sacrificial stage,\neach of them arrayed in a war-mantle of panther-skin and wearing a war-cap\non her head, and on either side two priests armed with swords executed war\ndances for the purpose of scaring away evil spirits. By their\ngesticulations the priestesses indicated to the powers above that the pigs\nwere intended for their benefit. One of them, a fat but dignified lady,\ndancing composedly, seemed by her courteous gestures to invite the souls\nof the pigs to ascend up to heaven; but others, not content with this too\nideal offering, rushed at the pigs, seized the smallest of them by the\nhind legs, and exerting all their strength danced with the squealing\nporker to and from the sacrificial stage. In the evening, before darkness\nfell, the animals were slaughtered and their livers examined for omens: if\nthe under side of the liver was pale, the omen was good; but if it was\ndark, the omen was evil. On the last day of the festival one of the chief\npriestesses, in martial array, danced round the sacrificial stage, making\npasses with her old sword as if she would heave the whole structure\nheavenward; while others stabbed with spears at the foul fiends that might\nbe hovering in the air, intent on disturbing the sacred ministers at their\nholy work.(320)\n\n(M72) \u201cThus,\u201d says Dr. Nieuwenhuis, reviewing the agricultural rites which\nhe witnessed among the Kayans on the Mendalam river, \u201cevery fresh\noperation on the rice-field was ushered in by religious and culinary\nceremonies, during which the community had always to observe taboos for\nseveral nights and to play certain definite games. As we saw, spinning-top\ngames and masquerades were played during the sowing festival: at the first\nbringing in of the rice the people pelted each other with clay pellets\ndischarged from small pea-shooters, but in former times sham fights took\nplace with wooden swords; while during the New Year festival the men\ncontend with each other in wrestling, high leaps, long leaps, and running.\nThe women also fight each other with great glee, using bamboo vessels full\nof water for their principal weapons.\u201d(321)\n\n(M73) What is the meaning of the sports and pastimes which custom\nprescribes to the Kayans on these occasions? Are they mere diversions\nmeant to while away the tedium of the holidays? or have they a serious,\nperhaps a religious or magical significance? To this question it will be\nwell to let Dr. Nieuwenhuis give his answer. \u201cThe Kayans on the Mendalam\nriver,\u201d he says, \u201cenjoy tolerably regular harvests, and their agricultural\nfestivals accordingly take place every year; whereas the Kayans on the\nMahakam river, on account of the frequent failure of the harvests, can\ncelebrate a New Year\u2019s festival only once in every two or three years. Yet\nalthough these festivities are celebrated more regularly on the Mendalam\nriver, they are followed on the Mahakam river with livelier interest, and\nthe meaning of all ceremonies and games can also be traced much better\nthere. On the Mendalam river I came to the false conclusion that the\npopular games which take place at the festivals are undertaken quite\narbitrarily at the seasons of sowing and harvest; but on the Mahakam\nriver, on the contrary, I observed that even the masquerade at the sowing\nfestival is invested with as deep a significance as any of the ceremonies\nperformed by the priestesses.\u201d(322)\n\n\u201cThe influence of religious worship, which dominates the whole life of the\nDyak tribes, manifests itself also in their games. This holds good chiefly\nof pastimes in which all adults take part together, mostly on definite\noccasions; it is less applicable to more individual pastimes which are not\nrestricted to any special season. Pastimes of the former sort are very\nrarely indulged in at ordinary times, and properly speaking they attain\ntheir full significance only on the occasion of the agricultural festivals\nwhich bear a strictly religious stamp. Even then the recreations are not\nleft to choice, but definite games belong to definite festivals; thus at\nthe sowing festivals other amusements are in vogue than at the little\nharvest festival or the great harvest festival at the beginning of the\nreaping, and at the New Year festival.... Is this connexion between\nfestivals and games merely an accidental one, or is it based on a real\naffinity? The latter seems to me the more probable view, for in the case\nof one of the most important games played by men I was able to prove\ndirectly a religious significance; and although I failed to do so in the\ncase of the others, I conjecture, nevertheless, that a religious idea lies\nat the bottom of all other games which are connected with definite\nfestivals.\u201d(323)\n\n(M74) If the reader should entertain any doubt on the subject, and should\nsuspect that in arriving at this conclusion the Dutch traveller gave the\nreins to his fancy rather than followed the real opinion of the people,\nthese doubts and suspicions will probably be dispelled by comparing the\nsimilar games which another primitive agricultural people avowedly play\nfor the purpose of ensuring good crops. The people in question are the Kai\nof German New Guinea, who inhabit the rugged, densely wooded mountains\ninland from Finsch Harbour. They subsist mainly on the produce of the taro\nand yams which they cultivate in their fields, though the more inland\npeople also make much use of sweet potatoes. All their crops are root\ncrops. No patch of ground is cultivated for more than a year at a time. As\nsoon as it has yielded a crop, it is deserted for another and is quickly\novergrown with rank weeds, bamboos, and bushes. In six or eight years,\nwhen the undergrowth has died out under the shadow of the taller trees\nwhich have shot up, the land may again be cleared and brought under\ncultivation. Thus the area of cultivation shifts from year to year; and\nthe villages are not much more permanent; for in the damp tropical climate\nthe wooden houses soon rot and fall into ruins, and when this happens the\nsite of the village is changed.(324) To procure good crops of the taro and\nyams, on which they depend for their subsistence, the Kai resort to many\nsuperstitious practices. For example, in order to make the yams strike\ndeep roots, they touch the shoots with the bone of a wild animal that has\nbeen killed in the recesses of a cave, imagining that just as the creature\npenetrated deep into the earth, so the shoots that have been touched with\nits bone will descend deep into the ground. And in order that the taro may\nbear large and heavy fruit, they place the shoots, before planting them,\non a large and heavy block of stone, believing that the stone will\ncommunicate its valuable properties of size and weight to the future\nfruit. Moreover, great use is made of spells and incantations to promote\nthe growth of the crops, and all persons who utter such magical formulas\nfor this purpose have to abstain from eating certain foods until the\nplants have sprouted and give promise of a good crop. For example, they\nmay not eat young bamboo shoots, which are a favourite article of diet\nwith the people. The reason is that the young shoots are covered with fine\nprickles, which cause itching and irritation of the skin; from which the\nKai infer that if an enchanter of field fruits were to eat bamboo shoots,\nthe contagion of their prickles would be conveyed through him to the\nfruits and would manifest itself in a pungent disagreeable flavour. For a\nsimilar reason no charmer of the crops who knows his business would dream\nof eating crabs, because he is well aware that if he were to do so the\nleaves and stalks of the plants would be dashed in pieces by a pelting\nrain, just like the long thin brittle legs of a dead crab. Again, were\nsuch an enchanter to eat any of the edible kinds of locusts, it seems\nobvious to the Kai that locusts would devour the crops over which the\nimprudent wizard had recited his spells. Above all, people who are\nconcerned in planting fields must on no account eat pork; because pigs,\nwhether wild or tame, are the most deadly enemies of the crops, which they\ngrub up and destroy; from which it follows, as surely as the night does\nthe day, that if you eat pork while you are at work on the farm, your\nfields will be devastated by inroads of pigs.(325)\n\n(M75) However, these precautions are not the only measures which the Kai\npeople adopt for the benefit of the yams and the taro. \u201cIn the opinion of\nthe natives various games are important for a proper growth of the\nfield-fruits; hence these games may only be played in the time after the\nwork on the fields has been done. Thus to swing on a long Spanish reed\nfastened to a branch of a tree is thought to have a good effect on the\nnewly planted yams. Therefore swinging is practised by old and young, by\nmen and women. No one who has an interest in the growth of his crop in the\nfield leaves the swing idle. As they swing to and fro they sing\nswing-songs. These songs often contain only the names of the kinds of yams\nthat have been planted, together with the joyous harvest-cry repeated with\nvariations, \u2018I have found a fine fruit!\u2019 In leaping from the swing, they\ncry \u2018_Kakulili_!\u2019 By calling out the name of the yams they think to draw\ntheir shoots upwards out of the ground. A small bow with a string, on\nwhich a wooden flag adorned with a feather is made to slide down (the Kai\ncall the instrument _tawatawa_), may only be used when the yams are\nbeginning to wind up about their props. The tender shoots are then touched\nwith the bow, while a song is sung which is afterwards often repeated in\nthe village. It runs thus: \u2018_Mama gelo, gelowaineja, gelowaineja; kik\u00ed\ntambai, k\u00edki tambai._\u2019 The meaning of the words is unknown. The intention\nis to cause a strong upward growth of the plants. In order that the\nfoliage of the yams may sprout luxuriantly and grow green and spread, the\nKai people play cat\u2019s cradle. Each of the intricate figures has a definite\nmeaning and a name to match: for example \u2018the flock of pigeons\u2019 (_Hulua_),\n\u2018the Star,\u2019 \u2018the Flying Fox,\u2019 \u2018the Sago-palm Fan,\u2019 \u2018the Araucaria,\u2019 \u2018the\nLizard and the Dog,\u2019 \u2018the Pig,\u2019 \u2018the Sentinel-box in the Fields,\u2019 \u2018the\nRat\u2019s Nest,\u2019 \u2018the Wasp\u2019s Nest in the Bamboo-thicket,\u2019 \u2018the Kangaroo,\u2019 \u2018the\nSpider\u2019s Web,\u2019 \u2018the Little Children,\u2019 \u2018the Canoe,\u2019 \u2018Rain and Sunshine,\u2019\n\u2018the Pig\u2019s Pitfall,\u2019 \u2018the Fish-spawn,\u2019 \u2018the Two Cousins, Kew\u00e2 and Imbi\u00e2w\u00e2,\ncarrying their dead Mother to the Grave,\u2019 etc. By spinning large native\nacorns or a sort of wild fig they think that they foster the growth of the\nnewly-planted taro; the plants will \u2018turn about and broaden.\u2019 The game\nmust therefore only be played at the time when the taro is planted. The\nsame holds good of spearing at the stalks of taro leaves with the ribs of\nsago leaves used as miniature spears. This is done when the taro leaves\nhave unfolded themselves, but when the plants have not yet set any tubers.\nA single leaf is cut from a number of stems, and these leaves are brought\ninto the village. The game is played by two partners, who sit down\nopposite to each other at a distance of three or four paces. A number of\ntaro stalks lie beside each. He who has speared all his adversary\u2019s stalks\nfirst is victor; then they change stalks and the game begins again. By\npiercing the leaves they think that they incite the plants to set tubers.\nAlmost more remarkable than the limitation of these games to the time when\nwork on the fields is going forward is the custom of the Kai people which\nonly permits the tales of the olden time or popular legends to be told at\nthe time when the newly planted fruits are budding and sprouting.\u201d(326) At\nthe end of every such tale the Kai story-teller mentions the names of the\nvarious kinds of yams and adds, \u201cShoots (for the new planting) and fruits\n(to eat) in abundance!\u201d \u201cFrom their concluding words we see that the Kai\nlegends are only told for a quite definite purpose, namely, to promote the\nwelfare of the yams planted in the field. By reviving the memory of the\nancient beings, to whom the origin of the field-fruits is referred, they\nimagine that they influence the growth of the fruits for good. When the\nplanting is over, and especially when the young plants begin to sprout,\nthe telling of legends comes to an end. In the villages it is always only\na few old men who as good story-tellers can hold the attention of their\nhearers.\u201d(327)\n\n(M76) Thus with these New Guinea people the playing of certain games and\nthe recital of certain legends are alike magical in their intention; they\nare charms practised to ensure good crops. Both sets of charms appear to\nbe based on the principles of sympathetic magic. In playing the games the\nplayers perform acts which are supposed to mimic or at all events to\nstimulate the corresponding processes in the plants: by swinging high in\nthe air they make the plants grow high; by playing cat\u2019s cradle they cause\nthe leaves of the yams to spread and the stalks to intertwine, even as the\nplayers spread their hands and twine the string about their fingers; by\nspinning fruits they make the taro plants to turn and broaden; and by\nspearing the taro leaves they induce the plants to set tubers.(328) In\ntelling the legends the story-tellers mention the names of the powerful\nbeings who first created the fruits of the earth, and the mere mention of\ntheir names avails, on the principle of the magical equivalence of names\nand persons or things, to reproduce the effect.(329) The recitation of\ntales as a charm to promote the growth of the crops is not peculiar to the\nKai. It is practised also by the Bakaua, another tribe of German New\nGuinea, who inhabit the coast of Huon Gulf, not far from the Kai. These\npeople tell stories in the evening at the time when the yams and taro are\nripe, and the stories always end with a prayer to the ancestral spirits,\ninvoked under various more or less figurative designations, such as \u201ca\nman\u201d or \u201ca cricket,\u201d that they would be pleased to cause countless shoots\nto sprout, the great tubers to swell, the sugar-cane to thrive, and the\nbananas to hang in long clusters. \u201cFrom this we see,\u201d says the missionary\nwho reports the custom, \u201cthat the object of telling the stories is to\nprove to the ancestors, whose spirits are believed to be present at the\nrecitation of the tales which they either invented or inherited, that\npeople always remember them; for which reason they ought to be favourable\nto their descendants, and above all to bestow their blessings on the\nshoots which are ready to be planted or on the plants already in the\nground.\u201d As the story-teller utters the prayer, he looks towards the house\nin which the young shoots ready for planting or the ripe fruits are\ndeposited.(330)\n\n(M77) Similarly, the Yabim, a neighbouring tribe of German New Guinea, at\nthe entrance to Huon Gulf, tell tales for the purpose of obtaining a\nplentiful harvest of yams, taro, sugar-cane, and bananas.(331) They\nsubsist chiefly by the fruits of the earth which they cultivate, and among\nwhich taro, yams, and sugar-cane supply them with their staple food.(332)\nIn their agricultural labours they believe themselves to be largely\ndependent on the spirits of their dead, the _balum_, as they call them.\nBefore they plant the first taro in a newly cleared field they invoke the\nsouls of the dead to make the plants grow and prosper; and to propitiate\nthese powerful spirits they bring valuable objects, such as boar\u2019s tusks\nand dog\u2019s teeth, into the field, in order that the ghosts may deck\nthemselves with the souls of these ornaments, while at the same time they\nminister to the grosser appetites of the disembodied spirits by offering\nthem a savoury mess of taro porridge. Later in the season they whirl\nbull-roarers in the fields and call out the names of the dead, believing\nthat this makes the crops to thrive.(333)\n\n(M78) But besides the prayers which they address to the spirits of the\ndead for the sake of procuring an abundant harvest, the Yabim utter spells\nfor the same purpose, and these spells sometimes take the form, not of a\ncommand, but of a narrative. Here, for instance, is one of their spells:\n\u201cOnce upon a time a man laboured in his field and complained that he had\nno taro shoots. Then came two doves flying from Poum. They had devoured\nmuch taro, and they perched on a tree in the field, and during the night\nthey vomited all the taro up. Thus the man got so many taro shoots that he\nwas even able to sell some of them to other people.\u201d Or, again, if the\ntaro will not bud, the Yabim will have recourse to the following spell: \u201cA\nmuraena lay at ebb-tide on the shore. It seemed to be at its last gasp.\nThen the tide flowed on, and the muraena came to life again and plunged\ninto the deep water.\u201d This spell is pronounced over twigs of a certain\ntree (_kalelong_), while the enchanter smites the ground with them. After\nthat the taro is sure to bud.(334) Apparently the mere recitation of such\nsimple tales is thought to produce the same effect as a direct appeal,\nwhether in the shape of a prayer or a command, addressed to the spirits.\nSuch incantations may be called narrative spells to distinguish them from\nthe more familiar imperative spells, in which the enchanter expresses his\nwishes in the form of direct commands. Much use seems to be made of such\nnarrative spells among the natives of this part of German New Guinea. For\nexample, among the Bukaua, who attribute practically boundless powers to\nsorcerers in every department of life and nature, the spells by which\nthese wizards attempt to work their will assume one of two forms: either\nthey are requests made to the ancestors, or they are short narratives,\naddressed to nobody in particular, which the sorcerer mutters while he is\nperforming his magical rites.(335) It is true, that here the distinction\nis drawn between narratives and requests rather than between narratives\nand commands; but the difference of a request from a command, though great\nin theory, may be very slight in practice; so that prayer and spell, in\nthe ordinary sense of the words, may melt into each other almost\nimperceptibly. Even the priest or the enchanter who utters the one may be\nhardly conscious of the hairbreadth that divides it from the other. In\nregard to narrative spells, it seems probable that they have been used\nmuch more extensively among mankind than the evidence at our disposal\npermits us positively to affirm; in particular we may conjecture that many\nancient narratives, which we have been accustomed to treat as mere myths,\nused to be regularly recited in magical rites as spells for the purpose of\nactually producing events like those which they describe.\n\n(M79) The use of the bull-roarer to quicken the fruits of the earth is not\npeculiar to the Yabim. On the other side of New Guinea the instrument is\nemployed for the same purpose by the natives of Kiwai, an island at the\nmouth of the Fly River. They think that by whirling bull-roarers they\nproduce good crops of yams, sweet potatoes, and bananas; and in accordance\nwith this belief they call the implement \u201cthe mother of yams.\u201d(336)\nSimilarly in Mabuiag, an island in Torres Straits, the bull-roarer is\nlooked upon as an instrument that can be used to promote the growth of\ngarden produce, such as yams and sweet potatoes; certain spirits were\nsupposed to march round the gardens at night swinging bull-roarers for\nthis purpose.(337) Indeed a fertilising or prolific virtue appears to be\nattributed to the instrument by savages who are totally ignorant of\nagriculture. Thus among the Dieri of central Australia, when a young man\nhad undergone the painful initiatory ceremony of having a number of gashes\ncut in his back, he used to be given a bull-roarer, whereupon it was\nbelieved that he became inspired by the spirits of the men of old, and\nthat by whirling it, when he went in search of game before his wounds were\nhealed, he had power to cause a good harvest of lizards, snakes, and other\nreptiles. On the other hand, the Dieri thought that if a woman were to see\na bull-roarer that had been used at the initiatory ceremonies and to learn\nits secret, the tribe would ever afterwards be destitute of snakes,\nlizards, and other such food.(338) It may very well be that a similar\npower to fertilise or multiply edible plants and animals has been ascribed\nto the bull-roarer by many other peoples who employ the implement in their\nmysteries.\n\n(M80) Further, it is to be observed that just as the Kai of New Guinea\nswing to and fro on reeds suspended from the branches of trees in order to\npromote the growth of the crops, in like manner Lettish peasants in Russia\ndevote their leisure to swinging in spring and early summer for the\nexpress purpose of making the flax grow as high as they swing in the\nair.(339) And we may suspect that wherever swinging is practised as a\nceremony at certain times of the year, particularly in spring and at\nharvest, the pastime is not so much a mere popular recreation as a magical\nrite designed to promote the growth of the crops.(340)\n\nWith these examples before us we need not hesitate to believe that Dr.\nNieuwenhuis is right when he attributes a deep religious or magical\nsignificance to the games which the Kayans or Bahaus of central Borneo\nplay at their various agricultural festivals.\n\n(M81) It remains to point out how far the religious or magical practices\nof these primitive agricultural peoples of Borneo and New Guinea appear to\nillustrate by analogy the original nature of the rites of Eleusis. So far\nas we can recompose, from the broken fragments of tradition, a picture of\nthe religious and political condition of the Eleusinian people in the\nolden time, it appears to tally fairly well with the picture which Dr.\nNieuwenhuis has drawn for us of the Kayans or Bahaus at the present day in\nthe forests of central Borneo. Here as there we see a petty agricultural\ncommunity ruled by hereditary chiefs who, while they unite religious to\ncivil authority, being bound to preside over the numerous ceremonies\nperformed for the good of the crops,(341) nevertheless lead simple\npatriarchal lives and are so little raised in outward dignity above their\nfellows that their daughters do not deem it beneath them to fetch water\nfor the household from the village well.(342) Here as there we see a\npeople whose whole religion is dominated and coloured by the main\noccupation of their lives; who believe that the growth of the crops, on\nwhich they depend for their subsistence, is at the mercy of two powerful\nspirits, a divine husband and his wife, dwelling in a subterranean world;\nand who accordingly offer sacrifices and perform ceremonies in order to\nensure the favour of these mighty beings and so to obtain abundant\nharvests. If we knew more about the Rarian plain at Eleusis,(343) we might\ndiscover that it was the scene of many religious ceremonies like those\nwhich are performed on the little consecrated rice-fields (the _luma\nlali_) of the Kayans, where the various operations of the agricultural\nyear are performed in miniature by members of the chief\u2019s family before\nthe corresponding operations may be performed on a larger scale by common\nfolk on their fields. Certainly we know that the Rarian plain witnessed\none such ceremony in the year. It was a solemn ceremony of ploughing, one\nof the three Sacred Ploughings which took place annually in various parts\nof Attica.(344) Probably the rite formed part of the _Proerosia_ or\nFestival before Ploughing, which was intended to ensure a plentiful\ncrop.(345) Further, it appears that the priests who guided the sacred\nslow-paced oxen as they dragged the plough down the furrows of the Rarian\nPlain, were drawn from the old priestly family of Bouzygai or \u201cOx-yokers,\u201d\nwhose eponymous ancestor is said to have been the first man to yoke oxen\nand to plough the fields. As they performed this time-honoured ceremony,\nthe priests uttered many quaint curses against all churls who should\nrefuse to lend fire or water to neighbours, or to shew the way to\nwanderers, or who should leave a corpse unburied.(346) If we had a\ncomplete list of the execrations fulminated by the holy ploughmen on these\noccasions, we might find that some of them were levelled at the impious\nwretches who failed to keep all the rules of the Sabbath, as we may call\nthose periods of enforced rest and seclusion which the Kayans of Borneo\nand other primitive agricultural peoples observe for the good of the\ncrops.(347)\n\n(M82) Further, when we see that many primitive peoples practise what we\ncall games but what they regard in all seriousness as solemn rites for the\ngood of the crops, we may be the more inclined to accept the view of the\nancients, who associated the Eleusinian games directly with the worship of\nDemeter and Persephone, the Corn Goddesses.(348) One of the contests at\nthe Eleusinian games was in leaping,(349) and we know that even in modern\nEurope to this day leaping or dancing high is practised as a charm to make\nthe crops grow tall.(350) Again, the bull-roarer was swung so as to\nproduce a humming sound at the Greek mysteries;(351) and when we find the\nsame simple instrument whirled by savages in New Guinea for the sake of\nensuring good crops, we may reasonably conjecture that it was whirled with\na like intention by the rude forefathers of the Greeks among the\ncornfields of Eleusis. If that were so\u2014though the conjecture is hardly\nsusceptible of demonstration\u2014it would go some way to confirm the theory\nthat the Eleusinian mysteries were in their origin nothing more than\nsimple rustic ceremonies designed to make the farmer\u2019s fields to wave with\nyellow corn. And in the practice of the Kayans, whose worship of the rice\noffers many analogies to the Eleusinian worship of the corn, may we not\ndetect a hint of the origin of that rule of secrecy which always\ncharacterised the Eleusinian mysteries? May it not have been that, just as\nthe Kayans exclude strangers from their villages while they are engaged in\nthe celebration of religious rites, lest the presence of these intruders\nshould frighten or annoy the shy and touchy spirits who are invoked at\nthese times, so the old Eleusinians may have debarred foreigners from\nparticipation in their most solemn ceremonies, lest the coy goddesses of\nthe corn should take fright or offence at the sight of strange faces and\nso refuse to bestow on men their annual blessing? The admission of\nforeigners to the privilege of initiation in the mysteries was probably a\nlate innovation introduced at a time when the fame of their sanctity had\nspread far and wide, and when the old magical meaning of the ritual had\nlong been obscured, if not forgotten.\n\n(M83) Lastly, it may be suggested that in the masked dances and dramatic\nperformances, which form a conspicuous and popular feature of the Sowing\nFestival among the Kayans,(352) we have the savage counterpart of that\ndrama of divine death and resurrection which appears to have figured so\nprominently in the mysteries of Eleusis.(353) If my interpretation of that\nsolemn drama is correct, it represented in mythical guise the various\nstages in the growth of the corn for the purpose of magically fostering\nthe natural processes which it simulated. In like manner among the Kaua\nand Kobeua Indians of North-western Brazil, who subsist chiefly by the\ncultivation of manioc, dances or rather pantomimes are performed by masked\nmen, who represent spirits or demons of fertility, and by imitating the\nact of procreation are believed to stimulate the growth of plants as well\nas to quicken the wombs of women and to promote the multiplication of\nanimals. Coarse and grotesque as these dramatic performances may seem to\nus, they convey no suggestion of indecency to the minds either of the\nactors or of the spectators, who regard them in all seriousness as rites\ndestined to confer the blessing of fruitfulness on the inhabitants of the\nvillage, on their plantations, and on the whole realm of nature.(354)\nHowever, we possess so little exact information as to the rites of Eleusis\nthat all attempts to elucidate them by the ritual of savages must\nnecessarily be conjectural. Yet the candid reader may be willing to grant\nthat conjectures supported by analogies like the foregoing do not exceed\nthe limits of a reasonable hypothesis.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV. WOMAN\u2019S PART IN PRIMITIVE AGRICULTURE.\n\n\n(M84) If Demeter was indeed a personification of the corn, it is natural\nto ask, why did the Greeks personify the corn as a goddess rather than a\ngod? why did they ascribe the origin of agriculture to a female rather\nthan to a male power? They conceived the spirit of the vine as masculine;\nwhy did they conceive the spirit of the barley and wheat as feminine? To\nthis it has been answered that the personification of the corn as\nfeminine, or at all events the ascription of the discovery of agriculture\nto a goddess, was suggested by the prominent part which women take in\nprimitive agriculture.(355) The theory illustrates a recent tendency of\nmythologists to explain many myths as reflections of primitive society\nrather than as personifications of nature. For that reason, apart from its\nintrinsic interest, the theory deserves to be briefly considered.\n\n(M85) Before the invention of the plough, which can hardly be worked\nwithout resort to the labour of men, it was and still is customary in many\nparts of the world to break up the soil for cultivation with hoes, and\namong not a few savage peoples to this day the task of hoeing the ground\nand sowing the seed devolves mainly or entirely upon the women, while the\nmen take little or no part in cultivation beyond clearing the land by\nfelling the forest trees and burning the fallen timber and brushwood which\nencumber the soil. Thus, for example, among the Zulus, \u201cwhen a piece of\nland has been selected for cultivation, the task of clearing it belongs to\nthe men. If the ground be much encumbered, this becomes a laborious\nundertaking, for their axe is very small, and when a large tree has to be\nencountered, they can only lop the branches; fire is employed when it is\nneedful to remove the trunk. The reader will therefore not be surprised\nthat the people usually avoid bush-land, though they seem to be aware of\nits superior fertility. As a general rule the men take no further share in\nthe labour of cultivation; and, as the site chosen is seldom much\nencumbered and frequently bears nothing but grass, their part of the work\nis very slight. The women are the real labourers; for (except in some\nparticular cases) the entire business of digging, planting, and weeding\ndevolves on them; and, if we regard the assagai and shield as symbolical\nof the man, the hoe may be looked upon as emblematic of the woman.... With\nthis rude and heavy instrument the woman digs, plants, and weeds her\ngarden. Digging and sowing are generally one operation, which is thus\nperformed; the seed is first scattered on the ground, when the soil is dug\nor picked up with the hoe, to the depth of three or four inches, the\nlarger roots and tufts of grass being gathered out, but all the rest left\nin or on the ground.\u201d(356) A special term of contempt is applied to any\nZulu man, who, deprived of the services of his wife and family, is\ncompelled by hard necessity to handle the hoe himself.(357) Similarly\namong the Baronga of Delagoa Bay, \u201cwhen the rains begin to fall, sometimes\nas early as September but generally later, they hasten to sow. With her\nhoe in her hands, the mistress of the field walks with little steps; every\ntime she lifts a clod of earth well broken up, and in the hole thus made\nshe plants three or four grains of maize and covers them up. If she has\nnot finished clearing all the patch of the bush which she contemplated,\nshe proceeds to turn up again the fields she tilled last year. The crop\nwill be less abundant than in virgin soil, but they plant three or four\nyears successively in the same field before it is exhausted. As for\nenriching the soil with manure, they never think of it.\u201d(358) Among the\nBarots\u00e9, who cultivate millet, maize, and peas to a small extent and in a\nrudimentary fashion, women alone are occupied with the field-work, and\ntheir only implement is a spade or hoe.(359) Of the Matabel\u00e9 we are told\nthat \u201cmost of the hard work is performed by the women; the whole of the\ncultivation is done by them. They plough with short spades of native\nmanufacture; they sow the fields, and they clear them of weeds.\u201d(360)\nAmong the Awemba, to the west of Lake Tanganyika, the bulk of the work in\nthe plantations falls on the women; in particular the men refuse to hoe\nthe ground. They have a saying, \u201cIs not each male child born for the axe\nand each female child for the hoe?\u201d(361)\n\n(M86) The natives of the Tanganyika plateau \u201ccultivate the banana, and\nhave a curious custom connected with it. No man is permitted to sow; but\nwhen the hole is prepared a little girl is carried to the spot on a man\u2019s\nshoulders. She first throws into the hole a sherd of broken pottery, and\nthen scatters the seed over it.\u201d(362) The reason of the latter practice\nhas been explained by more recent observers of these natives. \u201cYoung\nchildren, it may here be noted, are often employed to administer drugs,\nremedies, even the Poison Ordeal, and to sow the first seeds. Such acts,\nthe natives say, must be performed by chaste and innocent hands, lest a\ncontaminated touch should destroy the potency of the medicine or of the\nseedlings planted. It used to be a very common sight upon the islands of\nLake Bangweolo to watch how a Bisa woman would solve the problem of her\nown moral unfitness by carrying her baby-girl to the banana-plot, and\ninserting seedlings in the tiny hands for dropping into the holes already\nprepared.\u201d(363) Similarly among the people of the Lower Congo \u201cwomen must\nremain chaste while planting pumpkin and calabash seeds, they are not\nallowed to touch any pig-meat, and they must wash their hands before\ntouching the seeds. If a woman does not observe all these rules, she must\nnot plant the seeds, or the crop will be bad; she may make the holes, and\nher baby girl, or another who has obeyed the restrictions, can drop in the\nseeds and cover them over.\u201d(364) We can now perhaps understand why Attic\nmatrons had to observe strict chastity when they celebrated the festival\nof the Thesmophoria.(365) In Attica that festival was held in honour of\nDemeter in the month of Pyanepsion, corresponding to October,(366) the\nseason of the autumn sowing; and the rites included certain ceremonies\nwhich bore directly on the quickening of the seed.(367) We may conjecture\nthat the rule of chastity imposed on matrons at this festival was a relic\nof a time when they too, like many savage women down to the present time,\ndischarged the important duty of sowing the seed and were bound for that\nreason to observe strict continence, lest any impurity on their part\nshould defile the seed and prevent it from bearing fruit.\n\n(M87) Of the Caffres of South Africa in general we read that \u201cagriculture\nis mainly the work of the women, for in olden days the men were occupied\nin hunting and fighting. The women do but scratch the land with hoes,\nsometimes using long-handled instruments, as in Zululand, and sometimes\nshort-handled ones, as above the Zambesi. When the ground is thus\nprepared, the women scatter the seed, throwing it over the soil quite at\nrandom. They know the time to sow by the position of the constellations,\nchiefly by that of the Pleiades. They date their new year from the time\nthey can see this constellation just before sunrise.\u201d(368) In Basutoland,\nwhere the women also till the fields, though the lands of chiefs are dug\nand sowed by men, an attempt is made to determine the time of sowing by\nobservation of the moon, but the people generally find themselves out in\ntheir reckoning, and after much dispute are forced to fall back upon the\nstate of the weather and of vegetation as better evidence of the season of\nsowing. Intelligent chiefs rectify the calendar at the summer solstice,\nwhich they call the summer-house of the sun.(369)\n\n(M88) Among the Nandi of British East Africa \u201cthe rough work of clearing\nthe bush for plantations is performed by the men, after which nearly all\nwork in connexion with them is done by the women. The men, however, assist\nin sowing the seed, and in harvesting some of the crops. As a rule trees\nare not felled, but the bark is stripped off for about four feet from the\nground and the trees are then left to die. The planting is mostly, if not\nentirely, done during the first half of the _Kiptamo_ moon (February),\nwhich is the first month of the year, and when the _Iwat-kut_ moon rises\n(March) all seed should be in the ground. The chief medicine man is\nconsulted before the planting operations begin, but the Nandi know by the\narrival in the fields of the guinea-fowl, whose song is supposed to be,\n_O-kol, o-kol; mi-i tokoch_ (Plant, plant; there is luck in it), that the\nplanting season is at hand. When the first seed is sown, salt is mixed\nwith it, and the sower sings mournfully: _Ak o-siek-u o-chok-chi_ (And\ngrow quickly), as he sows. After fresh ground has been cleared, eleusine\ngrain is planted. This crop is generally repeated the second year, after\nwhich millet is sown, and finally sweet potatoes or some other product.\nMost fields are allowed to lie fallow every fourth or fifth year. The\nNandi manure their plantations with turf ashes.... The eleusine crops are\nharvested by both men and women. All other crops are reaped by the women\nonly, who are at times assisted by the children. The corn is pounded and\nwinnowed by the women and girls.\u201d(370) Among the Suk and En-jemusi of\nBritish East Africa it is the women who cultivate the fields and milk the\ncows.(371) Among the Wadowe of German East Africa the men clear the forest\nand break up the hard ground, but the women sow and reap the crops.(372)\nSo among the Wanyamwezi, who are an essentially agricultural people, to\nthe south of Lake Victoria Nyanza, the men cut down the bush and hoe the\nhard ground, but leave the rest of the labour of weeding, sowing, and\nreaping to the women.(373) The Baganda of Central Africa subsist chiefly\non bananas, and among them \u201cthe garden and its cultivation have always\nbeen the woman\u2019s department. Princesses and peasant women alike looked\nupon cultivation as their special work; the garden with its produce was\nessentially the wife\u2019s domain, and she would under no circumstances allow\nher husband to do any digging or sowing in it. No woman would remain with\na man who did not give her a garden and a hoe to dig it with; if these\nwere denied her, she would seek an early opportunity to escape from her\nhusband and return to her relations to complain of her treatment, and to\nobtain justice or a divorce. When a man married he sought a plot of land\nfor his wife in order that she might settle to work and provide food for\nthe household.... In initial clearing of the land it was customary for the\nhusband to take part; he cut down the tall grass and shrubs, and so left\nthe ground ready for his wife to begin her digging. The grass and the\ntrees she heaped up and burned, reserving only so much as she needed for\nfirewood. A hoe was the only implement used in cultivation; the blade was\nheart-shaped with a prong at the base, by which it was fastened to the\nhandle. The hoe-handle was never more than two feet long, so that a woman\nhad to stoop when using it.\u201d(374) In Kiziba, a district immediately to the\nsouth of Uganda, the tilling of the soil is exclusively the work of the\nwomen. They turn up the soil with hoes, make holes in the ground with\ndigging-sticks or their fingers, and drop a few seeds into each hole.(375)\nAmong the Niam-Niam of Central Africa \u201cthe men most studiously devote\nthemselves to their hunting, and leave the culture of the soil to be\ncarried on exclusively by the women\u201d;(376) and among the Monbuttoo of the\nsame region in like manner, \u201cwhilst the women attend to the tillage of the\nsoil and the gathering of the harvest, the men, unless they are absent\neither for war or hunting, spend the entire day in idleness.\u201d(377) As to\nthe Bangala of the Upper Congo we read that \u201clarge farms were made around\nthe towns. The men did the clearing of the bush, felling the trees, and\ncutting down the undergrowth; the women worked with them, heaping up the\ngrass and brushwood ready for burning, and helping generally. As a rule\nthe women did the hoeing, planting, and weeding, but the men did not so\ndespise this work as never to do it.\u201d In this tribe \u201cthe food belonged to\nthe woman who cultivated the farm, and while she supplied her husband with\nthe vegetable food, he had to supply the fish and meat and share them with\nhis wife or wives.\u201d(378) Amongst the Tofoke, a tribe of the Congo State on\nthe equator, all the field labour, except the clearing away of the forest,\nis performed by the women. They dig the soil with a hoe and plant maize\nand manioc. A field is used only once.(379) So with the Ba-Mbala, a Bantu\ntribe between the rivers Inzia and Kwilu, the men clear the ground for\ncultivation, but all the rest of the work of tillage falls to the women,\nwhose only tool is an iron hoe. Fresh ground is cleared for cultivation\nevery year.(380) The Mpongwe of the Gaboon, in West Africa, cultivate\nmanioc (cassava), maize, yams, plantains, sweet potatoes, and ground nuts.\nWhen new clearings have to be made in the forest, the men cut down and\nburn the trees, and the women put in the crop. The only tool they use is a\ndibble, with which they turn up a sod, put in a seed, and cover it\nover.(381) Among the Ashira of the same region the cultivation of the soil\nis in the hands of the women.(382)\n\n(M89) A similar division of labour between men and women prevails among\nmany primitive agricultural tribes of Indians in South America. \u201cIn the\ninterior of the villages,\u201d says an eminent authority on aboriginal South\nAmerica, \u201cthe man often absents himself to hunt or to go into the heart of\nthe forest in search of the honey of the wild bees, and he always goes\nalone. He fells the trees in the places where he wishes to make a field\nfor cultivation, he fashions his weapons, he digs out his canoe, while the\nwoman rears the children, makes the garments, busies herself with the\ninterior, cultivates the field, gathers the fruits, collects the roots,\nand prepares the food. Such is, generally at least, the respective\ncondition of the two sexes among almost all the Americans. The Peruvians\nalone had already, in their semi-civilised state, partially modified these\ncustoms; for among them the man shared the toils of the other sex or took\non himself the most laborious tasks.\u201d(383) Thus, to take examples, among\nthe Caribs of the West Indies the men used to fell the trees and leave the\nfallen trunks to cumber the ground, burning off only the smaller boughs.\nThen the women came and planted manioc, potatoes, yams, and bananas\nwherever they found room among the tree-trunks. In digging the ground to\nreceive the seed or the shoots they did not use hoes but simply pointed\nsticks. The men, we are told, would rather have died of hunger than\nundertake such agricultural labours.(384) Again, the staple vegetable food\nof the Indians of British Guiana is cassava bread, made from the roots of\nthe manioc or cassava plant, which the Indians cultivate in clearings of\nthe forest. The men fell the trees, cut down the undergrowth, and in dry\nweather set fire to the fallen lumber, thus creating open patches in the\nforest which are covered with white ashes. When the rains set in, the\nwomen repair to these clearings, heavily laden with baskets full of\ncassava sticks to be used as cuttings. These they insert at irregular\nintervals in the soil, and so the field is formed. While the cassava is\ngrowing, the women do just as much weeding as is necessary to prevent the\ncultivated plants from being choked by the rank growth of the tropical\nvegetation, and in doing so they plant bananas, pumpkin seeds, yams, sweet\npotatoes, sugar-cane, red and yellow peppers, and so forth, wherever there\nis room for them. At last in the ninth or tenth month, when the seeds\nappearing on the straggling branches of the cassava plants announce that\nthe roots are ripe, the women cut down the plants and dig up the roots,\nnot all at once, but as they are required. These roots they afterwards\npeel, scrape, and bake into cassava bread.(385)\n\n(M90) In like manner the cassava or manioc plant is cultivated generally\namong all the Indian tribes of tropical South America, wherever the plant\nwill grow; and the cultivation of it is altogether in the hands of the\nwomen, who insert the sticks in the ground after the fashion already\ndescribed.(386) For example, among the tribes of the Uaupes River, in the\nupper valley of the Amazon, who are an agricultural people with settled\nabodes, \u201cthe men cut down the trees and brushwood, which, after they have\nlain some months to dry, are burnt; and the mandiocca is then planted by\nthe women, together with little patches of cane, sweet potatoes, and\nvarious fruits. The women also dig up the mandiocca, and prepare from it\nthe bread which is their main subsistence.... The bread is made fresh\nevery day, as when it gets cold and dry it is far less palatable. The\nwomen thus have plenty to do, for every other day at least they have to go\nto the field, often a mile or two distant, to fetch the root, and every\nday to grate, prepare, and bake the bread; as it forms by far the greater\npart of their food, and they often pass days without eating anything else,\nespecially when the men are engaged in clearing the forest.\u201d(387) Among\nthe Tupinambas, a tribe of Brazilian Indians, the wives \u201chad something\nmore than their due share of labour, but they were not treated with\nbrutality, and their condition was on the whole happy. They set and dug\nthe mandioc; they sowed and gathered the maize. An odd superstition\nprevailed, that if a sort of earth-almond, which the Portugueze call\n_amendoens_, was planted by the men, it would not grow.\u201d(388) Similar\naccounts appear to apply to the Brazilian Indians in general: the men\noccupy themselves with hunting, war, and the manufacture of their weapons,\nwhile the women plant and reap the crops, and search for fruits in the\nforest;(389) above all they cultivate the manioc, scraping the soil clear\nof weeds with pointed sticks and inserting the shoots in the earth.(390)\nSimilarly among the Indians of Peru, who cultivate maize in clearings of\nthe forest, the cultivation of the fields is left to the women, while the\nmen hunt with bows and arrows and blowguns in the woods, often remaining\naway from home for weeks or even months together.(391)\n\n(M91) A similar distribution of labour between the sexes prevails among\nsome savage tribes in other parts of the world. Thus among the Lhoosai of\nsouth-eastern India the men employ themselves chiefly in hunting or in\nmaking forays on their weaker neighbours, but they clear the ground and\nhelp to carry home the harvest. However, the main burden of the bodily\nlabour by which life is supported falls on the women; they fetch water,\nhew wood, cultivate the ground, and help to reap the crops.(392) Among the\nMiris of Assam almost the whole of the field work is done by the women.\nThey cultivate a patch of ground for two successive years, then suffer it\nto lie fallow for four or five. But they are deterred by superstitious\nfear from breaking new ground so long as the fallow suffices for their\nneeds; they dread to offend the spirits of the woods by needlessly felling\nthe trees. They raise crops of rice, maize, millet, yams, and sweet\npotatoes. But they seldom possess any implement adapted solely for\ntillage; they have never taken to the plough nor even to a hoe. They use\ntheir long straight swords to clear, cut, and dig with.(393) Among the\nKorwas, a savage hill tribe of Bengal, the men hunt with bows and arrows,\nwhile the women till the fields, dig for wild roots, or cull wild\nvegetables. Their principal crop is pulse (_Cajanus Indicus_).(394) Among\nthe Papuans of Ayambori, near Doreh in Dutch New Guinea, it is the men who\nlay out the fields by felling and burning the trees and brushwood in the\nforest, and it is they who enclose the fields with fences, but it is the\nwomen who sow and reap them and carry home the produce in sacks on their\nbacks. They cultivate rice, millet, and bananas.(395) So among the natives\nof Kaimani Bay in Dutch New Guinea the men occupy themselves only with\nfishing and hunting, while all the field work falls on the women.(396) In\nthe Gazelle Peninsula of New Britain, when the natives have decided to\nconvert a piece of grass-land into a plantation, the men cut down the long\ngrass, burn it, dig up the soil with sharp-pointed sticks, and enclose the\nland with a fence of saplings. Then the women plant the banana shoots,\nweed the ground, and in the intervals between the bananas insert slips of\nyams, sweet potatoes, sugar-cane, or ginger. When the produce is ripe,\nthey carry it to the village. Thus the bulk of the labour of cultivation\ndevolves on the women.(397)\n\n(M92) Among some peoples of the Indian Archipelago, after the land has\nbeen cleared for cultivation by the men, the work of planting and sowing\nis divided between men and women, the men digging holes in the ground with\npointed sticks, and the women following them, putting the seeds or shoots\ninto the holes, and then huddling the earth over them; for savages seldom\nsow broadcast, they laboriously dig holes and insert the seed in them.\nThis division of agricultural labour between the sexes is adopted by\nvarious tribes of Celebes, Ceram, Borneo, Nias, and New Guinea.(398)\nSometimes the custom of entrusting the sowing of the seed to women appears\nto be influenced by superstitious as well as economic considerations. Thus\namong the Indians of the Orinoco, who with an infinitude of pains cleared\nthe jungle for cultivation by cutting down the forest trees with their\nstone axes, burning the fallen lumber, and breaking up the ground with\nwooden instruments hardened in the fire, the task of sowing the maize and\nplanting the roots was performed by the women alone; and when the Spanish\nmissionaries expostulated with the men for not helping their wives in this\ntoilsome duty, they received for answer that as women knew how to conceive\nseed and bear children, so the seeds and roots planted by them bore fruit\nfar more abundantly than if they had been planted by male hands.(399)\n\n(M93) Even among savages who have not yet learned to cultivate any plants\nthe task of collecting the edible seeds and digging up the edible roots of\nwild plants appears to devolve mainly on women, while the men contribute\ntheir share to the common food supply by hunting and fishing, for which\ntheir superior strength, agility, and courage especially qualify them. For\nexample, among the Indians of California, who were entirely ignorant of\nagriculture, the general division of labour between the sexes in the\nsearch for food was that the men killed the game and caught the salmon,\nwhile the women dug the roots and brought in most of the vegetable food,\nthough the men helped them to gather acorns, nuts, and berries.(400) Among\nthe Indians of San Juan Capistrano in California, while the men passed\ntheir time in fowling, fishing, dancing, and lounging, \u201cthe women were\nobliged to gather seeds in the fields, prepare them for cooking, and to\nperform all the meanest offices, as well as the most laborious. It was\npainful in the extreme, to behold them, with their infants hanging upon\ntheir shoulders, groping about in search of herbs or seeds, and exposed as\nthey frequently were to the inclemency of the weather.\u201d(401) Yet these\nrude savages possessed a calendar containing directions as to the seasons\nfor collecting the different seeds and produce of the earth. The calendar\nconsisted of lunar months corrected by observation of the solstices, \u201cfor\nat the conclusion of the moon in December, that is, at the conjunction,\nthey calculated the return of the sun from the tropic of Capricorn; and\nanother year commenced, the Indian saying \u2018the sun has arrived at his\nhome.\u2019 ... They observed with greater attention and celebrated with more\npomp, the sun\u2019s arrival at the tropic of Capricorn than they did his\nreaching the tropic of Cancer, for the reason, that, as they were situated\nten degrees from the latter, they were pleased at the sun\u2019s approach\ntowards them; for it returned to ripen their fruits and seeds, to give\nwarmth to the atmosphere, and enliven again the fields with beauty and\nincrease.\u201d However, the knowledge of the calendar was limited to the\n_puplem_ or general council of the tribe, who sent criers to make\nproclamation when the time had come to go forth and gather the seeds and\nother produce of the earth. In their calculations they were assisted by a\n_pul_ or astrologer, who observed the aspect of the moon.(402) When we\nconsider that these rude Californian savages, destitute alike of\nagriculture and of the other arts of civilised life, yet succeeded in\nforming for themselves a calendar based on observation both of the moon\nand of the sun, we need not hesitate to ascribe to the immeasurably more\nadvanced Greeks at the dawn of history the knowledge of a somewhat more\nelaborate calendar founded on a cycle of eight solar years.(403)\n\n(M94) Among the equally rude aborigines of Australia, to whom agriculture\nin every form was totally unknown, the division of labour between the\nsexes in regard to the collection of food appears to have been similar.\nWhile the men hunted game, the labour of gathering and preparing the\nvegetable food fell chiefly to the women. Thus with regard to the\nEncounter Bay tribe of South Australia we are told that while the men\nbusied themselves, according to the season, either with fishing or with\nhunting emus, opossums, kangaroos, and so forth, the women and children\nsearched for roots and plants.(404) Again, among the natives of Western\nAustralia \u201cit is generally considered the province of women to dig roots,\nand for this purpose they carry a long, pointed stick, which is held in\nthe right hand, and driven firmly into the ground, where it is shaken, so\nas to loosen the earth, which is scooped up and thrown out with the\nfingers of the left hand, and in this manner they dig with great rapidity.\nBut the labour, in proportion to the amount obtained, is great. To get a\nyam about half an inch in circumference and a foot in length, they have to\ndig a hole above a foot square and two feet in depth; a considerable\nportion of the time of the women and children is, therefore, passed in\nthis employment. If the men are absent upon any expedition, the females\nare left in charge of one who is old or sick; and in traversing the bush\nyou often stumble on a large party of them, scattered about in the forest,\ndigging roots and collecting the different species of fungus.\u201d(405) In\nfertile districts, where the yams which the aborigines use as food grow\nabundantly, the ground may sometimes be seen riddled with holes made by\nthe women in their search for these edible roots. Thus to quote Sir George\nGrey: \u201cWe now crossed the dry bed of a stream, and from that emerged upon\na tract of light fertile soil, quite overrun with _warran_ [yam] plants,\nthe root of which is a favourite article of food with the natives. This\nwas the first time we had yet seen this plant on our journey, and now for\nthree and a half consecutive miles we traversed a fertile piece of land,\nliterally perforated with the holes the natives had made to dig this root;\nindeed we could with difficulty walk across it on that account, whilst\nthis tract extended east and west as far as we could see.\u201d(406) Again, in\nthe valley of the Lower Murray River a kind of yam (_Microseris Forsteri_)\ngrew plentifully and was easily found in the spring and early summer, when\nthe roots were dug up out of the earth by the women and children. The root\nis small and of a sweetish taste and grows throughout the greater part of\nAustralia outside the tropics; on the alpine pastures of the high\nAustralian mountains it attains to a much larger size and furnishes a not\nunpalatable food.(407) But the women gather edible herbs and seeds as well\nas roots; and at evening they may be seen trooping in to the camp, each\nwith a great bundle of sow-thistles, dandelions, or trefoil on her\nhead,(408) or carrying wooden vessels filled with seeds, which they\nafterwards grind up between stones and knead into a paste with water or\nbake into cakes.(409) Among the aborigines of central Victoria, while the\nmen hunted, the women dug up edible roots and gathered succulent\nvegetables, such as the young tops of the _munya_, the sow-thistle, and\nseveral kinds of fig-marigold. The implement which they used to dig up\nroots with was a pole seven or eight feet long, hardened in the fire and\npointed at the end, which also served them as a weapon both of defence and\nof offence.(410) Among the tribes of Central Australia the principal\nvegetable food is the seed of a species of Claytonia, called by white men\n_munyeru_, which the women gather in large quantities and winnow by\npouring the little black seeds from one vessel to another so as to let the\nwind blow the loose husks away.(411)\n\n(M95) In these customs observed by savages who are totally ignorant of\nagriculture we may perhaps detect some of the steps by which mankind have\nadvanced from the enjoyment of the wild fruits of the earth to the\nsystematic cultivation of plants. For an effect of digging up the earth in\nthe search for roots has probably been in many cases to enrich and\nfertilise the soil and so to increase the crop of roots or herbs; and such\nan increase would naturally attract the natives in larger numbers and\nenable them to subsist for longer periods on the spot without being\ncompelled by the speedy exhaustion of the crop to shift their quarters and\nwander away in search of fresh supplies. Moreover, the winnowing of the\nseeds on ground which had thus been turned up by the digging-sticks of the\nwomen would naturally contribute to the same result. For though savages at\nthe level of the Californian Indians and the aborigines of Australia have\nno idea of using seeds for any purpose but that of immediate consumption,\nand it has never occurred to them to incur a temporary loss for the sake\nof a future gain by sowing them in the ground, yet it is almost certain\nthat in the process of winnowing the seeds as a preparation for eating\nthem many of the grains must have escaped and, being wafted by the wind,\nhave fallen on the upturned soil and borne fruit. Thus by the operations\nof turning up the ground and winnowing the seed, though neither operation\naimed at anything beyond satisfying the immediate pangs of hunger, savage\nman or rather savage woman was unconsciously preparing for the whole\ncommunity a future and more abundant store of food, which would enable\nthem to multiply and to abandon the old migratory and wasteful manner of\nlife for a more settled and economic mode of existence. So curiously\nsometimes does man, aiming his shafts at a near but petty mark, hit a\ngreater and more distant target.\n\n(M96) On the whole, then, it appears highly probable that as a consequence\nof a certain natural division of labour between the sexes women have\ncontributed more than men towards the greatest advance in economic\nhistory, namely, the transition from a nomadic to a settled life, from a\nnatural to an artificial basis of subsistence.\n\n(M97) Among the Aryan peoples of Europe the old practice of hoeing the\nground as a preparation for sowing appears to have been generally replaced\nat a very remote period by the far more effective process of\nploughing;(412) and as the labour of ploughing practically necessitates\nthe employment of masculine strength, it is hardly to be expected that in\nEurope many traces should remain of the important part formerly played by\nwomen in primitive agriculture. However, we are told that among the\nIberians of Spain and the Athamanes of Epirus the women tilled the\nground,(413) and that among the ancient Germans the care of the fields was\nleft to the women and old men.(414) But these indications of an age when\nthe cultivation of the ground was committed mainly to feminine hands are\nfew and slight; and if the Greek conception of Demeter as a goddess of\ncorn and agriculture really dates from such an age and was directly\nsuggested by such a division of labour between the sexes, it seems clear\nthat its origin must be sought at a period far back in the history of the\nAryan race, perhaps long before the segregation of the Greeks from the\ncommon stock and their formation into a separate people. It may be so, but\nto me I confess that this derivation of the conception appears somewhat\nfar-fetched and improbable; and I prefer to suppose that the idea of the\ncorn as feminine was suggested to the Greek mind, not by the position of\nwomen in remote prehistoric ages, but by a direct observation of nature,\nthe teeming head of corn appearing to the primitive fancy to resemble the\nteeming womb of a woman, and the ripe ear on the stalk being likened to a\nchild borne in the arms or on the back of its mother. At least we know\nthat similar sights suggest similar ideas to some of the agricultural\nnegroes of West Africa. Thus the Hos of Togoland, who plant maize in\nFebruary and reap it in July, say that the maize is an image of a mother;\nwhen the cobs are forming, the mother is binding the infant on her back,\nbut in July she sinks her head and dies and the child is taken away from\nher, to be afterwards multiplied at the next sowing.(415) When the rude\naborigines of Western Australia observe that a seed-bearing plant has\nflowered, they call it the Mother of So-and-so, naming the particular kind\nof plant, and they will not allow it to be dug up.(416) Apparently they\nthink that respect and regard are due to the plant as to a mother and her\nchild. Such simple and natural comparisons, which may occur to men in any\nage and country, suffice to explain the Greek personification of the corn\nas mother and daughter, and we need not cast about for more recondite\ntheories. Be that as it may, the conception of the corn as a woman and a\nmother was certainly not peculiar to the ancient Greeks, but has been\nshared by them with many other races, as will appear abundantly from the\ninstances which I shall cite in the following chapter.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V. THE CORN-MOTHER AND THE CORN-MAIDEN IN NORTHERN EUROPE.\n\n\n(M98) It has been argued by W. Mannhardt that the first part of Demeter\u2019s\nname is derived from an alleged Cretan word _deai_, \u201cbarley,\u201d and that\naccordingly Demeter means neither more nor less than \u201cBarley-mother\u201d or\n\u201cCorn-mother\u201d;(417) for the root of the word seems to have been applied to\ndifferent kinds of grain by different branches of the Aryans.(418) As\nCrete appears to have been one of the most ancient seats of the worship of\nDemeter,(419) it would not be surprising if her name were of Cretan\norigin. But the etymology is open to serious objections,(420) and it is\nsafer therefore to lay no stress on it. Be that as it may, we have found\nindependent reasons for identifying Demeter as the Corn-mother, and of the\ntwo species of corn associated with her in Greek religion, namely barley\nand wheat, the barley has perhaps the better claim to be her original\nelement; for not only would it seem to have been the staple food of the\nGreeks in the Homeric age, but there are grounds for believing that it is\none of the oldest, if not the very oldest, cereal cultivated by the Aryan\nrace. Certainly the use of barley in the religious ritual of the ancient\nHindoos as well as of the ancient Greeks furnishes a strong argument in\nfavour of the great antiquity of its cultivation, which is known to have\nbeen practised by the lake-dwellers of the Stone Age in Europe.(421)\n\nAnalogies to the Corn-mother or Barley-mother of ancient Greece have been\ncollected in great abundance by W. Mannhardt from the folk-lore of modern\nEurope. The following may serve as specimens.\n\n(M99) In Germany the corn is very commonly personified under the name of\nthe Corn-mother. Thus in spring, when the corn waves in the wind, the\npeasants say, \u201cThere comes the Corn-mother,\u201d or \u201cThe Corn-mother is\nrunning over the field,\u201d or \u201cThe Corn-mother is going through the\ncorn.\u201d(422) When children wish to go into the fields to pull the blue\ncorn-flowers or the red poppies, they are told not to do so, because the\nCorn-mother is sitting in the corn and will catch them.(423) Or again she\nis called, according to the crop, the Rye-mother or the Pea-mother, and\nchildren are warned against straying in the rye or among the peas by\nthreats of the Rye-mother or the Pea-mother. In Norway also the Pea-mother\nis said to sit among the peas.(424) Similar expressions are current among\nthe Slavs. The Poles and Czechs warn children against the Corn-mother who\nsits in the corn. Or they call her the old Corn-woman, and say that she\nsits in the corn and strangles the children who tread it down.(425) The\nLithuanians say, \u201cThe Old Rye-woman sits in the corn.\u201d(426) Again the\nCorn-mother is believed to make the crop grow. Thus in the neighbourhood\nof Magdeburg it is sometimes said, \u201cIt will be a good year for flax; the\nFlax-mother has been seen.\u201d At Dinkelsb\u00fchl, in Bavaria, down to the latter\npart of the nineteenth century, people believed that when the crops on a\nparticular farm compared unfavourably with those of the neighbourhood, the\nreason was that the Corn-mother had punished the farmer for his sins.(427)\nIn a village of Styria it is said that the Corn-mother, in the shape of a\nfemale puppet made out of the last sheaf of corn and dressed in white, may\nbe seen at midnight in the corn-fields, which she fertilises by passing\nthrough them; but if she is angry with a farmer, she withers up all his\ncorn.(428)\n\n(M100) Further, the Corn-mother plays an important part in harvest\ncustoms. She is believed to be present in the handful of corn which is\nleft standing last on the field; and with the cutting of this last handful\nshe is caught, or driven away, or killed. In the first of these cases, the\nlast sheaf is carried joyfully home and honoured as a divine being. It is\nplaced in the barn, and at threshing the corn-spirit appears again.(429)\nIn the Hanoverian district of Hadeln the reapers stand round the last\nsheaf and beat it with sticks in order to drive the Corn-mother out of it.\nThey call to each other, \u201cThere she is! hit her! Take care she doesn\u2019t\ncatch you!\u201d The beating goes on till the grain is completely threshed out;\nthen the Corn-mother is believed to be driven away.(430) In the\nneighbourhood of Danzig the person who cuts the last ears of corn makes\nthem into a doll, which is called the Corn-mother or the Old Woman and is\nbrought home on the last waggon.(431) In some parts of Holstein the last\nsheaf is dressed in woman\u2019s clothes and called the Corn-mother. It is\ncarried home on the last waggon, and then thoroughly drenched with water.\nThe drenching with water is doubtless a rain-charm.(432) In the district\nof Bruck in Styria the last sheaf, called the Corn-mother, is made up into\nthe shape of a woman by the oldest married woman in the village, of an age\nfrom fifty to fifty-five years. The finest ears are plucked out of it and\nmade into a wreath, which, twined with flowers, is carried on her head by\nthe prettiest girl of the village to the farmer or squire, while the\nCorn-mother is laid down in the barn to keep off the mice.(433) In other\nvillages of the same district the Corn-mother, at the close of harvest, is\ncarried by two lads at the top of a pole. They march behind the girl who\nwears the wreath to the squire\u2019s house, and while he receives the wreath\nand hangs it up in the hall, the Corn-mother is placed on the top of a\npile of wood, where she is the centre of the harvest supper and dance.\nAfterwards she is hung up in the barn and remains there till the threshing\nis over. The man who gives the last stroke at threshing is called the son\nof the Corn-mother; he is tied up in the Corn-mother, beaten, and carried\nthrough the village. The wreath is dedicated in church on the following\nSunday; and on Easter Eve the grain is rubbed out of it by a\nseven-years-old girl and scattered amongst the young corn. At Christmas\nthe straw of the wreath is placed in the manger to make the cattle\nthrive.(434) Here the fertilising power of the Corn-mother is plainly\nbrought out by scattering the seed taken from her body (for the wreath is\nmade out of the Corn-mother) among the new corn; and her influence over\nanimal life is indicated by placing the straw in the manger. At\nWesterh\u00fcsen, in Saxony, the last corn cut is made in the shape of a woman\ndecked with ribbons and cloth. It is fastened to a pole and brought home\non the last waggon. One of the people in the waggon keeps waving the pole,\nso that the figure moves as if alive. It is placed on the threshing-floor,\nand stays there till the threshing is done.(435) Amongst the Slavs also\nthe last sheaf is known as the Rye-mother, the Wheat-mother, the\nOats-mother, the Barley-mother, and so on, according to the crop. In the\ndistrict of Tarnow, Galicia, the wreath made out of the last stalks is\ncalled the Wheat-mother, Rye-mother, or Pea-mother. It is placed on a\ngirl\u2019s head and kept till spring, when some of the grain is mixed with the\nseed-corn.(436) Here again the fertilising power of the Corn-mother is\nindicated. In France, also, in the neighbourhood of Auxerre, the last\nsheaf goes by the name of the Mother of the Wheat, Mother of the Barley,\nMother of the Rye, or Mother of the Oats. They leave it standing in the\nfield till the last waggon is about to wend homewards. Then they make a\npuppet out of it, dress it with clothes belonging to the farmer, and adorn\nit with a crown and a blue or white scarf. A branch of a tree is stuck in\nthe breast of the puppet, which is now called the Ceres. At the dance in\nthe evening the Ceres is set in the middle of the floor, and the reaper\nwho reaped fastest dances round it with the prettiest girl for his\npartner. After the dance a pyre is made. All the girls, each wearing a\nwreath, strip the puppet, pull it to pieces, and place it on the pyre,\nalong with the flowers with which it was adorned. Then the girl who was\nthe first to finish reaping sets fire to the pile, and all pray that Ceres\nmay give a fruitful year. Here, as Mannhardt observes, the old custom has\nremained intact, though the name Ceres is a bit of schoolmaster\u2019s\nlearning.(437) In Upper Brittany the last sheaf is always made into human\nshape; but if the farmer is a married man, it is made double and consists\nof a little corn-puppet placed inside of a large one. This is called the\nMother-sheaf. It is delivered to the farmer\u2019s wife, who unties it and\ngives drink-money in return.(438)\n\n(M101) Sometimes the last sheaf is called, not the Corn-mother, but the\nHarvest-mother or the Great Mother. In the province of Osnabr\u00fcck, Hanover,\nit is called the Harvest-mother; it is made up in female form, and then\nthe reapers dance about with it. In some parts of Westphalia the last\nsheaf at the rye-harvest is made especially heavy by fastening stones in\nit. They bring it home on the last waggon and call it the Great Mother,\nthough they do not fashion it into any special shape. In the district of\nErfurt a very heavy sheaf, not necessarily the last, is called the Great\nMother, and is carried on the last waggon to the barn, where all hands\nlift it down amid a fire of jokes.(439)\n\n(M102) Sometimes again the last sheaf is called the Grandmother, and is\nadorned with flowers, ribbons, and a woman\u2019s apron. In East Prussia, at\nthe rye or wheat harvest, the reapers call out to the woman who binds the\nlast sheaf, \u201cYou are getting the Old Grandmother.\u201d In the neighbourhood of\nMagdeburg the men and women servants strive who shall get the last sheaf,\ncalled the Grandmother. Whoever gets it will be married in the next year,\nbut his or her spouse will be old; if a girl gets it, she will marry a\nwidower; if a man gets it, he will marry an old crone. In Silesia the\nGrandmother\u2014a huge bundle made up of three or four sheaves by the person\nwho tied the last sheaf\u2014was formerly fashioned into a rude likeness of the\nhuman form.(440) In the neighbourhood of Belfast the last sheaf sometimes\ngoes by the name of the Granny. It is not cut in the usual way, but all\nthe reapers throw their sickles at it and try to bring it down. It is\nplaited and kept till the (next?) autumn. Whoever gets it will marry in\nthe course of the year.(441)\n\n(M103) Oftener the last sheaf is called the Old Woman or the Old Man. In\nGermany it is frequently shaped and dressed as a woman, and the person who\ncuts it or binds it is said to \u201cget the Old Woman.\u201d(442) At Altisheim, in\nSwabia, when all the corn of a farm has been cut except a single strip,\nall the reapers stand in a row before the strip; each cuts his share\nrapidly, and he who gives the last cut \u201chas the Old Woman.\u201d(443) When the\nsheaves are being set up in heaps, the person who gets hold of the Old\nWoman, which is the largest and thickest of all the sheaves, is jeered at\nby the rest, who call out to him, \u201cHe has the Old Woman and must keep\nher.\u201d(444) The woman who binds the last sheaf is sometimes herself called\nthe Old Woman, and it is said that she will be married in the next\nyear.(445) In Neusaass, West Prussia, both the last sheaf\u2014which is dressed\nup in jacket, hat, and ribbons\u2014and the woman who binds it are called the\nOld Woman. Together they are brought home on the last waggon and are\ndrenched with water.(446) In various parts of North Germany the last sheaf\nat harvest is made up into a human effigy and called \u201cthe Old Man\u201d; and\nthe woman who bound it is said \u201cto have the Old Man.\u201d(447) At Hornkampe,\nnear Tiegenhof (West Prussia), when a man or woman lags behind the rest in\nbinding the corn, the other reapers dress up the last sheaf in the form of\na man or woman, and this figure goes by the laggard\u2019s name, as \u201cthe old\nMichael,\u201d \u201cthe idle Trine.\u201d It is brought home on the last waggon, and, as\nit nears the house, the bystanders call out to the laggard, \u201cYou have got\nthe Old Woman and must keep her.\u201d(448) In Brandenburg the young folks on\nthe harvest-field race towards a sheaf and jump over it. The last to jump\nover it has to carry a straw puppet, adorned with ribbons, to the farmer\nand deliver it to him while he recites some verses. Of the person who thus\ncarries the puppet it is said that \u201che has the Old Man.\u201d Probably the\npuppet is or used to be made out of the last corn cut.(449) In many\ndistricts of Saxony the last sheaf used to be adorned with ribbons and set\nupright so as to look like a man. It was then known as \u201cthe Old Man,\u201d and\nthe young women brought it back in procession to the farm, singing as they\nwent, \u201cNow we are bringing the Old Man.\u201d(450)\n\n(M104) In West Prussia, when the last rye is being raked together, the\nwomen and girls hurry with the work, for none of them likes to be the last\nand to get \u201cthe Old Man,\u201d that is, a puppet made out of the last sheaf,\nwhich must be carried before the other reapers by the person who was the\nlast to finish.(451) In Silesia the last sheaf is called the Old Woman or\nthe Old Man and is the theme of many jests; it is made unusually large and\nis sometimes weighted with a stone. At Girlachsdorf, near Reichenbach,\nwhen this heavy sheaf is lifted into the waggon, they say, \u201cThat is the\nOld Man whom we sought for so long.\u201d(452) Among the Germans of West\nBohemia the man who cuts the last corn is said to \u201chave the Old Man.\u201d In\nformer times it used to be customary to put a wreath on his head and to\nplay all kinds of pranks with him, and at the harvest supper he was given\nthe largest portion.(453) At Wolletz in Westphalia the last sheaf at\nharvest is called the Old Man, and being made up into the likeness of a\nman and decorated with flowers it is presented to the farmer, who in\nreturn prepares a feast for the reapers. About Unna, in Westphalia, the\nlast sheaf at harvest is made unusually large, and stones are inserted to\nincrease its weight. It is called _de greaute meaur_ (the Grey Mother?),\nand when it is brought home on the waggon water is thrown on the\nharvesters who accompany it.(454) Among the Wends the man or woman who\nbinds the last sheaf at wheat harvest is said to \u201chave the Old Man.\u201d A\npuppet is made out of the wheaten straw and ears in the likeness of a man\nand decked with flowers. The person who bound the last sheaf must carry\nthe Old Man home, while the rest laugh and jeer at him. The puppet is hung\nup in the farmhouse and remains till a new Old Man is made at the next\nharvest.(455) At the close of the harvest the Arabs of Moab bury the last\nsheaf in a grave in the cornfield, saying as they do so, \u201cWe are burying\nthe Old Man,\u201d or \u201cThe Old Man is dead.\u201d(456)\n\n(M105) In some of these customs, as Mannhardt has remarked, the person who\nis called by the same name as the last sheaf and sits beside it on the\nlast waggon is obviously identified with it; he or she represents the\ncorn-spirit which has been caught in the last sheaf; in other words, the\ncorn-spirit is represented in duplicate, by a human being and by a\nsheaf.(457) The identification of the person with the sheaf is made still\nclearer by the custom of wrapping up in the last sheaf the person who cuts\nor binds it. Thus at Hermsdorf in Silesia it used to be the regular\npractice to tie up in the last sheaf the woman who had bound it.(458) At\nWeiden, in Bavaria, it is the cutter, not the binder, of the last sheaf\nwho is tied up in it.(459) Here the person wrapt up in the corn represents\nthe corn-spirit, exactly as a person wrapt in branches or leaves\nrepresents the tree-spirit.(460)\n\n(M106) The last sheaf, designated as the Old Woman, is often distinguished\nfrom the other sheaves by its size and weight. Thus in some villages of\nWest Prussia the Old Woman is made twice as long and thick as a common\nsheaf, and a stone is fastened in the middle of it. Sometimes it is made\nso heavy that a man can barely lift it.(461) At Alt-Pillau, in Samland,\neight or nine sheaves are often tied together to make the Old Woman, and\nthe man who sets it up grumbles at its weight.(462) At Itzgrund, in\nSaxe-Coburg, the last sheaf, called the Old Woman, is made large with the\nexpress intention of thereby securing a good crop next year.(463) Thus the\ncustom of making the last sheaf unusually large or heavy is a charm,\nworking by sympathetic magic, to ensure a large and heavy crop at the\nfollowing harvest. In Denmark also the last sheaf is made larger than the\nothers, and is called the Old Rye-woman or the Old Barley-woman. No one\nlikes to bind it, because whoever does so will be sure, they think, to\nmarry an old man or an old woman. Sometimes the last wheat-sheaf, called\nthe Old Wheat-woman, is made up in human shape, with head, arms, and legs,\nand being dressed in clothes is carried home on the last waggon, while the\nharvesters sit beside it drinking and huzzaing.(464) Of the person who\nbinds the last sheaf it is said, \u201cShe or he is the Old Rye-woman.\u201d(465)\n\n(M107) In Scotland, when the last corn was cut after Hallowmas, the female\nfigure made out of it was sometimes called the Carlin or Carline, that is,\nthe Old Woman. But if cut before Hallowmas, it was called the Maiden; if\ncut after sunset, it was called the Witch, being supposed to bring bad\nluck.(466) Among the Highlanders of Scotland the last corn cut at harvest\nis known either as the Old Wife (_Cailleach_) or as the Maiden; on the\nwhole the former name seems to prevail in the western and the latter in\nthe central and eastern districts. Of the Maiden we shall speak presently;\nhere we are dealing with the Old Wife. The following general account of\nthe custom is given by a careful and well-informed enquirer, the Rev. J.\nG. Campbell, minister of the remote Hebridean island of Tiree: \u201cThe\nHarvest Old Wife (_a Chailleach_).\u2014In harvest, there was a struggle to\nescape from being the last done with the shearing,(467) and when tillage\nin common existed, instances were known of a ridge being left unshorn (no\nperson would claim it) because of it being behind the rest. The fear\nentertained was that of having the \u2018famine of the farm\u2019 (_gort a bhaile_),\nin the shape of an imaginary old woman (_cailleach_), to feed till next\nharvest. Much emulation and amusement arose from the fear of this old\nwoman.... The first done made a doll of some blades of corn, which was\ncalled the \u2018old wife,\u2019 and sent it to his nearest neighbour. He in turn,\nwhen ready, passed it to another still less expeditious, and the person it\nlast remained with had \u2018the old woman\u2019 to keep for that year.\u201d(468)\n\n(M108) To illustrate the custom by examples, in Bernera, on the west of\nLewis, the harvest rejoicing goes by the name of the Old Wife\n(_Cailleach_) from the last sheaf cut, whether in a township, farm, or\ncroft. Where there are a number of crofts beside each other, there is\nalways great rivalry as to who shall first finish reaping, and so have the\nOld Wife before his neighbours. Some people even go out on a clear night\nto reap their fields after their neighbours have retired to rest, in order\nthat they may have the Old Wife first. More neighbourly habits, however,\nusually prevail, and as each finishes his own fields he goes to the help\nof another, till the whole crop is cut. The reaping is still done with the\nsickle. When the corn has been cut on all the crofts, the last sheaf is\ndressed up to look as like an old woman as possible. She wears a white\ncap, a dress, an apron, and a little shawl over the shoulders fastened\nwith a sprig of heather. The apron is tucked up to form a pocket, which is\nstuffed with bread and cheese. A sickle, stuck in the string of the apron\nat the back, completes her equipment. This costume and outfit mean that\nthe Old Wife is ready to bear a hand in the work of harvesting. At the\nfeast which follows, the Old Wife is placed at the head of the table, and\nas the whisky goes round each of the company drinks to her, saying,\n\u201cHere\u2019s to the one that has helped us with the harvest.\u201d When the table\nhas been cleared away and dancing begins, one of the lads leads out the\nOld Wife and dances with her; and if the night is fine the party will\nsometimes go out and march in a body to a considerable distance, singing\nharvest-songs, while one of them carries the Old Wife on his back. When\nthe Harvest-Home is over, the Old Wife is shorn of her gear and used for\nordinary purposes.(469) In the island of Islay the last corn cut also goes\nby the name of the Old Wife (_Cailleach_), and when she has done her duty\nat harvest she is hung up on the wall and stays there till the time comes\nto plough the fields for the next year\u2019s crop. Then she is taken down, and\non the first day when the men go to plough she is divided among them by\nthe mistress of the house. They take her in their pockets and give her to\nthe horses to eat when they reach the field. This is supposed to secure\ngood luck for the next harvest, and is understood to be the proper end of\nthe Old Wife.(470) In Kintyre also the name of the Old Wife is given to\nthe last corn cut.(471) On the shores of the beautiful Loch Awe, a long\nsheet of water, winding among soft green hills, above which the giant Ben\nCruachan towers bold and rugged on the north, the harvest custom is\nsomewhat different. The name of the Old Wife (_Cailleach_) is here\nbestowed, not on the last corn cut, but on the reaper who is the last to\nfinish. He bears it as a term of reproach, and is not privileged to reap\nthe last ears left standing. On the contrary, these are cut by the reaper\nwho was the first to finish his _spagh_ or strip (literally \u201cclaw\u201d), and\nout of them is fashioned the Maiden, which is afterwards hung up,\naccording to one statement, \u201cfor the purpose of preventing the death of\nhorses in spring.\u201d(472) In the north-east of Scotland \u201cthe one who took\nthe last of the grain from the field to the stackyard was called the\n\u2018winter.\u2019 Each one did what could be done to avoid being the last on the\nfield, and when there were several on the field there was a race to get\noff. The unfortunate \u2018winter\u2019 was the subject of a good deal of teasing,\nand was dressed up in all the old clothes that could be gathered about the\nfarm, and placed on the \u2018bink\u2019 to eat his supper.\u201d(473) So in Caithness\nthe person who cuts the last sheaf is called Winter and retains the name\ntill the next harvest.(474)\n\n(M109) Usages of the same sort are reported from Wales. Thus in North\nPembrokeshire a tuft of the last corn cut, from six to twelve inches long,\nis plaited and goes by the name of the Hag (_wrach_); and quaint old\ncustoms used to be practised with it within the memory of many persons\nstill alive. Great was the excitement among the reapers when the last\npatch of standing corn was reached. All in turn threw their sickles at it,\nand the one who succeeded in cutting it received a jug of home-brewed ale.\nThe Hag (_wrach_) was then hurriedly made and taken to a neighbouring\nfarm, where the reapers were still busy at their work. This was generally\ndone by the ploughman; but he had to be very careful not to be observed by\nhis neighbours, for if they saw him coming and had the least suspicion of\nhis errand they would soon make him retrace his steps. Creeping stealthily\nup behind a fence he waited till the foreman of his neighbour\u2019s reapers\nwas just opposite him and within easy reach. Then he suddenly threw the\nHag over the fence and, if possible, upon the foreman\u2019s sickle, crying out\n\n\n    \u201c_Boreu y codais i,_\n    _Hwyr y dilynais i,_\n    _Ar ei gwar hi._\u201d\n\n\n(M110) On that he took to his heels and made off as fast as he could run,\nand he was a lucky man if he escaped without being caught or cut by the\nflying sickles which the infuriated reapers hurled after him. In other\ncases the Hag was brought home to the farmhouse by one of the reapers. He\ndid his best to bring it home dry and without being observed; but he was\napt to be roughly handled by the people of the house, if they suspected\nhis errand. Sometimes they stripped him of most of his clothes, sometimes\nthey would drench him with water which had been carefully stored in\nbuckets and pans for the purpose. If, however, he succeeded in bringing\nthe Hag in dry and unobserved, the master of the house had to pay him a\nsmall fine; or sometimes a jug of beer \u201cfrom the cask next to the wall,\u201d\nwhich seems to have commonly held the best beer, would be demanded by the\nbearer. The Hag was then carefully hung on a nail in the hall or elsewhere\nand kept there all the year. The custom of bringing in the Hag (_wrach_)\ninto the house and hanging it up still exists in some farms of North\nPembrokeshire, but the ancient ceremonies which have just been described\nare now discontinued.(475)\n\nSimilar customs at harvest were observed in South Pembrokeshire within\nliving memory. In that part of the country there used to be a competition\nbetween neighbouring farms to see which would finish reaping first. The\nforeman of the reapers planned so as to finish the reaping in a corner of\nthe field out of sight of the people on the next farm. There, with the\nlast handful of corn cut, he would make two Old Women or Hags (_wrachs_).\nOne of them he would send by a lad or other messenger to be laid secretly\nin the field where the neighbours were still at work cutting their corn.\nThe messenger would disguise himself to look like a stranger, and jumping\nthe fence and creeping through the corn he would lay the Hag (_wrach_) in\na place where the reapers in reaping would be sure to find it. Having done\nso he fled for dear life, for were the reapers to catch him they would\nshut him up in a dark room and not let him out till he had cleaned all the\nmuddy boots, shoes, and clogs in the house. The second Hag (_wrach_) was\nsent or taken by the foreman of the reapers to his master\u2019s farmhouse.\nGenerally he tried to pop into the house unseen and lay the Hag on the\nkitchen table; but if the people of the farm caught him before he laid it\ndown, they used to drench him with water. If a foreman succeeded in\ngetting both the Hags (_wrachs_) laid safe in their proper quarters, one\nat home, the other on a neighbour\u2019s farm, without interruption, it was\ndeemed a great honour.(476) In County Antrim, down to some years ago, when\nthe sickle was finally expelled by the reaping machine, the few stalks of\ncorn left standing last on the field were plaited together; then the\nreapers, blindfolded, threw their sickles at the plaited corn, and whoever\nhappened to cut it through took it home with him and put it over his door.\nThis bunch of corn was called the Carley(477)\u2014probably the same word as\nCarlin.\n\n(M111) Similar customs are observed by Slavonic peoples. Thus in Poland\nthe last sheaf is commonly called the Baba, that is, the Old Woman. \u201cIn\nthe last sheaf,\u201d it is said, \u201csits the Baba.\u201d The sheaf itself is also\ncalled the Baba, and is sometimes composed of twelve smaller sheaves\nlashed together.(478) In some parts of Bohemia the Baba, made out of the\nlast sheaf, has the figure of a woman with a great straw hat. It is\ncarried home on the last harvest-waggon and delivered, along with a\ngarland, to the farmer by two girls. In binding the sheaves the women\nstrive not to be last, for she who binds the last sheaf will have a child\nnext year.(479) The last sheaf is tied up with others into a large bundle,\nand a green branch is stuck on the top of it.(480) Sometimes the\nharvesters call out to the woman who binds the last sheaf, \u201cShe has the\nBaba,\u201d or \u201cShe is the Baba.\u201d She has then to make a puppet, sometimes in\nfemale, sometimes in male form, out of the corn; the puppet is\noccasionally dressed with clothes, often with flowers and ribbons only.\nThe cutter of the last stalks, as well as the binder of the last sheaf,\nwas also called Baba; and a doll, called the Harvest-woman, was made out\nof the last sheaf and adorned with ribbons. The oldest reaper had to\ndance, first with this doll, and then with the farmer\u2019s wife.(481) In the\ndistrict of Cracow, when a man binds the last sheaf, they say, \u201cThe\nGrandfather is sitting in it\u201d; when a woman binds it, they say, \u201cThe Baba\nis sitting in it,\u201d and the woman herself is wrapt up in the sheaf, so that\nonly her head projects out of it. Thus encased in the sheaf, she is\ncarried on the last harvest-waggon to the house, where she is drenched\nwith water by the whole family. She remains in the sheaf till the dance is\nover, and for a year she retains the name of Baba.(482)\n\n(M112) In Lithuania the name for the last sheaf is Boba (Old Woman),\nanswering to the Polish name Baba. The Boba is said to sit in the corn\nwhich is left standing last.(483) The person who binds the last sheaf or\ndigs the last potato is the subject of much banter, and receives and long\nretains the name of the Old Rye-woman or the Old Potato-woman.(484) The\nlast sheaf\u2014the Boba\u2014is made into the form of a woman, carried solemnly\nthrough the village on the last harvest-waggon, and drenched with water at\nthe farmer\u2019s house; then every one dances with it.(485)\n\n(M113) In Russia also the last sheaf is often shaped and dressed as a\nwoman, and carried with dance and song to the farmhouse. Out of the last\nsheaf the Bulgarians make a doll which they call the Corn-queen or\nCorn-mother; it is dressed in a woman\u2019s shirt, carried round the village,\nand then thrown into the river in order to secure plenty of rain and dew\nfor the next year\u2019s crop. Or it is burned and the ashes strewn on the\nfields, doubtless to fertilise them.(486) The name Queen, as applied to\nthe last sheaf, has its analogies in central and northern Europe. Thus, in\nthe Salzburg district of Austria, at the end of the harvest a great\nprocession takes place, in which a Queen of the Corn-ears (_\u00c4hrenk\u00f6nigin_)\nis drawn along in a little carriage by young fellows.(487) The custom of\nthe Harvest Queen appears to have been common in England. Brand quotes\nfrom Hutchinson\u2019s _History of Northumberland_ the following: \u201cI have seen,\nin some places, an image apparelled in great finery, crowned with flowers,\na sheaf of corn placed under her arm, and a scycle in her hand, carried\nout of the village in the morning of the conclusive reaping day, with\nmusic and much clamour of the reapers, into the field, where it stands\nfixed on a pole all day, and when the reaping is done, is brought home in\nlike manner. This they call the Harvest Queen, and it represents the Roman\nCeres.\u201d(488) Again, the traveller Dr. E. D. Clarke tells us that \u201ceven in\nthe town of Cambridge, and centre of our University, such curious remains\nof antient customs may be noticed, in different seasons of the year, which\npass without observation. The custom of blowing horns upon the first of\nMay (Old Style) is derived from a festival in honour of Diana. At the\n_Hawkie_, as it is called, or Harvest Home, I have seen a clown dressed in\nwoman\u2019s clothes, having his face painted, his head decorated with ears of\ncorn, and bearing about him other symbols of Ceres, carried in a waggon,\nwith great pomp and loud shouts, through the streets, the horses being\ncovered with white sheets: and when I inquired the meaning of the\nceremony, was answered by the people that they were drawing the Morgay\n(\u039c\u0397\u03a4\u0397\u03a1 \u0393\u0397) or Harvest Queen.\u201d(489) Milton must have been familiar with the\ncustom of the Harvest Queen, for in _Paradise Lost_(490) he says:\u2014\n\n\n                      \u201c_Adam the while_\n    _Waiting desirous her return, had wove_\n    _Of choicest flow\u2019rs a garland to adorn_\n    _Her tresses, and her rural labours crown,_\n    _As reapers oft are wont their harvest-queen._\u201d\n\n\n(M114) Often customs of this sort are practised, not on the harvest-field\nbut on the threshing-floor. The spirit of the corn, fleeing before the\nreapers as they cut down the ripe grain, quits the reaped corn and takes\nrefuge in the barn, where it appears in the last sheaf threshed, either to\nperish under the blows of the flail or to flee thence to the still\nunthreshed corn of a neighbouring farm.(491) Thus the last corn to be\nthreshed is called the Mother-Corn or the Old Woman. Sometimes the person\nwho gives the last stroke with the flail is called the Old Woman, and is\nwrapt in the straw of the last sheaf, or has a bundle of straw fastened on\nhis back. Whether wrapt in the straw or carrying it on his back, he is\ncarted through the village amid general laughter. In some districts of\nBavaria, Th\u00fcringen, and elsewhere, the man who threshes the last sheaf is\nsaid to have the Old Woman or the Old Corn-woman; he is tied up in straw,\ncarried or carted about the village, and set down at last on the dunghill,\nor taken to the threshing-floor of a neighbouring farmer who has not\nfinished his threshing.(492) In Poland the man who gives the last stroke\nat threshing is called Baba (Old Woman); he is wrapt in corn and wheeled\nthrough the village.(493) Sometimes in Lithuania the last sheaf is not\nthreshed, but is fashioned into female shape and carried to the barn of a\nneighbour who has not finished his threshing.(494)\n\n(M115) At Chorinchen, near Neustadt, the man who gives the last stroke at\nthreshing is said to \u201cget the Old Man.\u201d(495) In various parts of Austrian\nSilesia he is called the corn-fool, the oats-fool, and so forth according\nto the crop, and retains the name till the next kind of grain has been\nreaped. Sometimes he is called the _Kl\u00f6ppel_ or mallet. He is much\nridiculed and in the Bennisch district he is dressed out in the\nthreshing-implements and obliged to carry them about the farmyard to the\namusement of his fellows. In Dobischwald the man who gives the last stroke\nat threshing has to carry a log or puppet of wood wrapt in straw to a\nneighbour who has not yet finished his threshing. There he throws his\nburden into the barn, crying, \u201cThere you have the Mallet (_Kl\u00f6ppel_),\u201d and\nmakes off as fast as he can. If they catch him, they tie the puppet on his\nback, and he is known as the Mallet (_Kl\u00f6ppel_) for the whole of the year;\nhe may be the Corn-mallet or the Wheat-mallet or so forth according to the\nparticular crop.(496)\n\n(M116) About Berneck, in Upper Franken, the man who gives the last stroke\nat threshing runs away. If the others catch him, he gets \u201cthe Old Woman,\u201d\nthat is, the largest dumpling, which elsewhere is baked in human shape.\nThe custom of setting a dumpling baked in the form of an old woman before\nthe man who has given the last stroke at threshing is also observed in\nvarious parts of Middle Franken. Sometimes the excised genitals of a calf\nare served up to him at table.(497) At Langenbielau in Silesia the last\nsheaf, which is called \u201cthe Old Man,\u201d is threshed separately and the corn\nground into meal and baked into a loaf. This loaf is believed to possess\nhealing virtue and to bring a blessing; hence none but members of the\nfamily may partake of it. At Wittichenau, in the district of Hoyerswerda\n(Silesia), when the threshing is ended, some of the straw of \u201cthe Old Man\u201d\nis carried to a neighbour who has not yet finished his threshing, and the\nbearer is rewarded with a gratuity.(498) Among the Germans of the\nFalkenauer district in West Bohemia the man who gives the last stroke at\nthreshing gets \u201cthe Old Man,\u201d a hideous scarecrow, tied on his back. If\nthreshing is still proceeding at another farm, he may go thither and rid\nhimself of his burden, but must take care not to be caught. In this way a\nfarmer who is behind-hand with his threshing may receive several such\nscarecrows, and so become the target for many gibes. Among the Germans of\nthe Planer district in West Bohemia, the man who gives the last stroke at\nthreshing is himself called \u201cthe Old Man.\u201d Similarly at flax-dressing in\nSilberberg (West Bohemia), the woman who is the last to finish her task is\nsaid to get the Old Man, and a cake baked in human form is served up to\nher at supper.(499) The Wends of Saxony say of the man who gives the last\nstroke at threshing that \u201che has struck the Old Man\u201d (_w\u00f3n je stareho\nbil_), and he is obliged to carry a straw puppet to a neighbour, who has\nnot yet finished his threshing, where he throws the puppet unobserved over\nthe fence.(500) In some parts of Sweden, when a stranger woman appears on\nthe threshing-floor, a flail is put round her body, stalks of corn are\nwound round her neck, a crown of ears is placed on her head, and the\nthreshers call out, \u201cBehold the Corn-woman.\u201d Here the stranger woman, thus\nsuddenly appearing, is taken to be the corn-spirit who has just been\nexpelled by the flails from the corn-stalks.(501) In other cases the\nfarmer\u2019s wife represents the corn-spirit. Thus in the Commune of Salign\u00e9,\nCanton de Poiret (Vend\u00e9e), the farmer\u2019s wife, along with the last sheaf,\nis tied up in a sheet, placed on a litter, and carried to the threshing\nmachine, under which she is shoved. Then the woman is drawn out and the\nsheaf is threshed by itself, but the woman is tossed in the sheet, as if\nshe were being winnowed.(502) It would be impossible to express more\nclearly the identification of the woman with the corn than by this graphic\nimitation of threshing and winnowing her. Mitigated forms of the custom\nare observed in various places. Thus among the Germans of Sch\u00fcttarschen in\nWest Bohemia it was customary at the close of the threshing to \u201cthrottle\u201d\nthe farmer\u2019s wife by squeezing her neck between the arms of a flail till\nshe consented to bake a special kind of cake called a _drischala_ (from\n_dreschen_, \u201cto thresh\u201d).(503) A similar custom of \u201cthrottling\u201d the\nfarmer\u2019s wife at the threshing is practised in some parts of Bavaria, only\nthere the pressure is applied by means of a straw rope instead of a\nflail.(504)\n\n(M117) In these customs the spirit of the ripe corn is regarded as old, or\nat least as of mature age. Hence the names of Mother, Grandmother, Old\nWoman, and so forth. But in other cases the corn-spirit is conceived as\nyoung. Thus at Saldern, near Wolfenbuttel, when the rye has been reaped,\nthree sheaves are tied together with a rope so as to make a puppet with\nthe corn ears for a head. This puppet is called the Maiden or the\nCorn-maiden (_Kornjungfer_).(505) Sometimes the corn-spirit is conceived\nas a child who is separated from its mother by the stroke of the sickle.\nThis last view appears in the Polish custom of calling out to the man who\ncuts the last handful of corn, \u201cYou have cut the navel-string.\u201d(506) In\nsome districts of West Prussia the figure made out of the last sheaf is\ncalled the Bastard, and a boy is wrapt up in it. The woman who binds the\nlast sheaf and represents the Corn-mother is told that she is about to be\nbrought to bed; she cries like a woman in travail, and an old woman in the\ncharacter of grandmother acts as midwife. At last a cry is raised that the\nchild is born; whereupon the boy who is tied up in the sheaf whimpers and\nsqualls like an infant. The grandmother wraps a sack, in imitation of\nswaddling bands, round the pretended baby, who is carried joyfully to the\nbarn, lest he should catch cold in the open air.(507) In other parts of\nNorth Germany the last sheaf, or the puppet made out of it, is called the\nChild, the Harvest-Child, and so on, and they call out to the woman who\nbinds the last sheaf, \u201cyou are getting the child.\u201d(508)\n\n(M118) In the north of England, particularly in the counties of\nNorthumberland, Durham, and Yorkshire, the last corn cut on the field at\nharvest is or used to be variously known as the _mell_ or the _kirn_, of\nwhich _kern_ and _churn_ are merely local or dialectical variations. The\ncorn so cut is either plaited or made up into a doll-like figure, which\ngoes by the name of the mell-doll or the kirn-doll, or the kirn-baby, and\nis brought home with rejoicings at the end of the harvest.(509) In the\nNorth Riding of Yorkshire the last sheaf gathered in is called the\nMell-sheaf, and the expression \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten wer mell\u201d is as much as to\nsay \u201cThe Harvest is finished.\u201d Formerly a Mell-doll was made out of a\nsheaf of corn decked with flowers and wrapped in such of the reapers\u2019\ngarments as could be spared. It was carried with music and dancing to the\nscene of the harvest-supper, which was called the mell-supper.(510) In the\nnorth of Yorkshire the mell-sheaf \u201cwas frequently made of such dimensions\nas to be a heavy load for a man, and, within a few years comparatively,\nwas proposed as the prize to be won in a race of old women. In other cases\nit was carefully preserved and set up in some conspicuous place in the\nfarmhouse.\u201d(511) Where the last sheaf of corn cut was called the _kirn_ or\n_kern_ instead of the _mell_, the customs concerned with it seem to have\nbeen essentially similar. Thus we are told that in the north it was common\nfor the reapers, on the last day of the reaping, \u201cto have a contention for\nsuperiority in quickness of dispatch, groups of three or four taking each\na ridge, and striving which should soonest get to its termination. In\nScotland, this was called a _kemping_, which simply means a striving. In\nthe north of England, it was a _mell_.... As the reapers went on during\nthe last day, they took care to leave a good handful of the grain uncut,\nbut laid down flat, and covered over; and, when the field was done, the\n\u2018bonniest lass\u2019 was allowed to cut this final handful, which was presently\ndressed up with various sewings, tyings, and trimmings, like a doll, and\nhailed as a _Corn Baby_. It was brought home in triumph, with music of\nfiddles and bagpipes, was set up conspicuously that night at supper, and\nwas usually preserved in the farmer\u2019s parlour for the remainder of the\nyear. The bonny lass who cut this handful of grain was deemed the _Har\u2019st\nQueen_\u201d.(512) To cut the last portion of standing corn in the harvest\nfield was known as \u201cto get the kirn\u201d or \u201cto win the kirn\u201d; and as soon as\nthis was done the reapers let the neighbours know that the harvest was\nfinished by giving three cheers, which was called \u201cto cry or shout the\nkirn.\u201d(513) Where the last handful of standing corn was called the\n_churn_, the stalks were roughly plaited together, and the reapers threw\ntheir sickles at it till some one cut it through, which was called\n\u201ccutting the churn.\u201d The severed churn (that is, the plaited corn) was\nthen placed over the kitchen door or over the hob in the chimney for good\nluck, and as a charm against witchcraft.(514) In Kent the Ivy Girl is, or\nused to be, \u201ca figure composed of some of the best corn the field\nproduces, and made as well as they can into a human shape; this is\nafterwards curiously dressed by the women, and adorned with paper\ntrimmings, cut to resemble a cap, ruffles, handkerchief, etc., of the\nfinest lace. It is brought home with the last load of corn from the field\nupon the waggon, and they suppose entitles them to a supper at the expense\nof the employer.\u201d(515)\n\n(M119) In some parts of Scotland, as well as in the north of England, the\nlast handful of corn cut on the harvest-field was called the _kirn_, and\nthe person who carried it off was said \u201cto win the kirn.\u201d It was then\ndressed up like a child\u2019s doll and went by the name of the kirn-baby, the\nkirn-doll, or the Maiden.(516) In Berwickshire down to about the middle of\nthe nineteenth century there was an eager competition among the reapers to\ncut the last bunch of standing corn. They gathered round it at a little\ndistance and threw their sickles in turn at it, and the man who succeeded\nin cutting it through gave it to the girl he preferred. She made the corn\nso cut into a kirn-dolly and dressed it, and the doll was then taken to\nthe farmhouse and hung up there till the next harvest, when its place was\ntaken by the new kirn-dolly.(517) At Spottiswoode (Westruther Parish) in\nBerwickshire the reaping of the last corn at harvest was called \u201ccutting\nthe Queen\u201d almost as often as \u201ccutting the kirn.\u201d The mode of cutting it\nwas not by throwing sickles. One of the reapers consented to be\nblindfolded, and having been given a sickle in his hand and turned twice\nor thrice about by his fellows, he was bidden to go and cut the kirn. His\ngroping about and making wild strokes in the air with his sickle excited\nmuch hilarity. When he had tired himself out in vain and given up the task\nas hopeless, another reaper was blindfolded and pursued the quest, and so\non, one after the other, till at last the kirn was cut. The successful\nreaper was tossed up in the air with three cheers by his brother\nharvesters. To decorate the room in which the kirn-supper was held at\nSpottiswoode as well as the granary, where the dancing took place, two\nwomen made kirn-dollies or Queens every year; and many of these rustic\neffigies of the corn-spirit might be seen hanging up together.(518) At\nLanfine in Ayrshire, down to near the end of the nineteenth century, the\nlast bunch of standing corn at harvest was, occasionally at least, plaited\ntogether, and the reapers tried to cut it by throwing their sickles at it;\nwhen they failed in the attempt, a woman has been known to run in and\nsever the stalks at a blow. In Dumfriesshire also, within living memory,\nit used to be customary to cut the last standing corn by throwing the\nsickles at it.(519)\n\n(M120) In the north of Ireland the harvest customs were similar, but\nthere, as in some parts of England, the last patch of standing corn bore\nthe name of the _churn_, a dialectical variation of _kirn_. \u201cThe custom of\n\u2018Winning the Churn\u2019 was prevalent all through the counties of Down and\nAntrim fifty years ago. It was carried out at the end of the harvest, or\nreaping the grain, on each farm or holding, were it small or large. Oats\nare the main crop of the district, but the custom was the same for other\nkinds of grain. When the reapers had nearly finished the last field a\nhandful of the best-grown stalks was selected, carefully plaited as it\nstood, and fastened at the top just under the ears to keep the plait in\nplace. Then when all the corn was cut from about this, which was known as\n_The Churn_, and the sheaves about it had been removed to some distance,\nthe reapers stood in a group about ten yards off it, and each whirled his\nsickle at the _Churn_ till one lucky one succeeded in cutting it down,\nwhen he was cheered on his achievement. This person had then the right of\npresenting it to the master or mistress of the farm, who gave the reaper a\nshilling.\u201d A supper and a dance of the reapers in the farmhouse often\nconcluded the day. The _Churn_, trimmed and adorned with ribbons, was hung\nup on a wall in the farmhouse and carefully preserved. It was no uncommon\nsight to see six or even twelve or more such _Churns_ decorating the walls\nof a farmhouse in County Down or Antrim.(520)\n\n(M121) In some parts of the Highlands of Scotland the last handful of corn\nthat is cut by the reapers on any particular farm is called the Maiden, or\nin Gaelic _Maidhdeanbuain_, literally \u201cthe shorn Maiden.\u201d Superstitions\nattach to the winning of the Maiden. If it is got by a young person, they\nthink it an omen that he or she will be married before another harvest.\nFor that or other reasons there is a strife between the reapers as to who\nshall get the Maiden, and they resort to various stratagems for the\npurpose of securing it. One of them, for example, will often leave a\nhandful of corn uncut and cover it up with earth to hide it from the other\nreapers, till all the rest of the corn on the field is cut down. Several\nmay try to play the same trick, and the one who is coolest and holds out\nlongest obtains the coveted distinction. When it has been cut, the Maiden\nis dressed with ribbons into a sort of doll and affixed to a wall of the\nfarmhouse. In the north of Scotland the Maiden is carefully preserved till\nYule morning, when it is divided among the cattle \"to make them thrive all\nthe year round.\"(521) In the island of Mull and some parts of the mainland\nof Argyleshire the last handful of corn cut is called the Maiden\n(_Maighdean-Bhuana_). Near Ardrishaig, in Argyleshire, the Maiden is made\nup in a fanciful three-cornered shape, decorated with ribbons, and hung\nfrom a nail on the wall.(522)\n\n(M122) The following account of the Maiden was obtained in the summer of\n1897 from the manager of a farm near Kilmartin in Argyleshire: \u201cThe\n_Mhaighdean-Bhuana_, or _Reaping Maiden_, was the last sheaf of oats to be\ncut on a croft or farm. Before the reaping-machine and binder took the\nplace of the sickle and the scythe, the young reapers of both sexes, when\nthey neared the end of the last rig or field, used to man\u0153uvre to gain\npossession of the _Mhaighdean-Bhuana_. The individual who was fortunate\nenough to obtain it was _ex officio_ entitled to be the King or the Queen\nof the Harvest-Home festival. The sheaf so designated was carefully\npreserved and kept intact until the day they began leading home the corn.\nA tuft of it was then given to each of the horses, as they started from\nthe corn-field with their first load. The rest of it was neatly made up,\nand hung in some conspicuous corner of the farmhouse, where it remained\ntill it was replaced by a younger sister next season. On the first day of\nploughing a tuft of it was given (as on the first day of leading home the\ncorn) as a _Sainnseal_ or handsel for luck to the horses. The\n_Mhaighdean-Bhuana_ so preserved and used was a symbol that the harvest\nhad been duly secured, and that the spring work had been properly\ninaugurated. It was also believed to be a protection against fairies and\nwitchcraft.\u201d(523)\n\n(M123) In the parish of Longforgan, situated at the south-eastern corner\nof Perthshire, it used to be customary to give what was called the Maiden\nFeast at the end of the harvest. The last handful of corn reaped on the\nfield was called the Maiden, and things were generally so arranged that it\nfell into the hands of a pretty girl. It was then decked out with ribbons\nand brought home in triumph to the music of bagpipes and fiddles. In the\nevening the reapers danced and made merry. Afterwards the Maiden was\ndressed out, generally in the form of a cross, and hung up, with the date\nattached to it, in a conspicuous part of the house.(524) In the\nneighbourhood of Balquhidder, Perthshire, the last handful of corn is cut\nby the youngest girl on the field, and is made into the rude form of a\nfemale doll, clad in a paper dress, and decked with ribbons. It is called\nthe Maiden, and is kept in the farmhouse, generally above the chimney, for\na good while, sometimes till the Maiden of the next year is brought in.\nThe writer of this book witnessed the ceremony of cutting the Maiden at\nBalquhidder in September 1888.(525) A lady friend(526) informed me that as\na young girl she cut the Maiden several times at the request of the\nreapers in the neighbourhood of Perth. The name of the Maiden was given to\nthe last handful of standing corn; a reaper held the top of the bunch\nwhile she cut it. Afterwards the bunch was plaited, decked with ribbons,\nand hung up in a conspicuous place on the wall of the kitchen till the\nnext Maiden was brought in. The harvest-supper in this neighbourhood was\nalso called the Maiden; the reapers danced at it.\n\n(M124) In the Highland district of Lochaber dancing and merry-making on\nthe last night of harvest used to be universal and are still generally\nobserved. Here, we are told, the festivity without the Maiden would be\nlike a wedding without the bride. The Maiden is carried home with\ntumultuous rejoicing, and after being suitably decorated is hung up in the\nbarn, where the dancing usually takes place. When supper is over, one of\nthe company, generally the oldest man present, drinks a glass of whisky,\nafter turning to the suspended sheaf and saying, \u201cHere\u2019s to the Maiden.\u201d\nThe company follow his example, each in turn drinking to the Maiden. Then\nthe dancing begins.(527) On some farms on the Gareloch, in Dumbartonshire,\nabout the year 1830, the last handful of standing corn was called the\nMaiden. It was divided in two, plaited, and then cut with the sickle by a\ngirl, who, it was thought, would be lucky and would soon be married. When\nit was cut the reapers gathered together and threw their sickles in the\nair. The Maiden was dressed with ribbons and hung in the kitchen near the\nroof, where it was kept for several years with the date attached.\nSometimes five or six Maidens might be seen hanging at once on hooks. The\nharvest-supper was called the Kirn.(528) In other farms on the Gareloch\nthe last handful of corn was called the Maidenhead or the Head; it was\nneatly plaited, sometimes decked with ribbons, and hung in the kitchen for\na year, when the grain was given to the poultry.(529)\n\n(M125) In the north-east of Aberdeenshire the customs connected with the\nlast corn cut at harvest have been carefully collected and recorded by the\nlate Rev. Walter Gregor of Pitsligo. His account runs as follows: \u201cThe\nlast sheaf cut is the object of much care: the manner of cutting it,\nbinding it, and carrying it to the house varies a little in the different\ndistricts. The following customs have been reported to me by people who\nhave seen them or who have practised them, and some of the customs have\nnow disappeared. The information comes from the parishes of Pitsligo,\nAberdour, and Tyrie, situated in the north-east corner of the county of\nAberdeen, but the customs are not limited to these parishes.\n\n\u201cSome particulars relating to the sheaf may be noted as always the same;\nthus (_a_) it is cut and gathered by the youngest person present in the\nfield, the person who is supposed to be the purest; (_b_) the sheaf is not\nallowed to touch the ground; (_c_) it is made up and carried in triumph to\nthe house; (_d_) it occupies a conspicuous place in the festivals which\nfollow the end of the reaping; (_e_) it is kept till Christmas morning,\nand is then given to one or more of the horses or to the cattle of the\nfarm.\n\n(M126) \u201cBefore the introduction of the scythe, the corn was cut by the\nsickle or _heuck_, a kind of curved sickle. The last sheaf was shorn or\ncut by the youngest girl present. As the corn might not touch the ground,\nthe master or \u2018gueedman\u2019 sat down, placed the band on his knees, and\nreceived thereupon each handful as it was cut. The sheaf was bound,\ndressed as a woman, and when it had been brought to the house, it was\nplaced in some part of the kitchen, where everybody could see it during\nthe meal which followed the end of the reaping. This sheaf was called the\n_clyack_ sheaf.(530)\n\n\u201cThe manner of receiving and binding the last sheaf is not always the\nsame. Here is another: three persons hold the band in their hands, one of\nthem at each end, while the third holds the knot in the middle. Each\nhandful of corn is placed so that the cut end is turned to the breast of\nthose who support the ears on the opposite side. When all is cut, the\nyoungest boy ties the knot. Two other bands are fastened to the sheaf, one\nnear the cut end, the other near the ears. The sheaf is carried to the\nhouse by those who have helped to cut or bind it (Aberdour).\n\n\u201cSince the introduction of the scythe, it is the youngest boy who cuts the\nlast sheaf; my informant (a woman) told me that when he was not strong\nenough to wield the scythe, his hand was guided by another. The youngest\ngirl gathers it. When it is bound with three bands, it is cut straight,\nand it is not allowed to touch the ground. The youngest girls carry it to\nthe house. My informant (a woman) told me that she had seen it decked and\nplaced at the head of the bed. Formerly, and still sometimes, there was\nalways a bed in the kitchen (Tyrie).\n\n\u201cThe corn is not allowed to fall on the ground: the young girls who gather\nit take it by the ear and convey it handful by handful, till the whole\nsheaf is cut. A woman who \u2018has lost a feather of her wing,\u2019 as an old\nwoman put it to me, may not touch it. Sometimes also they merely put the\ntwo hands round the sheaf (New Deer).\n\n(M127) \u201cGenerally a feast and dance follow when all the wheat is cut. This\nfeast and dance bear the name of _clyack_ or \u2018meal and ale.\u2019 However, some\npeople do not give \u2018meal and ale\u2019 till all the cut corn has been got in:\nthen the feast is called \u2018the Winter\u2019 and they say that a farmer \u2018has the\nWinter\u2019 when all his sheaves have been carried home.\n\n\u201cAt this feast two things are indispensable: a cheese called the\n_clyack-kebback_ and \u2018meal and ale.\u2019\n\n\u201cThe cheese _clyack-kebback_ must be cut by the master of the house. The\nfirst slice is larger than the rest; it is known by the name of \u2018the\n_kanave\u2019s faang_,\u2019\u2014the young man\u2019s big slice\u2014and is generally the share of\nthe herd boy (Tyrie).\n\n\u201cThe dish called \u2018meal and ale\u2019 is made as follows. You take a suitable\nvessel, whether an earthenware pot or a milk-bowl, if the crockery is\nscanty; but if on the contrary the family is well off, they use other\nspecial utensils. In each dish ale is poured and treacle is added to\nsweeten it. Then oatmeal is mixed with the sweetened ale till the whole is\nof a sufficient consistency. The cook adds whisky to the mixture in such\nproportion as she thinks fit. In each plate is put a ring. To allow the\nmeal time to be completely absorbed, the dish is prepared on the morning\nof the feast. At the moment of the feast the dish or dishes containing the\nstrong and savoury mixture are set on the middle of the table. But it is\nnot served up till the end. Six or seven persons generally have a plate to\nthemselves. Each of them plunges his spoon into the plate as fast as\npossible in the hope of getting the ring; for he who is lucky enough to\nget it will be married within the year. Meantime some of the stuff is\nswallowed, but often in the struggle some of it is spilt on the table or\nthe floor.\n\n(M128) \u201cIn some districts there used to be and still is dancing in the\nevening of the feast. \u2018The sheaf\u2019 figured in the dances. It was dressed as\na girl and carried on the back of the mistress of the house to the barn or\ngranary which served as a ballroom. The mistress danced a reel with \u2018the\nsheaf\u2019 on her back.\n\n(M129) \u201cThe woman who gave me this account had been a witness of what she\ndescribed when she was a girl. The sheaf was afterwards carefully stored\ntill the first day of Christmas, when it was given to eat to a mare in\nfoal, if there was one on the farm, or, if there was not, to the oldest\ncow in calf. Elsewhere the sheaf was divided between all the cows and\ntheir calves or between all the horses and the cattle of the farm.\n(Related by an eye-witness.)\u201d(531)\n\n(M130) In these Aberdeenshire customs the sanctity attributed to the last\ncorn cut at harvest is clearly manifested, not merely by the ceremony with\nwhich it is treated on the field, in the house, and in the barn, but also\nby the great care taken to prevent it from touching the ground or being\nhandled by any unchaste person. The reason why the youngest person on the\nfield, whether a girl or a boy, is chosen to cut the last standing corn\nand sometimes to carry it to the house is no doubt a calculation that the\nyounger the person the more likely is he or she to be sexually pure. We\nhave seen that for this reason some negroes entrust the sowing of the seed\nto very young girls,(532) and later on we shall meet with more evidence in\nAfrica of the notion that the corn may be handled only by the pure.(533)\nAnd in the gruel of oat-meal and ale, which the harvesters sup with spoons\nas an indispensable part of the harvest supper, have we not the Scotch\nequivalent of the gruel of barley-meal and water, flavoured with\npennyroyal, which the initiates at Eleusis drank as a solemn form of\ncommunion with the Barley Goddess Demeter?(534) May not that mystic\nsacrament have originated in a simple harvest supper held by Eleusinian\nfarmers at the end of the reaping?\n\nAccording to a briefer account of the Aberdeenshire custom, \u201cthe last\nsheaf cut, or \u2018maiden,\u2019 is carried home in merry procession by the\nharvesters. It is then presented to the mistress of the house, who dresses\nit up to be preserved till the first mare foals. The maiden is then taken\ndown and presented to the mare as its first food. The neglect of this\nwould have untoward effects upon the foal, and disastrous consequences\nupon farm operations generally for the season.\u201d(535) In Fifeshire the last\nhandful of corn, known as the Maiden, is cut by a young girl and made into\nthe rude figure of a doll, tied with ribbons, by which it is hung on the\nwall of the farm-kitchen till the next spring.(536) The custom of cutting\nthe Maiden at harvest was also observed in Inverness-shire and\nSutherlandshire.(537)\n\n(M131) A somewhat maturer but still youthful age is assigned to the\ncorn-spirit by the appellations of Bride, Oats-bride, and Wheat-bride,\nwhich in Germany are sometimes bestowed both on the last sheaf and on the\nwoman who binds it.(538) At wheat-harvest near M\u00fcglitz, in Moravia, a\nsmall portion of the wheat is left standing after all the rest has been\nreaped. This remnant is then cut, amid the rejoicing of the reapers, by a\nyoung girl who wears a wreath of wheaten ears on her head and goes by the\nname of the Wheat-bride. It is supposed that she will be a real bride that\nsame year.(539) In the upland valley of Alpach, in North Tyrol, the person\nwho brings the last sheaf into the granary is said to have the Wheat-bride\nor the Rye-bride according to the crop, and is received with great\ndemonstrations of respect and rejoicing. The people of the farm go out to\nmeet him, bells are rung, and refreshments offered to him on a tray.(540)\nIn Austrian Silesia a girl is chosen to be the Wheat-bride, and much\nhonour is paid to her at the harvest-festival.(541) Near Roslin and\nStonehaven, in Scotland, the last handful of corn cut \u201cgot the name of\n\u2018the bride,\u2019 and she was placed over the _bress_ or chimney-piece; she had\na ribbon tied below her numerous _ears_, and another round her\nwaist.\u201d(542)\n\n(M132) Sometimes the idea implied by the name of Bride is worked out more\nfully by representing the productive powers of vegetation as bride and\nbridegroom. Thus in the Vorharz an Oats-man and an Oats-woman, swathed in\nstraw, dance at the harvest feast.(543) In South Saxony an Oats-bridegroom\nand an Oats-bride figure together at the harvest celebration. The\nOats-bridegroom is a man completely wrapt in oats-straw; the Oats-bride is\na man dressed in woman\u2019s clothes, but not wrapt in straw. They are drawn\nin a waggon to the ale-house, where the dance takes place. At the\nbeginning of the dance the dancers pluck the bunches of oats one by one\nfrom the Oats-bridegroom, while he struggles to keep them, till at last he\nis completely stript of them and stands bare, exposed to the laughter and\njests of the company.(544) In Austrian Silesia the ceremony of \u201cthe\nWheat-bride\u201d is celebrated by the young people at the end of the harvest.\nThe woman who bound the last sheaf plays the part of the Wheat-bride,\nwearing the harvest-crown of wheat ears and flowers on her head. Thus\nadorned, standing beside her Bridegroom in a waggon and attended by\nbridesmaids, she is drawn by a pair of oxen, in full imitation of a\nmarriage procession, to the tavern, where the dancing is kept up till\nmorning. Somewhat later in the season the wedding of the Oats-bride is\ncelebrated with the like rustic pomp. About Neisse, in Silesia, an\nOats-king and an Oats-queen, dressed up quaintly as a bridal pair, are\nseated on a harrow and drawn by oxen into the village.(545)\n\n(M133) In these last instances the corn-spirit is personified in double\nform as male and female. But sometimes the spirit appears in a double\nfemale form as both old and young, corresponding exactly to the Greek\nDemeter and Persephone, if my interpretation of these goddesses is right.\nWe have seen that in Scotland, especially among the Gaelic-speaking\npopulation, the last corn cut is sometimes called the Old Wife and\nsometimes the Maiden. Now there are parts of Scotland in which both an Old\nWife (_Cailleach_) and a Maiden are cut at harvest. As the accounts of\nthis custom are not quite clear and consistent, it may be well to give\nthem first in the words of the original authorities. Thus the late Sheriff\nAlexander Nicolson tells us that there is a Gaelic proverb, \u201cA balk\n(_l\u00e9um-iochd_) in autumn is better than a sheaf the more\u201d; and he explains\nit by saying that a _l\u00e9um-iochd_ or balk \u201cis a strip of a corn-field left\nfallow. The fear of being left with the last sheaf of the harvest, called\nthe _cailleach_, or _gobhar bhacach_, always led to an exciting\ncompetition among the reapers in the last field. The reaper who came on a\n_l\u00e9um-iochd_ would of course be glad to have so much the less to\ncut.\u201d(546) In further explanation of the proverb the writer adds:\n\n\u201cThe customs as to the _Cailleach_ and _Maighdean-bhuana_ seem to have\nvaried somewhat. Two reapers were usually set to each rig, and according\nto one account, the man who was first done got the _Maighdean-bhuana_ or\n\u2018Reaping-Maiden,\u2019 while the man who was last got the _Cailleach_ or \u2018old\nwoman.\u2019 The latter term is used in Argyleshire; the term _Gobhar-bhacach_,\nthe lame goat, is used in Skye.\n\n\u201cAccording to what appears to be the better version, the competition to\navoid the _Cailleach_ was not between reapers but between neighbouring\ncrofters, and the man who got his harvest done first sent a handful of\ncorn called the _Cailleach_ to his neighbour, who passed it on, till it\nlanded with him who was latest. That man\u2019s penalty was to provide for the\ndearth of the township, _gort a\u2019 bhaile_, in the ensuing season.\n\n\u201cThe _Maighdean-bhuana_, again, was the last cut handful of oats, on a\ncroft or farm, and was an object of lively competition among the reapers.\nIt was tastefully tied up with ribbons, generally dressed like a doll, and\nthen hung up on a nail till spring. On the first day of ploughing it was\nsolemnly taken down, and given as a _Sainnseal_ (or handsel) to the horses\nfor luck. It was meant as a symbol that the harvest had been secured, and\nto ward off the fairies, representatives of the ethereal and\nunsubstantial, till the time came to provide for a new crop.\u201d(547) Again,\nthe Rev. Mr. Campbell of Kilchrenan, on Loch Awe, furnished Dr. R. C.\nMaclagan with the following account of the Highland customs at harvest.\nThe recollections of Mrs. MacCorquodale, then resident at Kilchrenan,\nrefer to the customs practised about the middle of the nineteenth century\nin the wild and gloomy valley of Glencoe, infamous in history for the\ntreacherous massacre perpetrated there by the Government troops in 1692.\n\u201cMrs. MacCorquodale says that the rivalry was for the Maiden, and for the\nprivilege she gave of sending the Cailleach to the next neighbour. The\nMaiden was represented by the last stalks reaped; the Cailleach by a\nhandful taken at random from the field, perhaps the last rig of the reaper\nlast to finish. The Cailleach was not dressed but carried after binding to\nthe neighbour\u2019s field. The Maiden was cut in the following manner. All the\nreapers gathered round her and kept a short distance from her. They then\nthrew their hooks [sickles] at her. The person successful in cutting her\ndown in this manner was the man whose possession she became. Mrs.\nMacCorquodale understood that the man of a township who got the Cailleach\nfinally was supposed to be doomed to poverty for his want of energy.\n(Gaelic: _treubhantas_\u2014valour.)\n\n\u201cA sample of the toast to the Cailleach at the harvest entertainment was\nas follows: \u2018The Cailleach is with ... and is now with (me) since I was\nthe last. I drink to her health. Since she assisted me in harvest, it is\nlikely that it is with me she will abide during the winter.\u2019 In explaining\nthe above toast Mr. Campbell says that it signifies that the Cailleach is\nalways with agriculturists. \u2018She has been with others before and is now\nwith me (the proposer of the toast). Though I did my best to avoid her I\nwelcome her as my assistant, and am prepared to entertain her during the\nwinter.\u2019 Another form of the toast was as follows: \u2018To your health, good\nwife, who for harvest has come to help us, and if I live I\u2019ll try to\nsupport you when winter comes.\u2019\n\n\u201cJohn MacCorquodale, Kilchrenan, says that at Crianlarich in Strath\nFillan, they make a Cailleach of sticks and a turnip, old clothes and a\npipe. In this case the effigy passed in succession to seven farms, which\nhe mentioned, and finally settled with an innkeeper. The list suggested\nthat the upper farms stood a bad chance, and perhaps that a prosperous\ninnkeeper could more easily bear up against the reproach and loss (?) of\nsupporting the Cailleach.\n\n\u201cDuncan MacIntyre, Kilchrenan, says that in one case where the last field\nto be reaped was the most fertile land on the farm, the corn first cut in\nit, which was taken near the edge, was reserved to make a Cailleach,\nshould the owner be so happy as to be able to pass her on to his\nneighbour. The last blades cut were generally in the middle or best part\nof the field. These in any event became the Maiden.\u201d Lastly, Dr. Maclagan\nobserves that \u201chaving directed the attention of Miss Kerr, Port Charlotte,\nIslay, to the practice of having two different bunches on the mainland of\nArgyle, she informs me that in Islay and Kintyre the last handful is the\nCailleach, and they have no Maiden. The same is the custom in Bernara and\nother parts of the Western Isles, while in Mull the last handful is the\nMaiden, and they have no Cailleach. In North Uist the habit still prevails\nof putting the Cailleach over-night among the standing corn of lazy\ncrofters.\u201d(548)\n\n(M134) The general rule to which these various accounts point seems to be\nthat, where both a Maiden and an Old Wife (_Cailleach_) are fashioned out\nof the reaped corn at harvest, the Maiden is always made out of the last\nstalks left standing, and is kept by the farmer on whose land it was cut;\nwhile the Old Wife is made out of other stalks, sometimes out of the first\nstalks cut, and is regularly passed on to a laggard farmer who happens to\nbe still reaping after his brisker neighbour has cut all his corn. Thus\nwhile each farmer keeps his own Maiden, as the embodiment of the young and\nfruitful spirit of the corn, he passes on the Old Wife as soon as he can\nto a neighbour, and so the old lady may make the round of all the farms in\nthe district before she finds a place in which to lay her venerable head.\nThe farmer with whom she finally takes up her abode is of course the one\nwho has been the last of all the countryside to finish reaping his crops,\nand thus the distinction of entertaining her is rather an invidious one.\nSimilarly we saw that in Pembrokeshire, where the last corn cut is called,\nnot the Maiden, but the Hag, she is passed on hastily to a neighbour who\nis still at work in his fields and who receives his aged visitor with\nanything but a transport of joy. If the Old Wife represents the\ncorn-spirit of the past year, as she probably does wherever she is\ncontrasted with and opposed to a Maiden, it is natural enough that her\nfaded charms should have less attractions for the husbandman than the\nbuxom form of her daughter, who may be expected to become in her turn the\nmother of the golden grain when the revolving year has brought round\nanother autumn. The same desire to get rid of the effete Mother of the\nCorn by palming her off on other people comes out clearly in some of the\ncustoms observed at the close of threshing, particularly in the practice\nof passing on a hideous straw puppet to a neighbour farmer who is still\nthreshing his corn.(549)\n\n(M135) The harvest customs just described are strikingly analogous to the\nspring customs which we reviewed in the first part of this work. (1) As in\nthe spring customs the tree-spirit is represented both by a tree and by a\nperson,(550) so in the harvest customs the corn-spirit is represented both\nby the last sheaf and by the person who cuts or binds or threshes it. The\nequivalence of the person to the sheaf is shewn by giving him or her the\nsame name as the sheaf; by wrapping him or her in it; and by the rule\nobserved in some places, that when the sheaf is called the Mother, it must\nbe made up into human shape by the oldest married woman, but that when it\nis called the Maiden, it must be cut by the youngest girl.(551) Here the\nage of the personal representative of the corn-spirit corresponds with\nthat of the supposed age of the corn-spirit, just as the human victims\noffered by the Mexicans to promote the growth of the maize varied with the\nage of the maize.(552) For in the Mexican, as in the European, custom the\nhuman beings were probably representatives of the corn-spirit rather than\nvictims offered to it. (2) Again, the same fertilising influence which the\ntree-spirit is supposed to exert over vegetation, cattle, and even\nwomen(553) is ascribed to the corn-spirit. Thus, its supposed influence on\nvegetation is shewn by the practice of taking some of the grain of the\nlast sheaf (in which the corn-spirit is regularly supposed to be present),\nand scattering it among the young corn in spring or mixing it with the\nseed-corn.(554) Its influence on animals is shewn by giving the last sheaf\nto a mare in foal, to a cow in calf, and to horses at the first\nploughing.(555) Lastly, its influence on women is indicated by the custom\nof delivering the Mother-sheaf, made into the likeness of a pregnant\nwoman, to the farmer\u2019s wife;(556) by the belief that the woman who binds\nthe last sheaf will have a child next year;(557) perhaps, too, by the idea\nthat the person who gets it will soon be married.(558)\n\n(M136) Plainly, therefore, these spring and harvest customs are based on\nthe same ancient modes of thought, and form parts of the same primitive\nheathendom, which was doubtless practised by our forefathers long before\nthe dawn of history. Amongst the marks of a primitive ritual we may note\nthe following:\u2014\n\n(M137) 1. No special class of persons is set apart for the performance of\nthe rites; in other words, there are no priests. The rites may be\nperformed by any one, as occasion demands.\n\n2. No special places are set apart for the performance of the rites; in\nother words, there are no temples. The rites may be performed anywhere, as\noccasion demands.\n\n3. Spirits, not gods, are recognised. (_a_) As distinguished from gods,\nspirits are restricted in their operations to definite departments of\nnature. Their names are general, not proper. Their attributes are generic,\nrather than individual; in other words, there is an indefinite number of\nspirits of each class, and the individuals of a class are all much alike;\nthey have no definitely marked individuality; no accepted traditions are\ncurrent as to their origin, life, adventures, and character. (_b_) On the\nother hand gods, as distinguished from spirits, are not restricted to\ndefinite departments of nature. It is true that there is generally some\none department over which they preside as their special province; but they\nare not rigorously confined to it; they can exert their power for good or\nevil in many other spheres of nature and life. Again, they bear individual\nor proper names, such as Demeter, Persephone, Dionysus; and their\nindividual characters and histories are fixed by current myths and the\nrepresentations of art.\n\n4. The rites are magical rather than propitiatory. In other words, the\ndesired objects are attained, not by propitiating the favour of divine\nbeings through sacrifice, prayer, and praise, but by ceremonies which, as\nI have already explained,(559) are believed to influence the course of\nnature directly through a physical sympathy or resemblance between the\nrite and the effect which it is the intention of the rite to produce.\n\n(M138) Judged by these tests, the spring and harvest customs of our\nEuropean peasantry deserve to rank as primitive. For no special class of\npersons and no special places are set exclusively apart for their\nperformance; they may be performed by any one, master or man, mistress or\nmaid, boy or girl; they are practised, not in temples or churches, but in\nthe woods and meadows, beside brooks, in barns, on harvest fields and\ncottage floors. The supernatural beings whose existence is taken for\ngranted in them are spirits rather than deities: their functions are\nlimited to certain well-defined departments of nature: their names are\ngeneral, like the Barley-mother, the Old Woman, the Maiden, not proper\nnames like Demeter, Persephone, Dionysus. Their generic attributes are\nknown, but their individual histories and characters are not the subject\nof myths. For they exist in classes rather than as individuals, and the\nmembers of each class are indistinguishable. For example, every farm has\nits Corn-mother, or its Old Woman, or its Maiden; but every Corn-mother is\nmuch like every other Corn-mother, and so with the Old Women and Maidens.\nLastly, in these harvest, as in the spring customs, the ritual is magical\nrather than propitiatory. This is shewn by throwing the Corn-mother into\nthe river in order to secure rain and dew for the crops;(560) by making\nthe Old Woman heavy in order to get a heavy crop next year;(561) by\nstrewing grain from the last sheaf amongst the young crops in spring;(562)\nand by giving the last sheaf to the cattle to make them thrive.(563)\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI. THE CORN-MOTHER IN MANY LANDS.\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 1. The Corn-mother in America.\n\n\n(M139) European peoples, ancient and modern, have not been singular in\npersonifying the corn as a mother goddess. The same simple idea has\nsuggested itself to other agricultural races in distant parts of the\nworld, and has been applied by them to other indigenous cereals than\nbarley and wheat. If Europe has its Wheat-mother and its Barley-mother,\nAmerica has its Maize-mother and the East Indies their Rice-mother. These\npersonifications I will now illustrate, beginning with the American\npersonification of the maize.\n\n(M140) We have seen that among European peoples it is a common custom to\nkeep the plaited corn-stalks of the last sheaf, or the puppet which is\nformed out of them, in the farm-house from harvest to harvest.(564) The\nintention no doubt is, or rather originally was, by preserving the\nrepresentative of the corn-spirit to maintain the spirit itself in life\nand activity throughout the year, in order that the corn may grow and the\ncrops be good. This interpretation of the custom is at all events rendered\nhighly probable by a similar custom observed by the ancient Peruvians, and\nthus described by the old Spanish historian Acosta:\u2014\u201cThey take a certain\nportion of the most fruitful of the maize that grows in their farms, the\nwhich they put in a certain granary which they do call _Pirua_, with\ncertain ceremonies, watching three nights; they put this maize in the\nrichest garments they have, and being thus wrapped and dressed, they\nworship this _Pirua_, and hold it in great veneration, saying it is the\nmother of the maize of their inheritances, and that by this means the\nmaize augments and is preserved. In this month [the sixth month, answering\nto May] they make a particular sacrifice, and the witches demand of this\n_Pirua_ if it hath strength sufficient to continue until the next year;\nand if it answers no, then they carry this maize to the farm to burn,\nwhence they brought it, according to every man\u2019s power; then they make\nanother _Pirua_, with the same ceremonies, saying that they renew it, to\nthe end the seed of maize may not perish, and if it answers that it hath\nforce sufficient to last longer, they leave it until the next year. This\nfoolish vanity continueth to this day, and it is very common amongst the\nIndians to have these _Piruas_.\u201d(565)\n\n(M141) In this description of the custom there seems to be some error.\nProbably it was the dressed-up bunch of maize, not the granary (_Pirua_),\nwhich was worshipped by the Peruvians and regarded as the Mother of the\nMaize. This is confirmed by what we know of the Peruvian custom from\nanother source. The Peruvians, we are told, believed all useful plants to\nbe animated by a divine being who causes their growth. According to the\nparticular plant, these divine beings were called the Maize-mother\n(_Zara-mama_), the Quinoa-mother (_Quinoa-mama_), the Coca-mother\n(_Coca-mama_), and the Potato-mother (_Axo-mama_). Figures of these divine\nmothers were made respectively of ears of maize and leaves of the quinoa\nand coca plants; they were dressed in women\u2019s clothes and worshipped. Thus\nthe Maize-mother was represented by a puppet made of stalks of maize\ndressed in full female attire; and the Indians believed that \u201cas mother,\nit had the power of producing and giving birth to much maize.\u201d(566)\nProbably, therefore, Acosta misunderstood his informant, and the Mother of\nthe Maize which he describes was not the granary (_Pirua_), but the bunch\nof maize dressed in rich vestments. The Peruvian Mother of the Maize, like\nthe harvest-Maiden at Balquhidder, was kept for a year in order that by\nher means the corn might grow and multiply. But lest her strength might\nnot suffice to last till the next harvest, she was asked in the course of\nthe year how she felt, and if she answered that she felt weak, she was\nburned and a fresh Mother of the Maize made, \u201cto the end the seed of maize\nmay not perish.\u201d Here, it may be observed, we have a strong confirmation\nof the explanation already given of the custom of killing the god, both\nperiodically and occasionally. The Mother of the Maize was allowed, as a\nrule, to live through a year, that being the period during which her\nstrength might reasonably be supposed to last unimpaired; but on any\nsymptom of her strength failing she was put to death, and a fresh and\nvigorous Mother of the Maize took her place, lest the maize which depended\non her for its existence should languish and decay.\n\n(M142) Hardly less clearly does the same train of thought come out in the\nharvest customs formerly observed by the Zapotecs of Mexico. At harvest\nthe priests, attended by the nobles and people, went in procession to the\nmaize fields, where they picked out the largest and finest sheaf. This\nthey took with great ceremony to the town or village, and placed it in the\ntemple upon an altar adorned with wild flowers. After sacrificing to the\nharvest god, the priests carefully wrapped up the sheaf in fine linen and\nkept it till seed-time. Then the priests and nobles met again at the\ntemple, one of them bringing the skin of a wild beast, elaborately\nornamented, in which the linen cloth containing the sheaf was enveloped.\nThe sheaf was then carried once more in procession to the field from which\nit had been taken. Here a small cavity or subterranean chamber had been\nprepared, in which the precious sheaf was deposited, wrapt in its various\nenvelopes. After sacrifice had been offered to the gods of the fields for\nan abundant crop the chamber was closed and covered over with earth.\nImmediately thereafter the sowing began. Finally, when the time of harvest\ndrew near, the buried sheaf was solemnly disinterred by the priests, who\ndistributed the grain to all who asked for it. The packets of grain so\ndistributed were carefully preserved as talismans till the harvest.(567)\nIn these ceremonies, which continued to be annually celebrated long after\nthe Spanish conquest, the intention of keeping the finest sheaf buried in\nthe maize field from seed-time to harvest was undoubtedly to quicken the\ngrowth of the maize.\n\n(M143) A fuller and to some extent different account of the ancient\nMexican worship of the maize has been given us by the Franciscan monk\nBernardino de Sahagun, who arrived in Mexico in 1529, only eight years\nafter its conquest by the Spaniards, and devoted the remaining sixty-one\nyears of his long life to labouring among the Indians for their moral and\nspiritual good. Uniting the curiosity of a scientific enquirer to the zeal\nof a missionary, and adorning both qualities with the humanity and\nbenevolence of a good man, he obtained from the oldest and most learned of\nthe Indians accounts of their ancient customs and beliefs, and embodied\nthem in a work which, for combined interest of matter and fulness of\ndetail, has perhaps never been equalled in the records of aboriginal\npeoples brought into contact with European civilisation. This great\ndocument, after lying neglected in the dust of Spanish archives for\ncenturies, was discovered and published almost simultaneously in Mexico\nand England in the first half of the nineteenth century. It exists in the\ndouble form of an Aztec text and a Spanish translation, both due to\nSahagun himself. Only the Spanish version has hitherto been published in\nfull, but the original Aztec text, to judge by the few extracts of it\nwhich have been edited and translated, appears to furnish much more ample\ndetails on many points, and in the interest of learning it is greatly to\nbe desired that a complete edition and translation of it should be given\nto the world.\n\n(M144) Fortunately, among the sections of this great work which have been\nedited and translated from the Aztec original into German by Professor\nEduard Seler of Berlin is a long one describing the religious festivals of\nthe ancient Mexican calendar.(568) From it we learn some valuable\nparticulars as to the worship of the Maize-goddess and the ceremonies\nobserved by the Mexicans for the purpose of ensuring a good crop of maize.\nThe festival was the fourth of the Aztec year, and went by the name of the\nGreat Vigil. It fell on a date which corresponds to the seventh of April.\nThe name of the Maize-goddess was Chicome couatl, and the Mexicans\nconceived and represented her in the form of a woman, red in face and arms\nand legs, wearing a paper crown dyed vermilion, and clad in garments of\nthe hue of ripe cherries. No doubt the red colour of the goddess and her\ngarments referred to the deep orange hue of the ripe maize; it was like\nthe yellow hair of the Greek corn-goddess Demeter. She was supposed to\nmake all kinds of maize, beans, and vegetables to grow. On the day of the\nfestival the Mexicans sent out to the maize-fields and fetched from every\nfield a plant of maize, which they brought to their houses and greeted as\ntheir maize-gods, setting them up in their dwellings, clothing them in\ngarments, and placing food before them. And after sunset they carried the\nmaize-plants to the temple of the Maize-goddess, where they snatched them\nfrom one another and fought and struck each other with them. Further, at\nthis festival they brought to the temple of the Maize-goddess the\nmaize-cobs which were to be used in the sowing. The cobs were carried by\nthree maidens in bundles of seven wrapt in red paper. One of the girls was\nsmall with short hair, another was older with long hair hanging down, and\nthe third was full-grown with her hair wound round her head. Red feathers\nwere gummed to the arms and legs of the three maidens and their faces were\npainted, probably to resemble the red Maize-goddess, whom they may be\nsupposed to have personated at various stages of the growth of the corn.\nThe maize-cobs which they brought to the temple of the Maize-goddess were\ncalled by the name of the Maize-god Cinteotl, and they were afterwards\ndeposited in the granary and kept there as \u201cthe heart of the granary\u201d till\nthe sowing time came round, when they were used as seed.(569)\n\n(M145) The eastern Indians of North America, who subsisted to a large\nextent by the cultivation of maize, generally conceived the spirit of the\nmaize as a woman, and supposed that the plant itself had sprung originally\nfrom the blood drops or the dead body of the Corn Woman. In the sacred\nformulas of the Cherokee the corn is sometimes invoked as \u201cthe Old Woman,\u201d\nand one of their myths relates how a hunter saw a fair woman issue from a\nsingle green stalk of corn.(570) The Iroquois believe the Spirit of the\nCorn, the Spirit of Beans, and the Spirit of Squashes to be three sisters\nclad in the leaves of their respective plants, very fond of each other,\nand delighting to dwell together. This divine trinity is known by the name\nof _De-o-ha\u2019-ko_, which means \u201cOur Life\u201d or \u201cOur Supporters.\u201d The three\npersons of the trinity have no individual names, and are never mentioned\nseparately except by means of description. The Indians have a legend that\nof old the corn was easily cultivated, yielded abundantly, and had a grain\nexceedingly rich in oil, till the Evil One, envious of this good gift of\nthe Great Spirit to man, went forth into the fields and blighted them. And\nstill, when the wind rustles in the corn, the pious Indian fancies he\nhears the Spirit of the Corn bemoaning her blighted fruitfulness.(571) The\nHuichol Indians of Mexico imagine maize to be a little girl, who may\nsometimes be heard weeping in the fields; so afraid is she of the wild\nbeasts that eat the corn.(572)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 2. The Mother-cotton in the Punjaub.\n\n\n(M146) In the Punjaub, to the east of the Jumna, when the cotton boles\nbegin to burst, it is usual to select the largest plant in the field,\nsprinkle it with butter-milk and rice-water, and then bind to it pieces of\ncotton taken from the other plants of the field. This selected plant is\ncalled Sirdar or _Bhogalda\u00ed_, that is \u201cmother-cotton,\u201d from _bhogla_, a\nname sometimes given to a large cotton-pod, and _da\u00ed_ (for _daiya_), \u201ca\nmother,\u201d and after it has been saluted, prayers are offered that the other\nplants may resemble it in the richness of their produce.(573)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 3. The Barley Bride among the Berbers.\n\n\n(M147) The conception of the corn-spirit as a bride seems to come out\nclearly in a ceremony still practised by the Berbers near Tangier, in\nMorocco. When the women assemble in the fields to weed the green barley or\nreap the crops, they take with them a straw figure dressed like a woman,\nand set it up among the corn. Suddenly a group of horsemen from a\nneighbouring village gallops up and carries off the straw puppet amid the\nscreams and cries of the women. However, the ravished effigy is rescued by\nanother band of mounted men, and after a struggle it remains, more or less\ndishevelled, in the hands of the women. That this pretended abduction is a\nmimic marriage appears from a Berber custom in accordance with which, at a\nreal wedding, the bridegroom carries off his seemingly unwilling bride on\nhorseback, while she screams and pretends to summon her friends to her\nrescue. No fixed date is appointed for the simulated abduction of the\nstraw woman from the barley-field, the time depends upon the state of the\ncrops, but the day and hour are made public before the event. Each village\nused to practise this mimic contest for possession of the straw woman, who\nprobably represents the Barley Bride, but nowadays the custom is growing\nobsolete.(574)\n\n(M148) An earlier account of what seems to be the same practice runs as\nfollows: \u201cThere is a curious custom which seems to be a relic of their\npagan masters, who made this and the adjoining regions of North Africa the\nmain granary of their Latin empire. When the young corn has sprung up,\nwhich it does about the middle of February, the women of the villages make\nup the figure of a female, the size of a very large doll, which they dress\nin the gaudiest fashion they can contrive, covering it with ornaments to\nwhich all in the village contribute something; and they give it a tall,\npeaked head-dress. This image they carry in procession round their fields,\nscreaming and singing a peculiar ditty. The doll is borne by the foremost\nwoman, who must yield it to any one who is quick enough to take the lead\nof her, which is the cause of much racing and squabbling. The men also\nhave a similar custom, which they perform on horseback. They call the\nimage Mata. These ceremonies are said by the people to bring good luck.\nTheir efficacy ought to be great, for you frequently see crowds of men\nengaged in their performances running and galloping recklessly over the\nyoung crops of wheat and barley. Such customs are directly opposed to the\nfaith of Islam, and I never met with a Moor who could in any way enlighten\nme as to their origin. The Berber tribes, the most ancient race now\nremaining in these regions, to which they give the name, are the only ones\nwhich retain this antique usage, and it is viewed by the Arabs and\ndwellers in the town as a remnant of idolatry.\u201d(575) We may conjecture\nthat this gaudily dressed effigy of a female, which the Berber women carry\nabout their fields when the corn is sprouting, represents the Corn-mother,\nand that the procession is designed to promote the growth of the crops by\nimparting to them the quickening influence of the goddess. We can\ntherefore understand why there should be a competition among the women for\nthe possession of the effigy; each woman probably hopes to secure for\nherself and her crops a larger measure of fertility by appropriating the\nimage of the Corn-mother. The competition on horseback among the men is no\ndoubt to be explained similarly; they, too, race with each other in their\neagerness to possess themselves of an effigy, perhaps of a male power of\nthe corn, by whose help they expect to procure a heavy crop. Such contests\nfor possession of the corn-spirit embodied in the corn-stalks are common,\nas we have seen, among the reapers on the harvest fields of Europe.\nPerhaps they help to explain some of the contests in the Eleusinian games,\namong which horse-races as well as foot-races were included.(576)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 4. The Rice-mother in the East Indies.\n\n\n(M149) If the reader still feels any doubts as to the meaning of the\nharvest customs which have been practised within living memory by European\npeasants, these doubts may perhaps be dispelled by comparing the customs\nobserved at the rice-harvest by the Malays and Dyaks of the East Indies.\nFor these Eastern peoples have not, like our peasantry, advanced beyond\nthe intellectual stage at which the customs originated; their theory and\ntheir practice are still in unison; for them the quaint rites which in\nEurope have long dwindled into mere fossils, the pastime of clowns and the\npuzzle of the learned, are still living realities of which they can render\nan intelligible and truthful account. Hence a study of their beliefs and\nusages concerning the rice may throw some light on the true meaning of the\nritual of the corn in ancient Greece and modern Europe.\n\n(M150) Now the whole of the ritual which the Malays and Dyaks observe in\nconnexion with the rice is founded on the simple conception of the rice as\nanimated by a soul like that which these people attribute to mankind. They\nexplain the phenomena of reproduction, growth, decay and death in the rice\non the same principles on which they explain the corresponding phenomena\nin human beings. They imagine that in the fibres of the plant, as in the\nbody of a man, there is a certain vital element, which is so far\nindependent of the plant that it may for a time be completely separated\nfrom it without fatal effects, though if its absence be prolonged beyond\ncertain limits the plant will wither and die. This vital yet separable\nelement is what, for the want of a better word, we must call the soul of a\nplant, just as a similar vital and separable element is commonly supposed\nto constitute the soul of man; and on this theory or myth of the\nplant-soul is built the whole worship of the cereals, just as on the\ntheory or myth of the human soul is built the whole worship of the dead,\u2014a\ntowering superstructure reared on a slender and precarious foundation.\n\n(M151) The strict parallelism between the Indonesian ideas about the soul\nof man and the soul of rice is well brought out by Mr. R. J. Wilkinson in\nthe following passage: \u201cThe spirit of life,\u2014which, according to the\nancient Indonesian belief, existed in all things, even in what we should\nnow consider inanimate objects\u2014is known as the _s\u0115mangat_. It was not a\n\u2018soul\u2019 in the modern English sense, since it was not the exclusive\npossession of mankind, its separation from the body did not necessarily\nmean death, and its nature may possibly not have been considered immortal.\nAt the present day, if a Malay feels faint, he will describe his condition\nby saying that his \u2018spirit of life\u2019 is weak or is \u2018flying\u2019 from his body;\nhe sometimes appeals to it to return: \u2018Hither, hither, bird of my soul.\u2019\nOr again, if a Malay lover wishes to influence the mind of a girl, he may\nseek to obtain control of her _s\u0115mangat_, for he believes that this spirit\nof active and vigorous life must quit the body when the body sleeps and so\nbe liable to capture by the use of magic arts. It is, however, in the\nceremonies connected with the so-called \u2018spirit of the rice-crops\u2019 that\nthe peculiar characteristics of the _s\u0115mangat_ come out most clearly. The\nMalay considers it essential that the spirit of life should not depart\nfrom the rice intended for next year\u2019s sowing as otherwise the dead seed\nwould fail to produce any crop whatever. He, therefore, approaches the\nstanding rice-crops at harvest-time in a deprecatory manner; he addresses\nthem in endearing terms; he offers propitiatory sacrifices; he fears that\nhe may scare away the timorous \u2018bird of life\u2019 by the sight of a weapon or\nthe least sign of violence. He must reap the seed-rice, but he does it\nwith a knife of peculiar shape, such that the cruel blade is hidden away\nbeneath the reaper\u2019s fingers and does not alarm the \u2018soul of the rice.\u2019\nWhen once the seed-rice has been harvested, more expeditious reaping-tools\nmay be employed, since it is clearly unnecessary to retain the spirit of\nlife in grain that is only intended for the cooking-pot. Similar rites\nattend all the processes of rice-cultivation\u2014the sowing and the\nplanting-out as well as the harvest,\u2014for at each of these stages there is\na risk that the vitality of the crop may be ruined if the bird of life is\nscared away. In the language used by the high-priests of these very\nancient ceremonies we constantly find references to Sri (the Hindu Goddess\nof the Crops), to the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, and to Adam who,\naccording to Moslem tradition, was the first planter of cereals;\u2014many of\nthese references only represent the attempts of the conservative Malays to\nmake their old religions harmonize with later beliefs. Beneath successive\nlayers of religious veneer, we see the animism of the old Indonesians, the\ntheory of a bird-spirit of life, and the characteristic view that the best\nprotection against evil lies in gentleness and courtesy to all animate and\ninanimate things.\u201d(577)\n\n(M152) \u201cIt is a familiar fact,\u201d says another eminent authority on the East\nIndies, \u201cthat the Indonesian imagines rice to be animated, to be provided\nwith \u2018soul-stuff.\u2019 Since rice is everywhere cultivated in the Indian\nArchipelago, and with some exceptions is the staple food, we need not\nwonder that the Indonesian conceives the rice to be not merely animated in\nthe ordinary sense but to be possessed of a soul-stuff which in strength\nand dignity ranks with that of man. Thus the Bataks apply the same word\n_tondi_ to the soul-stuff of rice and the soul-stuff of human beings.\nWhereas the Dyaks of Poelopetak give the name of _gana_ to the soul-stuff\nof things, animals, and plants, they give the name of _hambaruan_ to the\nsoul-stuff of rice as well as of man. So also the inhabitants of Halmahera\ncall the soul-stuff of things and plants _giki_ and _duhutu_, but in men\nand food they recognise a _gurumi_. Of the Javanese, Malays, Macassars,\nBuginese, and the inhabitants of the island of Buru we know that they\nascribe a _sumang\u00e8_, _sumangat_, or _s\u0115mangat_ to rice as well as to men.\nSo it is with the Toradjas of Central Celebes; while they manifestly\nconceive all things and plants as animated, they attribute a _tanoana_ or\nsoul-stuff only to men, animals, and rice. It need hardly be said that\nthis custom originates in the very high value that is set on rice.\u201d(578)\n\n(M153) Believing the rice to be animated by a soul like that of a man, the\nIndonesians naturally treat it with the deference and the consideration\nwhich they shew to their fellows. Thus they behave towards the rice in\nbloom as they behave towards a pregnant woman; they abstain from firing\nguns or making loud noises in the field, lest they should so frighten the\nsoul of the rice that it would miscarry and bear no grain; and for the\nsame reason they will not talk of corpses or demons in the rice-fields.\nMoreover, they feed the blooming rice with foods of various kinds which\nare believed to be wholesome for women with child; but when the rice-ears\nare just beginning to form, they are looked upon as infants, and women go\nthrough the fields feeding them with rice-pap as if they were human\nbabes.(579) In such natural and obvious comparisons of the breeding plant\nto a breeding woman, and of the young grain to a young child, is to be\nsought the origin of the kindred Greek conception of the Corn-mother and\nthe Corn-daughter, Demeter and Persephone, and we need not go further\nafield to search for it in a primitive division of labour between the\nsexes.(580) But if the timorous feminine soul of the rice can be\nfrightened into a miscarriage even by loud noises, it is easy to imagine\nwhat her feelings must be at harvest, when people are under the sad\nnecessity of cutting down the rice with the knife. At so critical a season\nevery precaution must be used to render the necessary surgical operation\nof reaping as inconspicuous and as painless as possible. For that reason,\nas we have seen,(581) the reaping of the seed-rice is done with knives of\na peculiar pattern, such that the blades are hidden in the reapers\u2019 hands\nand do not frighten the rice-spirit till the very last moment, when her\nhead is swept off almost before she is aware; and from a like delicate\nmotive the reapers at work in the fields employ a special form of speech,\nwhich the rice-spirit cannot be expected to understand, so that she has no\nwarning or inkling of what is going forward till the heads of rice are\nsafely deposited in the basket.(582)\n\n(M154) Among the Indonesian peoples who thus personify the rice we may\ntake the Kayans or Bahaus of Central Borneo as typical. As we have already\nseen, they are essentially an agricultural people devoted to the\ncultivation of rice, which furnishes their staple food; their religion is\ndeeply coloured by this main occupation of their lives, and it presents\nmany analogies to the Eleusinian worship of the corn-goddesses Demeter and\nPersephone.(583) And just as the Greeks regarded corn as a gift of the\ngoddess Demeter, so the Kayans believe that rice, maize, sweet potatoes,\ntobacco, and all the other products of the earth which they cultivate,\nwere originally created for their benefit by the spirits.(584)\n\n(M155) In order to secure and detain the volatile soul of the rice the\nKayans resort to a number of devices. Among the instruments employed for\nthis purpose are a miniature ladder, a spatula, and a basket containing\nhooks, thorns, and cords. With the spatula the priestess strokes the soul\nof the rice down the little ladder into the basket, where it is naturally\nheld fast by the hooks, the thorn, and the cord; and having thus captured\nand imprisoned the soul she conveys it into the rice-granary. Sometimes a\nbamboo box and a net are used for the same purpose. And in order to ensure\na good harvest for the following year it is necessary not only to detain\nthe soul of all the grains of rice which are safely stored in the granary,\nbut also to attract and recover the soul of all the rice that has been\nlost through falling to the earth or being eaten by deer, apes, and pigs.\nFor this purpose instruments of various sorts have been invented by the\npriests. One, for example, is a bamboo vessel provided with four hooks\nmade from the wood of a fruit-tree, by means of which the absent rice-soul\nmay be hooked and drawn back into the vessel, which is then hung up in the\nhouse. Sometimes two hands carved out of the wood of a fruit-tree are used\nfor the same purpose. And every time that a Kayan housewife fetches rice\nfrom the granary for the use of her household, she must propitiate the\nsouls of the rice in the granary, lest they should be angry at being\nrobbed of their substance. To keep them in good humour a bundle of\nshavings of a fruit-tree and a little basket are always hung in the\ngranary. An egg and a small vessel containing the juice of sugar-cane are\nattached as offerings to the bundle of shavings, and the basket contains a\nsacred mat, which is used at fetching the rice. When the housewife comes\nto fetch rice from the granary, she pours juice of the sugar-cane on the\negg, takes the sacred mat from the basket, spreads it on the ground, lays\na stalk of rice on it, and explains to the souls of the rice the object of\nher coming. Then she kneels before the mat, mutters some prayers or\nspells, eats a single grain from the rice-stalk, and having restored the\nvarious objects to their proper place, departs from the granary with the\nrequisite amount of rice, satisfied that she has discharged her religious\nduty to the spirits of the rice. At harvest the spirits of the rice are\npropitiated with offerings of food and water, which are carried by\nchildren to the rice-fields. At evening the first rice-stalks which have\nbeen cut are solemnly brought home in a consecrated basket to the beating\nof a gong, and all cats and dogs are driven from the house before the\nbasket with its precious contents is brought in.(585)\n\n(M156) Among the Kayans of the Mahakam river in Central Borneo the sowing\nof the rice is immediately preceded by a performance of masked men, which\nis intended to attract the soul or rather souls of the rice and so to make\nsure that the harvest will be a good one. The performers represent\nspirits; for, believing that spirits are mightier than men, the Kayans\nimagine that they can acquire and exert superhuman power by imitating the\nform and actions of spirits.(586) To support their assumed character they\nwear grotesque masks with goggle eyes, great teeth, huge ears, and beards\nof white goat\u2019s hair, while their bodies are so thickly wrapt up in\nshredded banana-leaves that to the spectator they present the appearance\nof unwieldy masses of green foliage. The leader of the band carries a long\nwooden hook or rather crook, the shaft of which is partly whittled into\nloose fluttering shavings. These disguises they don at a little distance\nfrom the village, then dropping down the river in boats they land and\nmarch in procession to an open space among the houses, where the people,\ndressed out in all their finery, are waiting to witness the performance.\nHere the maskers range themselves in a circle and dance for some time\nunder the burning rays of the midday sun, waving their arms, shaking and\nturning their heads, and executing a variety of steps to the sound of a\ngong, which is beaten according to a rigidly prescribed rhythm. After the\ndance they form a line, one behind the other, to fetch the vagrant soul of\nthe rice from far countries. At the head of the procession marches the\nleader holding high his crook and behind him follow all the other masked\nmen in their leafy costume, each holding his fellow by the hand. As he\nstrides along, the leader makes a motion with his crook as if he were\nhooking something and drawing it to himself, and the gesture is imitated\nby all his followers. What he is thus catching are the souls of the rice,\nwhich sometimes wander far away, and by drawing them home to the village\nhe is believed to ensure that the seed of the rice which is about to be\nsown will produce a plentiful harvest. As the spirits are thought not to\npossess the power of speech, the actors who personate them may not utter a\nword, else they would run the risk of falling down dead. The great field\nof the chief is sown by representatives of all the families, both free and\nslaves, on the day after the masquerade. On the same day the free families\nsacrifice on their fields and begin their sowing on one or other of the\nfollowing days. Every family sets up in its field a sacrificial stage or\naltar, with which the sowers must remain in connexion during the time of\nsowing. Therefore no stranger may pass between them and the stage; indeed\nthe Kayans are not allowed to have anything to do with strangers in the\nfields; above all they may not speak with them. If such a thing should\naccidentally happen, the sowing must cease for that day. At the sowing\nfestival, but at no other time, Kayan men of the Mahakam river, like their\nbrethren of the Mendalam river, amuse themselves with spinning tops. For\nnine days before the masquerade takes place the people are bound to\nobserve certain taboos: no stranger may enter the village: no villager may\npass the night out of his own house: they may not hunt, nor pluck fruits,\nnor fish with the casting-net or the drag-net.(587) In this tribe the\nproper day for sowing is officially determined by a priest from an\nobservation of the sun setting behind the hills in a line with two stones\nwhich the priest has set up, one behind the other. However, the official\nday often does not coincide with the actual day of sowing.(588)\n\n(M157) The masquerade thus performed by the Kayans of the Mahakam river\nbefore sowing the rice is an instructive example of a religious or rather\nmagical drama acted for the express purpose of ensuring a good crop. As\nsuch it may be compared to the drama of Demeter and Persephone, the\nCorn-mother and the Corn-maiden, which was annually played at the\nEleusinian mysteries shortly before the autumnal sowing of the corn. If my\ninterpretation of these mysteries is correct, the intention of the Greek\nand of the Kayan drama was one and the same.\n\n(M158) At harvest the Dyaks of Northern Borneo have a special feast, the\nobject of which is \u201cto secure the soul of the rice, which if not so\ndetained, the produce of their farms would speedily rot and decay. At\nsowing time, a little of the principle of life of the rice, which at every\nharvest is secured by their priests, is planted with their other seeds,\nand is thus propagated and communicated.\u201d The mode of securing the soul of\nthe rice varies in different tribes. In the Quop district the ceremony is\nperformed by the chief priest alone, first in the long broad verandah of\nthe common house and afterwards in each separate family apartment. As a\npreparation for the ceremony a bamboo altar, decorated with green boughs\nand red and white streamers, is erected in the verandah, and presents a\nvery gay appearance. Here the people, old and young, assemble, the\npriestesses dressed in gorgeous array and the elder men wearing\nbright-coloured jackets and trousers of purple, yellow, or scarlet hue,\nwhile the young men and lads beat gongs and drums. When the priest, with a\nbundle of charms in either hand, is observed to be gazing earnestly in the\nair at something invisible to common eyes, the band strikes up with\nredoubled energy, and the elderly men in the gay breeches begin to shriek\nand revolve round the altar in the dance. Suddenly the priest starts up\nand makes a rush at the invisible object; men run to him with white\ncloths, and as he shakes his charms over the cloths a few grains of rice\nfall into them. These grains are the soul of the rice; they are carefully\nfolded up in the cloths and laid at the foot of the altar. The same\nperformance is afterwards repeated in every family apartment. In some\ntribes the soul of the rice is secured at midnight. Outside the village a\nlofty altar is erected in an open space surrounded by the stately forms of\nthe tropical palms. Huge bonfires cast a ruddy glow over the scene and\nlight up the dusky but picturesque forms of the Dyaks as they move in slow\nand solemn dance round the altar, some bearing lighted tapers in their\nhands, others brass salvers with offerings of rice, others covered\nbaskets, of which the contents are hidden from all but the initiated. The\ncorner-posts of the altar are lofty bamboos, whose leafy tops are yet\ngreen and rustle in the wind; and from one of them a long narrow streamer\nof white cloth hangs down. Suddenly elders and priests rush at this\nstreamer, seize the end of it, and amid the crashing music of drums and\ngongs and the yells of the spectators begin dancing and swaying themselves\nbackwards and forwards, and to and fro. A priest or elder mounts the altar\namid the shouts of the bystanders and shakes the tall bamboos violently;\nand in the midst of all this excitement and hubbub small stones, bunches\nof hair, and grains of rice fall at the feet of the dancers, and are\ncarefully picked up by watchful attendants. These grains are the soul of\nthe rice. The ceremony ends with several of the oldest priestesses\nfalling, or pretending to fall, senseless to the ground, where, till they\ncome to themselves, their heads are supported and their faces fanned by\ntheir younger colleagues. At the end of the harvest, when the year\u2019s crop\nhas been garnered, another feast is held. A pig and fowls are killed, and\nfor four days gongs are beaten and dancing kept up. For eight days the\nvillage is tabooed and no stranger may enter it. At this festival the\nceremony of catching the soul of the rice is repeated to prevent the crop\nfrom rotting; and the soul so obtained is mixed with the seed-rice of the\nnext year.(589)\n\n(M159) The same need of securing the soul of the rice, if the crop is to\nthrive, is keenly felt by the Karens of Burma. When a rice-field does not\nflourish, they suppose that the soul (_kelah_) of the rice is in some way\ndetained from the rice. If the soul cannot be called back, the crop will\nfail. The following formula is used in recalling the _kelah_ (soul) of the\nrice: \u201cO come, rice-_kelah_, come! Come to the field. Come to the rice.\nWith seed of each gender, come. Come from the river Kho, come from the\nriver Kaw; from the place where they meet, come. Come from the West, come\nfrom the East. From the throat of the bird, from the maw of the ape, from\nthe throat of the elephant. Come from the sources of rivers and their\nmouths. Come from the country of the Shan and Burman. From the distant\nkingdoms come. From all granaries come. O rice-_kelah_, come to the\nrice.\u201d(590)\n\n(M160) Among the Taungthu of Upper Burma it is customary, when all the\nrice-fields have been reaped, to make a trail of unhusked rice (paddy) and\nhusks all the way from the fields to the farm-house in order to guide the\nspirit or butterfly, as they call it, of the rice home to the granary.\nCare is taken that there should be no break in the trail, and the\nbutterfly of the rice is invited with loud cries to come to the house.\nWere the spirit of the rice not secured in this manner, next year\u2019s\nharvest would be bad.(591) Similarly among the Cherokee Indians of North\nAmerica \u201ccare was always taken to keep a clean trail from the field to the\nhouse, so that the corn might be encouraged to stay at home and not go\nwandering elsewhere,\u201d and \u201cseven ears from the last year\u2019s crop were\nalways put carefully aside, in order to _attract the corn_, until the new\ncrop was ripened.\u201d(592) In Hsa M\u00f6ng Hkam, a native state of Upper Burma,\nwhen two men work rice-fields in partnership, they take particular care as\nto the division of the grain between them. Each partner has a basket made,\nof which both top and bottom are carefully closed with wood to prevent the\nbutterfly spirit of the rice from escaping; for if it were to flutter\naway, the next year\u2019s crop would be but poor.(593) Among the Talaings of\nLower Burma \u201cthe last sheaf is larger than the rest; it is brought home\nseparately, usually if not invariably on the morning after the remainder\nof the harvest has been carted to the threshing-floor. The cultivators\ndrive out in their bullock-cart, taking with them a woman\u2019s comb, a\nlooking-glass, and a woman\u2019s skirt. The sheaf is dressed in the skirt, and\napparently the form is gone through of presenting it with the glass and\ncomb. It is then brought home in triumph, the people decking the cart with\ntheir silk kerchiefs, and cheering and singing the whole way. On their\narrival home they celebrate the occasion with a feast. Strictly speaking\nthe sheaf should be kept apart from the rest of the harvest; owing,\nhowever, to the high price of paddy it often finds its way to the\nthreshing-floor. Even when this is not the case it is rarely tended so\ncarefully as it is said to have been in former days, and if not threshed\nwith the remaining crop is apt to be eaten by the cattle. So far as I\ncould ascertain it had never been the custom to keep it throughout the\nyear; but on the first ploughing of the ensuing season there was some\nceremony in connection with it. The name of the sheaf was _Bonmagyi_; at\nfirst I was inclined to fancy that this was a contraction of _thelinbon ma\ngyi_, \u2018the old woman of the threshing-floor.\u2019 There are, however, various\nreasons for discarding this derivation, and I am unable to suggest any\nother.\u201d(594) In this custom the personification of the last sheaf of rice\nas a woman comes out clearly in the practice of dressing it up in female\nattire.\n\n(M161) The Corn-mother of our European peasants has her match in the\nRice-mother of the Minangkabauers of Sumatra. The Minangkabauers\ndefinitely attribute a soul to rice, and will sometimes assert that rice\npounded in the usual way tastes better than rice ground in a mill, because\nin the mill the body of the rice was so bruised and battered that the soul\nhas fled from it. Like the Javanese they think that the rice is under the\nspecial guardianship of a female spirit called Saning Sari, who is\nconceived as so closely knit up with the plant that the rice often goes by\nher name, as with the Romans the corn might be called Ceres. In particular\nSaning Sari is represented by certain stalks or grains called _indoea\npadi_, that is, literally, \u201cMother of Rice,\u201d a name that is often given to\nthe guardian spirit herself. This so-called Mother of Rice is the occasion\nof a number of ceremonies observed at the planting and harvesting of the\nrice as well as during its preservation in the barn. When the seed of the\nrice is about to be sown in the nursery or bedding-out ground, where under\nthe wet system of cultivation it is regularly allowed to sprout before\nbeing transplanted to the fields, the best grains are picked out to form\nthe Rice-mother. These are then sown in the middle of the bed, and the\ncommon seed is planted round about them. The state of the Rice-mother is\nsupposed to exert the greatest influence on the growth of the rice; if she\ndroops or pines away, the harvest will be bad in consequence. The woman\nwho sows the Rice-mother in the nursery lets her hair hang loose and\nafterwards bathes, as a means of ensuring an abundant harvest. When the\ntime comes to transplant the rice from the nursery to the field, the\nRice-mother receives a special place either in the middle or in a corner\nof the field, and a prayer or charm is uttered as follows: \u201cSaning Sari,\nmay a measure of rice come from a stalk of rice and a basketful from a\nroot; may you be frightened neither by lightning nor by passers-by!\nSunshine make you glad; with the storm may you be at peace; and may rain\nserve to wash your face!\u201d While the rice is growing, the particular plant\nwhich was thus treated as the Rice-mother is lost sight of; but before\nharvest another Rice-mother is found. When the crop is ripe for cutting,\nthe oldest woman of the family or a sorcerer goes out to look for her. The\nfirst stalks seen to bend under a passing breeze are the Rice-mother, and\nthey are tied together but not cut until the first-fruits of the field\nhave been carried home to serve as a festal meal for the family and their\nfriends, nay even for the domestic animals; since it is Saning Sari\u2019s\npleasure that the beasts also should partake of her good gifts. After the\nmeal has been eaten, the Rice-mother is fetched home by persons in gay\nattire, who carry her very carefully under an umbrella in a neatly worked\nbag to the barn, where a place in the middle is assigned to her. Every one\nbelieves that she takes care of the rice in the barn and even multiplies\nit not uncommonly.(595)\n\n(M162) When the Tomori of Central Celebes are about to plant the rice,\nthey bury in the field some betel as an offering to the spirits who cause\nthe rice to grow. Over the spot where the offering is buried a small floor\nof wood is laid, and the family sits on it and consumes betel together as\na sort of silent prayer or charm to ensure the growth of the crop. The\nrice that is planted round this spot is the last to be reaped at harvest.\nAt the commencement of the reaping the stalks of this patch of rice are\ntied together into a sheaf, which is called \u201cthe Mother of the Rice\u201d\n(_ineno pae_), and offerings in the shape of rice, fowl\u2019s liver, eggs, and\nother things are laid down before it. When all the rest of the rice in the\nfield has been reaped, \u201cthe Mother of the Rice\u201d is cut down and carried\nwith due honour to the rice-barn, where it is laid on the floor, and all\nthe other sheaves are piled upon it. The Tomori, we are told, regard the\nMother of the Rice as a special offering made to the rice-spirit Omonga,\nwho dwells in the moon. If that spirit is not treated with proper respect,\nfor example if the people who fetch rice from the barn are not decently\nclad, he is angry and punishes the offenders by eating up twice as much\nrice in the barn as they have taken out of it; some people have heard him\nsmacking his lips in the barn, as he devoured the rice. On the other hand\nthe Toradjas of Central Celebes, who also practise the custom of the\nRice-mother at harvest, regard her as the actual mother of the whole\nharvest, and therefore keep her carefully, lest in her absence the\ngarnered store of rice should all melt away and disappear.(596) Among the\nTomori, as among other Indonesian peoples, reapers at work in the field\nmake use of special words which differ from the terms in ordinary use; the\nreason for adopting this peculiar form of speech at reaping appears to be,\nas I have already pointed out, a fear of alarming the timid soul of the\nrice by revealing the fate in store for it.(597) To the same motive is\nperhaps to be ascribed the practice observed by the Tomori of asking each\nother riddles at harvest.(598) Similarly among the Alfoors or Toradjas of\nPoso, in Central Celebes, while the people are watching the crops in the\nfields they amuse themselves with asking each other riddles and telling\nstories, and when any one guesses a riddle aright, the whole company cries\nout, \u201cLet our rice come up, let fat ears come up both in the lowlands and\non the heights.\u201d But all the time between harvest and the laying out of\nnew fields the asking of riddles and the telling of stories is strictly\nforbidden.(599) Thus among these people it seems that the asking of\nriddles is for some reason regarded as a charm which may make or mar the\ncrops.\n\n(M163) Among some of the Toradjas of Celebes the ceremony of cutting and\nbringing home the Mother of the Rice is observed as follows. When the crop\nis ripe in the fields, the Mother of the Rice (_\u00e2nrong p\u00e2re_) must be\nfetched before the rest of the harvest is reaped. The ceremony is\nperformed on a lucky day by a woman, who knows the rites. For three days\npreviously she observes certain precautions to prevent the soul\n(_soemang\u00e2na \u00e2se_) of the rice from escaping out of the field, as it might\nbe apt to do, if it got wind that the reapers with their cruel knives were\nso soon to crop the ripe ears. With this view she ties up a handful of\nstanding stalks of the rice into a bunch in each corner of the field,\nwhile she recites an invocation to the spirits of the rice, bidding them\ngather in the field from the four quarters of the heaven. As a further\nprecaution she stops the sluices, lest with the outrush of the water from\nthe rice-field the sly soul of the rice should make good its escape. And\nshe ties knots in the leaves of the rice-plants, all to hinder the soul of\nthe rice from running away. This she does in the afternoon of three\nsuccessive days. On the morning of the fourth day she comes again to the\nfield, sits down in a corner of it, and kisses the rice three times, again\ninviting the souls of the rice to come thither and assuring them of her\naffection and care. Then she cuts the bunch of rice-stalks which she had\ntied together on one of the previous days. The stalks in the bunch must be\nnine in number, and their leaves must be cut with them, not thrown away.\nAs she cuts, she may not look about her, nor cry out, nor speak to any\none, nor be spoken to; but she says to the rice, \u201cThe prophet reaps you. I\ntake you, but you diminish not; I hold you in my hand and you increase.\nYou are the links of my soul, the support of my body, my blessing, my\nsalvation. There is no God but God.\u201d Then she passes to another corner of\nthe field to cut the bunch of standing rice in it with the same ceremony;\nbut before coming to it she stops half way to pluck another bunch of five\nstalks in like manner. Thus from the four sides of the field she collects\nin all fifty-six stalks of rice, which together make up the Mother of the\nRice (_\u00e2nrong p\u00e2re_). Then in a corner of the field she makes a little\nstage and lays the Mother of the Rice on it, with the ears turned towards\nthe standing rice and the cut stalks towards the dyke which encloses the\nfield. After that she binds the fifty-six stalks of the Rice-mother into a\nsheaf with the bark of a particular kind of tree. As she does so, she\nsays, \u201cThe prophet binds you into a sheaf; the angel increases you; the\n_aw\u00e2lli_ cares for you. We loved and cared for each other.\u201d Then, after\nanointing the sheaf and fumigating it with incense, she lays it on the\nlittle stage. On this stage she had previously placed several kinds of\nrice, betel, one or more eggs, sweetmeats, and young coco-nuts, all as\nofferings to the Mother of the Rice, who, if she did not receive these\nattentions, would be offended and visit people with sickness or even\nvanish away altogether. Sometimes on large farms a fowl is killed and its\nblood deposited in the half of a coco-nut on the stage. The standing rice\nround about the stage is the last of the whole field to be reaped. When it\nhas been cut, it is bound up with the Mother of the Rice into a single\nsheaf and carried home. Any body may carry the sheaf, but in doing so he\nor she must take care not to let it fall, or the Rice-mother would be\nangry and might disappear.(600)\n\n(M164) Among the Battas or Bataks of Sumatra the rice appears to be\npersonified as a young unmarried woman rather than as a mother. On the\nfirst day of reaping the crop only a few ears of rice are plucked and made\nup into a little sheaf. After that the reaping may begin, and while it is\ngoing forward offerings of rice and betel are presented in the middle of\nthe field to the spirit of the rice, who is personified under the name of\nMiss Dajang. The offering is accompanied by a common meal shared by the\nreapers. When all the rice has been reaped, threshed and garnered, the\nlittle sheaf which was first cut is brought in and laid on the top of the\nheap in the granary, together with an egg or a stone, which is supposed to\nwatch over the rice.(601) Though we are not told, we may assume that the\npersonified spirit of the rice is supposed to be present in the first\nsheaf cut and in that form to keep guard over the rice in the granary.\nAnother writer, who has independently described the customs of the\nKaro-Bataks at the rice-harvest, tells us that the largest sheaf, which is\nusually the one first made up, is regarded as the seat of the rice-soul\nand is treated exactly like a person; at the trampling of the paddy to\nseparate the grain from the husks the sheaf in question is specially\nentrusted to a girl who has a lucky name, and whose parents are both\nalive.(602)\n\n(M165) In Mandeling, a district of Sumatra, contrary to what seems to be\nthe usual practice, the spirit of the rice is personified as a male\ninstead of as a female and is called the Rajah or King of the Rice. He is\nsupposed to be immanent in certain rice-plants, which are recognised by\ntheir peculiar formation, such as a concealment of the ears in the sheath,\nan unusual arrangement of the leaves, or a stunted growth. When one or\nmore such plants have been discovered in the field, they are sprinkled\nwith lime-juice, and the spirits are invoked by name and informed that\nthey are expected at home and that all is ready for their reception. Then\nthe King of the Rice is plucked with the hand and seven neighbouring\nrice-stalks cut with a knife. He and his seven companions are then\ncarefully brought home; the bearer may not speak a word, and the children\nin the house may make no noise till the King of the Rice has been safely\nlodged in the granary and tethered, for greater security, with a grass\nrope to one of the posts. As soon as that is done, the doors are shut to\nprevent the spirits of the rice from escaping. The person who fetches the\nKing of the Rice from the field should prepare himself for the important\nduty by eating a hearty meal, for it would be an omen of a bad harvest if\nhe presented himself before the King of the Rice with an empty stomach.\nFor the same reason the sower of rice should sow the seed on a full\nstomach, in order that the ears which spring from the seed may be full\nalso.(603)\n\n(M166) Again, just as in Scotland the old and the young spirit of the corn\nare represented as an Old Wife (_Cailleach_) and a Maiden respectively, so\nin the Malay Peninsula we find both the Rice-mother and her child\nrepresented by different sheaves or bundles of ears on the harvest-field.\nThe following directions for obtaining both are translated from a native\nMalay work on the cultivation of rice: \u201cWhen the rice is ripe all over,\none must first take the \u2018soul\u2019 out of all the plots of one\u2019s field. You\nchoose the spot where the rice is best and where it is \u2018female\u2019 (that is\nto say, where the bunch of stalks is big) and where there are seven joints\nin the stalk. You begin with a bunch of this kind and clip seven stems to\nbe the \u2018soul of the rice\u2019; and then you clip yet another handful to be the\n\u2018mother-seed\u2019 for the following year. The \u2018soul\u2019 is wrapped in a white\ncloth tied with a cord of _t\u0115rap_ bark, and made into the shape of a\nlittle child in swaddling clothes, and put into the small basket. The\n\u2018mother-seed\u2019 is put into another basket, and both are fumigated with\nbenzoin, and then the two baskets are piled the one on the other and taken\nhome, and put into the _k\u0115puk_ (the receptacle in which rice is\nstored).\u201d(604) The ceremony of cutting and bringing home the Soul of the\nRice was witnessed by Mr. W. W. Skeat at Chodoi in Selangor on the\ntwenty-eighth of January 1897. The particular bunch or sheaf which was to\nserve as the Mother of the Rice-soul had previously been sought and\nidentified by means of the markings or shape of the ears. From this sheaf\nan aged sorceress, with much solemnity, cut a little bundle of seven ears,\nanointed them with oil, tied them round with parti-coloured thread,\nfumigated them with incense, and having wrapt them in a white cloth\ndeposited them in a little oval-shaped basket. These seven ears were the\ninfant Soul of the Rice and the little basket was its cradle. It was\ncarried home to the farmer\u2019s house by another woman, who held up an\numbrella to screen the tender infant from the hot rays of the sun. Arrived\nat the house the Rice-child was welcomed by the women of the family, and\nlaid, cradle and all, on a new sleeping-mat with pillows at the head.\nAfter that the farmer\u2019s wife was instructed to observe certain rules of\ntaboo for three days, the rules being in many respects identical with\nthose which have to be observed for three days after the birth of a real\nchild. For example, perfect quiet must be observed, as in a house where a\nbaby has just been born; a light was placed near the head of the\nRice-child\u2019s bed and might not go out at night, while the fire on the\nhearth had to be kept up both day and night till the three days were over;\nhair might not be cut; and money, rice, salt, oil, and so forth were\nforbidden to go out of the house, though of course these valuable articles\nwere quite free to come in. Something of the same tender care which is\nthus bestowed on the newly-born Rice-child is naturally extended also to\nits parent, the sheaf from whose body it was taken. This sheaf, which\nremains standing in the field after the Rice-soul has been carried home\nand put to bed, is treated as a newly-made mother; that is to say, young\nshoots of trees are pounded together and scattered broadcast every evening\nfor three successive days, and when the three days are up you take the\npulp of a coco-nut and what are called \u201cgoat-flowers,\u201d mix them up, eat\nthem with a little sugar, and spit some of the mixture out among the rice.\nSo after a real birth the young shoots of the jack-fruit, the rose-apple,\ncertain kinds of banana, and the thin pulp of young coco-nuts are mixed\nwith dried fish, salt, acid, prawn-condiment, and the like dainties to\nform a sort of salad, which is administered to mother and child for three\nsuccessive days. The last sheaf is reaped by the farmer\u2019s wife, who\ncarries it back to the house, where it is threshed and mixed with the\nRice-soul. The farmer then takes the Rice-soul and its basket and deposits\nit, together with the product of the last sheaf, in the big circular\nrice-bin used by the Malays. Some grains from the Rice-soul are mixed with\nthe seed which is to be sown in the following year.(605) In this\nRice-mother and Rice-child of the Malay Peninsula we may see the\ncounterpart and in a sense the prototype of the Demeter and Persephone of\nancient Greece.\n\n(M167) Once more, the European custom of representing the corn-spirit in\nthe double form of bride and bridegroom(606) has its parallel in a\nceremony observed at the rice-harvest in Java. Before the reapers begin to\ncut the rice, the priest or sorcerer picks out a number of ears of rice,\nwhich are tied together, smeared with ointment, and adorned with flowers.\nThus decked out, the ears are called the _padi-p\u0115ngant\u00e8n_, that is, the\nRice-bride and the Rice-bridegroom; their wedding feast is celebrated, and\nthe cutting of the rice begins immediately afterwards. Later on, when the\nrice is being got in, a bridal chamber is partitioned off in the barn, and\nfurnished with a new mat, a lamp, and all kinds of toilet articles.\nSheaves of rice, to represent the wedding guests, are placed beside the\nRice-bride and the Rice-bridegroom. Not till this has been done may the\nwhole harvest be housed in the barn. And for the first forty days after\nthe rice has been housed, no one may enter the barn, for fear of\ndisturbing the newly-wedded pair.(607)\n\n(M168) Another account of the Javanese custom runs as follows. When the\nrice at harvest is to be brought home, two handfuls of common unhusked\nrice (paddy) are tied together into a sheaf, and two handfuls of a special\nkind of rice (_kleefrijst_) are tied up into another sheaf; then the two\nsheaves are fastened together in a bundle which goes by the name of \u201cthe\nbridal pair\u201d (_p\u0115n-gantenan_). The special rice is the bridegroom, the\ncommon rice is the bride. At the barn \u201cthe bridal pair\u201d is received on a\nwinnowing-fan by a wizard, who removes them from the fan and lays them on\nthe floor with a couch of _kloewih_ leaves under them \u201cin order that the\nrice may increase,\u201d and beside them he places a _k\u0115miri_ nut, tamarind\npips, and a top and string as playthings with which the young couple may\ndivert themselves. The bride is called Emboq Sri and the bridegroom\nSadana, and the wizard addresses them by name, saying: \u201cEmboq Sri and\nSadana, I have now brought you home and I have prepared a place for you.\nMay you sleep agreeably in this agreeable place! Emboq Sri and Sadana, you\nhave been received by So-and-So (the owner), let So-and-So lead a life\nfree from care. May Emboq Sri\u2019s luck continue in this very agreeable\nplace!\u201d(608)\n\n(M169) The same idea of the rice-spirit as a husband and wife meets us\nalso in the harvest customs of Bali and Lombok, two islands which lie\nimmediately to the east of Java. \u201cThe inhabitants of Lombok,\u201d we are told,\n\u201cthink of the rice-plant as animated by a soul. They regard it as one with\na divinity and treat it with the distinction and honour that are shewn to\na very important person. But as it is impossible to treat all the\nrice-stalks in a field ceremoniously, the native, feeling the need of a\nvisible and tangible representative of the rice-deity and taking a part\nfor the whole, picks out some stalks and conceives them as the visible\nabode of the rice-soul, to which he can pay his homage and from which he\nhopes to derive advantage. These few stalks, the foremost among their many\npeers, form what is called the _ninin pantun_ by the people of Bali and\nthe _inan par\u00e9_ by the Sassaks\u201d of Lombok.(609) The name _ina par\u00e9_ is\nsometimes translated Rice-mother, but the more correct translation is said\nto be \u201cthe principal rice.\u201d The stalks of which this \u201cprincipal rice\u201d\nconsists are the first nine shoots which the husbandman himself takes with\nhis own hands from the nursery or bedding-out ground and plants at the\nupper end of the rice-field beside the inlet of the irrigation water. They\nare planted with great care in a definite order, one of them in the middle\nand the other eight in a circle about it. When the whole field has been\nplanted, an offering, which usually consists of rice in many forms, is\nmade to \u201cthe principal rice\u201d (_inan par\u00e9_). When the rice-stalks begin to\nswell the rice is said to be pregnant, and the \u201cprincipal rice\u201d is treated\nwith the delicate attentions which are paid to a woman with child. Thus\nrice-pap and eggs are laid down beside it, and sour fruits are often\npresented to it, because pregnant women are believed to long for sour\nfruit. Moreover the fertilisation of the rice by the irrigation water is\ncompared to the union of the goddess Batari Sri with her husband Ida\nBatara (Vishnu), who is identified with the flowing water. Some people\nsprinkle the pregnant rice with water in which cooling drugs have been\ninfused or with water which has stood on a holy grave, in order that the\nears may fill out well. When the time of harvest has come, the owner of\nthe field himself makes a beginning by cutting \u201cthe principal rice\u201d (_inan\npar\u00e9_ or _ninin pantun_) with his own hands and binding it into two\nsheaves, each composed of one hundred and eight stalks with their leaves\nattached to them. One of the sheaves represents a man and the other a\nwoman, and they are called \u201chusband and wife\u201d (_istri kakung_). The male\nsheaf is wound about with thread so that none of the leaves are visible,\nwhereas the female sheaf has its leaves bent over and tied so as to\nresemble the roll of a woman\u2019s hair. Sometimes, for further distinction, a\nnecklace of rice-straw is tied round the female sheaf. The two sheaves are\nthen fastened together and tied to a branch of a tree, which is stuck in\nthe ground at the inlet of the irrigation water. There they remain while\nall the rest of the rice is being reaped. Sometimes, instead of being tied\nto a bough, they are laid on a little bamboo altar. The reapers at their\nwork take great care to let no grains of rice fall on the ground,\notherwise the Rice-goddess would grieve and weep at being parted from her\nsisters, who are carried to the barn. If any portion of the field remains\nunreaped at nightfall, the reapers make loops in the leaves of some of the\nstanding stalks to prevent the evil spirits from proceeding with the\nharvest during the hours of darkness, or, according to another account,\nlest the Rice-goddess should go astray. When the rice is brought home from\nthe field, the two sheaves representing the husband and wife are carried\nby a woman on her head, and are the last of all to be deposited in the\nbarn. There they are laid to rest on a small erection or on a cushion of\nrice-straw along with three lumps of _nasi_, which are regarded as the\nattendants or watchers of the bridal pair. The whole arrangement, we are\ninformed, has for its object to induce the rice to increase and multiply\nin the granary, so that the owner may get more out of it than he put in.\nHence when the people of Bali bring the two sheaves, the husband and wife,\ninto the barn, they say \u201cIncrease ye and multiply without ceasing.\u201d When a\nwoman fetches rice from the granary for the use of her household, she has\nto observe a number of rules, all of which are clearly dictated by respect\nfor the spirit of the rice. She should not enter the barn in the dark or\nat noon perhaps because the spirit may then be supposed to be sleeping.\nShe must enter with her right foot first. She must be decently clad with\nher breasts covered. She must not chew betel, and she would do well to\nrinse her mouth before repairing to the barn, just as she would do if she\nwaited on a person of distinction or on a divinity. No sick or menstruous\nwoman may enter the barn, and there must be no talking in it, just as\nthere must be no talking when shelled rice is being scooped up. When all\nthe rice in the barn has been used up, the two sheaves representing the\nhusband and wife remain in the empty building till they have gradually\ndisappeared or been devoured by mice. The pinch of hunger sometimes drives\nindividuals to eat up the rice of these two sheaves, but the wretches who\ndo so are viewed with disgust by their fellows and branded as pigs and\ndogs. Nobody would ever sell these holy sheaves with the rest of their\nprofane brethren.(610)\n\n(M170) The same notion of the propagation of the rice by a male and female\npower finds expression amongst the Szis of Upper Burma. When the paddy,\nthat is, the rice with the husks still on it, has been dried and piled in\na heap for threshing, all the friends of the household are invited to the\nthreshing-floor, and food and drink are brought out. The heap of paddy is\ndivided and one half spread out for threshing, while the other half is\nleft piled up. On the pile food and spirits are set, and one of the\nelders, addressing \u201cthe father and mother of the paddy-plant,\u201d prays for\nplenteous harvests in future, and begs that the seed may bear many fold.\nThen the whole party eat, drink, and make merry. This ceremony at the\nthreshing-floor is the only occasion when these people invoke \u201cthe father\nand mother of the paddy.\u201d(611)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 5. The Spirit of the Corn embodied in Human Beings.\n\n\n(M171) Thus the theory which recognises in the European Corn-mother,\nCorn-maiden, and so forth, the embodiment in vegetable form of the\nanimating spirit of the crops is amply confirmed by the evidence of\npeoples in other parts of the world, who, because they have lagged behind\nthe European races in mental development, retain for that very reason a\nkeener sense of the original motives for observing those rustic rites\nwhich among ourselves have sunk to the level of meaningless survivals. The\nreader may, however, remember that according to Mannhardt, whose theory I\nam expounding, the spirit of the corn manifests itself not merely in\nvegetable but also in human form; the person who cuts the last sheaf or\ngives the last stroke at threshing passes for a temporary embodiment of\nthe corn-spirit, just as much as the bunch of corn which he reaps or\nthreshes. Now in the parallels which have been hitherto adduced from the\ncustoms of peoples outside Europe the spirit of the crops appears only in\nvegetable form. It remains, therefore, to prove that other races besides\nour European peasantry have conceived the spirit of the crops as\nincorporate in or represented by living men and women. Such a proof, I may\nremind the reader, is germane to the theme of this book; for the more\ninstances we discover of human beings representing in themselves the life\nor animating spirit of plants, the less difficulty will be felt at\nclassing amongst them the King of the Wood at Nemi.\n\n(M172) The Mandans and Minnitarees of North America used to hold a\nfestival in spring which they called the corn-medicine festival of the\nwomen. They thought that a certain Old Woman who Never Dies made the crops\nto grow, and that, living somewhere in the south, she sent the migratory\nwaterfowl in spring as her tokens and representatives. Each sort of bird\nrepresented a special kind of crop cultivated by the Indians: the wild\ngoose stood for the maize, the wild swan for the gourds, and the wild duck\nfor the beans. So when the feathered messengers of the Old Woman began to\narrive in spring the Indians celebrated the corn-medicine festival of the\nwomen. Scaffolds were set up, on which the people hung dried meat and\nother things by way of offerings to the Old Woman; and on a certain day\nthe old women of the tribe, as representatives of the Old Woman who Never\nDies, assembled at the scaffolds each bearing in her hand an ear of maize\nfastened to a stick. They first planted these sticks in the ground, then\ndanced round the scaffolds, and finally took up the sticks again in their\narms. Meanwhile old men beat drums and shook rattles as a musical\naccompaniment to the performance of the old women. Further, young women\ncame and put dried flesh into the mouths of the old women, for which they\nreceived in return a grain of the consecrated maize to eat. Three or four\ngrains of the holy corn were also placed in the dishes of the young women,\nto be afterwards carefully mixed with the seed-corn, which they were\nsupposed to fertilise. The dried flesh hung on the scaffold belonged to\nthe old women, because they represented the Old Woman who Never Dies. A\nsimilar corn-medicine festival was held in autumn for the purpose of\nattracting the herds of buffaloes and securing a supply of meat. At that\ntime every woman carried in her arms an uprooted plant of maize. They gave\nthe name of the Old Woman who Never Dies both to the maize and to those\nbirds which they regarded as symbols of the fruits of the earth, and they\nprayed to them in autumn saying, \u201cMother, have pity on us! send us not the\nbitter cold too soon, lest we have not meat enough! let not all the game\ndepart, that we may have something for the winter!\u201d In autumn, when the\nbirds were flying south, the Indians thought that they were going home to\nthe Old Woman and taking to her the offerings that had been hung up on the\nscaffolds, especially the dried meat, which she ate.(612) Here then we\nhave the spirit or divinity of the corn conceived as an Old Woman and\nrepresented in bodily form by old women, who in their capacity of\nrepresentatives receive some at least of the offerings which are intended\nfor her.\n\n(M173) The Miamis, another tribe of North American Indians, tell a tale in\nwhich the spirit of the corn figures as a broken-down old man. They say\nthat corn, that is, maize, first grew in heaven, and that the Good Spirit\ncommanded it to go down and dwell with men on earth. At first it was\nreluctant to do so, but the Good Spirit prevailed on it to go by promising\nthat men would treat it well in return for the benefit they derived from\nit. \u201cSo corn came down from heaven to benefit the Indian, and this is the\nreason why they esteem it, and are bound to take good care of it, and to\nnurture it, and not raise more than they actually require, for their own\nconsumption.\u201d But once a whole town of the Miamis was severely punished\nfor failing in respect for the corn. They had raised a great crop and\nstored much of it under ground, and much of it they packed for immediate\nuse in bags. But the corn was so plentiful that much of it still remained\non the stalks, and the young men grew reckless and played with the shelled\ncobs, throwing them at each other, and at last they even broke the cobs\nfrom the growing stalks and pelted each other with them too. But a\njudgment soon followed on such wicked conduct. For when the hunters went\nout to hunt, though the deer seemed to abound, they could kill nothing. So\nthe corn was gone and they could get no meat, and the people were hungry.\nWell, one of the hunters, roaming by himself in the woods to find\nsomething to eat for his aged father, came upon a small lodge in the\nwilderness where a decrepit old man was lying with his back to the fire.\nNow the old man was no other than the Spirit of the Corn. He said to the\nyoung hunter, \u201cMy grandson, the Indians have afflicted me much, and\nreduced me to the sad state in which you see me. In the side of the lodge\nyou will find a small kettle. Take it and eat, and when you have satisfied\nyour hunger, I will speak to you.\u201d But the kettle was full of such fine\nsweet corn as the hunter had never in his life seen before. When he had\neaten his fill, the old man resumed the thread of his discourse, saying,\n\u201cYour people have wantonly abused and reduced me to the state you now see\nme in: my back-bone is broken in many places; it was the foolish young men\nof your town who did me this evil, for I am Mondamin, or corn, that came\ndown from heaven. In their play they threw corn-cobs and corn-ears at one\nanother, treating me with contempt. I am the corn-spirit whom they have\ninjured. That is why you experience bad luck and famine. I am the cause;\nyou feel my just resentment, therefore your people are punished. Other\nIndians do not treat me so. They respect me, and so it is well with them.\nHad you no elders to check the youths at their wanton sport? You are an\neye-witness of my sufferings. They are the effect of what you did to my\nbody.\u201d With that he groaned and covered himself up. So the young hunter\nreturned and reported what he had seen and heard; and since then the\nIndians have been very careful not to play with corn in the ear.(613)\n\n(M174) In some parts of India the harvest-goddess Gauri is represented at\nonce by an unmarried girl and by a bundle of wild balsam plants, which is\nmade up into the figure of a woman and dressed as such with mask,\ngarments, and ornaments. Both the human and the vegetable representative\nof the goddess are worshipped, and the intention of the whole ceremony\nappears to be to ensure a good crop of rice.(614)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 6. The Double Personification of the Corn as Mother and Daughter.\n\n\n(M175) Compared with the Corn-mother of Germany and the Harvest-maiden of\nScotland, the Demeter and Persephone of Greece are late products of\nreligious growth. Yet as members of the Aryan family the Greeks must at\none time or another have observed harvest customs like those which are\nstill practised by Celts, Teutons, and Slavs, and which, far beyond the\nlimits of the Aryan world, have been practised by the Indians of Peru, the\nDyaks of Borneo, and many other natives of the East Indies\u2014a sufficient\nproof that the ideas on which these customs rest are not confined to any\none race, but naturally suggest themselves to all untutored peoples\nengaged in agriculture. It is probable, therefore, that Demeter and\nPersephone, those stately and beautiful figures of Greek mythology, grew\nout of the same simple beliefs and practices which still prevail among our\nmodern peasantry, and that they were represented by rude dolls made out of\nthe yellow sheaves on many a harvest-field long before their breathing\nimages were wrought in bronze and marble by the master hands of Phidias\nand Praxiteles. A reminiscence of that olden time\u2014a scent, so to say, of\nthe harvest-field\u2014lingered to the last in the title of the Maiden (_Kore_)\nby which Persephone was commonly known. Thus if the prototype of Demeter\nis the Corn-mother of Germany, the prototype of Persephone is the\nHarvest-maiden, which, autumn after autumn, is still made from the last\nsheaf on the Braes of Balquhidder. Indeed, if we knew more about the\npeasant-farmers of ancient Greece, we should probably find that even in\nclassical times they continued annually to fashion their Corn-mothers\n(Demeters) and Maidens (Persephones) out of the ripe corn on the\nharvest-fields.(615) But unfortunately the Demeter and Persephone whom we\nknow were the denizens of towns, the majestic inhabitants of lordly\ntemples; it was for such divinities alone that the refined writers of\nantiquity had eyes; the uncouth rites performed by rustics amongst the\ncorn were beneath their notice. Even if they noticed them, they probably\nnever dreamed of any connexion between the puppet of corn-stalks on the\nsunny stubble-field and the marble divinity in the shady coolness of the\ntemple. Still the writings even of these town-bred and cultured persons\nafford us an occasional glimpse of a Demeter as rude as the rudest that a\nremote German village can shew. Thus the story that Iasion begat a child\nPlutus (\u201cwealth,\u201d \u201cabundance\u201d) by Demeter on a thrice-ploughed field,(616)\nmay be compared with the West Prussian custom of the mock birth of a child\non the harvest-field.(617) In this Prussian custom the pretended mother\nrepresents the Corn-mother (_\u017dytniamatka_); the pretended child represents\nthe Corn-baby, and the whole ceremony is a charm to ensure a crop next\nyear.(618) The custom and the legend alike point to an older practice of\nperforming, among the sprouting crops in spring or the stubble in autumn,\none of those real or mimic acts of procreation by which, as we have seen,\nprimitive man often seeks to infuse his own vigorous life into the languid\nor decaying energies of nature.(619) Another glimpse of the savage under\nthe civilised Demeter will be afforded farther on, when we come to deal\nwith another aspect of these agricultural divinities.\n\n(M176) The reader may have observed that in modern folk-customs the\ncorn-spirit is generally represented either by a Corn-mother (Old Woman,\netc.) or by a Maiden (Harvest-child, etc.), not both by a Corn-mother and\nby a Maiden. Why then did the Greeks represent the corn both as a mother\nand a daughter?\n\n(M177) In the Breton custom the mother-sheaf\u2014a large figure made out of\nthe last sheaf with a small corn-doll inside of it\u2014clearly represents both\nthe Corn-mother and the Corn-daughter, the latter still unborn.(620)\nAgain, in the Prussian custom just referred to, the woman who plays the\npart of Corn-mother represents the ripe grain; the child appears to\nrepresent next year\u2019s corn, which may be regarded, naturally enough, as\nthe child of this year\u2019s corn, since it is from the seed of this year\u2019s\nharvest that next year\u2019s crop will spring. Further, we have seen that\namong the Malays of the Peninsula and sometimes among the Highlanders of\nScotland the spirit of the grain is represented in double female form,\nboth as old and young, by means of ears taken alike from the ripe crop: in\nScotland the old spirit of the corn appears as the Carline or _Cailleach_,\nthe young spirit as the Maiden; while among the Malays of the Peninsula\nthe two spirits of the rice are definitely related to each other as mother\nand child.(621) Judged by these analogies Demeter would be the ripe crop\nof this year; Persephone would be the seed-corn taken from it and sown in\nautumn, to reappear in spring.(622) The descent of Persephone into the\nlower world would thus be a mythical expression for the sowing of the\nseed; her reappearance in spring would signify the sprouting of the young\ncorn. In this way the Persephone of one year becomes the Demeter of the\nnext, and this may very well have been the original form of the myth. But\nwhen with the advance of religious thought the corn came to be\npersonified, no longer as a being that went through the whole cycle of\nbirth, growth, reproduction, and death within a year, but as an immortal\ngoddess, consistency required that one of the two personifications, the\nmother or the daughter, should be sacrificed. However, the double\nconception of the corn as mother and daughter may have been too old and\ntoo deeply rooted in the popular mind to be eradicated by logic, and so\nroom had to be found in the reformed myth both for mother and daughter.\nThis was done by assigning to Persephone the character of the corn sown in\nautumn and sprouting in spring, while Demeter was left to play the\nsomewhat vague part of the heavy mother of the corn, who laments its\nannual disappearance underground, and rejoices over its reappearance in\nspring. Thus instead of a regular succession of divine beings, each living\na year and then giving birth to her successor, the reformed myth exhibits\nthe conception of two divine and immortal beings, one of whom annually\ndisappears into and reappears from the ground, while the other has little\nto do but to weep and rejoice at the appropriate seasons.(623)\n\n(M178) This theory of the double personification of the corn in Greek myth\nassumes that both personifications (Demeter and Persephone) are original.\nBut if we suppose that the Greek myth started with a single\npersonification, the after-growth of a second personification may perhaps\nbe explained as follows. On looking over the harvest customs which have\nbeen passed under review, it may be noticed that they involve two distinct\nconceptions of the corn-spirit. For whereas in some of the customs the\ncorn-spirit is treated as immanent in the corn, in others it is regarded\nas external to it. Thus when a particular sheaf is called by the name of\nthe corn-spirit, and is dressed in clothes and handled with\nreverence,(624) the spirit is clearly regarded as immanent in the corn.\nBut when the spirit is said to make the crops grow by passing through\nthem, or to blight the grain of those against whom she has a grudge,(625)\nshe is apparently conceived as distinct from, though exercising power\nover, the corn. Conceived in the latter way the corn-spirit is in a fair\nway to become a deity of the corn, if she has not become so already. Of\nthese two conceptions, that of the corn-spirit as immanent in the corn is\ndoubtless the older, since the view of nature as animated by indwelling\nspirits appears to have generally preceded the view of it as controlled by\nexternal deities; to put it shortly, animism precedes deism. In the\nharvest customs of our European peasantry the corn-spirit seems to be\nconceived now as immanent in the corn and now as external to it. In Greek\nmythology, on the other hand, Demeter is viewed rather as the deity of the\ncorn than as the spirit immanent in it.(626) The process of thought which\nleads to the change from the one mode of conception to the other is\nanthropomorphism, or the gradual investment of the immanent spirits with\nmore and more of the attributes of humanity. As men emerge from savagery\nthe tendency to humanise their divinities gains strength; and the more\nhuman these become the wider is the breach which severs them from the\nnatural objects of which they were at first merely the animating spirits\nor souls. But in the progress upwards from savagery men of the same\ngeneration do not march abreast; and though the new anthropomorphic gods\nmay satisfy the religious wants of the more developed intelligences, the\nbackward members of the community will cling by preference to the old\nanimistic notions. Now when the spirit of any natural object such as the\ncorn has been invested with human qualities, detached from the object, and\nconverted into a deity controlling it, the object itself is, by the\nwithdrawal of its spirit, left inanimate; it becomes, so to say, a\nspiritual vacuum. But the popular fancy, intolerant of such a vacuum, in\nother words, unable to conceive anything as inanimate, immediately creates\na fresh mythical being, with which it peoples the vacant object. Thus the\nsame natural object comes to be represented in mythology by two distinct\nbeings: first by the old spirit now separated from it and raised to the\nrank of a deity; second, by the new spirit, freshly created by the popular\nfancy to supply the place vacated by the old spirit on its elevation to a\nhigher sphere. For example, in Japanese religion the solar character of\nAma-terasu, the great goddess of the Sun, has become obscured, and\naccordingly the people have personified the sun afresh under the name of\n_Nichi-rin sama_, \u201csun-wheeling personage,\u201d and _O tent\u014d sama_,\n\u201caugust-heaven-path-personage\u201d; to the lower class of Japanese at the\npresent day, especially to women and children, _O tent\u014d sama_ is the\nactual sun, sexless, mythless, and unencumbered by any formal worship, yet\nlooked up to as a moral being who rewards the good, punishes the wicked,\nand enforces oaths made in his name.(627) In such cases the problem for\nmythology is, having got two distinct personifications of the same object,\nwhat to do with them? How are their relations to each other to be\nadjusted, and room found for both in the mythological system? When the old\nspirit or new deity is conceived as creating or producing the object in\nquestion, the problem is easily solved. Since the object is believed to be\nproduced by the old spirit, and animated by the new one, the latter, as\nthe soul of the object, must also owe its existence to the former; thus\nthe old spirit will stand to the new one as producer to produced, that is,\nin mythology, as parent to child, and if both spirits are conceived as\nfemale, their relation will be that of mother and daughter. In this way,\nstarting from a single personification of the corn as female, mythic fancy\nmight in time reach a double personification of it as mother and daughter.\nIt would be very rash to affirm that this was the way in which the myth of\nDemeter and Persephone actually took shape; but it seems a legitimate\nconjecture that the reduplication of deities, of which Demeter and\nPersephone furnish an example, may sometimes have arisen in the way\nindicated. For example, among the pairs of deities dealt with in a former\npart of this work, it has been shewn that there are grounds for regarding\nboth Isis and her companion god Osiris as personifications of the\ncorn.(628) On the hypothesis just suggested, Isis would be the old\ncorn-spirit, and Osiris would be the newer one, whose relationship to the\nold spirit was variously explained as that of brother, husband, and\nson;(629) for of course mythology would always be free to account for the\ncoexistence of the two divinities in more ways than one. It must not,\nhowever, be forgotten that this proposed explanation of such pairs of\ndeities as Demeter and Persephone or Isis and Osiris is purely\nconjectural, and is only given for what it is worth.\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII. LITYERSES.\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 1. Songs of the Corn Reapers.\n\n\n(M179) In the preceding pages an attempt has been made to shew that in the\nCorn-mother and Harvest-maiden of Northern Europe we have the prototypes\nof Demeter and Persephone. But an essential feature is still wanting to\ncomplete the resemblance. A leading incident in the Greek myth is the\ndeath and resurrection of Persephone; it is this incident which, coupled\nwith the nature of the goddess as a deity of vegetation, links the myth\nwith the cults of Adonis, Attis, Osiris, and Dionysus; and it is in virtue\nof this incident that the myth finds a place in our discussion of the\nDying God. It remains, therefore, to see whether the conception of the\nannual death and resurrection of a god, which figures so prominently in\nthese great Greek and Oriental worships, has not also its origin or its\nanalogy in the rustic rites observed by reapers and vine-dressers amongst\nthe corn-shocks and the vines.\n\n(M180) Our general ignorance of the popular superstitions and customs of\nthe ancients has already been confessed. But the obscurity which thus\nhangs over the first beginnings of ancient religion is fortunately\ndissipated to some extent in the present case. The worships of Osiris,\nAdonis, and Attis had their respective seats, as we have seen, in Egypt,\nSyria, and Phrygia; and in each of these countries certain harvest and\nvintage customs are known to have been observed, the resemblance of which\nto each other and to the national rites struck the ancients themselves,\nand, compared with the harvest customs of modern peasants and barbarians,\nseems to throw some light on the origin of the rites in question.\n\n(M181) It has been already mentioned, on the authority of Diodorus, that\nin ancient Egypt the reapers were wont to lament over the first sheaf cut,\ninvoking Isis as the goddess to whom they owed the discovery of corn.(630)\nTo the plaintive song or cry sung or uttered by Egyptian reapers the\nGreeks gave the name of Maneros, and explained the name by a story that\nManeros, the only son of the first Egyptian king, invented agriculture,\nand, dying an untimely death, was thus lamented by the people.(631) It\nappears, however, that the name Maneros is due to a misunderstanding of\nthe formula _m\u00e2\u00e2-ne-hra_, \u201cCome to the house,\u201d which has been discovered\nin various Egyptian writings, for example in the dirge of Isis in the Book\nof the Dead.(632) Hence we may suppose that the cry _m\u00e2\u00e2-ne-hra_ was\nchanted by the reapers over the cut corn as a dirge for the death of the\ncorn-spirit (Isis or Osiris) and a prayer for its return. As the cry was\nraised over the first ears reaped, it would seem that the corn-spirit was\nbelieved by the Egyptians to be present in the first corn cut and to die\nunder the sickle. We have seen that in the Malay Peninsula and Java the\nfirst ears of rice are taken to represent either the Soul of the Rice or\nthe Rice-bride and the Rice-bridegroom.(633) In parts of Russia the first\nsheaf is treated much in the same way that the last sheaf is treated\nelsewhere. It is reaped by the mistress herself, taken home and set in the\nplace of honour near the holy pictures; afterwards it is threshed\nseparately, and some of its grain is mixed with the next year\u2019s\nseed-corn.(634) In Aberdeenshire, while the last corn cut was generally\nused to make the _clyack_ sheaf,(635) it was sometimes, though rarely, the\nfirst corn cut that was dressed up as a woman and carried home with\nceremony.(636)\n\n(M182) In Phoenicia and Western Asia a plaintive song, like that chanted\nby the Egyptian corn-reapers, was sung at the vintage and probably (to\njudge by analogy) also at harvest. This Phoenician song was called by the\nGreeks Linus or Ailinus and explained, like Maneros, as a lament for the\ndeath of a youth named Linus.(637) According to one story Linus was\nbrought up by a shepherd, but torn to pieces by his dogs.(638) But, like\nManeros, the name Linus or Ailinus appears to have originated in a verbal\nmisunderstanding, and to be nothing more than the cry _ai lanu_, that is\n\u201cWoe to us,\u201d which the Phoenicians probably uttered in mourning for\nAdonis;(639) at least Sappho seems to have regarded Adonis and Linus as\nequivalent.(640)\n\n(M183) In Bithynia a like mournful ditty, called Bormus or Borimus, was\nchanted by Mariandynian reapers. Bormus was said to have been a handsome\nyouth, the son of King Upias or of a wealthy and distinguished man. One\nsummer day, watching the reapers at work in his fields, he went to fetch\nthem a drink of water and was never heard of more. So the reapers sought\nfor him, calling him in plaintive strains, which they continued to chant\nat harvest ever afterwards.(641)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 2. Killing the Corn-spirit.\n\n\n(M184) In Phrygia the corresponding song, sung by harvesters both at\nreaping and at threshing, was called Lityerses. According to one story,\nLityerses was a bastard son of Midas, King of Phrygia, and dwelt at\nCelaenae. He used to reap the corn, and had an enormous appetite. When a\nstranger happened to enter the corn-field or to pass by it, Lityerses gave\nhim plenty to eat and drink, then took him to the corn-fields on the banks\nof the Maeander and compelled him to reap along with him. Lastly, it was\nhis custom to wrap the stranger in a sheaf, cut off his head with a\nsickle, and carry away his body, swathed in the corn stalks. But at last\nHercules undertook to reap with him, cut off his head with the sickle, and\nthrew his body into the river.(642) As Hercules is reported to have slain\nLityerses in the same way that Lityerses slew others (as Theseus treated\nSinis and Sciron), we may infer that Lityerses used to throw the bodies of\nhis victims into the river. According to another version of the story,\nLityerses, a son of Midas, was wont to challenge people to a reaping match\nwith him, and if he vanquished them he used to thrash them; but one day he\nmet with a stronger reaper, who slew him.(643)\n\n(M185) There are some grounds for supposing that in these stories of\nLityerses we have the description of a Phrygian harvest custom in\naccordance with which certain persons, especially strangers passing the\nharvest field, were regularly regarded as embodiments of the corn-spirit,\nand as such were seized by the reapers, wrapt in sheaves, and beheaded,\ntheir bodies, bound up in the corn-stalks, being afterwards thrown into\nwater as a rain-charm. The grounds for this supposition are, first, the\nresemblance of the Lityerses story to the harvest customs of European\npeasantry, and, second, the frequency of human sacrifices offered by\nsavage races to promote the fertility of the fields. We will examine these\ngrounds successively, beginning with the former.\n\nIn comparing the story with the harvest customs of Europe,(644) three\npoints deserve special attention, namely: I. the reaping match and the\nbinding of persons in the sheaves; II. the killing of the corn-spirit or\nhis representatives; III. the treatment of visitors to the harvest field\nor of strangers passing it.\n\n(M186) I. In regard to the first head, we have seen that in modern Europe\nthe person who cuts or binds or threshes the last sheaf is often exposed\nto rough treatment at the hands of his fellow-labourers. For example, he\nis bound up in the last sheaf, and, thus encased, is carried or carted\nabout, beaten, drenched with water, thrown on a dunghill, and so forth.\nOr, if he is spared this horseplay, he is at least the subject of ridicule\nor is thought to be destined to suffer some misfortune in the course of\nthe year. Hence the harvesters are naturally reluctant to give the last\ncut at reaping or the last stroke at threshing or to bind the last sheaf,\nand towards the close of the work this reluctance produces an emulation\namong the labourers, each striving to finish his task as fast as possible,\nin order that he may escape the invidious distinction of being last.(645)\nFor example, in the neighbourhood of Danzig, when the winter corn is cut\nand mostly bound up in sheaves, the portion which still remains to be\nbound is divided amongst the women binders, each of whom receives a swath\nof equal length to bind. A crowd of reapers, children, and idlers gather\nround to witness the contest, and at the word, \u201cSeize the Old Man,\u201d the\nwomen fall to work, all binding their allotted swaths as hard as they can.\nThe spectators watch them narrowly, and the woman who cannot keep pace\nwith the rest and consequently binds the last sheaf has to carry the Old\nMan (that is, the last sheaf made up in the form of a man) to the\nfarmhouse and deliver it to the farmer with the words, \u201cHere I bring you\nthe Old Man.\u201d At the supper which follows, the Old Man is placed at the\ntable and receives an abundant portion of food, which, as he cannot eat\nit, falls to the share of the woman who carried him. Afterwards the Old\nMan is placed in the yard and all the people dance round him. Or the woman\nwho bound the last sheaf dances for a good while with the Old Man, while\nthe rest form a ring round them; afterwards they all, one after the other,\ndance a single round with him. Further, the woman who bound the last sheaf\ngoes herself by the name of the Old Man till the next harvest, and is\noften mocked with the cry, \u201cHere comes the Old Man.\u201d(646) In the\nMittelmark district of Prussia, when the rye has been reaped, and the last\nsheaves are about to be tied up, the binders stand in two rows facing each\nother, every woman with her sheaf and her straw rope before her. At a\ngiven signal they all tie up their sheaves, and the one who is the last to\nfinish is ridiculed by the rest. Not only so, but her sheaf is made up\ninto human shape and called the Old Man, and she must carry it home to the\nfarmyard, where the harvesters dance in a circle round her and it. Then\nthey take the Old Man to the farmer and deliver it to him with the words,\n\u201cWe bring the Old Man to the Master. He may keep him till he gets a new\none.\u201d After that the Old Man is set up against a tree, where he remains\nfor a long time, the butt of many jests.(647) At Aschbach in Bavaria, when\nthe reaping is nearly finished, the reapers say, \u201cNow, we will drive out\nthe Old Man.\u201d Each of them sets himself to reap a patch of corn as fast as\nhe can; he who cuts the last handful or the last stalk is greeted by the\nrest with an exulting cry, \u201cYou have the Old Man.\u201d Sometimes a black mask\nis fastened on the reaper\u2019s face and he is dressed in woman\u2019s clothes; or\nif the reaper is a woman, she is dressed in man\u2019s clothes. A dance\nfollows. At the supper the Old Man gets twice as large a portion of food\nas the others. The proceedings are similar at threshing; the person who\ngives the last stroke is said to have the Old Man. At the supper given to\nthe threshers he has to eat out of the cream-ladle and to drink a great\ndeal. Moreover, he is quizzed and teased in all sorts of ways till he\nfrees himself from further annoyance by treating the others to brandy or\nbeer.(648)\n\n(M187) These examples illustrate the contests in reaping, threshing, and\nbinding which take place amongst the harvesters, from their unwillingness\nto suffer the ridicule and discomfort incurred by the one who happens to\nfinish his work last. It will be remembered that the person who is last at\nreaping, binding, or threshing, is regarded as the representative of the\ncorn-spirit,(649) and this idea is more fully expressed by binding him or\nher in corn-stalks. The latter custom has been already illustrated, but a\nfew more instances may be added. At Kloxin, near Stettin, the harvesters\ncall out to the woman who binds the last sheaf, \u201cYou have the Old Man, and\nmust keep him.\u201d The Old Man is a great bundle of corn decked with flowers\nand ribbons, and fashioned into a rude semblance of the human form. It is\nfastened on a rake or strapped on a horse, and brought with music to the\nvillage. In delivering the Old Man to the farmer, the woman says:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201c_Here, dear Sir, is the Old Man._\n    _He can stay no longer on the field,_\n    _He can hide himself no longer,_\n    _He must come into the village._\n    _Ladies and gentlemen, pray be so kind_\n    _As to give the Old Man a present._\u201d\n\n\nAs late as the first half of the nineteenth century the custom was to tie\nup the woman herself in pease-straw, and bring her with music to the\nfarmhouse, where the harvesters danced with her till the pease-straw fell\noff.(650) In other villages round Stettin, when the last harvest-waggon is\nbeing loaded, there is a regular race amongst the women, each striving not\nto be last. For she who places the last sheaf on the waggon is called the\nOld Man, and is completely swathed in corn-stalks; she is also decked with\nflowers, and flowers and a helmet of straw are placed on her head. In\nsolemn procession she carries the harvest-crown to the squire, over whose\nhead she holds it while she utters a string of good wishes. At the dance\nwhich follows, the Old Man has the right to choose his, or rather her,\npartner; it is an honour to dance with him.(651) At Blankenfelde, in the\ndistrict of Potsdam, the woman who binds the last sheaf at the rye-harvest\nis saluted with the cry, \u201cYou have the Old Man.\u201d A woman is then tied up\nin the last sheaf in such a way that only her head is left free; her hair\nalso is covered with a cap made of rye-stalks, adorned with ribbons and\nflowers. She is called the Harvest-man, and must keep dancing in front of\nthe last harvest-waggon till it reaches the squire\u2019s house, where she\nreceives a present and is released from her envelope of corn.(652) At\nGommern, near Magdeburg, the reaper who cuts the last ears of corn is\noften wrapt up in corn-stalks so completely that it is hard to see whether\nthere is a man in the bundle or not. Thus wrapt up he is taken by another\nstalwart reaper on his back, and carried round the field amidst the joyous\ncries of the harvesters.(653) At Neuhausen, near Merseburg, the person who\nbinds the last sheaf is wrapt in ears of oats and saluted as the Oats-man,\nwhereupon the others dance round him.(654) At Brie, Isle de France, the\nfarmer himself is tied up in the _first_ sheaf.(655) At the harvest-home\nat Udvarhely, Transylvania, a person is encased in corn-stalks, and wears\non his head a crown made out of the last ears cut. On reaching the village\nhe is soused with water over and over.(656) At Dingelstedt, in the\ndistrict of Erfurt, down to the first half of the nineteenth century it\nwas the custom to tie up a man in the last sheaf. He was called the Old\nMan, and was brought home on the last waggon, amid huzzas and music. On\nreaching the farmyard he was rolled round the barn and drenched with\nwater.(657) At N\u00f6rdlingen in Bavaria the man who gives the last stroke at\nthreshing is wrapt in straw and rolled on the threshing-floor.(658) In\nsome parts of Oberpfalz, Bavaria, he is said to \u201cget the Old Man,\u201d is\nwrapt in straw, and carried to a neighbour who has not yet finished his\nthreshing.(659) In Silesia the woman who binds the last sheaf has to\nsubmit to a good deal of horse-play. She is pushed, knocked down, and tied\nup in the sheaf, after which she is called the corn-puppet\n(_Kornpopel_).(660) In Th\u00fcringen a sausage is stuck in the last sheaf at\nthreshing, and thrown, with the sheaf, on the threshing-floor. It is\ncalled the _Barrenwurst_ or _Bazenwurst_, and is eaten by all the\nthreshers. After they have eaten it a man is encased in pease-straw, and\nthus attired is led through the village.(661)\n\n(M188) \u201cIn all these cases the idea is that the spirit of the corn\u2014the Old\nMan of vegetation\u2014is driven out of the corn last cut or last threshed, and\nlives in the barn during the winter. At sowing-time he goes out again to\nthe fields to resume his activity as animating force among the sprouting\ncorn.\u201d(662)\n\n(M189) Ideas of the same sort appear to attach to the last corn in India.\nAt Hoshang\u00e1b\u00e1d, in Central India, when the reaping is nearly done, a patch\nof corn, about a rood in extent, is left standing in the cultivator\u2019s last\nfield, and the reapers rest a little. Then they rush at this remnant, tear\nit up, and cast it into the air, shouting victory to one or other of the\nlocal gods, according to their religious persuasion. A sheaf is made out\nof this corn, tied to a bamboo, set up in the last harvest cart, and\ncarried home in triumph. Here it is fastened up in the threshing-floor or\nattached to a tree or to the cattle-shed, where its services are held to\nbe essential for the purpose of averting the evil-eye.(663) A like custom\nprevails in the eastern districts of the North-Western Provinces of India.\nSometimes a little patch is left untilled as a refuge for the\nfield-spirit; sometimes it is sown, and when the corn of this patch has\nbeen reaped with a rush and a shout, it is presented to the priest, who\noffers it to the local gods or bestows it on a beggar.(664)\n\n(M190) II. Passing to the second point of comparison between the Lityerses\nstory and European harvest customs, we have now to see that in the latter\nthe corn-spirit is often believed to be killed at reaping or threshing. In\nthe Romsdal and other parts of Norway, when the haymaking is over, the\npeople say that \u201cthe Old Hay-man has been killed.\u201d In some parts of\nBavaria the man who gives the last stroke at threshing is said to have\nkilled the Corn-man, the Oats-man, or the Wheat-man, according to the\ncrop.(665) In the Canton of Tillot, in Lothringen, at threshing the last\ncorn the men keep time with their flails, calling out as they thresh, \u201cWe\nare killing the Old Woman! We are killing the Old Woman!\u201d If there is an\nold woman in the house she is warned to save herself, or she will be\nstruck dead.(666) Near Ragnit, in Lithuania, the last handful of corn is\nleft standing by itself, with the words, \u201cThe Old Woman (_Boba_) is\nsitting in there.\u201d Then a young reaper whets his scythe, and, with a\nstrong sweep, cuts down the handful. It is now said of him that \u201che has\ncut off the Boba\u2019s head\u201d; and he receives a gratuity from the farmer and a\njugful of water over his head from the farmer\u2019s wife.(667) According to\nanother account, every Lithuanian reaper makes haste to finish his task;\nfor the Old Rye-woman lives in the last stalks, and whoever cuts the last\nstalks kills the Old Rye-woman, and by killing her he brings trouble on\nhimself.(668) In Wilkischken, in the district of Tilsit, the man who cuts\nthe last corn goes by the name of \u201cthe killer of the Rye-woman.\u201d(669) In\nLithuania, again, the corn-spirit is believed to be killed at threshing as\nwell as at reaping. When only a single pile of corn remains to be\nthreshed, all the threshers suddenly step back a few paces, as if at the\nword of command. Then they fall to work, plying their flails with the\nutmost rapidity and vehemence, till they come to the last bundle. Upon\nthis they fling themselves with almost frantic fury, straining every\nnerve, and raining blows on it till the word \u201cHalt!\u201d rings out sharply\nfrom the leader. The man whose flail is the last to fall after the command\nto stop has been given is immediately surrounded by all the rest, crying\nout that \u201che has struck the Old Rye-woman dead.\u201d He has to expiate the\ndeed by treating them to brandy; and, like the man who cuts the last corn,\nhe is known as \u201cthe killer of the Old Rye-woman.\u201d(670) Sometimes in\nLithuania the slain corn-spirit was represented by a puppet. Thus a female\nfigure was made out of corn-stalks, dressed in clothes, and placed on the\nthreshing-floor, under the heap of corn which was to be threshed last.\nWhoever thereafter gave the last stroke at threshing \u201cstruck the Old Woman\ndead.\u201d(671) We have already met with examples of burning the figure which\nrepresents the corn-spirit.(672) In the East Riding of Yorkshire a custom\ncalled \u201cburning the Old Witch\u201d is observed on the last day of harvest. A\nsmall sheaf of corn is burnt on the field in a fire of stubble; peas are\nparched at the fire and eaten with a liberal allowance of ale; and the\nlads and lasses romp about the flames and amuse themselves by blackening\neach other\u2019s faces.(673) Sometimes, again, the corn-spirit is represented\nby a man, who lies down under the last corn; it is threshed upon his body,\nand the people say that \u201cthe Old Man is being beaten to death.\u201d(674) We\nsaw that sometimes the farmer\u2019s wife is thrust, together with the last\nsheaf, under the threshing-machine, as if to thresh her, and that\nafterwards a pretence is made of winnowing her.(675) At Volders, in the\nTyrol, husks of corn are stuck behind the neck of the man who gives the\nlast stroke at threshing, and he is throttled with a straw garland. If he\nis tall, it is believed that the corn will be tall next year. Then he is\ntied on a bundle and flung into the river.(676) In Carinthia, the thresher\nwho gave the last stroke, and the person who untied the last sheaf on the\nthreshing-floor, are bound hand and foot with straw bands, and crowns of\nstraw are placed on their heads. Then they are tied, face to face, on a\nsledge, dragged through the village, and flung into a brook.(677) The\ncustom of throwing the representative of the corn-spirit into a stream,\nlike that of drenching him with water, is, as usual, a rain-charm.(678)\n\n(M191) III. Thus far the representatives of the corn-spirit have generally\nbeen the man or woman who cuts, binds, or threshes the last corn. We now\ncome to the cases in which the corn-spirit is represented either by a\nstranger passing the harvest-field (as in the Lityerses tale), or by a\nvisitor entering it for the first time. All over Germany it is customary\nfor the reapers or threshers to lay hold of passing strangers and bind\nthem with a rope made of corn-stalks, till they pay a forfeit; and when\nthe farmer himself or one of his guests enters the field or the\nthreshing-floor for the first time, he is treated in the same way.\nSometimes the rope is only tied round his arm or his feet or his\nneck.(679) But sometimes he is regularly swathed in corn. Thus at Sol\u00f6r in\nNorway, whoever enters the field, be he the master or a stranger, is tied\nup in a sheaf and must pay a ransom. In the neighbourhood of Soest, when\nthe farmer visits the flax-pullers for the first time, he is completely\nenveloped in flax. Passers-by are also surrounded by the women, tied up in\nflax, and compelled to stand brandy.(680) At N\u00f6rdlingen strangers are\ncaught with straw ropes and tied up in a sheaf till they pay a\nforfeit.(681) Among the Germans of Haselberg, in West Bohemia, as soon as\na farmer had given the last corn to be threshed on the threshing-floor, he\nwas swathed in it and had to redeem himself by a present of cakes.(682) In\nAnhalt, when the proprietor or one of his family, the steward, or even a\nstranger enters the harvest-field for the first time after the reaping has\nbegun, the wife of the chief reaper ties a rope twisted of corn-ears, or a\nnosegay made of corn-ears and flowers, to his arm, and he is obliged to\nransom himself by the payment of a fine.(683) In the canton of Putanges,\nin Normandy, a pretence of tying up the owner of the land in the last\nsheaf of wheat is still practised, or at least was still practised some\nquarter of a century ago. The task falls to the women alone. They throw\nthemselves on the proprietor, seize him by the arms, the legs, and the\nbody, throw him to the ground, and stretch him on the last sheaf. Then a\nshow is made of binding him, and the conditions to be observed at the\nharvest-supper are dictated to him. When he has accepted them, he is\nreleased and allowed to get up.(684) At Brie, Isle de France, when any one\nwho does not belong to the farm passes by the harvest-field, the reapers\ngive chase. If they catch him, they bind him in a sheaf and bite him, one\nafter the other, in the forehead, crying, \u201cYou shall carry the key of the\nfield.\u201d(685) \u201cTo have the key\u201d is an expression used by harvesters\nelsewhere in the sense of to cut or bind or thresh the last sheaf;(686)\nhence, it is equivalent to the phrases \u201cYou have the Old Man,\u201d \u201cYou are\nthe Old Man,\u201d which are addressed to the cutter, binder, or thresher of\nthe last sheaf. Therefore, when a stranger, as at Brie, is tied up in a\nsheaf and told that he will \u201ccarry the key of the field,\u201d it is as much as\nto say that he is the Old Man, that is, an embodiment of the corn-spirit.\nIn hop-picking, if a well-dressed stranger passes the hop-yard, he is\nseized by the women, tumbled into the bin, covered with leaves, and not\nreleased till he has paid a fine.(687) In some parts of Scotland,\nparticularly in the counties of Fife and Kinross, down to recent times the\nreapers used to seize and dump, as it was called, any stranger who\nhappened to visit or pass by the harvest field. The custom was to lay hold\nof the stranger by his ankles and armpits, lift him up, and bring the\nlower part of his person into violent contact with the ground. Women as\nwell as men were liable to be thus treated. The practice of interposing a\nsheaf between the sufferer and the ground is said to be a modern\nrefinement.(688) Comparing this custom with the one practised at Putanges\nin Normandy, which has just been described, we may conjecture that in\nScotland the \u201cdumping\u201d of strangers on the harvest-field was originally a\npreliminary to wrapping them up in sheaves of corn.\n\n(M192) Ceremonies of a somewhat similar kind are performed by the\nTarahumare Indians of Mexico not only at harvest but also at hoeing and\nploughing. \u201cWhen the work of hoeing and weeding is finished, the workers\nseize the master of the field, and, tying his arms crosswise behind him,\nload all the implements, that is to say, the hoes, upon his back,\nfastening them with ropes. Then they form two single columns, the landlord\nin the middle between them, and all facing the house. Thus they start\nhomeward. Simultaneously the two men at the heads of the columns begin to\nrun rapidly forward some thirty yards, cross each other, then turn back,\nrun along the two columns, cross each other again at the rear and take\ntheir places each at the end of his row. As they pass each other ahead and\nin the rear of the columns they beat their mouths with the hollow of their\nhands and yell. As soon as they reach their places at the foot, the next\npair in front of the columns starts off, running in the same way, and thus\npair after pair performs the tour, the procession all the time advancing\ntoward the house. A short distance in front of it they come to a halt, and\nare met by two young men who carry red handkerchiefs tied to sticks like\nflags. The father of the family, still tied up and loaded with the hoes,\nsteps forward alone and kneels down in front of his house-door. The\nflag-bearers wave their banners over him, and the women of the household\ncome out and kneel on their left knees, first toward the east, and after a\nlittle while toward each of the other cardinal points, west, south, and\nnorth. In conclusion the flags are waved in front of the house. The father\nthen rises and the people untie him, whereupon he first salutes the women\nwith the usual greeting, \u2018_Kw\u012bra!_\u2019 or \u2018_Kwirev\u00e1!_\u2019 Now they all go into\nthe house, and the man makes a short speech thanking them all for the\nassistance they have given him, for how could he have gotten through his\nwork without them? They have provided him with a year\u2019s life (that is,\nwith the wherewithal to sustain it), and now he is going to give them\ntesvino. He gives a drinking-gourd full to each one in the assembly, and\nappoints one man among them to distribute more to all. The same ceremony\nis performed after the ploughing and after the harvesting. On the first\noccasion the tied man may be made to carry the yoke of the oxen, on the\nsecond he does not carry anything.\u201d(689) The meaning of these Mexican\nceremonies is not clear. Perhaps the custom of tying up the farmer at\nhoeing, ploughing, and reaping is a form of expiation or apology offered\nto the spirits of the earth, who are naturally disturbed by agricultural\noperations.(690) When the Yabim of Simbang in German New Guinea see that\nthe taro plants in their fields are putting forth leaves, they offer\nsacrifice of sago-broth and pork to the spirits of the former owners of\nthe land, in order that they may be kindly disposed and not do harm but\nlet the fruits ripen.(691) Similarly when the Alfoors or Toradjas of\nCentral Celebes are planting a new field, they offer rice, eggs, and so\nforth to the souls of the former owners of the land, hoping that,\nmollified by these offerings, the souls will make the crops to grow and\nthrive.(692) However, this explanation of the Mexican ceremonies at\nhoeing, ploughing, and reaping is purely conjectural. In these ceremonies\nthere is no evidence that, as in the parallel European customs, the farmer\nis identified with the corn-spirit, since he is not wrapt up in the\nsheaves.\n\n(M193) Be that as it may, the evidence adduced above suffices to prove\nthat, like the ancient Lityerses, modern European reapers have been wont\nto lay hold of a passing stranger and tie him up in a sheaf. It is not to\nbe expected that they should complete the parallel by cutting off his\nhead; but if they do not take such a strong step, their language and\ngestures are at least indicative of a desire to do so. For instance, in\nMecklenburg on the first day of reaping, if the master or mistress or a\nstranger enters the field, or merely passes by it, all the mowers face\ntowards him and sharpen their scythes, clashing their whet-stones against\nthem in unison, as if they were making ready to mow. Then the woman who\nleads the mowers steps up to him and ties a band round his left arm. He\nmust ransom himself by payment of a forfeit.(693) Near Ratzeburg, when the\nmaster or other person of mark enters the field or passes by it, all the\nharvesters stop work and march towards him in a body, the men with their\nscythes in front. On meeting him they form up in line, men and women. The\nmen stick the poles of their scythes in the ground, as they do in whetting\nthem; then they take off their caps and hang them on the scythes, while\ntheir leader stands forward and makes a speech. When he has done, they all\nwhet their scythes in measured time very loudly, after which they put on\ntheir caps. Two of the women binders then come forward; one of them ties\nthe master or stranger (as the case may be) with corn-ears or with a\nsilken band; the other delivers a rhyming address. The following are\nspecimens of the speeches made by the reaper on these occasions. In some\nparts of Pomerania every passer-by is stopped, his way being barred with a\ncorn-rope. The reapers form a circle round him and sharpen their scythes,\nwhile their leader says:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201c_The men are ready,_\n    _The scythes are bent,_\n    _The corn is great and small,_\n    _The gentleman must be mowed._\u201d\n\n\nThen the process of whetting the scythes is repeated.(694) At Ramin, in\nthe district of Stettin, the stranger, standing encircled by the reapers,\nis thus addressed:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201c_We\u2019ll stroke the gentleman_\n    _With our naked sword,_\n    _Wherewith we shear meadows and fields._\n    _We shear princes and lords._\n    _Labourers are often athirst;_\n    _If the gentleman will stand beer and brandy_\n    _The joke will soon be over._\n    _But, if our prayer he does not like,_\n    _The sword has a right to strike._\u201d(695)\n\n\nThat in these customs the whetting of the scythes is really meant as a\npreliminary to mowing appears from the following variation of the\npreceding customs. In the district of L\u00fcneburg, when any one enters the\nharvest-field, he is asked whether he will engage a good fellow. If he\nsays yes, the harvesters mow some swaths, yelling and screaming, and then\nask him for drink-money.(696)\n\n(M194) On the threshing-floor strangers are also regarded as embodiments\nof the corn-spirit, and are treated accordingly. At Wiedingharde in\nSchleswig when a stranger comes to the threshing-floor he is asked, \u201cShall\nI teach you the flail-dance?\u201d If he says yes, they put the arms of the\nthreshing-flail round his neck as if he were a sheaf of corn, and press\nthem together so tight that he is nearly choked.(697) In some parishes of\nWermland (Sweden), when a stranger enters the threshing-floor where the\nthreshers are at work, they say that \u201cthey will teach him the\nthreshing-song.\u201d Then they put a flail round his neck and a straw rope\nabout his body. Also, as we have seen, if a stranger woman enters the\nthreshing-floor, the threshers put a flail round her body and a wreath of\ncorn-stalks round her neck, and call out, \u201cSee the Corn-woman! See! that\nis how the Corn-maiden looks!\u201d(698)\n\n(M195) In these customs, observed both on the harvest-field and on the\nthreshing-floor, a passing stranger is regarded as a personification of\nthe corn, in other words, as the corn-spirit; and a show is made of\ntreating him like the corn by mowing, binding, and threshing him. If the\nreader still doubts whether European peasants can really regard a passing\nstranger in this light, the following custom should set his doubts at\nrest. During the madder-harvest in the Dutch province of Zealand a\nstranger passing by a field, where the people are digging the\nmadder-roots, will sometimes call out to them _Koortspillers_ (a term of\nreproach). Upon this, two of the fleetest runners make after him, and, if\nthey catch him, they bring him back to the madder-field and bury him in\nthe earth up to his middle at least, jeering at him the while; then they\nease nature before his face.(699)\n\n(M196) This last act is to be explained as follows. The spirit of the corn\nand of other cultivated plants is sometimes conceived, not as immanent in\nthe plant, but as its owner; hence the cutting of the corn at harvest, the\ndigging of the roots, and the gathering of fruit from the fruit-trees are\neach and all of them acts of spoliation, which strip him of his property\nand reduce him to poverty. Hence he is often known as \u201cthe Poor Man\u201d or\n\u201cthe Poor Woman.\u201d Thus in the neighbourhood of Eisenach a small sheaf is\nsometimes left standing on the field for \u201cthe Poor Old Woman.\u201d(700) At\nMarksuhl, near Eisenach, the puppet formed out of the last sheaf is itself\ncalled \u201cthe Poor Woman.\u201d At Alt Lest in Silesia the man who binds the last\nsheaf is called the Beggar-man.(701) In a village near Roeskilde, in\nZealand (Denmark), old-fashioned peasants sometimes make up the last sheaf\ninto a rude puppet, which is called the Rye-beggar.(702) In Southern\nSchonen the sheaf which is bound last is called the Beggar; it is made\nbigger than the rest and is sometimes dressed in clothes. In the district\nof Olm\u00fctz the last sheaf is called the Beggar; it is given to an old\nwoman, who must carry it home, limping on one foot.(703) Sometimes a\nlittle of the crop is left on the field for the spirit, under other names\nthan \u201cthe Poor Old Woman.\u201d Thus at Szagmanten, a village of the Tilsit\ndistrict, the last sheaf was left standing on the field \u201cfor the Old\nRye-woman.\u201d(704) In Neftenbach (Canton of Zurich) the first three ears of\ncorn reaped are thrown away on the field \u201cto satisfy the Corn-mother and\nto make the next year\u2019s crop abundant.\u201d(705) At Kupferberg, in Bavaria,\nsome corn is left standing on the field when the rest has been cut. Of\nthis corn left standing they say that \u201cit belongs to the Old Woman,\u201d to\nwhom it is dedicated in the following words:\u2014\n\n\n    \u201c_We give it to the Old Woman;_\n    _She shall keep it._\n    _Next year may she be to us_\n    _As kind as this time she has been._\u201d(706)\n\n\nThese words clearly shew that the Old Woman for whom the corn is left on\nthe field is not a real personage, poor and hungry, but the mythical Old\nWoman who makes the corn to grow. At Sch\u00fcttarschen, in West Bohemia, after\nthe crop has been reaped, a few stalks are left standing and a garland is\nattached to them. \u201cThat belongs to the Wood-woman,\u201d they say, and offer a\nprayer. In this way the Wood-woman, we are told, has enough to live on\nthrough the winter and the corn will thrive the better next year. The same\nthing is done for all the different kinds of corn-crop.(707) So in\nTh\u00fcringen, when the after-grass (_Grummet_) is being got in, a little heap\nis left lying on the field; it belongs to \u201cthe Little Wood-woman\u201d in\nreturn for the blessing she has bestowed.(708) In the Frankenwald of\nBavaria three handfuls of flax were left on the field \u201cfor the\nWood-woman.\u201d(709) At Lindau in Anhalt the reapers used to leave some\nstalks standing in the last corner of the last field for \u201cthe Corn-woman\nto eat.\u201d(710) In some parts of Silesia it was till lately the custom to\nleave a few corn-stalks standing in the field, \u201cin order that the next\nharvest should not fail.\u201d(711) In Russia it is customary to leave patches\nof unreaped corn in the fields and to place bread and salt on the ground\nnear them. \u201cThese ears are eventually knotted together, and the ceremony\nis called \u2018the plaiting of the beard of Volos,\u2019 and it is supposed that\nafter it has been performed no wizard or other evilly-disposed person will\nbe able to hurt the produce of the fields. The unreaped patch is looked\nupon as tabooed; and it is believed that if any one meddles with it he\nwill shrivel up, and become twisted like the interwoven ears. Similar\ncustoms are kept up in various parts of Russia. Near Kursk and Voroneje,\nfor instance, a patch of rye is usually left in honour of the Prophet\nElijah, and in another district one of oats is consecrated to St.\nNicholas. As it is well known that both the Saint and the Prophet have\nsucceeded to the place once held in the estimation of the Russian people\nby Perun, it seems probable that Volos really was, in ancient times, one\nof the names of the thunder-god.\u201d(712) In the north-east of Scotland a few\nstalks were sometimes left unreaped on the field for the benefit of \u201cthe\naul\u2019 man.\u201d(713) Here \u201cthe aul\u2019 man\u201d is probably the equivalent of the\nharvest Old Man of Germany.(714) Among the Mohammedans of Zanzibar it is\ncustomary at sowing a field to reserve a certain portion of it for the\nguardian spirits, who at harvest are invited, to the tuck of drum, to come\nand take their share; tiny huts are also built in which food is deposited\nfor their use.(715) In the island of Nias, to prevent the depredations of\nwandering spirits among the rice at harvest, a miniature field is\ndedicated to them and in it are sown all the plants that grow in the real\nfields.(716) The Hos, a Ewe tribe of negroes in Togoland, observe a\nsimilar custom for a similar reason. At the entrance to their yam-fields\nthe traveller may see on both sides of the path small mounds on which\nyams, stock-yams, beans, and maize are planted and appear to flourish with\nmore than usual luxuriance. These little gardens, tended with peculiar\ncare, are dedicated to the \u201cguardian gods\u201d of the owner of the land; there\nhe cultivates for their benefit the same plants which he cultivates for\nhis own use in the fields; and the notion is that the \u201cguardian gods\u201d will\ncontent themselves with eating the fruits which grow in their little\nprivate preserves and will not poach on the crops which are destined for\nhuman use.(717)\n\n(M197) These customs suggest that the little sacred rice-fields on which\nthe Kayans of Borneo perform the various operations of husbandry in\nmimicry before they address themselves to the real labours of the\nfield,(718) may be dedicated to the spirits of the rice to compensate them\nfor the loss they sustain by allowing men to cultivate all the rest of the\nland for their own benefit. Perhaps the Rarian plain at Eleusis(719) was a\nspiritual preserve of the same kind set apart for the exclusive use of the\ncorn-goddesses Demeter and Persephone. It may even be that the law which\nforbade the Hebrews to reap the corners and gather the gleanings of the\nharvest-fields and to strip the vines of their last grapes(720) was\noriginally intended for the benefit, not of the human poor, but of the\npoor spirits of the corn and the vine, who had just been despoiled by the\nreapers and the vintagers, and who, if some provision were not made for\ntheir subsistence, would naturally die of hunger before another year came\nround. In providing for their wants the prudent husbandman was really\nconsulting his own interests; for how could he expect to reap wheat and\nbarley and to gather grapes next year if he suffered the spirits of the\ncorn and of the vine to perish of famine in the meantime? This train of\nthought may possibly explain the wide-spread custom of offering the\nfirst-fruits of the crops to gods or spirits:(721) such offerings may have\nbeen originally not so much an expression of gratitude for benefits\nreceived as a means of enabling the benefactors to continue their\nbenefactions in time to come. Primitive man has generally a shrewd eye to\nthe main chance: he is more prone to provide for the future than to\nsentimentalise over the past.\n\n(M198) Thus when the spirit of vegetation is conceived as a being who is\nrobbed of his store and impoverished by the harvesters, it is natural that\nhis representative\u2014the passing stranger\u2014should upbraid them; and it is\nequally natural that they should seek to disable him from pursuing them\nand recapturing the stolen property. Now, it is an old superstition that\nby easing nature on the spot where a robbery is committed, the robbers\nsecure themselves, for a certain time, against interruption.(722) Hence\nwhen madder-diggers resort to this proceeding in presence of the stranger\nwhom they have caught and buried in the field, we may infer that they\nconsider themselves robbers and him as the person robbed. Regarded as\nsuch, he must be the natural owner of the madder-roots, that is, their\nspirit or demon; and this conception is carried out by burying him, like\nthe madder-roots, in the ground.(723) The Greeks, it may be observed, were\nquite familiar with the idea that a passing stranger may be a god. Homer\nsays that the gods in the likeness of foreigners roam up and down\ncities.(724) Once in Poso, a district of Celebes, when a new missionary\nentered a house where a number of people were gathered round a sick man,\none of them addressed the newcomer in these words: \u201cWell, sir, as we had\nnever seen you before, and you came suddenly in, while we sat here by\nourselves, we thought it was a spirit.\u201d(725)\n\n(M199) Thus in these harvest-customs of modern Europe the person who cuts,\nbinds, or threshes the last corn is treated as an embodiment of the\ncorn-spirit by being wrapt up in sheaves, killed in mimicry by\nagricultural implements, and thrown into the water.(726) These\ncoincidences with the Lityerses story seem to prove that the latter is a\ngenuine description of an old Phrygian harvest-custom. But since in the\nmodern parallels the killing of the personal representative of the\ncorn-spirit is necessarily omitted or at most enacted only in mimicry, it\nis desirable to shew that in rude society human beings have been commonly\nkilled as an agricultural ceremony to promote the fertility of the fields.\nThe following examples will make this plain.\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 3. Human Sacrifices for the Crops.\n\n\n(M200) The Indians of Guayaquil, in Ecuador, used to sacrifice human blood\nand the hearts of men when they sowed their fields.(727) The people of\nCa\u00f1ar (now Cuenca in Ecuador) used to sacrifice a hundred children\nannually at harvest. The kings of Quito, the Incas of Peru, and for a long\ntime the Spaniards were unable to suppress the bloody rite.(728) At a\nMexican harvest-festival, when the first-fruits of the season were offered\nto the sun, a criminal was placed between two immense stones, balanced\nopposite each other, and was crushed by them as they fell together. His\nremains were buried, and a feast and dance followed. This sacrifice was\nknown as \u201cthe meeting of the stones.\u201d(729) \u201cTlaloc was worshipped in\nMexico as the god of the thunder and the storm which precedes the\nfertilising rain; elsewhere his wife Xochiquetzal, who at Tlaxcallan was\ncalled Matlalcu\u00e9y\u00e9 or the Lady of the Blue Petticoats, shared these\nhonours, and it was to her that many countries in Central America\nparticularly paid their devotions. Every year, at the time when the cobs\nof the still green and milky maize are about to coagulate and ripen, they\nused to sacrifice to the goddess four young girls, chosen among the\nnoblest families of the country; they were decked out in festal attire,\ncrowned with flowers, and conveyed in rich palanquins to the brink of the\nhallowed waters, where the sacrifice was to be offered. The priests, clad\nin long floating robes, their heads encircled with feather crowns, marched\nin front of the litters carrying censers with burning incense. The town of\nElopango, celebrated for its temple, was near the lake of the same name,\nthe etymology of which refers to the sheaves of tender maize (_elotl_,\n\u2018sheaf of tender maize\u2019). It was dedicated to the goddess Xochiquetzal, to\nwhom the young victims were offered by being hurled from the top of a rock\ninto the abyss. At the moment of consummating this inhuman rite, the\npriests addressed themselves in turn to the four virgins in order to\nbanish the fear of death from their minds. They drew for them a bright\npicture of the delights they were about to enjoy in the company of the\ngods, and advised them not to forget the earth which they had left behind,\nbut to entreat the divinity, to whom they despatched them, to bless the\nforthcoming harvest.\u201d(730) We have seen that the ancient Mexicans also\nsacrificed human beings at all the various stages in the growth of the\nmaize, the age of the victims corresponding to the age of the corn; for\nthey sacrificed new-born babes at sowing, older children when the grain\nhad sprouted, and so on till it was fully ripe, when they sacrificed old\nmen.(731) No doubt the correspondence between the ages of the victims and\nthe state of the corn was supposed to enhance the efficacy of the\nsacrifice.\n\n(M201) The Pawnees annually sacrificed a human victim in spring when they\nsowed their fields. The sacrifice was believed to have been enjoined on\nthem by the Morning Star, or by a certain bird which the Morning Star had\nsent to them as its messenger. The bird was stuffed and preserved as a\npowerful talisman. They thought that an omission of this sacrifice would\nbe followed by the total failure of the crops of maize, beans, and\npumpkins. The victim was a captive of either sex. He was clad in the\ngayest and most costly attire, was fattened on the choicest food, and\ncarefully kept in ignorance of his doom. When he was fat enough, they\nbound him to a cross in the presence of the multitude, danced a solemn\ndance, then cleft his head with a tomahawk and shot him with arrows.\nAccording to one trader, the squaws then cut pieces of flesh from the\nvictim\u2019s body, with which they greased their hoes; but this was denied by\nanother trader who had been present at the ceremony. Immediately after the\nsacrifice the people proceeded to plant their fields. A particular account\nhas been preserved of the sacrifice of a Sioux girl by the Pawnees in\nApril 1837 or 1838. The girl was fourteen or fifteen years old and had\nbeen kept for six months and well treated. Two days before the sacrifice\nshe was led from wigwam to wigwam, accompanied by the whole council of\nchiefs and warriors. At each lodge she received a small billet of wood and\na little paint, which she handed to the warrior next to her. In this way\nshe called at every wigwam, receiving at each the same present of wood and\npaint. On the twenty-second of April she was taken out to be sacrificed,\nattended by the warriors, each of whom carried two pieces of wood which he\nhad received from her hands. Her body having been painted half red and\nhalf black, she was attached to a sort of gibbet and roasted for some time\nover a slow fire, then shot to death with arrows. The chief sacrificer\nnext tore out her heart and devoured it. While her flesh was still warm it\nwas cut in small pieces from the bones, put in little baskets, and taken\nto a neighbouring corn-field. There the head chief took a piece of the\nflesh from a basket and squeezed a drop of blood upon the newly-deposited\ngrains of corn. His example was followed by the rest, till all the seed\nhad been sprinkled with the blood; it was then covered up with earth.\nAccording to one account the body of the victim was reduced to a kind of\npaste, which was rubbed or sprinkled not only on the maize but also on the\npotatoes, the beans, and other seeds to fertilise them. By this sacrifice\nthey hoped to obtain plentiful crops.(732)\n\n(M202) A West African queen used to sacrifice a man and woman in the month\nof March. They were killed with spades and hoes, and their bodies buried\nin the middle of a field which had just been tilled.(733) At Lagos in\nGuinea it was the custom annually to impale a young girl alive soon after\nthe spring equinox in order to secure good crops. Along with her were\nsacrificed sheep and goats, which, with yams, heads of maize, and\nplantains, were hung on stakes on each side of her. The victims were bred\nup for the purpose in the king\u2019s seraglio, and their minds had been so\npowerfully wrought upon by the fetish men that they went cheerfully to\ntheir fate.(734) A similar sacrifice used to be annually offered at Benin,\nin Guinea.(735) The Marimos, a Bechuana tribe, sacrifice a human being for\nthe crops. The victim chosen is generally a short, stout man. He is seized\nby violence or intoxicated and taken to the fields, where he is killed\namongst the wheat to serve as \u201cseed\u201d (so they phrase it). After his blood\nhas coagulated in the sun, it is burned along with the frontal bone, the\nflesh attached to it, and the brain; the ashes are then scattered over the\nground to fertilise it. The rest of the body is eaten.(736) The Wamegi of\nthe Usagara hills in German East Africa used to offer human sacrifices of\na peculiar kind once a year about the time of harvest, which was also the\ntime of sowing; for the Wamegi have two crops annually, one in September\nand one in February. The festival was usually held in September or\nOctober. The victim was a girl who had attained the age of puberty. She\nwas taken to a hill where the festival was to be celebrated, and there she\nwas crushed to death between two branches.(737) The sacrifice was not\nperformed in the fields, and my informant could not ascertain its object,\nbut we may conjecture that it was to ensure good crops in the following\nyear.\n\n(M203) The Bagobos of Mindanao, one of the Philippine Islands, offer a\nhuman sacrifice before they sow their rice. The victim is a slave, who is\nhewn to pieces in the forest.(738) The natives of Bontoc, a province in\nthe interior of Luzon, one of the Philippine Islands, are passionate\nhead-hunters. Their principal seasons for head-hunting are the times of\nplanting and reaping the rice. In order that the crop may turn out well,\nevery farm must get at least one human head at planting and one at sowing.\nThe head-hunters go out in twos or threes, lie in wait for the victim,\nwhether man or woman, cut off his or her head, hands, and feet, and bring\nthem back in haste to the village, where they are received with great\nrejoicings. The skulls are at first exposed on the branches of two or\nthree dead trees which stand in an open space of every village surrounded\nby large stones which serve as seats. The people then dance round them and\nfeast and get drunk. When the flesh has decayed from the head, the man who\ncut it off takes it home and preserves it as a relic, while his companions\ndo the same with the hands and the feet.(739) Similar customs are observed\nby the Apoyaos, another tribe in the interior of Luzon.(740)\n\n(M204) The Wild Wa, an agricultural tribe on the north-eastern frontier of\nUpper Burma, still hunt for human heads as a means of promoting the\nwelfare of the crops. The Wa regards his skulls as a protection against\nthe powers of evil. \u201cWithout a skull his crops would fail; without a skull\nhis kine might die; without a skull the father and mother spirits would be\nshamed and might be enraged; if there were no protecting skull the other\nspirits who are all malignant, might gain entrance and kill the\ninhabitants, or drink all the liquor.\u201d The Wa country is a series of\nmountain ranges shelving rapidly down to narrow valleys from two to five\nthousand feet deep. The villages are all perched high on the slopes, some\njust under the crest of the ridge, some lower down on a small projecting\nspur of flat ground. Industrious cultivation has cleared away the jungle,\nand the villages stand out conspicuously in the landscape as\nyellowish-brown blotches on the hillsides. Each village is fortified by an\nearthen rampart so thickly overgrown with cactuses and other shrubs as to\nbe impenetrable. The only entrance is through a narrow, low and winding\ntunnel, the floor of which, for additional security, is thickly studded\nwith pegs to wound the feet of enemies who might attempt to force a way\nin. The Wa depend for their subsistence mainly on their crops of\nbuckwheat, beans, and maize; rice they cultivate only to distil a strong\nspirituous liquor from it. They had need be industrious, for no field can\nbe reached without a climb up or down the steep mountain-side. Sometimes\nthe rice-fields lie three thousand feet or more below the village, and\nthey require constant attention. But the chief crop raised by the Wa is\nthe poppy, from which they make opium. In February and March the hill-tops\nfor miles are white with the blossom, and you may travel for days through\nnothing but fields of poppies. Then, too, is the proper season for\nhead-hunting. It opens in March and lasts through April. Parties of\nhead-hunters at that time go forth to prowl for human prey. As a rule they\nwill not behead people of a neighbouring village nor even of any village\non the same range of hills. To find victims they go to the next range or\nat any rate to a distance, and the farther the better, for the heads of\nstrangers are preferred. The reason is that the ghosts of strangers, being\nunfamiliar with the country, are much less likely to stray away from their\nskulls; hence they make more vigilant sentinels than the ghosts of people\nbetter acquainted with the neighbourhood, who are apt to go off duty\nwithout waiting for the tedious formality of relieving guard. When\nhead-hunters return to a village with human heads, the rejoicing is\nuproarious. Then the great drum is beaten frantically, and its deep hollow\nboom resounding far and wide through the hills announces to the\nneighbourhood the glad tidings of murder successfully perpetrated. Then\nthe barrels, or rather the bamboos, of rice-spirit are tapped, and while\nthe genial stream flows and the women and children dance and sing for\nglee, the men drink themselves blind and mad drunk. The ghastly head,\nwhich forms the centre of all this rejoicing, is first taken to the\nspirit-house, a small shed which usually stands on the highest point of\nthe village site. There, wrapt in grass or leaves, it is hung up in a\nbasket to ripen and bleach. When all the flesh and sinews have mouldered\naway and nothing remains but the blanched and grinning skull, it is put to\nrest in the village Golgotha. This is an avenue of huge old trees, whose\ninterlacing boughs form a verdant archway overhead and, with the dense\nundergrowth, cast a deep shadow on the ground below. Every village has\nsuch an avenue stretching along the hillside sometimes for a long\ndistance, or even till it meets the avenue of the neighbouring village. In\nthe solemn gloom of this verdurous canopy is the Place of Skulls. On one\nside of the avenue stands a row of wooden posts, usually mere trunks of\ntrees with the bark peeled off, but sometimes rudely carved and painted\nwith designs in red and black. A little below the top of each post is cut\na niche, and in front of the niche is a ledge. On this ledge the skull is\ndeposited, sometimes so that it is in full view of passers-by in the\navenue, sometimes so that it only grins at them through a slit. Most\nvillages count their skulls by tens or twenties, but some of them have\nhundreds of these trophies, especially when the avenue forms an unbroken\ncontinuity of shade between the villages. The old skulls ensure peace to\nthe village, but at least one new one should be taken every year, that the\nrice may grow green far down in the depths of the valley, that the maize\nmay tinge with its golden hue the steep mountain-sides, and that the\nhilltops may be white for miles and miles with the bloom of the\npoppy.(741)\n\n(M205) The Shans of Indo-China still believe in the efficacy of human\nsacrifice to procure a good harvest, though they act on the belief less\nthan some other tribes of this region. Their practice now is to poison\nsomebody at the state festival, which is generally held at some time\nbetween March and May.(742) Among the Lhota Naga, one of the many savage\ntribes who inhabit the deep rugged labyrinthine glens which wind into the\nmountains from the rich valley of Brahmapootra,(743) it used to be a\ncommon custom to chop off the heads, hands, and feet of people they met\nwith, and then to stick up the severed extremities in their fields to\nensure a good crop of grain. They bore no ill-will whatever to the persons\nupon whom they operated in this unceremonious fashion. Once they flayed a\nboy alive, carved him in pieces, and distributed the flesh among all the\nvillagers, who put it into their corn-bins to avert bad luck and ensure\nplentiful crops of grain. The Angami, another tribe of the same region,\nused also to relieve casual passers-by of their heads, hands, and feet,\nwith the same excellent intention.(744) The hill tribe Kudulu, near\nVizagapatam in the Madras Presidency, offered human sacrifices to the god\nJankari for the purpose of obtaining good crops. The ceremony was\ngenerally performed on the Sunday before or after the Pongal feast. For\nthe most part the victim was purchased, and until the time for the\nsacrifice came he was free to wander about the village, to eat and drink\nwhat he liked, and even to lie with any woman he met. On the appointed day\nhe was carried before the idol drunk; and when one of the villagers had\ncut a hole in his stomach and smeared the blood on the idol, the crowds\nfrom the neighbouring villages rushed upon him and hacked him to pieces.\nAll who were fortunate enough to secure morsels of his flesh carried them\naway and presented them to their village idols.(745) The Gonds of India, a\nDravidian race, kidnapped Brahman boys, and kept them as victims to be\nsacrificed on various occasions. At sowing and reaping, after a triumphal\nprocession, one of the lads was slain by being punctured with a poisoned\narrow. His blood was then sprinkled over the ploughed field or the ripe\ncrop, and his flesh was devoured.(746) The Oraons or Uraons of Chota\nNagpur worship a goddess called Anna Kuari, who can give good crops and\nmake a man rich, but to induce her to do so it is necessary to offer human\nsacrifices. In spite of the vigilance of the British Government these\nsacrifices are said to be still secretly perpetrated. The victims are poor\nwaifs and strays whose disappearance attracts no notice. April and May are\nthe months when the catchpoles are out on the prowl. At that time\nstrangers will not go about the country alone, and parents will not let\ntheir children enter the jungle or herd the cattle. When a catchpole has\nfound a victim, he cuts his throat and carries away the upper part of the\nring finger and the nose. The goddess takes up her abode in the house of\nany man who has offered her a sacrifice, and from that time his fields\nyield a double harvest. The form she assumes in the house is that of a\nsmall child. When the householder brings in his unhusked rice, he takes\nthe goddess and rolls her over the heap to double its size. But she soon\ngrows restless and can only be pacified with the blood of fresh human\nvictims.(747)\n\n(M206) But the best known case of human sacrifices, systematically offered\nto ensure good crops, is supplied by the Khonds or Kandhs, another\nDravidian race in Bengal. Our knowledge of them is derived from the\naccounts written by British officers who, about the middle of the\nnineteenth century, were engaged in putting them down.(748) The sacrifices\nwere offered to the Earth Goddess, Tari Pennu or Bera Pennu, and were\nbelieved to ensure good crops and immunity from all disease and accidents.\nIn particular, they were considered necessary in the cultivation of\nturmeric, the Khonds arguing that the turmeric could not have a deep red\ncolour without the shedding of blood.(749) The victim or Meriah, as he was\ncalled, was acceptable to the goddess only if he had been purchased, or\nhad been born a victim\u2014that is, the son of a victim father, or had been\ndevoted as a child by his father or guardian. Khonds in distress often\nsold their children for victims, \u201cconsidering the beatification of their\nsouls certain, and their death, for the benefit of mankind, the most\nhonourable possible.\u201d A man of the Panua tribe was once seen to load a\nKhond with curses, and finally to spit in his face, because the Khond had\nsold for a victim his own child, whom the Panua had wished to marry. A\nparty of Khonds, who saw this, immediately pressed forward to comfort the\nseller of his child, saying, \u201cYour child has died that all the world may\nlive, and the Earth Goddess herself will wipe that spittle from your\nface.\u201d(750) The victims were often kept for years before they were\nsacrificed. Being regarded as consecrated beings, they were treated with\nextreme affection, mingled with deference, and were welcomed wherever they\nwent. A Meriah youth, on attaining maturity, was generally given a wife,\nwho was herself usually a Meriah or victim; and with her he received a\nportion of land and farm-stock. Their offspring were also victims. Human\nsacrifices were offered to the Earth Goddess by tribes, branches of\ntribes, or villages, both at periodical festivals and on extraordinary\noccasions. The periodical sacrifices were generally so arranged by tribes\nand divisions of tribes that each head of a family was enabled, at least\nonce a year, to procure a shred of flesh for his fields, generally about\nthe time when his chief crop was laid down.(751)\n\n(M207) The mode of performing these tribal sacrifices was as follows. Ten\nor twelve days before the sacrifice, the victim was devoted by cutting off\nhis hair, which, until then, had been kept unshorn. Crowds of men and\nwomen assembled to witness the sacrifice; none might be excluded, since\nthe sacrifice was declared to be for all mankind. It was preceded by\nseveral days of wild revelry and gross debauchery.(752) On the day before\nthe sacrifice the victim, dressed in a new garment, was led forth from the\nvillage in solemn procession, with music and dancing, to the Meriah grove,\na clump of high forest trees standing a little way from the village and\nuntouched by the axe. There they tied him to a post, which was sometimes\nplaced between two plants of the sankissar shrub. He was then anointed\nwith oil, ghee, and turmeric, and adorned with flowers; and \u201ca species of\nreverence, which it is not easy to distinguish from adoration,\u201d was paid\nto him throughout the day. A great struggle now arose to obtain the\nsmallest relic from his person; a particle of the turmeric paste with\nwhich he was smeared, or a drop of his spittle, was esteemed of sovereign\nvirtue, especially by the women.(753) The crowd danced round the post to\nmusic, and, addressing the earth, said, \u201cO God, we offer this sacrifice to\nyou; give us good crops, seasons, and health\u201d; then speaking to the victim\nthey said, \u201cWe bought you with a price, and did not seize you; now we\nsacrifice you according to custom, and no sin rests with us.\u201d(754)\n\n(M208) On the last morning the orgies, which had been scarcely interrupted\nduring the night, were resumed, and continued till noon, when they ceased,\nand the assembly proceeded to consummate the sacrifice. The victim was\nagain anointed with oil, and each person touched the anointed part, and\nwiped the oil on his own head. In some places they took the victim in\nprocession round the village, from door to door, where some plucked hair\nfrom his head, and others begged for a drop of his spittle, with which\nthey anointed their heads.(755) As the victim might not be bound nor make\nany show of resistance, the bones of his arms and, if necessary, his legs\nwere broken; but often this precaution was rendered unnecessary by\nstupefying him with opium.(756) The mode of putting him to death varied in\ndifferent places. One of the commonest modes seems to have been\nstrangulation, or squeezing to death. The branch of a green tree was cleft\nseveral feet down the middle; the victim\u2019s neck (in other places, his\nchest) was inserted in the cleft, which the priest, aided by his\nassistants, strove with all his force to close.(757) Then he wounded the\nvictim slightly with his axe, whereupon the crowd rushed at the wretch and\nhewed the flesh from the bones, leaving the head and bowels untouched.\nSometimes he was cut up alive.(758) In Chinna Kimedy he was dragged along\nthe fields, surrounded by the crowd, who, avoiding his head and\nintestines, hacked the flesh from his body with their knives till he\ndied.(759) Another very common mode of sacrifice in the same district was\nto fasten the victim to the proboscis of a wooden elephant, which revolved\non a stout post, and, as it whirled round, the crowd cut the flesh from\nthe victim while life remained. In some villages Major Campbell found as\nmany as fourteen of these wooden elephants, which had been used at\nsacrifices.(760) In one district the victim was put to death slowly by\nfire. A low stage was formed, sloping on either side like a roof; upon it\nthey laid the victim, his limbs wound round with cords to confine his\nstruggles. Fires were then lighted and hot brands applied, to make him\nroll up and down the slopes of the stage as long as possible; for the more\ntears he shed the more abundant would be the supply of rain. Next day the\nbody was cut to pieces.(761)\n\n(M209) The flesh cut from the victim was instantly taken home by the\npersons who had been deputed by each village to bring it. To secure its\nrapid arrival, it was sometimes forwarded by relays of men, and conveyed\nwith postal fleetness fifty or sixty miles.(762) In each village all who\nstayed at home fasted rigidly until the flesh arrived. The bearer\ndeposited it in the place of public assembly, where it was received by the\npriest and the heads of families. The priest divided it into two portions,\none of which he offered to the Earth Goddess by burying it in a hole in\nthe ground with his back turned, and without looking. Then each man added\na little earth to bury it, and the priest poured water on the spot from a\nhill gourd. The other portion of flesh he divided into as many shares as\nthere were heads of houses present. Each head of a house rolled his shred\nof flesh in leaves, and buried it in his favourite field, placing it in\nthe earth behind his back without looking.(763) In some places each man\ncarried his portion of flesh to the stream which watered his fields, and\nthere hung it on a pole.(764) For three days thereafter no house was\nswept; and, in one district, strict silence was observed, no fire might be\ngiven out, no wood cut, and no strangers received. The remains of the\nhuman victim (namely, the head, bowels, and bones) were watched by strong\nparties the night after the sacrifice; and next morning they were burned,\nalong with a whole sheep, on a funeral pile. The ashes were scattered over\nthe fields, laid as paste over the houses and granaries, or mixed with the\nnew corn to preserve it from insects.(765) Sometimes, however, the head\nand bones were buried, not burnt.(766) After the suppression of the human\nsacrifices, inferior victims were substituted in some places; for\ninstance, in the capital of Chinna Kimedy a goat took the place of a human\nvictim.(767) Others sacrifice a buffalo. They tie it to a wooden post in a\nsacred grove, dance wildly round it with brandished knives, then, falling\non the living animal, hack it to shreds and tatters in a few minutes,\nfighting and struggling with each other for every particle of flesh. As\nsoon as a man has secured a piece he makes off with it at full speed to\nbury it in his fields, according to ancient custom, before the sun has\nset, and as some of them have far to go they must run very fast. All the\nwomen throw clods of earth at the rapidly retreating figures of the men,\nsome of them taking very good aim. Soon the sacred grove, so lately a\nscene of tumult, is silent and deserted except for a few people who remain\nto guard all that is left of the buffalo, to wit, the head, the bones, and\nthe stomach, which are burned with ceremony at the foot of the stake.(768)\n\n(M210) In these Khond sacrifices the Meriahs are represented by our\nauthorities as victims offered to propitiate the Earth Goddess. But from\nthe treatment of the victims both before and after death it appears that\nthe custom cannot be explained as merely a propitiatory sacrifice. A part\nof the flesh certainly was offered to the Earth Goddess, but the rest was\nburied by each householder in his fields, and the ashes of the other parts\nof the body were scattered over the fields, laid as paste on the\ngranaries, or mixed with the new corn. These latter customs imply that to\nthe body of the Meriah there was ascribed a direct or intrinsic power of\nmaking the crops to grow, quite independent of the indirect efficacy which\nit might have as an offering to secure the good-will of the deity. In\nother words, the flesh and ashes of the victim were believed to be endowed\nwith a magical or physical power of fertilising the land. The same\nintrinsic power was ascribed to the blood and tears of the Meriah, his\nblood causing the redness of the turmeric and his tears producing rain;\nfor it can hardly be doubted that, originally at least, the tears were\nsupposed to bring down the rain, not merely to prognosticate it. Similarly\nthe custom of pouring water on the buried flesh of the Meriah was no doubt\na rain-charm. Again, magical power as an attribute of the Meriah appears\nin the sovereign virtue believed to reside in anything that came from his\nperson, as his hair or spittle. The ascription of such power to the Meriah\nindicates that he was much more than a mere man sacrificed to propitiate a\ndeity. Once more, the extreme reverence paid him points to the same\nconclusion. Major Campbell speaks of the Meriah as \u201cbeing regarded as\nsomething more than mortal,\u201d(769) and Major Macpherson says, \u201cA species of\nreverence, which it is not easy to distinguish from adoration, is paid to\nhim.\u201d(770) In short, the Meriah seems to have been regarded as divine. As\nsuch, he may originally have represented the Earth Goddess or, perhaps, a\ndeity of vegetation; though in later times he came to be regarded rather\nas a victim offered to a deity than as himself an incarnate god. This\nlater view of the Meriah as a victim rather than a divinity may perhaps\nhave received undue emphasis from the European writers who have described\nthe Khond religion. Habituated to the later idea of sacrifice as an\noffering made to a god for the purpose of conciliating his favour,\nEuropean observers are apt to interpret all religious slaughter in this\nsense, and to suppose that wherever such slaughter takes place, there must\nnecessarily be a deity to whom the carnage is believed by the slayers to\nbe acceptable. Thus their preconceived ideas may unconsciously colour and\nwarp their descriptions of savage rites.\n\n(M211) The same custom of killing the representative of a god, of which\nstrong traces appear in the Khond sacrifices, may perhaps be detected in\nsome of the other human sacrifices described above. Thus the ashes of the\nslaughtered Marimo were scattered over the fields; the blood of the\nBrahman lad was put on the crop and field; the flesh of the slain Naga was\nstowed in the corn-bin; and the blood of the Sioux girl was allowed to\ntrickle on the seed.(771) Again, the identification of the victim with the\ncorn, in other words, the view that he is an embodiment or spirit of the\ncorn, is brought out in the pains which seem to be taken to secure a\nphysical correspondence between him and the natural object which he\nembodies or represents. Thus the Mexicans killed young victims for the\nyoung corn and old ones for the ripe corn; the Marimos sacrifice, as\n\u201cseed,\u201d a short, fat man, the shortness of his stature corresponding to\nthat of the young corn, his fatness to the condition which it is desired\nthat the crops may attain; and the Pawnees fattened their victims probably\nwith the same view. Again, the identification of the victim with the corn\ncomes out in the African custom of killing him with spades and hoes, and\nthe Mexican custom of grinding him, like corn, between two stones.\n\nOne more point in these savage customs deserves to be noted. The Pawnee\nchief devoured the heart of the Sioux girl, and the Marimos and Gonds ate\nthe victim\u2019s flesh. If, as we suppose, the victim was regarded as divine,\nit follows that in eating his flesh his worshippers believed themselves to\nbe partaking of the body of their god.\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 4. The Corn-spirit slain in his Human Representatives.\n\n\n(M212) The barbarous rites just described offer analogies to the harvest\ncustoms of Europe. Thus the fertilising virtue ascribed to the corn-spirit\nis shewn equally in the savage custom of mixing the victim\u2019s blood or\nashes with the seed-corn and the European custom of mixing the grain from\nthe last sheaf with the young corn in spring.(772) Again, the\nidentification of the person with the corn appears alike in the savage\ncustom of adapting the age and stature of the victim to the age and\nstature, whether actual or expected, of the crop; in the Scotch and\nStyrian rules that when the corn-spirit is conceived as the Maiden the\nlast corn shall be cut by a young maiden, but when it is conceived as the\nCorn-mother it shall be cut by an old woman;(773) in the Lothringian\nwarning given to old women to save themselves when the Old Woman is being\nkilled, that is, when the last corn is being threshed;(774) and in the\nTyrolese expectation that if the man who gives the last stroke at\nthreshing is tall, the next year\u2019s corn will be tall also.(775) Further,\nthe same identification is implied in the savage custom of killing the\nrepresentative of the corn-spirit with hoes or spades or by grinding him\nbetween stones, and in the European custom of pretending to kill him with\nthe scythe or the flail. Once more the Khond custom of pouring water on\nthe buried flesh of the victim is parallel to the European customs of\npouring water on the personal representative of the corn-spirit or\nplunging him into a stream.(776) Both the Khond and the European customs\nare rain-charms.\n\n(M213) To return now to the Lityerses story. It has been shewn that in\nrude society human beings have been commonly killed to promote the growth\nof the crops. There is therefore no improbability in the supposition that\nthey may once have been killed for a like purpose in Phrygia and Europe;\nand when Phrygian legend and European folk-custom, closely agreeing with\neach other, point to the conclusion that men were so slain, we are bound,\nprovisionally at least, to accept the conclusion. Further, both the\nLityerses story and European harvest-customs agree in indicating that the\nvictim was put to death as a representative of the corn-spirit, and this\nindication is in harmony with the view which some savages appear to take\nof the victim slain to make the crops flourish. On the whole, then, we may\nfairly suppose that both in Phrygia and in Europe the representative of\nthe corn-spirit was annually killed upon the harvest-field. Grounds have\nbeen already shewn for believing that similarly in Europe the\nrepresentative of the tree-spirit was annually slain. The proofs of these\ntwo remarkable and closely analogous customs are entirely independent of\neach other. Their coincidence seems to furnish fresh presumption in favour\nof both.\n\n(M214) To the question, How was the representative of the corn-spirit\nchosen? one answer has been already given. Both the Lityerses story and\nEuropean folk-custom shew that passing strangers were regarded as\nmanifestations of the corn-spirit escaping from the cut or threshed corn,\nand as such were seized and slain. But this is not the only answer which\nthe evidence suggests. According to the Phrygian legend the victims of\nLityerses were not simply passing strangers, but persons whom he had\nvanquished in a reaping contest and afterwards wrapt up in corn-sheaves\nand beheaded.(777) This suggests that the representative of the\ncorn-spirit may have been selected by means of a competition on the\nharvest-field, in which the vanquished competitor was compelled to accept\nthe fatal honour. The supposition is countenanced by European\nharvest-customs. We have seen that in Europe there is sometimes a contest\namongst the reapers to avoid being last, and that the person who is\nvanquished in this competition, that is, who cuts the last corn, is often\nroughly handled. It is true we have not found that a pretence is made of\nkilling him; but on the other hand we have found that a pretence is made\nof killing the man who gives the last stroke at threshing, that is, who is\nvanquished in the threshing contest.(778) Now, since it is in the\ncharacter of representative of the corn-spirit that the thresher of the\nlast corn is slain in mimicry, and since the same representative character\nattaches (as we have seen) to the cutter and binder as well as to the\nthresher of the last corn, and since the same repugnance is evinced by\nharvesters to be last in any one of these labours, we may conjecture that\na pretence has been commonly made of killing the reaper and binder as well\nas the thresher of the last corn, and that in ancient times this killing\nwas actually carried out. This conjecture is corroborated by the common\nsuperstition that whoever cuts the last corn must die soon.(779) Sometimes\nit is thought that the person who binds the last sheaf on the field will\ndie in the course of next year.(780) The reason for fixing on the reaper,\nbinder, or thresher of the last corn as the representative of the\ncorn-spirit may be this. The corn-spirit is supposed to lurk as long as he\ncan in the corn, retreating before the reapers, the binders, and the\nthreshers at their work. But when he is forcibly expelled from his refuge\nin the last corn cut or the last sheaf bound or the last grain threshed,\nhe necessarily assumes some other form than that of the corn-stalks which\nhad hitherto been his garment or body. And what form can the expelled\ncorn-spirit assume more naturally than that of the person who stands\nnearest to the corn from which he (the corn-spirit) has just been\nexpelled? But the person in question is necessarily the reaper, binder, or\nthresher of the last corn. He or she, therefore, is seized and treated as\nthe corn-spirit himself.\n\n(M215) Thus the person who was killed on the harvest-field as the\nrepresentative of the corn-spirit may have been either a passing stranger\nor the harvester who was last at reaping, binding, or threshing. But there\nis a third possibility, to which ancient legend and modern folk-custom\nalike point. Lityerses not only put strangers to death; he was himself\nslain, and apparently in the same way as he had slain others, namely, by\nbeing wrapt in a corn-sheaf, beheaded, and cast into the river; and it is\nimplied that this happened to Lityerses on his own land.(781) Similarly in\nmodern harvest-customs the pretence of killing appears to be carried out\nquite as often on the person of the master (farmer or squire) as on that\nof strangers.(782) Now when we remember that Lityerses was said to have\nbeen a son of the King of Phrygia, and that in one account he is himself\ncalled a king, and when we combine with this the tradition that he was put\nto death, apparently as a representative of the corn-spirit, we are led to\nconjecture that we have here another trace of the custom of annually\nslaying one of those divine or priestly kings who are known to have held\nghostly sway in many parts of Western Asia and particularly in Phrygia.\nThe custom appears, as we have seen,(783) to have been so far modified in\nplaces that the king\u2019s son was slain in the king\u2019s stead. Of the custom\nthus modified the story of Lityerses would be, in one version at least, a\nreminiscence.\n\n(M216) Turning now to the relation of the Phrygian Lityerses to the\nPhrygian Attis, it may be remembered that at Pessinus\u2014the seat of a\npriestly kingship\u2014the high-priest appears to have been annually slain in\nthe character of Attis, a god of vegetation, and that Attis was described\nby an ancient authority as \u201ca reaped ear of corn.\u201d(784) Thus Attis, as an\nembodiment of the corn-spirit, annually slain in the person of his\nrepresentative, might be thought to be ultimately identical with\nLityerses, the latter being simply the rustic prototype out of which the\nstate religion of Attis was developed. It may have been so; but, on the\nother hand, the analogy of European folk-custom warns us that amongst the\nsame people two distinct deities of vegetation may have their separate\npersonal representatives, both of whom are slain in the character of gods\nat different times of the year. For in Europe, as we have seen, it appears\nthat one man was commonly slain in the character of the tree-spirit in\nspring, and another in the character of the corn-spirit in autumn. It may\nhave been so in Phrygia also. Attis was especially a tree-god, and his\nconnexion with corn may have been only such an extension of the power of a\ntree-spirit as is indicated in customs like the Harvest-May.(785) Again,\nthe representative of Attis appears to have been slain in spring; whereas\nLityerses must have been slain in summer or autumn, according to the time\nof the harvest in Phrygia.(786) On the whole, then, while we are not\njustified in regarding Lityerses as the prototype of Attis, the two may be\nregarded as parallel products of the same religious idea, and may have\nstood to each other as in Europe the Old Man of harvest stands to the Wild\nMan, the Leaf Man, and so forth, of spring. Both were spirits or deities\nof vegetation, and the personal representatives of both were annually\nslain. But whereas the Attis worship became elevated into the dignity of a\nState religion and spread to Italy, the rites of Lityerses seem never to\nhave passed the limits of their native Phrygia, and always retained their\ncharacter of rustic ceremonies performed by peasants on the harvest-field.\nAt most a few villages may have clubbed together, as amongst the Khonds,\nto procure a human victim to be slain as representative of the corn-spirit\nfor their common benefit. Such victims may have been drawn from the\nfamilies of priestly kings or kinglets, which would account for the\nlegendary character of Lityerses as the son of a Phrygian king or as\nhimself a king. When villages did not so club together, each village or\nfarm may have procured its own representative of the corn-spirit by\ndooming to death either a passing stranger or the harvester who cut,\nbound, or threshed the last sheaf. Perhaps in the olden time the practice\nof head-hunting as a means of promoting the growth of the corn may have\nbeen as common among the rude inhabitants of Europe and Western Asia as it\nstill is, or was till lately, among the primitive agricultural tribes of\nAssam, Burma, the Philippine Islands, and the Indian Archipelago.(787) It\nis hardly necessary to add that in Phrygia, as in Europe, the old\nbarbarous custom of killing a man on the harvest-field or the\nthreshing-floor had doubtless passed into a mere pretence long before the\nclassical era, and was probably regarded by the reapers and threshers\nthemselves as no more than a rough jest which the license of a\nharvest-home permitted them to play off on a passing stranger, a comrade,\nor even on their master himself.(788)\n\n(M217) I have dwelt on the Lityerses song at length because it affords so\nmany points of comparison with European and savage folk-custom. The other\nharvest songs of Western Asia and Egypt, to which attention has been\ncalled above,(789) may now be dismissed much more briefly. The similarity\nof the Bithynian Bormus(790) to the Phrygian Lityerses helps to bear out\nthe interpretation which has been given of the latter. Bormus, whose death\nor rather disappearance was annually mourned by the reapers in a plaintive\nsong, was, like Lityerses, a king\u2019s son or at least the son of a wealthy\nand distinguished man. The reapers whom he watched were at work on his own\nfields, and he disappeared in going to fetch water for them; according to\none version of the story he was carried off by the nymphs, doubtless the\nnymphs of the spring or pool or river whither he went to draw water.(791)\nViewed in the light of the Lityerses story and of European folk-custom,\nthis disappearance of Bormus may be a reminiscence of the custom of\nbinding the farmer himself in a corn-sheaf and throwing him into the\nwater. The mournful strain which the reapers sang was probably a\nlamentation over the death of the corn-spirit, slain either in the cut\ncorn or in the person of a human representative; and the call which they\naddressed to him may have been a prayer that he might return in fresh\nvigour next year.\n\n(M218) The Phoenician Linus song was sung at the vintage, at least in the\nwest of Asia Minor, as we learn from Homer; and this, combined with the\nlegend of Syleus, suggests that in ancient times passing strangers were\nhandled by vintagers and vine-diggers in much the same way as they are\nsaid to have been handled by the reaper Lityerses. The Lydian Syleus, so\nran the legend, compelled passers-by to dig for him in his vineyard, till\nHercules came and killed him and dug up his vines by the roots.(792) This\nseems to be the outline of a legend like that of Lityerses; but neither\nancient writers nor modern folk-custom enable us to fill in the\ndetails.(793) But, further, the Linus song was probably sung also by\nPhoenician reapers, for Herodotus compares it to the Maneros song, which,\nas we have seen, was a lament raised by Egyptian reapers over the cut\ncorn. Further, Linus was identified with Adonis, and Adonis has some\nclaims to be regarded as especially a corn-deity.(794) Thus the Linus\nlament, as sung at harvest, would be identical with the Adonis lament;\neach would be the lamentation raised by reapers over the dead spirit of\nthe corn. But whereas Adonis, like Attis, grew into a stately figure of\nmythology, adored and mourned in splendid cities far beyond the limits of\nhis Phoenician home, Linus appears to have remained a simple ditty sung by\nreapers and vintagers among the corn-sheaves and the vines. The analogy of\nLityerses and of folk-custom, both European and savage, suggests that in\nPhoenicia the slain corn-spirit\u2014the dead Adonis\u2014may formerly have been\nrepresented by a human victim; and this suggestion is possibly supported\nby the Harran legend that Tammuz (Adonis) was slain by his cruel lord, who\nground his bones in a mill and scattered them to the wind. For in Mexico,\nas we have seen, the human victim at harvest was crushed between two\nstones; and both in Africa and India the ashes or other remains of the\nvictim were scattered over the fields.(795) But the Harran legend may be\nonly a mythical way of expressing the grinding of corn in the mill and the\nscattering of the seed. It seems worth suggesting that the mock king who\nwas annually killed at the Babylonian festival of the Sacaea on the\nsixteenth day of the month Lous may have represented Tammuz himself. For\nthe historian Berosus, who records the festival and its date, probably\nused the Macedonian calendar, since he dedicated his history to Antiochus\nSoter; and in his day the Macedonian month Lous appears to have\ncorresponded to the Babylonian month Tammuz.(796) If this conjecture is\nright, the view that the mock king at the Sacaea was slain in the\ncharacter of a god would be established. But to this point we shall return\nlater on.\n\n(M219) There is a good deal more evidence that in Egypt the slain\ncorn-spirit\u2014the dead Osiris\u2014was represented by a human victim, whom the\nreapers slew on the harvest-field, mourning his death in a dirge, to which\nthe Greeks, through a verbal misunderstanding, gave the name of\nManeros.(797) For the legend of Busiris seems to preserve a reminiscence\nof human sacrifices once offered by the Egyptians in connexion with the\nworship of Osiris. Busiris was said to have been an Egyptian king who\nsacrificed all strangers on the altar of Zeus. The origin of the custom\nwas traced to a dearth which afflicted the land of Egypt for nine years. A\nCyprian seer informed Busiris that the dearth would cease if a man were\nannually sacrificed to Zeus. So Busiris instituted the sacrifice. But when\nHercules came to Egypt, and was being dragged to the altar to be\nsacrificed, he burst his bonds and slew Busiris and his son.(798) Here\nthen is a legend that in Egypt a human victim was annually sacrificed to\nprevent the failure of the crops, and a belief is implied that an omission\nof the sacrifice would have entailed a recurrence of that infertility\nwhich it was the object of the sacrifice to prevent. So the Pawnees, as we\nhave seen, believed that an omission of the human sacrifice at planting\nwould have been followed by a total failure of their crops. The name\nBusiris was in reality the name of a city, _pe-Asar_, \u201cthe house of\nOsiris,\u201d(799) the city being so called because it contained the grave of\nOsiris. Indeed some high modern authorities believe that Busiris was the\noriginal home of Osiris, from which his worship spread to other parts of\nEgypt.(800) The human sacrifices were said to have been offered at his\ngrave, and the victims were red-haired men, whose ashes were scattered\nabroad by means of winnowing-fans.(801) This tradition of human sacrifices\noffered at the tomb of Osiris is confirmed by the evidence of the\nmonuments; for \u201cwe find in the temple of Dendereh a human figure with a\nhare\u2019s head and pierced with knives, tied to a stake before Osiris\nKhenti-Amentiu, and Horus is shown in a Ptolemaic sculpture at Karnak\nkilling a bound hare-headed figure before the bier of Osiris, who is\nrepresented in the form of Harpocrates. That these figures are really\nhuman beings with the head of an animal fastened on is proved by another\nsculpture at Dendereh, where a kneeling man has the hawk\u2019s head and wings\nover his head and shoulders, and in another place a priest has the\njackal\u2019s head on his shoulders, his own head appearing through the\ndisguise. Besides, Diodorus tells us that the Egyptian kings in former\ntimes had worn on their heads the fore-part of a lion, or of a bull, or of\na dragon, showing that this method of disguise or transformation was a\nwell-known custom.\u201d(802)\n\n(M220) In the light of the foregoing discussion the Egyptian tradition of\nBusiris admits of a consistent and fairly probable explanation. Osiris,\nthe corn-spirit, was annually represented at harvest by a stranger, whose\nred hair made him a suitable representative of the ripe corn. This man, in\nhis representative character, was slain on the harvest-field, and mourned\nby the reapers, who prayed at the same time that the corn-spirit might\nrevive and return (_m\u00e2\u00e2-ne-rha_, Maneros) with renewed vigour in the\nfollowing year. Finally, the victim, or some part of him, was burned, and\nthe ashes scattered by winnowing-fans over the fields to fertilise them.\nHere the choice of the victim on the ground of his resemblance to the corn\nwhich he was to represent agrees with the Mexican and African customs\nalready described.(803) Similarly the woman who died in the character of\nthe Corn-mother at the Mexican midsummer sacrifice had her face painted\nred and yellow in token of the colours of the corn, and she wore a\npasteboard mitre surmounted by waving plumes in imitation of the tassel of\nthe maize.(804) On the other hand, at the festival of the Goddess of the\nWhite Maize the Mexicans sacrificed lepers.(805) The Romans sacrificed\nred-haired puppies in spring to avert the supposed blighting influence of\nthe Dog-star, believing that the crops would thus grow ripe and\nruddy.(806) The heathen of Harran offered to the sun, moon, and planets\nhuman victims who were chosen on the ground of their supposed resemblance\nto the heavenly bodies to which they were sacrificed; for example, the\npriests, clothed in red and smeared with blood, offered a red-haired,\nred-cheeked man to \u201cthe red planet Mars\u201d in a temple which was painted red\nand draped with red hangings.(807) These and the like cases of\nassimilating the victim to the god, or to the natural phenomenon which he\nrepresents, are based ultimately on the principle of homoeopathic or\nimitative magic, the notion being that the object aimed at will be most\nreadily attained by means of a sacrifice which resembles the effect that\nit is designed to bring about.\n\n(M221) Again, the scattering of the Egyptian victim\u2019s ashes over the\nfields resembles the Marimo and Khond custom,(808) and the use of\nwinnowing-fans for the purpose is another hint of his identification with\nthe corn. So in Vend\u00e9e a pretence is made of threshing and winnowing the\nfarmer\u2019s wife, regarded as an embodiment of the corn-spirit; in Mexico the\nvictim was ground between stones; and in Africa he was slain with spades\nand hoes.(809) The story that the fragments of Osiris\u2019s body were\nscattered up and down the land, and buried by Isis on the spots where they\nlay,(810) may very well be a reminiscence of a custom, like that observed\nby the Khonds, of dividing the human victim in pieces and burying the\npieces, often at intervals of many miles from each other, in the\nfields.(811) However, it is possible that the story of the dismemberment\nof Osiris, like the similar story told of Tammuz, may have been simply a\nmythical expression for the scattering of the seed. Once more, the legend\nthat the body of Osiris enclosed in a coffer was thrown by Typhon into the\nNile, perhaps points to a custom of casting the body of the victim, or at\nleast a portion of it, into the Nile as a rain-charm, or rather to make\nthe river rise. For a similar purpose Phrygian reapers seem to have flung\nthe headless bodies of their victims, wrapt in corn-sheaves, into a river,\nand the Khonds poured water on the buried flesh of the human victim.\nProbably when Osiris ceased to be represented by a human victim, an image\nof him was annually thrown into the Nile, just as the effigy of his Syrian\ncounterpart, Adonis, used to be cast into the sea at Alexandria. Or water\nmay have been simply poured over it, as on the monument already\nmentioned(812) a priest is seen pouring water over the body of Osiris,\nfrom which corn-stalks are sprouting. The accompanying legend, \u201cThis is\nOsiris of the mysteries, who springs from the returning waters,\u201d bears out\nthe view that at the mysteries of Osiris a charm to make rain fall or the\nriver rise was regularly wrought by pouring water on his effigy or\nflinging it into the Nile.\n\n(M222) It may be objected that the red-haired victims were slain as\nrepresentatives, not of Osiris, but of his enemy Typhon; for the victims\nwere called Typhonian, and red was the colour of Typhon, black the colour\nof Osiris.(813) The answer to this objection must be reserved for the\npresent. Meantime it may be pointed out that if Osiris is often\nrepresented on the monuments as black, he is still more commonly depicted\nas green,(814) appropriately enough for a corn-god, who may be conceived\nas black while the seed is under ground, but as green after it has\nsprouted. So the Greeks recognised both a Green and a Black Demeter,(815)\nand sacrificed to the Green Demeter in spring with mirth and\ngladness.(816)\n\n(M223) Thus, if I am right, the key to the mysteries of Osiris is\nfurnished by the melancholy cry of the Egyptian reapers, which down to\nRoman times could be heard year after year sounding across the fields,\nannouncing the death of the corn-spirit, the rustic prototype of Osiris.\nSimilar cries, as we have seen, were also heard on all the harvest-fields\nof Western Asia. By the ancients they are spoken of as songs; but to judge\nfrom the analysis of the names Linus and Maneros, they probably consisted\nonly of a few words uttered in a prolonged musical note which could be\nheard for a great distance. Such sonorous and long-drawn cries, raised by\na number of strong voices in concert, must have had a striking effect, and\ncould hardly fail to arrest the attention of any wayfarer who happened to\nbe within hearing. The sounds, repeated again and again, could probably be\ndistinguished with tolerable ease even at a distance; but to a Greek\ntraveller in Asia or Egypt the foreign words would commonly convey no\nmeaning, and he might take them, not unnaturally, for the name of some one\n(Maneros, Linus, Lityerses, Bormus) upon whom the reapers were calling.\nAnd if his journey led him through more countries than one, as Bithynia\nand Phrygia, or Phoenicia and Egypt, while the corn was being reaped, he\nwould have an opportunity of comparing the various harvest cries of the\ndifferent peoples. Thus we can readily understand why these harvest cries\nwere so often noted and compared with each other by the Greeks. Whereas,\nif they had been regular songs, they could not have been heard at such\ndistances, and therefore could not have attracted the attention of so many\ntravellers; and, moreover, even if the wayfarer were within hearing of\nthem, he could not so easily have picked out the words.\n\n(M224) Down to recent times Devonshire reapers uttered cries of the same\nsort, and performed on the field a ceremony exactly analogous to that in\nwhich, if I am not mistaken, the rites of Osiris originated. The cry and\nthe ceremony are thus described by an observer who wrote in the first half\nof the nineteenth century. \u201cAfter the wheat is all cut, on most farms in\nthe north of Devon, the harvest people have a custom of \u2018crying the neck.\u2019\nI believe that this practice is seldom omitted on any large farm in that\npart of the country. It is done in this way. An old man, or some one else\nwell acquainted with the ceremonies used on the occasion (when the\nlabourers are reaping the last field of wheat), goes round to the shocks\nand sheaves, and picks out a little bundle of all the best ears he can\nfind; this bundle he ties up very neat and trim, and plats and arranges\nthe straws very tastefully. This is called \u2018the neck\u2019 of wheat, or\nwheaten-ears. After the field is cut out, and the pitcher once more\ncirculated, the reapers, binders, and the women stand round in a circle.\nThe person with \u2018the neck\u2019 stands in the centre, grasping it with both his\nhands. He first stoops and holds it near the ground, and all the men\nforming the ring take off their hats, stooping and holding them with both\nhands towards the ground. They then all begin at once in a very prolonged\nand harmonious tone to cry \u2018The neck!\u2019 at the same time slowly raising\nthemselves upright, and elevating their arms and hats above their heads;\nthe person with \u2018the neck\u2019 also raising it on high. This is done three\ntimes. They then change their cry to \u2018Wee yen!\u2019\u2014\u2018Way yen!\u2019\u2014which they\nsound in the same prolonged and slow manner as before, with singular\nharmony and effect, three times. This last cry is accompanied by the same\nmovements of the body and arms as in crying \u2018the neck.\u2019... After having\nthus repeated \u2018the neck\u2019 three times, and \u2018wee yen,\u2019 or \u2018way yen\u2019 as\noften, they all burst out into a kind of loud and joyous laugh, flinging\nup their hats and caps into the air, capering about and perhaps kissing\nthe girls. One of them then gets \u2019the neck\u2019 and runs as hard as he can\ndown to the farmhouse, where the dairymaid, or one of the young female\ndomestics, stands at the door prepared with a pail of water. If he who\nholds \u2018the neck\u2019 can manage to get into the house, in any way unseen, or\nopenly, by any other way than the door at which the girl stands with the\npail of water, then he may lawfully kiss her; but, if otherwise, he is\nregularly soused with the contents of the bucket. On a fine still autumn\nevening the \u2018crying of the neck\u2019 has a wonderful effect at a distance, far\nfiner than that of the Turkish muezzin, which Lord Byron eulogises so\nmuch, and which he says is preferable to all the bells in Christendom. I\nhave once or twice heard upwards of twenty men cry it, and sometimes\njoined by an equal number of female voices. About three years back, on\nsome high grounds, where our people were harvesting, I heard six or seven\n\u2018necks\u2019 cried in one night, although I know that some of them were four\nmiles off. They are heard through the quiet evening air at a considerable\ndistance sometimes.\u201d(817) Again, Mrs. Bray tells how, travelling in\nDevonshire, \u201cshe saw a party of reapers standing in a circle on a rising\nground, holding their sickles aloft. One in the middle held up some ears\nof corn tied together with flowers, and the party shouted three times\n(what she writes as) \u2018Arnack, arnack, arnack, we _haven_, we _haven_, we\n_haven_.\u2019 They went home, accompanied by women and children carrying\nboughs of flowers, shouting and singing. The manservant who attended Mrs.\nBray said \u2018it was only the people making their games, as they always did,\n_to the spirit of harvest_.\u2019 \u201d(818) Here, as Miss Burne remarks,\n\u201c \u2018arnack, we haven!\u2019 is obviously in the Devon dialect, \u2018a neck (or\nnack)! we have un!\u2019 \u201d \u201cThe neck\u201d is generally hung up in the farmhouse,\nwhere it sometimes remains for two or three years.(819) A similar custom\nis still observed in some parts of Cornwall, as I was told by my lamented\nfriend J. H. Middleton. \u201cThe last sheaf is decked with ribbons. Two\nstrong-voiced men are chosen and placed (one with the sheaf) on opposite\nsides of a valley. One shouts, \u2018I\u2019ve gotten it.\u2019 The other shouts, \u2018What\nhast gotten?\u2019 The first answers, \u2018I\u2019se gotten the neck.\u2019 \u201d(820)\n\n(M225) Another account of this old custom, written at Truro in 1839, runs\nthus: \u201cNow, when all the corn was cut at Heligan, the farming men and\nmaidens come in front of the house, and bring with them a small sheaf of\ncorn, the last that has been cut, and this is adorned with ribbons and\nflowers, and one part is tied quite tight, so as to look like a neck. Then\nthey cry out \u2018Our (my) side, my side,\u2019 as loud as they can; then the\ndairymaid gives the neck to the head farming-man. He takes it, and says,\nvery loudly three times, \u2018I have him, I have him, I have him.\u2019 Then\nanother farming-man shouts very loudly, \u2018What have ye? what have ye? what\nhave ye?\u2019 Then the first says, \u2018A neck, a neck, a neck.\u2019 And when he has\nsaid this, all the people make a very great shouting. This they do three\ntimes, and after one famous shout go away and eat supper, and dance, and\nsing songs.\u201d(821) According to another account, \u201call went out to the field\nwhen the last corn was cut, the \u2018neck\u2019 was tied with ribbons and plaited,\nand they danced round it, and carried it to the great kitchen, where\nby-and-by the supper was. The words were as given in the previous account,\nand \u2018Hip, hip, hack, heck, I have \u2019ee, I have \u2019ee, I have \u2019ee.\u2019 It was\nhung up in the hall.\u201d Another account relates that one of the men rushed\nfrom the field with the last sheaf, while the rest pursued him with\nvessels of water, which they tried to throw over the sheaf before it could\nbe brought into the barn.(822)\n\n(M226) Similar customs appear to have been formerly observed in\nPembrokeshire, as appears from the following account, in which, however,\nnothing is said of the sonorous cries raised by the reapers when their\nwork was done: \u201cAt harvest-time, in South Pembrokeshire, the last ears of\ncorn left standing in the field were tied together, and the harvesters\nthen tried to cut this neck by throwing their hatchets at it. What\nhappened afterwards appears to have varied somewhat. I have been told by\none old man that the one who got possession of the neck would carry it\nover into some neighbouring field, leave it there, and take to his heels\nas fast as he could; for, if caught, he had a rough time of it. The men\nwho caught him would shut him up in a barn without food, or belabour him\nsoundly, or perhaps shoe him, as it was called, beating the soles of his\nfeet with rods\u2014a very severe and much-dreaded punishment. On my\ngrandfather\u2019s farm the man used to make for the house as fast as possible,\nand try to carry in the neck. The maids were on the look-out for him, and\ndid their best to drench him with water. If they succeeded, they got the\npresent of half-a-crown, which my grandfather always gave, and which was\nconsidered a very liberal present indeed. If the man was successful in\ndodging the maids, and getting the neck into the house without receiving\nthe wetting, the half-crown became his. The neck was then hung up, and\nkept until the following year, at any rate, like the bunches of flowers or\nboughs gathered at the St. Jean, in the south of France. Sometimes the\nnecks of many successive years were to be found hanging up together. In\nthese two ways of disposing of the neck one sees the embodiment, no doubt,\nof the two ways of looking at the corn-spirit, as good (to be kept) or as\nbad (to be passed on to the neighbour).\u201d(823)\n\n(M227) In the foregoing customs a particular bunch of ears, generally the\nlast left standing,(824) is conceived as the neck of the corn-spirit, who\nis consequently beheaded when the bunch is cut down. Similarly in\nShropshire the name \u201cneck,\u201d or \u201cthe gander\u2019s neck,\u201d used to be commonly\ngiven to the last handful of ears left standing in the middle of the field\nwhen all the rest of the corn was cut. It was plaited together, and the\nreapers, standing ten or twenty paces off, threw their sickles at it.\nWhoever cut it through was said to have cut off the gander\u2019s neck. The\n\u201cneck\u201d was taken to the farmer\u2019s wife, who was supposed to keep it in the\nhouse for good luck till the next harvest came round.(825) Near Tr\u00e8ves,\nthe man who reaps the last standing corn \u201ccuts the goat\u2019s neck off.\u201d(826)\nAt Faslane, on the Gareloch (Dumbartonshire), the last handful of standing\ncorn was sometimes called the \u201chead.\u201d(827) At Aurich, in East Friesland,\nthe man who reaps the last corn \u201ccuts the hare\u2019s tail off.\u201d(828) In mowing\ndown the last corner of a field French reapers sometimes call out, \u201cWe\nhave the cat by the tail.\u201d(829) In Bresse (Bourgogne) the last sheaf\nrepresented the fox. Beside it a score of ears were left standing to form\nthe tail, and each reaper, going back some paces, threw his sickle at it.\nHe who succeeded in severing it \u201ccut off the fox\u2019s tail,\u201d and a cry of\n\u201c_You cou cou!_\u201d was raised in his honour.(830) These examples leave no\nroom to doubt the meaning of the Devonshire and Cornish expression \u201cthe\nneck,\u201d as applied to the last sheaf. The corn-spirit is conceived in human\nor animal form, and the last standing corn is part of its body\u2014its neck,\nits head, or its tail. Sometimes, as we have seen, the last corn is\nregarded as the navel-string.(831) Lastly, the Devonshire custom of\ndrenching with water the person who brings in \u201cthe neck\u201d is a rain-charm,\nsuch as we have had many examples of. Its parallel in the mysteries of\nOsiris was the custom of pouring water on the image of Osiris or on the\nperson who represented him.\n\n(M228) In Germany cries of _Waul!_ or _Wol!_ or _W\u00f4ld!_ are sometimes\nraised by the reapers at cutting the last corn. Thus in some places the\nlast patch of standing rye was called the _Waul_-rye; a stick decked with\nflowers was inserted in it, and the ears were fastened to the stick. Then\nall the reapers took off their hats and cried thrice, \u201c_Waul!_ _Waul!_\n_Waul!_\u201d Sometimes they accompanied the cry by clashing with their\nwhetstones on their scythes.(832)\n\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII. THE CORN-SPIRIT AS AN ANIMAL.\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 1. Animal Embodiments of the Corn-spirit.\n\n\n(M229) In some of the examples which I have cited to establish the meaning\nof the term \u201cneck\u201d as applied to the last sheaf, the corn-spirit appears\nin animal form as a gander, a goat, a hare, a cat, and a fox. This\nintroduces us to a new aspect of the corn-spirit, which we must now\nexamine. By doing so we shall not only have fresh examples of killing the\ngod, but may hope also to clear up some points which remain obscure in the\nmyths and worship of Adonis, Attis, Osiris, Dionysus, Demeter, and\nVirbius.\n\n(M230) Amongst the many animals whose forms the corn-spirit is supposed to\ntake are the wolf, dog, hare, fox, cock, goose, quail, cat, goat, cow (ox,\nbull), pig, and horse. In one or other of these shapes the corn-spirit is\noften believed to be present in the corn, and to be caught or killed in\nthe last sheaf. As the corn is being cut the animal flees before the\nreapers, and if a reaper is taken ill on the field, he is supposed to have\nstumbled unwittingly on the corn-spirit, who has thus punished the profane\nintruder. It is said \u201cthe Rye-wolf has got hold of him,\u201d \u201cthe Harvest-goat\nhas given him a push.\u201d The person who cuts the last corn or binds the last\nsheaf gets the name of the animal, as the Rye-wolf, the Rye-sow, the\nOats-goat, and so forth, and retains the name sometimes for a year. Also\nthe animal is frequently represented by a puppet made out of the last\nsheaf or of wood, flowers, and so on, which is carried home amid\nrejoicings on the last harvest-waggon. Even where the last sheaf is not\nmade up in animal shape, it is often called the Rye-wolf, the Hare, Goat,\nand so forth. Generally each kind of crop is supposed to have its special\nanimal, which is caught in the last sheaf, and called the Rye-wolf, the\nBarley-wolf, the Oats-wolf, the Pea-wolf, or the Potato-wolf, according to\nthe crop; but sometimes the figure of the animal is only made up once for\nall at getting in the last crop of the whole harvest. Sometimes the\ncreature is believed to be killed by the last stroke of the sickle or\nscythe. But oftener it is thought to live so long as there is corn still\nunthreshed, and to be caught in the last sheaf threshed. Hence the man who\ngives the last stroke with the flail is told that he has got the Corn-sow,\nthe Threshing-dog, or the like. When the threshing is finished, a puppet\nis made in the form of the animal, and this is carried by the thresher of\nthe last sheaf to a neighbouring farm, where the threshing is still going\non. This again shews that the corn-spirit is believed to live wherever the\ncorn is still being threshed. Sometimes the thresher of the last sheaf\nhimself represents the animal; and if the people of the next farm, who are\nstill threshing, catch him, they treat him like the animal he represents,\nby shutting him up in the pig-sty, calling him with the cries commonly\naddressed to pigs, and so forth.(833) These general statements will now be\nillustrated by examples.\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 2. The Corn-spirit as a Wolf or a Dog.\n\n\n(M231) We begin with the corn-spirit conceived as a wolf or a dog. This\nconception is common in France, Germany, and Slavonic countries. Thus,\nwhen the wind sets the corn in wave-like motion the peasants often say,\n\u201cThe Wolf is going over, or through, the corn,\u201d \u201cthe Rye-wolf is rushing\nover the field,\u201d \u201cthe Wolf is in the corn,\u201d \u201cthe mad Dog is in the corn,\u201d\n\u201cthe big Dog is there.\u201d(834) When children wish to go into the corn-fields\nto pluck ears or gather the blue corn-flowers, they are warned not to do\nso, for \u201cthe big Dog sits in the corn,\u201d or \u201cthe Wolf sits in the corn, and\nwill tear you in pieces,\u201d \u201cthe Wolf will eat you.\u201d The wolf against whom\nthe children are warned is not a common wolf, for he is often spoken of as\nthe Corn-wolf, Rye-wolf, or the like; thus they say, \u201cThe Rye-wolf will\ncome and eat you up, children,\u201d \u201cthe Rye-wolf will carry you off,\u201d and so\nforth.(835) Still he has all the outward appearance of a wolf. For in the\nneighbourhood of Feilenhof (East Prussia), when a wolf was seen running\nthrough a field, the peasants used to watch whether he carried his tail in\nthe air or dragged it on the ground. If he dragged it on the ground, they\nwent after him, and thanked him for bringing them a blessing, and even set\ntit-bits before him. But if he carried his tail high, they cursed him and\ntried to kill him. Here the wolf is the corn-spirit whose fertilising\npower is in his tail.(836)\n\n(M232) Both dog and wolf appear as embodiments of the corn-spirit in\nharvest-customs. Thus in some parts of Silesia the person who cuts or\nbinds the last sheaf is called the Wheat-dog or the Peas-pug.(837) But it\nis in the harvest-customs of the north-east of France that the idea of the\nCorn-dog comes out most clearly. Thus when a harvester, through sickness,\nweariness, or laziness, cannot or will not keep up with the reaper in\nfront of him, they say, \u201cThe White Dog passed near him,\u201d \u201che has the White\nBitch,\u201d or \u201cthe White Bitch has bitten him.\u201d(838) In the Vosges the\nHarvest-May is called the \u201cDog of the harvest,\u201d(839) and the person who\ncuts the last handful of hay or wheat is said to \u201ckill the Dog.\u201d(840)\nAbout Lons-le-Saulnier, in the Jura, the last sheaf is called the Bitch.\nIn the neighbourhood of Verdun the regular expression for finishing the\nreaping is, \u201cThey are going to kill the Dog\u201d; and at Epinal they say,\naccording to the crop, \u201cWe will kill the Wheat-dog, or the Rye-dog, or the\nPotato-dog.\u201d(841) In Lorraine it is said of the man who cuts the last\ncorn, \u201cHe is killing the Dog of the harvest.\u201d(842) At Dux, in the Tyrol,\nthe man who gives the last stroke at threshing is said to \u201cstrike down the\nDog\u201d;(843) and at Ahnebergen, near Stade, he is called, according to the\ncrop, Corn-pug, Rye-pug, Wheat-pug.(844)\n\n(M233) So with the wolf. In Silesia, when the reapers gather round the\nlast patch of standing corn to reap it they are said to be about \u201cto catch\nthe Wolf.\u201d(845) In various parts of Mecklenburg, where the belief in the\nCorn-wolf is particularly prevalent, every one fears to cut the last corn,\nbecause they say that the Wolf is sitting in it; hence every reaper exerts\nhimself to the utmost in order not to be the last, and every woman\nsimilarly fears to bind the last sheaf because \u201cthe Wolf is in it.\u201d So\nboth among the reapers and the binders there is a competition not to be\nthe last to finish.(846) And in Germany generally it appears to be a\ncommon saying that \u201cthe Wolf sits in the last sheaf.\u201d(847) In some places\nthey call out to the reaper, \u201cBeware of the Wolf\u201d; or they say, \u201cHe is\nchasing the Wolf out of the corn.\u201d(848) In Mecklenburg the last bunch of\nstanding corn is itself commonly called the Wolf, and the man who reaps it\n\u201chas the Wolf,\u201d the animal being described as the Rye-wolf, the\nWheat-wolf, the Barley-wolf, and so on according to the particular crop.\nThe reaper of the last corn is himself called Wolf or the Rye-wolf, if the\ncrop is rye, and in many parts of Mecklenburg he has to support the\ncharacter by pretending to bite the other harvesters or by howling like a\nwolf.(849) The last sheaf of corn is also called the Wolf or the Rye-wolf\nor the Oats-wolf according to the crop, and of the woman who binds it they\nsay, \u201cThe Wolf is biting her,\u201d \u201cShe has the Wolf,\u201d \u201cShe must fetch the\nWolf\u201d (out of the corn). Moreover, she herself is called Wolf; they cry\nout to her, \u201cThou art the Wolf,\u201d and she has to bear the name for a whole\nyear; sometimes, according to the crop, she is called the Rye-wolf or the\nPotato-wolf.(850) In the island of R\u00fcgen not only is the woman who binds\nthe last sheaf called Wolf, but when she comes home she bites the lady of\nthe house and the stewardess, for which she receives a large piece of\nmeat. Yet nobody likes to be the Wolf. The same woman may be Rye-wolf,\nWheat-wolf, and Oats-wolf, if she happens to bind the last sheaf of rye,\nwheat, and oats.(851) At Buir, in the district of Cologne, it was formerly\nthe custom to give to the last sheaf the shape of a wolf. It was kept in\nthe barn till all the corn was threshed. Then it was brought to the farmer\nand he had to sprinkle it with beer or brandy.(852) At Brunshaupten in\nMecklenburg the young woman who bound the last sheaf of wheat used to take\na handful of stalks out of it and make \u201cthe Wheat-wolf\u201d with them; it was\nthe figure of a wolf about two feet long and half a foot high, the legs of\nthe animal being represented by stiff stalks and its tail and mane by\nwheat-ears. This Wheat-wolf she carried back at the head of the harvesters\nto the village, where it was set up on a high place in the parlour of the\nfarm and remained there for a long time.(853) In many places the sheaf\ncalled the Wolf is made up in human form and dressed in clothes. This\nindicates a confusion of ideas between the corn-spirit conceived in human\nand in animal form. Generally the Wolf is brought home on the last waggon\nwith joyful cries. Hence the last waggon-load itself receives the name of\nthe Wolf.(854)\n\n(M234) Again, the Wolf is supposed to hide himself amongst the cut corn in\nthe granary, until he is driven out of the last bundle by the strokes of\nthe flail. Hence at Wanzleben, near Magdeburg, after the threshing the\npeasants go in procession, leading by a chain a man who is enveloped in\nthe threshed-out straw and is called the Wolf.(855) He represents the\ncorn-spirit who has been caught escaping from the threshed corn. In the\ndistrict of Treves it is believed that the Corn-wolf is killed at\nthreshing. The men thresh the last sheaf till it is reduced to chopped\nstraw. In this way they think that the Corn-wolf, who was lurking in the\nlast sheaf, has been certainly killed.(856)\n\n(M235) In France also the Corn-wolf appears at harvest. Thus they call out\nto the reaper of the last corn, \u201cYou will catch the Wolf.\u201d Near Chamb\u00e9ry\nthey form a ring round the last standing corn, and cry, \u201cThe Wolf is in\nthere.\u201d In Finisterre, when the reaping draws near an end, the harvesters\ncry, \u201cThere is the Wolf; we will catch him.\u201d Each takes a swath to reap,\nand he who finishes first calls out, \u201cI\u2019ve caught the Wolf.\u201d(857) In\nGuyenne, when the last corn has been reaped, they lead a wether all round\nthe field. It is called \u201cthe Wolf of the field.\u201d Its horns are decked with\na wreath of flowers and corn-ears, and its neck and body are also\nencircled with garlands and ribbons. All the reapers march, singing,\nbehind it. Then it is killed on the field. In this part of France the last\nsheaf is called the _coujoulage_, which, in the patois, means a wether.\nHence the killing of the wether represents the death of the corn-spirit,\nconsidered as present in the last sheaf; but two different conceptions of\nthe corn-spirit\u2014as a wolf and as a wether\u2014are mixed up together.(858)\n\n(M236) Sometimes it appears to be thought that the Wolf, caught in the\nlast corn, lives during the winter in the farmhouse, ready to renew his\nactivity as corn-spirit in the spring. Hence at midwinter, when the\nlengthening days begin to herald the approach of spring, the Wolf makes\nhis appearance once more. In Poland a man, with a wolf\u2019s skin thrown over\nhis head, is led about at Christmas; or a stuffed wolf is carried about by\npersons who collect money.(859) There are facts which point to an old\ncustom of leading about a man enveloped in leaves and called the Wolf,\nwhile his conductors collected money.(860)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 3. The Corn-spirit as a Cock.\n\n\n(M237) Another form which the corn-spirit often assumes is that of a cock.\nIn Austria children are warned against straying in the corn-fields,\nbecause the Corn-cock sits there, and will peck their eyes out.(861) In\nNorth Germany they say that \u201cthe Cock sits in the last sheaf\u201d; and at\ncutting the last corn the reapers cry, \u201cNow we will chase out the Cock.\u201d\nWhen it is cut they say, \u201cWe have caught the Cock.\u201d(862) At Braller, in\nTransylvania, when the reapers come to the last patch of corn, they cry,\n\u201cHere we shall catch the Cock.\u201d(863) At F\u00fcrstenwalde, when the last sheaf\nis about to be bound, the master releases a cock, which he has brought in\na basket, and lets it run over the field. All the harvesters chase it till\nthey catch it. Elsewhere the harvesters all try to seize the last corn\ncut; he who succeeds in grasping it must crow, and is called Cock.(864)\nAmong the Wends it is or used to be customary for the farmer to hide a\nlive cock under the last sheaf as it lay on the field; and when the corn\nwas being gathered up, the harvester who lighted upon this sheaf had a\nright to keep the cock, provided he could catch it. This formed the close\nof the harvest-festival and was known as \u201cthe Cock-catching,\u201d and the beer\nwhich was served out to the reapers at this time went by the name of\n\u201cCock-beer.\u201d(865) The last sheaf is called Cock, Cock-sheaf, Harvest-cock,\nHarvest-hen, Autumn-hen. A distinction is made between a Wheat-cock,\nBean-cock, and so on, according to the crop.(866) At W\u00fcnschensuhl, in\nTh\u00fcringen, the last sheaf is made into the shape of a cock, and called the\nHarvest-cock.(867) A figure of a cock, made of wood, pasteboard, ears of\ncorn, or flowers, is borne in front of the harvest-waggon, especially in\nWestphalia, where the cock carries in his beak fruits of the earth of all\nkinds. Sometimes the image of the cock is fastened to the top of a\nMay-tree on the last harvest-waggon. Elsewhere a live cock, or a figure of\none, is attached to a harvest-crown and carried on a pole. In Galicia and\nelsewhere this live cock is fastened to the garland of corn-ears or\nflowers, which the leader of the women-reapers carries on her head as she\nmarches in front of the harvest procession.(868) In Silesia a live cock is\npresented to the master on a plate. The harvest-supper is called\nHarvest-cock, Stubble-cock, etc., and a chief dish at it, at least in some\nplaces, is a cock.(869) If a waggoner upsets a harvest-waggon, it is said\nthat \u201che has spilt the Harvest cock,\u201d and he loses the cock, that is, the\nharvest-supper.(870) The harvest-waggon, with the figure of the cock on\nit, is driven round the farmhouse before it is taken to the barn. Then the\ncock is nailed over or at the side of the house-door, or on the gable, and\nremains there till next harvest.(871) In East Friesland the person who\ngives the last stroke at threshing is called the Clucking-hen, and grain\nis strewed before him as if he were a hen.(872)\n\n(M238) Again, the corn-spirit is killed in the form of a cock. In parts of\nGermany, Hungary, Poland, and Picardy the reapers place a live cock in the\ncorn which is to be cut last, and chase it over the field, or bury it up\nto the neck in the ground; afterwards they strike off its head with a\nsickle or scythe.(873) In many parts of Westphalia, when the harvesters\nbring the wooden cock to the farmer, he gives them a live cock, which they\nkill with whips or sticks, or behead with an old sword, or throw into the\nbarn to the girls, or give to the mistress to cook. If the harvest-cock\nhas not been spilt\u2014that is, if no waggon has been upset\u2014the harvesters\nhave the right to kill the farmyard cock by throwing stones at it or\nbeheading it. Where this custom has fallen into disuse, it is still common\nfor the farmer\u2019s wife to make cockie-leekie for the harvesters, and to\nshew them the head of the cock which has been killed for the soup.(874) In\nthe neighbourhood of Klausenburg, Transylvania, a cock is buried on the\nharvest-field in the earth, so that only its head appears. A young man\nthen takes a scythe and cuts off the cock\u2019s head at a single sweep. If he\nfails to do this, he is called the Red Cock for a whole year, and people\nfear that next year\u2019s crop will be bad.(875) Near Udvarhely, in\nTransylvania, a live cock is bound up in the last sheaf and killed with a\nspit. It is then skinned. The flesh is thrown away, but the skin and\nfeathers are kept till next year; and in spring the grain from the last\nsheaf is mixed with the feathers of the cock and scattered on the field\nwhich is to be tilled.(876) Nothing could set in a clearer light the\nidentification of the cock with the spirit of the corn. By being tied up\nin the last sheaf and killed, the cock is identified with the corn, and\nits death with the cutting of the corn. By keeping its feathers till\nspring, then mixing them with the seed-corn taken from the very sheaf in\nwhich the bird had been bound, and scattering the feathers together with\nthe seed over the field, the identity of the bird with the corn is again\nemphasised, and its quickening and fertilising power, as an embodiment of\nthe corn-spirit, is intimated in the plainest manner. Thus the\ncorn-spirit, in the form of a cock, is killed at harvest, but rises to\nfresh life and activity in spring. Again, the equivalence of the cock to\nthe corn is expressed, hardly less plainly, in the custom of burying the\nbird in the ground, and cutting off its head (like the ears of corn) with\nthe scythe.\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 4. The Corn-spirit as a Hare.\n\n\n(M239) Another common embodiment of the corn-spirit is the hare.(877) In\nGalloway the reaping of the last standing corn is called \u201ccutting the\nHare.\u201d The mode of cutting it is as follows. When the rest of the corn has\nbeen reaped, a handful is left standing to form the Hare. It is divided\ninto three parts and plaited, and the ears are tied in a knot. The reapers\nthen retire a few yards and each throws his or her sickle in turn at the\nHare to cut it down. It must be cut below the knot, and the reapers\ncontinue to throw their sickles at it, one after the other, until one of\nthem succeeds in severing the stalks below the knot. The Hare is then\ncarried home and given to a maidservant in the kitchen, who places it over\nthe kitchen-door on the inside. Sometimes the Hare used to be thus kept\ntill the next harvest. In the parish of Minnigaff, when the Hare was cut,\nthe unmarried reapers ran home with all speed, and the one who arrived\nfirst was the first to be married.(878) In Southern Ayrshire the last corn\ncut is also called the Hare, and the mode of cutting it seems to be the\nsame as in Galloway; at least in the neighbourhood of Kilmarnock the last\ncorn left standing in the middle of the field is plaited, and the reapers\nused to try to cut it by throwing their sickles at it. When cut, it was\ncarried home and hung up over the door.(879) In the Vosges Mountains the\nperson who cuts the last handful of hay or wheat is sometimes said to have\ncaught the Hare; he is congratulated by his comrades and has the honour of\ncarrying the nosegay or the small fir-tree decorated with ribbons which\nmarks the conclusion of the harvest.(880) In Germany also one of the names\nfor the last sheaf is the Hare.(881) Thus in some parts of Anhalt, when\nthe corn has been reaped and only a few stalks are left standing, they\nsay, \u201cThe Hare will soon come,\u201d or the reapers cry to each other, \u201cLook\nhow the Hare comes jumping out.\u201d(882) In East Prussia they say that the\nHare sits in the last patch of standing corn, and must be chased out by\nthe last reaper. The reapers hurry with their work, each being anxious not\nto have \u201cto chase out the Hare\u201d; for the man who does so, that is, who\ncuts the last corn, is much laughed at.(883) At Birk, in Transylvania,\nwhen the reapers come to the last patch, they cry out, \u201cWe have the\nHare.\u201d(884) At Aurich, as we have seen,(885) an expression for cutting the\nlast corn is \u201cto cut off the Hare\u2019s tail.\u201d \u201cHe is killing the Hare\u201d is\ncommonly said of the man who cuts the last corn in Germany, Sweden,\nHolland, France, and Italy.(886) In Norway the man who is thus said to\n\u201ckill the Hare\u201d must give \u201chare\u2019s blood\u201d in the form of brandy, to his\nfellows to drink.(887) In Lesbos, when the reapers are at work in two\nneighbouring fields, each party tries to finish first in order to drive\nthe Hare into their neighbour\u2019s field; the reapers who succeed in doing so\nbelieve that next year the crop will be better. A small sheaf of corn is\nmade up and kept beside the holy picture till next harvest.(888)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 5. The Corn-spirit as a Cat.\n\n\n(M240) Again, the corn-spirit sometimes takes the form of a cat. Near Kiel\nchildren are warned not to go into the corn-fields because \u201cthe Cat sits\nthere.\u201d In the Eisenach Oberland they are told \u201cthe Corn-cat will come and\nfetch you,\u201d \u201cthe Corn-cat goes in the corn.\u201d In some parts of Silesia at\nmowing the last corn they say, \u201cThe Cat is caught\u201d; and at threshing, the\nman who gives the last stroke is called the Cat. In the neighbourhood of\nLyons the last sheaf and the harvest-supper are both called the Cat. About\nVesoul when they cut the last corn they say, \u201cWe have the Cat by the\ntail.\u201d At Brian\u00e7on, in Dauphin\u00e9, at the beginning of reaping a cat is\ndecked out with ribbons, flowers, and ears of corn. It is called the Cat\nof the ball-skin (_le chat de peau de balle_). If a reaper is wounded at\nhis work, they make the cat lick the wound. At the close of the reaping\nthe cat is again decked out with ribbons and ears of corn; then they dance\nand make merry. When the dance is over the girls solemnly strip the cat of\nits finery. At Gr\u00fcneberg, in Silesia, the reaper who cuts the last corn\ngoes by the name of the Tom-cat. He is enveloped in rye-stalks and green\nwithes, and is furnished with a long plaited tail. Sometimes as a\ncompanion he has a man similarly dressed, who is called the (female) Cat.\nTheir duty is to run after people whom they see and to beat them with a\nlong stick. Near Amiens the expression for finishing the harvest is, \u201cThey\nare going to kill the Cat\u201d; and when the last corn is cut they kill a cat\nin the farmyard. At threshing, in some parts of France, a live cat is\nplaced under the last bundle of corn to be threshed, and is struck dead\nwith the flails. Then on Sunday it is roasted and eaten as a holiday\ndish.(889) In the Vosges Mountains the close of haymaking or harvest is\ncalled \u201ccatching the cat,\u201d \u201ckilling the dog,\u201d or more rarely \u201ccatching the\nhare.\u201d The cat, the dog, or the hare is said to be fat or lean according\nas the crop is good or bad. The man who cuts the last handful of hay or of\nwheat is said to catch the cat or the hare or to kill the dog. He is\ncongratulated by his comrades and has the honour of carrying the nosegay\nor rather the small fir-tree decked with ribbons which marks the end of\nthe haymaking or of the harvest.(890) In Franche-Comt\u00e9 also the close of\nharvest is called \u201ccatching or killing the cat.\u201d(891)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 6. The Corn-spirit as a Goat.\n\n\n(M241) Further, the corn-spirit often appears in the form of a goat. In\nsome parts of Prussia, when the corn bends before the wind, they say, \u201cThe\nGoats are chasing each other,\u201d \u201cthe wind is driving the Goats through the\ncorn,\u201d \u201cthe Goats are browsing there,\u201d and they expect a very good\nharvest. Again they say, \u201cThe Oats-goat is sitting in the oats-field,\u201d\n\u201cthe Corn-goat is sitting in the rye-field.\u201d(892) Children are warned not\nto go into the corn-fields to pluck the blue corn-flowers, or amongst the\nbeans to pluck pods, because the Rye-goat, the Corn-goat, the Oats-goat,\nor the Bean-goat is sitting or lying there, and will carry them away or\nkill them.(893) When a harvester is taken sick or lags behind his fellows\nat their work, they call out, \u201cThe Harvest-goat has pushed him,\u201d \u201che has\nbeen pushed by the Corn-goat.\u201d(894) In the neighbourhood of Braunsberg\n(East Prussia) at binding the oats every harvester makes haste \u201clest the\nCorn-goat push him.\u201d At Oefoten, in Norway, each reaper has his allotted\npatch to reap. When a reaper in the middle has not finished reaping his\npiece after his neighbours have finished theirs, they say of him, \u201cHe\nremains on the island.\u201d And if the laggard is a man, they imitate the cry\nwith which they call a he-goat; if a woman, the cry with which they call a\nshe-goat.(895) Near Straubing, in Lower Bavaria, it is said of the man who\ncuts the last corn that \u201che has the Corn-goat, or the Wheat-goat, or the\nOats-goat,\u201d according to the crop. Moreover, two horns are set up on the\nlast heap of corn, and it is called \u201cthe horned Goat.\u201d At Kreutzburg, East\nPrussia, they call out to the woman who is binding the last sheaf, \u201cThe\nGoat is sitting in the sheaf.\u201d(896) At Gablingen, in Swabia, when the last\nfield of oats upon a farm is being reaped, the reapers carve a goat out of\nwood. Ears of oats are inserted in its nostrils and mouth, and it is\nadorned with garlands of flowers. It is set up on the field and called the\nOats-goat. When the reaping approaches an end, each reaper hastens to\nfinish his piece first; he who is the last to finish gets the\nOats-goat.(897) Again, the last sheaf is itself called the Goat. Thus, in\nthe valley of the Wiesent, Bavaria, the last sheaf bound on the field is\ncalled the Goat, and they have a proverb, \u201cThe field must bear a\ngoat.\u201d(898) At Spachbr\u00fccken, in Hesse, the last handful of corn which is\ncut is called the Goat, and the man who cuts it is much ridiculed.(899) At\nD\u00fcrrenb\u00fcchig and about Mosbach in Baden the last sheaf is also called the\nGoat.(900) Sometimes the last sheaf is made up in the form of a goat, and\nthey say, \u201cThe Goat is sitting in it.\u201d(901) Again, the person who cuts or\nbinds the last sheaf is called the Goat. Thus, in parts of Mecklenburg\nthey call out to the woman who binds the last sheaf, \u201cYou are the\nHarvest-goat.\u201d Near Uelzen, in Hanover, the harvest festival begins with\n\u201cthe bringing of the Harvest-goat\u201d; that is, the woman who bound the last\nsheaf is wrapt in straw, crowned with a harvest-wreath, and brought in a\nwheelbarrow to the village, where a round dance takes place. About\nLuneburg, also, the woman who binds the last corn is decked with a crown\nof corn-ears and is called the Corn-goat.(902) At M\u00fcnzesheim in Baden the\nreaper who cuts the last handful of corn or oats is called the Corn-goat\nor the Oats-goat.(903) In the Canton St. Gall, Switzerland, the person who\ncuts the last handful of corn on the field, or drives the last\nharvest-waggon to the barn, is called the Corn-goat or the Rye-goat, or\nsimply the Goat.(904) In the Canton Thurgau he is called Corn-goat; like a\ngoat he has a bell hung round his neck, is led in triumph, and drenched\nwith liquor. In parts of Styria, also, the man who cuts the last corn is\ncalled Corn-goat, Oats-goat, or the like. As a rule, the man who thus gets\nthe name of Corn-goat has to bear it a whole year till the next\nharvest.(905)\n\n(M242) According to one view, the corn-spirit, who has been caught in the\nform of a goat or otherwise, lives in the farmhouse or barn over winter.\nThus, each farm has its own embodiment of the corn-spirit. But, according\nto another view, the corn-spirit is the genius or deity, not of the corn\nof one farm only, but of all the corn. Hence when the corn on one farm is\nall cut, he flees to another where there is still corn left standing. This\nidea is brought out in a harvest-custom which was formerly observed in\nSkye. The farmer who first finished reaping sent a man or woman with a\nsheaf to a neighbouring farmer who had not finished; the latter in his\nturn, when he had finished, sent on the sheaf to his neighbour who was\nstill reaping; and so the sheaf made the round of the farms till all the\ncorn was cut. The sheaf was called the _goabbir bhacagh_, that is, the\nCripple Goat.(906) The custom appears not to be extinct at the present\nday, for it was reported from Skye only a few years ago. We are told that\nwhen the crofters and small farmers are cutting down their corn, each\ntries his best to finish before his neighbour. The first to finish goes to\nhis neighbour\u2019s field and makes up at one end of it a bundle of sheaves in\na fanciful shape which goes by the name of the _gobhar bhacach_ or Lame\nGoat. As each man in succession finishes reaping his field, he proceeds to\nset up a lame goat of this sort in his neighbour\u2019s field where there is\nstill corn standing. No one likes to have the Lame Goat put in his field,\n\u201cnot from any ill-luck it brings, but because it is humiliating to have it\nstanding there visible to all neighbours and passers-by, and of course he\ncannot retaliate.\u201d(907) The corn-spirit was probably thus represented as\nlame because he had been crippled by the cutting of the corn. We have seen\nthat sometimes the old woman who brings home the last sheaf must limp on\none foot.(908) In the B\u00f6hmer Wald mountains, between Bohemia and Bavaria,\nwhen two peasants are driving home their corn together, they race against\neach other to see who shall get home first. The village boys mark the\nloser in the race, and at night they come and erect on the roof of his\nhouse the Oats-goat, which is a colossal figure of a goat made of\nstraw.(909)\n\n(M243) But sometimes the corn-spirit, in the form of a goat, is believed\nto be slain on the harvest-field by the sickle or scythe. Thus, in the\nneighbourhood of Bernkastel, on the Moselle, the reapers determine by lot\nthe order in which they shall follow each other. The first is called the\nfore-reaper, the last the tail-bearer. If a reaper overtakes the man in\nfront he reaps past him, bending round so as to leave the slower reaper in\na patch by himself. This patch is called the Goat; and the man for whom\n\u201cthe Goat is cut\u201d in this way, is laughed and jeered at by his fellows for\nthe rest of the day. When the tail-bearer cuts the last ears of corn, it\nis said, \u201cHe is cutting the Goat\u2019s neck off.\u201d(910) In the neighbourhood of\nGrenoble, before the end of the reaping, a live goat is adorned with\nflowers and ribbons and allowed to run about the field. The reapers chase\nit and try to catch it. When it is caught, the farmer\u2019s wife holds it fast\nwhile the farmer cuts off its head. The goat\u2019s flesh serves to furnish the\nharvest-supper. A piece of the flesh is pickled and kept till the next\nharvest, when another goat is killed. Then all the harvesters eat of the\nflesh. On the same day the skin of the goat is made into a cloak, which\nthe farmer, who works with his men, must always wear at harvest-time if\nrain or bad weather sets in. But if a reaper gets pains in his back, the\nfarmer gives him the goat-skin to wear.(911) The reason for this seems to\nbe that the pains in the back, being inflicted by the corn-spirit, can\nalso be healed by it. Similarly, we saw that elsewhere, when a reaper is\nwounded at reaping, a cat, as the representative of the corn-spirit, is\nmade to lick the wound.(912) Esthonian reapers in the island of Mon think\nthat the man who cuts the first ears of corn at harvest will get pains in\nhis back,(913) probably because the corn-spirit is believed to resent\nespecially the first wound; and, in order to escape pains in the back,\nSaxon reapers in Transylvania gird their loins with the first handful of\nears which they cut.(914) Here, again, the corn-spirit is applied to for\nhealing or protection, but in his original vegetable form, not in the form\nof a goat or a cat.\n\n(M244) Further, the corn-spirit under the form of a goat is sometimes\nconceived as lurking among the cut corn in the barn, till he is driven\nfrom it by the threshing-flail. Thus in Baden the last sheaf to be\nthreshed is called the Corn-goat, the Spelt-goat, or the Oats-goat\naccording to the kind of grain.(915) Again, near Marktl, in Upper Bavaria,\nthe sheaves are called Straw-goats or simply Goats. They are laid in a\ngreat heap on the open field and threshed by two rows of men standing\nopposite each other, who, as they ply their flails, sing a song in which\nthey say that they see the Straw-goat amongst the corn-stalks. The last\nGoat, that is, the last sheaf, is adorned with a wreath of violets and\nother flowers and with cakes strung together. It is placed right in the\nmiddle of the heap. Some of the threshers rush at it and tear the best of\nit out; others lay on with their flails so recklessly that heads are\nsometimes broken. In threshing this last sheaf, each man casts up to the\nman opposite him the misdeeds of which he has been guilty throughout the\nyear.(916) At Oberinntal, in the Tyrol, the last thresher is called\nGoat.(917) So at Haselberg, in West Bohemia, the man who gives the last\nstroke at threshing oats is called the Oats-goat.(918) At Tettnang, in\nW\u00fcrtemburg, the thresher who gives the last stroke to the last bundle of\ncorn before it is turned goes by the name of the He-goat, and it is said,\n\u201cHe has driven the He-goat away.\u201d The person who, after the bundle has\nbeen turned, gives the last stroke of all, is called the She-goat.(919) In\nthis custom it is implied that the corn is inhabited by a pair of\ncorn-spirits, male and female.\n\n(M245) Further, the corn-spirit, captured in the form of a goat at\nthreshing, is passed on to a neighbour whose threshing is not yet\nfinished. In Franche Comt\u00e9, as soon as the threshing is over, the young\npeople set up a straw figure of a goat on the farmyard of a neighbour who\nis still threshing. He must give them wine or money in return. At\nEllwangen, in W\u00fcrtemburg, the effigy of a goat is made out of the last\nbundle of corn at threshing; four sticks form its legs, and two its horns.\nThe man who gives the last stroke with the flail must carry the Goat to\nthe barn of a neighbour who is still threshing and throw it down on the\nfloor; if he is caught in the act, they tie the goat on his back.(920) A\nsimilar custom is observed at Indersdorf, in Upper Bavaria; the man who\nthrows the straw Goat into the neighbour\u2019s barn imitates the bleating of a\ngoat; if they catch him, they blacken his face and tie the Goat on his\nback.(921) At Zabern, in Elsace, when a farmer is a week or more behind\nhis neighbours with his threshing, they set a real stuffed goat or fox\nbefore his door.(922)\n\n(M246) Sometimes the spirit of the corn in goat form is believed to be\nkilled at threshing. In the district of Traunstein, Upper Bavaria, they\nthink that the Oats-goat is in the last sheaf of oats. He is represented\nby an old rake set up on end, with an old pot for a head. The children are\nthen told to kill the Oats-goat.(923) Elsewhere, however, the corn-spirit\nin the form of a goat is apparently thought to live in the field\nthroughout the winter. Hence at Wannefeld near Gardelegen, and also\nbetween Calbe and Salzwedel, in the Altmark, the last stalks used to be\nleft uncut on the harvest-field with the words, \u201cThat shall the He-goat\nkeep!\u201d Evidently the last corn was here left as a provision for the\ncorn-spirit, lest, robbed of all his substance, he should die of hunger. A\nstranger passing a harvest-field is sometimes taken for the Corn-goat\nescaping in human shape from the cut or threshed grain. Thus, when a\nstranger passes a harvest-field, all the labourers stop and shout as with\none voice, \u201cHe-goat! He-goat!\u201d At rape-seed threshing in Schleswig, which\nis generally done on the field, the same cry is raised if the stranger\ndoes not take off his hat.(924)\n\n(M247) At sowing their winter corn the old Prussians used to kill a goat,\nconsume its flesh with many superstitious ceremonies, and hang the skin on\na high pole near an oak and a large stone. There it remained till harvest,\nwhen a great bunch of corn and herbs was fastened to the pole above the\ngoat-skin. Then, after a prayer had been offered by a peasant who acted as\npriest (_Weidulut_), the young folks joined hands and danced round the oak\nand the pole. Afterwards they scrambled for the bunch of corn, and the\npriest distributed the herbs with a sparing hand. Then he placed the\ngoat-skin on the large stone, sat down on it, and preached to the people\nabout the history of their forefathers and their old heathen customs and\nbeliefs.(925) The goat-skin thus suspended on the field from sowing time\nto harvest perhaps represents the corn-spirit superintending the growth of\nthe corn. The Tomori of Central Celebes imagine that the spirits which\ncause rice to grow have the form of great goats with long hair and long\nlips.(926)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 7. The Corn-spirit as a Bull, Cow, or Ox.\n\n\n(M248) Another form which the corn-spirit often assumes is that of a bull,\ncow, or ox. When the wind sweeps over the corn they say at Conitz, in West\nPrussia, \u201cThe Steer is running in the corn\u201d;(927) when the corn is thick\nand strong in one spot, they say in some parts of East Prussia, \u201cThe Bull\nis lying in the corn.\u201d When a harvester has overstrained and lamed\nhimself, they say in the Graudenz district of West Prussia, \u201cThe Bull\npushed him\u201d; in Lothringen they say, \u201cHe has the Bull.\u201d The meaning of\nboth expressions is that he has unwittingly lighted upon the divine\ncorn-spirit, who has punished the profane intruder with lameness.(928) So\nnear Chamb\u00e9ry when a reaper wounds himself with his sickle, it is said\nthat he has \u201cthe wound of the Ox.\u201d(929) In the district of Bunzlau\n(Silesia) the last sheaf is sometimes made into the shape of a horned ox,\nstuffed with tow and wrapt in corn-ears. This figure is called the Old\nMan. In some parts of Bohemia the last sheaf is made up in human form and\ncalled the Buffalo-bull.(930) These cases shew a confusion of the human\nwith the animal shape of the corn-spirit. The confusion is like that of\nkilling a wether under the name of a wolf.(931) In the Canton of Thurgau,\nSwitzerland, the last sheaf, if it is a large one, is called the Cow.(932)\nAll over Swabia the last bundle of corn on the field is called the Cow;\nthe man who cuts the last ears \u201chas the Cow,\u201d and is himself called Cow or\nBarley-cow or Oats-cow, according to the crop; at the harvest-supper he\ngets a nosegay of flowers and corn-ears and a more liberal allowance of\ndrink than the rest. But he is teased and laughed at; so no one likes to\nbe the Cow.(933) The Cow was sometimes represented by the figure of a\nwoman made out of ears of corn and corn-flowers. It was carried to the\nfarmhouse by the man who had cut the last handful of corn. The children\nran after him and the neighbours turned out to laugh at him, till the\nfarmer took the Cow from him.(934) Here again the confusion between the\nhuman and the animal form of the corn-spirit is apparent. In various parts\nof Switzerland the reaper who cuts the last ears of corn is called\nWheat-cow, Corn-cow, Oats-cow, or Corn-steer, and is the butt of many a\njoke.(935) In some parts of East Prussia, when a few ears of corn have\nbeen left standing by inadvertence on the last swath, the foremost reaper\nseizes them and cries, \u201cBull! Bull!\u201d(936) On the other hand, in the\ndistrict of Rosenheim, Upper Bavaria, when a farmer is later of getting in\nhis harvest than his neighbours, they set up on his land a Straw-bull, as\nit is called. This is a gigantic figure of a bull made of stubble on a\nframework of wood and adorned with flowers and leaves. Attached to it is a\nlabel on which are scrawled doggerel verses in ridicule of the man on\nwhose land the Straw-bull is set up.(937)\n\n(M249) Again, the corn-spirit in the form of a bull or ox is killed on the\nharvest-field at the close of the reaping. At Pouilly, near Dijon, when\nthe last ears of corn are about to be cut, an ox adorned with ribbons,\nflowers, and ears of corn is led all round the field, followed by the\nwhole troop of reapers dancing. Then a man disguised as the Devil cuts the\nlast ears of corn and immediately slaughters the ox. Part of the flesh of\nthe animal is eaten at the harvest-supper; part is pickled and kept till\nthe first day of sowing in spring. At Pont \u00e0 Mousson and elsewhere on the\nevening of the last day of reaping, a calf adorned with flowers and ears\nof corn is led thrice round the farmyard, being allured by a bait or\ndriven by men with sticks, or conducted by the farmer\u2019s wife with a rope.\nThe calf chosen for this ceremony is the calf which was born first on the\nfarm in the spring of the year. It is followed by all the reapers with\ntheir tools. Then it is allowed to run free; the reapers chase it, and\nwhoever catches it is called King of the Calf. Lastly, it is solemnly\nkilled; at Lun\u00e9ville the man who acts as butcher is the Jewish merchant of\nthe village.(938)\n\n(M250) Sometimes again the corn-spirit hides himself amongst the cut corn\nin the barn to reappear in bull or cow form at threshing. Thus at\nWurmlingen, in Th\u00fcringen, the man who gives the last stroke at threshing\nis called the Cow, or rather the Barley-cow, Oats-cow, Peas-cow, or the\nlike, according to the crop. He is entirely enveloped in straw; his head\nis surmounted by sticks in imitation of horns, and two lads lead him by\nropes to the well to drink. On the way thither he must low like a cow, and\nfor a long time afterwards he goes by the name of the Cow.(939) At\nObermedlingen, in Swabia, when the threshing draws near an end, each man\nis careful to avoid giving the last stroke. He who does give it \u201cgets the\nCow,\u201d which is a straw figure dressed in an old ragged petticoat, hood,\nand stockings. It is tied on his back with a straw-rope; his face is\nblackened, and being bound with straw-ropes to a wheelbarrow he is wheeled\nround the village.(940) Here, again, we meet with that confusion between\nthe human and animal shape of the corn-spirit which we have noted in other\ncustoms. In Canton Schaffhausen the man who threshes the last corn is\ncalled the Cow; in Canton Thurgau, the Corn-bull; in Canton Zurich, the\nThresher-cow. In the last-mentioned district he is wrapt in straw and\nbound to one of the trees in the orchard.(941) At Arad, in Hungary, the\nman who gives the last stroke at threshing is enveloped in straw and a\ncow\u2019s hide with the horns attached to it.(942) At Pessnitz, in the\ndistrict of Dresden, the man who gives the last stroke with the flail is\ncalled Bull. He must make a straw-man and set it up before a neighbour\u2019s\nwindow.(943) Here, apparently, as in so many cases, the corn-spirit is\npassed on to a neighbour who has not finished threshing. So at\nHerbrechtingen, in Th\u00fcringen, the effigy of a ragged old woman is flung\ninto the barn of the farmer who is last with his threshing. The man who\nthrows it in cries, \u201cThere is the Cow for you.\u201d If the threshers catch him\nthey detain him over night and punish him by keeping him from the\nharvest-supper.(944) In these latter customs the confusion between the\nhuman and the animal shape of the corn-spirit meets us again.\n\n(M251) Further, the corn-spirit in bull form is sometimes believed to be\nkilled at threshing. At Auxerre, in threshing the last bundle of corn,\nthey call out twelve times, \u201cWe are killing the Bull.\u201d In the\nneighbourhood of Bordeaux, where a butcher kills an ox on the field\nimmediately after the close of the reaping, it is said of the man who\ngives the last stroke at threshing that \u201che has killed the Bull.\u201d(945) At\nChamb\u00e9ry the last sheaf is called the sheaf of the Young Ox, and a race\ntakes place to it in which all the reapers join. When the last stroke is\ngiven at threshing they say that \u201cthe Ox is killed\u201d; and immediately\nthereupon a real ox is slaughtered by the reaper who cut the last corn.\nThe flesh of the ox is eaten by the threshers at supper.(946)\n\n(M252) We have seen that sometimes the young corn-spirit, whose task it is\nto quicken the corn of the coming year, is believed to be born as a\nCorn-baby on the harvest-field.(947) Similarly in Berry the young\ncorn-spirit is sometimes supposed to be born on the field in calf form;\nfor when a binder has not rope enough to bind all the corn in sheaves, he\nputs aside the wheat that remains over and imitates the lowing of a cow.\nThe meaning is that \u201cthe sheaf has given birth to a calf.\u201d(948) In\nPuy-de-D\u00f4me when a binder cannot keep up with the reaper whom he or she\nfollows, they say \u201cHe (or she) is giving birth to the Calf.\u201d(949) In some\nparts of Prussia, in similar circumstances, they call out to the woman,\n\u201cThe Bull is coming,\u201d and imitate the bellowing of a bull.(950) In these\ncases the woman is conceived as the Corn-cow or old corn-spirit, while the\nsupposed calf is the Corn-calf or young corn-spirit. In some parts of\nAustria a mythical calf (_Muhk\u00e4lbchen_) is believed to be seen amongst the\nsprouting corn in spring and to push the children; when the corn waves in\nthe wind they say, \u201cThe Calf is going about.\u201d Clearly, as Mannhardt\nobserves, this calf of the spring-time is the same animal which is\nafterwards believed to be killed at reaping.(951)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 8. The Corn-spirit as a Horse or Mare.\n\n\n(M253) Sometimes the corn-spirit appears in the shape of a horse or mare.\nBetween Kalw and Stuttgart, when the corn bends before the wind, they say,\n\u201cThere runs the Horse.\u201d(952) At Bohlingen, near Radolfzell in Baden, the\nlast sheaf of oats is called the Oats-stallion.(953) In Hertfordshire, at\nthe end of the reaping, there is or used to be observed a ceremony called\n\u201ccrying the Mare.\u201d The last blades of corn left standing on the field are\ntied together and called the Mare. The reapers stand at a distance and\nthrow their sickles at it; he who cuts it through \u201chas the prize, with\nacclamations and good cheer.\u201d After it is cut the reapers cry thrice with\na loud voice, \u201cI have her!\u201d Others answer thrice, \u201cWhat have you?\u201d\u2014\u201cA\nMare! a Mare! a Mare!\u201d\u2014\u201cWhose is she?\u201d is next asked thrice. \u201cA. B.\u2019s,\u201d\nnaming the owner thrice. \u201cWhither will you send her?\u201d\u2014\u201cTo C. D.,\u201d naming\nsome neighbour who has not reaped all his corn.(954) In this custom the\ncorn-spirit in the form of a mare is passed on from a farm where the corn\nis all cut to another farm where it is still standing, and where therefore\nthe corn-spirit may be supposed naturally to take refuge. In Shropshire\nthe custom is similar. \u201cCrying, calling, or shouting the mare is a\nceremony performed by the men of that farm which is the first in any\nparish or district to finish the harvest. The object of it is to make\nknown their own prowess, and to taunt the laggards by a pretended offer of\nthe \u2018owd mar\u2019\u2019 [old mare] to help out their \u2018chem\u2019 [team]. All the men\nassemble (the wooden harvest-bottle being of course one of the company) in\nthe stackyard, or, better, on the highest ground on the farm, and there\nshout the following dialogue, preceding it by a grand \u2018Hip, hip, hip,\nhurrah!\u2019\n\n\u201c \u2018I \u2019ave \u2019er, I \u2019ave \u2019er, I \u2019ave \u2019er!\u2019\n\n\u201c \u2018Whad \u2019ast thee, whad \u2019ast thee, whad \u2019ast thee?\u2019\n\n\u201c \u2018A mar\u2019! a mar\u2019! a mar\u2019!\u2019\n\n\u201c \u2018Whose is \u2019er, whose is \u2019er, whose is \u2019er?\u2019\n\n\u201c \u2018Maister A.\u2019s, Maister A.\u2019s, Maister A.\u2019s!\u2019 (naming the farmer whose\nharvest is finished).\n\n\u201c \u2018W\u2019eer sha\u2019t the\u2019 send \u2019er? w\u2019eer sha\u2019t the\u2019 send \u2019er? w\u2019eer sha\u2019t the\u2019\nsend \u2019er?\u2019\n\n\u201c \u2018To Maister B.\u2019s, to Maister B.\u2019s, to Maister B.\u2019s\u2019 (naming one whose\nharvest is _not_ finished).\n\n\u201c \u2018\u2019Uth a hip, hip, hip, hurrah!\u2019 (in chorus).\u201d\n\nThe farmer who finishes his harvest last, and who therefore cannot send\nthe Mare to any one else, is said \u201cto keep her all winter.\u201d The mocking\noffer of the Mare was sometimes responded to by a mocking acceptance of\nher help. Thus an old man told an enquirer, \u201cWhile we wun at supper, a mon\ncumm\u2019d wi\u2019 a autar [halter] to fatch her away.\u201d But at one place (Longnor,\nnear Leebotwood), down to about 1850, the Mare used really to be sent.\n\u201cThe head man of the farmer who had finished harvest first was mounted on\nthe best horse of the team\u2014the leader\u2014both horse and man being adorned\nwith ribbons, streamers, etc. Thus arrayed, a boy on foot led the pair in\ntriumph to the neighbouring farmhouses. Sometimes the man who took the\n\u2018mare\u2019 received, as well as plenty of harvest-ale, some rather rough,\nthough good-humoured, treatment, coming back minus his decorations, and so\non.\u201d(955)\n\n(M254) In the neighbourhood of Lille the idea of the corn-spirit in horse\nform is clearly preserved. When a harvester grows weary at his work, it is\nsaid, \u201cHe has the fatigue of the Horse.\u201d The first sheaf, called the\n\u201cCross of the Horse,\u201d is placed on a cross of boxwood in the barn, and the\nyoungest horse on the farm must tread on it. The reapers dance round the\nlast blades of corn, crying, \u201cSee the remains of the Horse.\u201d The sheaf\nmade out of these last blades is given to the youngest horse of the parish\n(_commune_) to eat. This youngest horse of the parish clearly represents,\nas Mannhardt says, the corn-spirit of the following year, the Corn-foal,\nwhich absorbs the spirit of the old Corn-horse by eating the last corn\ncut; for, as usual, the old corn-spirit takes his final refuge in the last\nsheaf. The thresher of the last sheaf is said to \u201cbeat the Horse.\u201d(956)\nAgain, a trace of the horse-shaped corn-spirit is reported from Berry. The\nharvesters there are accustomed to take a noonday nap in the field. This\nis called \u201cseeing the Horse.\u201d The leader or \u201cKing\u201d of the harvesters gives\nthe signal for going to sleep. If he delays giving the signal, one of the\nharvesters will begin to neigh like a horse, the rest imitate him, and\nthen they all go \u201cto see the Horse.\u201d(957)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 9. The Corn-spirit as a Bird.\n\n\n(M255) Sometimes the corn-spirit assumes the form of a bird. Thus among\nthe Saxons of the Bistritz district in Transylvania there is a saying that\nthe quail is sitting in the last standing stalks on the harvest-field, and\nall the reapers rush at these stalks in order, as they say, to catch the\nquail.(958) Exactly the same expression is used by reapers in Austrian\nSilesia when they are about to cut the last standing corn, whatever the\nkind of grain may be.(959) In the Bocage of Normandy, when the reapers\nhave come to the last ears of the last rig, they surround them for the\npurpose of catching the quail, which is supposed to have taken refuge\nthere. They run about the corn crying, \u201cMind the Quail!\u201d and make believe\nto grab at the bird amid shouts and laughter.(960) Connected with this\nidentification of the corn-spirit with a quail is probably the belief that\nthe cry of the bird in spring is prophetic of the price of corn in the\nautumn; in Germany they say that corn will sell at as many gulden a bushel\nas the quail uttered its cry over the fields in spring. Similar\nprognostications are drawn from the note of the bird in central and\nwestern France, in Switzerland and in Tuscany.(961) Perhaps one reason for\nidentifying the quail with the corn-spirit is that the bird lays its eggs\non the ground, without making much of a nest.(962) Similarly the Toradjas\nof Central Celebes think that the soul of the rice is embodied in a pretty\nlittle blue bird which builds its nest in the rice-field at the time when\nthe rice is beginning to germinate, and which disappears again after the\nharvest. Thus both the place and the time of the appearance of the bird\nsuggest to the natives the notion that the blue bird is the rice\nincarnate. And like the note of the quail in Europe the note of this\nlittle bird in Celebes is believed to prognosticate the state of the\nharvest, foretelling whether the rice will be abundant or scarce. Nobody\nmay drive the bird away; to do so would not merely injure the rice, it\nwould hurt the eyes of the sacrilegious person and might even strike him\nblind. In Minahassa, a district in the north of Celebes, a similar though\nless definite belief attaches to a sort of small quail which loves to\nhaunt the rice-fields before the rice is reaped; and when the Galelareeze\nof Halmahera hear a certain kind of bird, which they call _tog\u00e8_, croaking\namong the rice in ear, they say that the bird is putting the grain into\nthe rice, so they will not kill it.(963)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 10. The Corn-spirit as a Fox.\n\n\n(M256) Another animal whose shape the corn-spirit is sometimes thought to\nassume is the fox. The conception is recorded at various places in Germany\nand France. Thus at N\u00f6rdlingen in Bavaria, when the corn waves to and fro\nin the wind, they say, \u201cThe fox goes through the corn,\u201d and at Usingen in\nNassau they say, \u201cThe foxes are marching through the corn.\u201d At Ravensberg,\nin Westphalia, and at Steinau, in Kurhessen, children are warned against\nstraying in the corn, \u201cbecause the Fox is there.\u201d At Campe, near Stade,\nwhen they are about to cut the last corn, they call out to the reaper,\n\u201cThe Fox is sitting there, hold him fast!\u201d In the Department of the\nMoselle they say, \u201cWatch whether the Fox comes out.\u201d In Bourbonnais the\nexpression is, \u201cYou will catch the Fox.\u201d When a reaper wounds himself or\nis sick at reaping, they say in the Lower Loire that \u201cHe has the Fox.\u201d In\nC\u00f4te-d\u2019or they say, \u201cHe has killed the Fox.\u201d At Louhans, in\nS\u00e2one-et-Loire, when the reapers are cutting the last corn they leave a\nhandful standing and throw their sickles at it. He who hits it is called\nthe Fox, and two girls deck his bonnet with flowers. In the evening there\nis a dance, at which the Fox dances with all the girls. The supper which\nfollows is also called the Fox; they say, \u201cWe have eaten the Fox,\u201d meaning\nthat they have partaken of the harvest-supper. In the Canton of Zurich the\nlast sheaf is called the Fox. At Bourgogne, in Ain, they cry out, \u201cThe Fox\nis sitting in the last sheaf,\u201d and having made the figure of an animal out\nof white cloth and some ears of the last corn, they dub it the Fox and\nthrow it into the house of a neighbour who has not yet got in all his\nharvest.(964) In Poitou, when the corn is being reaped in a district, all\nthe reapers strive to finish as quickly as possible in order that they may\nsend \u201cthe Fox\u201d to the fields of a farmer who has not yet garnered his\nsheaves. The man who cuts the last handful of standing corn is said to\n\u201chave the Fox.\u201d This last handful is carried to the farmer\u2019s house and\noccupies a place on the table during the harvest-supper; and the custom is\nto drench it with water. After that it is set up on the chimney-piece and\nremains there the whole year.(965) At threshing, also, in S\u00e2one-et-Loire,\nthe last sheaf is called the Fox; in Lot they say, \u201cWe are going to beat\nthe Fox\u201d; and at Zabern in Alsace they set a stuffed fox before the door\nof the threshing-floor of a neighbour who has not finished his\nthreshing.(966) With this conception of the fox as an embodiment of the\ncorn-spirit may possibly be connected an old custom, observed in Holstein\nand Westphalia, of carrying a dead or living fox from house to house in\nspring; the intention of the custom was perhaps to diffuse the refreshing\nand invigorating influence of the reawakened spirit of vegetation.(967) In\nJapan the rice-god Inari is represented as an elderly man with a long\nbeard riding on a white fox, and the fox is always associated with this\ndeity. In front of his shrines may usually be seen a pair of foxes carved\nin wood or stone.(968)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 11. The Corn-spirit as a Pig (Boar or Sow).\n\n\n(M257) The last animal embodiment of the corn-spirit which we shall notice\nis the pig (boar or sow). In Th\u00fcringen, when the wind sets the young corn\nin motion, they sometimes say, \u201cThe Boar is rushing through the\ncorn.\u201d(969) Amongst the Esthonians of the island of Oesel the last sheaf\nis called the Rye-boar, and the man who gets it is saluted with a cry of\n\u201cYou have the Rye-boar on your back!\u201d In reply he strikes up a song, in\nwhich he prays for plenty.(970) At Kohlerwinkel, near Augsburg, at the\nclose of the harvest, the last bunch of standing corn is cut down, stalk\nby stalk, by all the reapers in turn. He who cuts the last stalk \u201cgets the\nSow,\u201d and is laughed at.(971) In other Swabian villages also the man who\ncuts the last corn \u201chas the Sow,\u201d or \u201chas the Rye-sow.\u201d(972) In the\nTraunstein district, Upper Bavaria, the man who cuts the last handful of\nrye or wheat \u201chas the Sow,\u201d and is called Sow-driver.(973) At Bohlingen,\nnear Radolfzell in Baden, the last sheaf is called the Rye-sow or the\nWheat-sow, according to the crop; and at R\u00f6hrenbach in Baden the person\nwho brings the last armful for the last sheaf is called the Corn-sow or\nthe Oats-sow. And in the south-east of Baden the thresher who gives the\nlast stroke at threshing, or is the last to hang up his flail on the wall,\nis called the Sow or the Rye-sow.(974) At Friedingen, in Swabia, the\nthresher who gives the last stroke is called Sow\u2014Barley-sow, Corn-sow, or\nthe like, according to the crop. At Onstmettingen the man who gives the\nlast stroke at threshing \u201chas the Sow\u201d; he is often bound up in a sheaf\nand dragged by a rope along the ground.(975) And, generally, in Swabia the\nman who gives the last stroke with the flail is called Sow. He may,\nhowever, rid himself of this invidious distinction by passing on to a\nneighbour the straw-rope, which is the badge of his position as Sow. So he\ngoes to a house and throws the straw-rope into it, crying, \u201cThere, I bring\nyou the Sow.\u201d All the inmates give chase; and if they catch him they beat\nhim, shut him up for several hours in the pig-sty, and oblige him to take\nthe \u201cSow\u201d away again.(976) In various parts of Upper Bavaria the man who\ngives the last stroke at threshing must \u201ccarry the Pig\u201d\u2014that is, either a\nstraw effigy of a pig or merely a bundle of straw-ropes. This he carries\nto a neighbouring farm where the threshing is not finished, and throws it\ninto the barn. If the threshers catch him they handle him roughly, beating\nhim, blackening or dirtying his face, throwing him into filth, binding the\nSow on his back, and so on; if the bearer of the Sow is a woman they cut\noff her hair. At the harvest supper or dinner the man who \u201ccarried the\nPig\u201d gets one or more dumplings made in the form of pigs; sometimes he\ngets a large dumpling and a number of small ones, all in pig form, the\nlarge one being called the sow and the small ones the sucking-pigs.\nSometimes he has the right to be the first to put his hand into the dish\nand take out as many small dumplings (\u201csucking-pigs\u201d) as he can, while the\nother threshers strike at his hand with spoons or sticks. When the\ndumplings are served up by the maid-servant, all the people at table cry\n\u201cS\u00fcz, s\u00fcz, s\u00fcz!\u201d that being the cry used in calling pigs. Sometimes after\ndinner the man who \u201ccarried the Pig\u201d has his face blackened, and is set on\na cart and drawn round the village by his fellows, followed by a crowd\ncrying \u201cS\u00fcz, s\u00fcz, s\u00fcz!\u201d as if they were calling swine. Sometimes, after\nbeing wheeled round the village, he is flung on the dunghill.(977)\n\n(M258) Again, the corn-spirit in the form of a pig plays his part at\nsowing-time as well as at harvest At Neuautz, in Courland, when barley is\nsown for the first time in the year, the farmer\u2019s wife boils the chine of\na pig along with the tail, and brings it to the sower on the field. He\neats of it, but cuts off the tail and sticks it in the field; it is\nbelieved that the ears of corn will then grow as long as the tail.(978)\nHere the pig is the corn-spirit, whose fertilising power is sometimes\nsupposed to lie especially in his tail.(979) As a pig he is put in the\nground at sowing-time, and as a pig he reappears amongst the ripe corn at\nharvest. For amongst the neighbouring Esthonians, as we have seen,(980)\nthe last sheaf is called the Rye-boar. Somewhat similar customs are\nobserved in Germany. In the Salza district, near Meiningen, a certain bone\nin the pig is called \u201cthe Jew on the winnowing-fan.\u201d The flesh of this\nbone is boiled on Shrove Tuesday, but the bone is put amongst the ashes\nwhich the neighbours exchange as presents on St. Peter\u2019s Day (the\ntwenty-second of February), and then mix with the seed-corn.(981) In the\nwhole of Hesse, Meiningen, and other districts, people eat pea-soup with\ndried pig-ribs on Ash Wednesday or Candlemas. The ribs are then collected\nand hung in the room till sowing-time, when they are inserted in the sown\nfield or in the seed-bag amongst the flax seed. This is thought to be an\ninfallible specific against earth-fleas and moles, and to cause the flax\nto grow well and tall.(982) In many parts of White Russia people eat a\nroast lamb or sucking-pig at Easter, and then throw the bones backwards\nupon the fields, to preserve the corn from hail.(983)\n\n(M259) But the idea of the corn-spirit as embodied in pig form is nowhere\nmore clearly expressed than in the Scandinavian custom of the Yule Boar.\nIn Sweden and Denmark at Yule (Christmas) it is the custom to bake a loaf\nin the form of a boar-pig. This is called the Yule Boar. The corn of the\nlast sheaf is often used to make it. All through Yule the Yule Boar stands\non the table. Often it is kept till the sowing-time in spring, when part\nof it is mixed with the seed-corn and part given to the ploughmen and\nplough-horses or plough-oxen to eat, in the expectation of a good\nharvest.(984) In this custom the corn-spirit, immanent in the last sheaf,\nappears at midwinter in the form of a boar made from the corn of the last\nsheaf; and his quickening influence on the corn is shewn by mixing part of\nthe Yule Boar with the seed-corn, and giving part of it to the ploughman\nand his cattle to eat. Similarly we saw that the Corn-wolf makes his\nappearance at midwinter, the time when the year begins to verge towards\nspring.(985) We may conjecture that the Yule straw, which Swedish peasants\nturn to various superstitious uses, comes, in part at least, from the\nsheaf out of which the Yule Boar is made. The Yule straw is long\nrye-straw, a portion of which is always set apart for this season. It is\nstrewn over the floor at Christmas, and the peasants attribute many\nvirtues to it. For example, they think that some of it scattered on the\nground will make a barren field productive. Again, the peasant at\nChristmas seats himself on a log; and his eldest son or daughter, or the\nmother herself, if the children are not old enough, places a wisp of the\nYule straw on his knee. From this he draws out single straws, and throws\nthem, one by one, up to the ceiling; and as many as lodge in the rafters,\nso many will be the sheaves of rye he will have to thresh at harvest.(986)\nAgain, it is only the Yule straw which may be used in binding the\nfruit-trees as a charm to fertilise them.(987) These uses of the Yule\nstraw shew that it is believed to possess fertilising virtues analogous to\nthose ascribed to the Yule Boar; we may therefore fairly conjecture that\nthe Yule straw is made from the same sheaf as the Yule Boar. Formerly a\nreal boar was sacrificed at Christmas,(988) and apparently also a man in\nthe character of the Yule Boar. This, at least, may perhaps be inferred\nfrom a Christmas custom still observed in Sweden. A man is wrapt up in a\nskin, and carries a wisp of straw in his mouth, so that the projecting\nstraws look like the bristles of a boar. A knife is brought, and an old\nwoman, with her face blackened, pretends to sacrifice him.(989)\n\n(M260) On Christmas Eve in some parts of the Esthonian island of Oesel\nthey bake a long cake with the two ends turned up. It is called the\nChristmas Boar, and stands on the table till the morning of New Year\u2019s\nDay, when it is distributed among the cattle. In other parts of the island\nthe Christmas Boar is not a cake but a little pig born in March, which the\nhousewife fattens secretly, often without the knowledge of the other\nmembers of the family. On Christmas Eve the little pig is secretly killed,\nthen roasted in the oven, and set on the table standing on all fours,\nwhere it remains in this posture for several days. In other parts of the\nisland, again, though the Christmas cake has neither the name nor the\nshape of a boar, it is kept till the New Year, when half of it is divided\namong all the members and all the quadrupeds of the family. The other half\nof the cake is kept till sowing-time comes round, when it is similarly\ndistributed in the morning among human beings and beasts.(990) In other\nparts of Esthonia, again, the Christmas Boar, as it is called, is baked of\nthe first rye cut at harvest; it has a conical shape and a cross is\nimpressed on it with a pig\u2019s bone or a key, or three dints are made in it\nwith a buckle or a piece of charcoal. It stands with a light beside it on\nthe table all through the festal season. On New Year\u2019s Day and Epiphany,\nbefore sunrise, a little of the cake is crumbled with salt and given to\nthe cattle. The rest is kept till the day when the cattle are driven out\nto pasture for the first time in spring. It is then put in the herdsman\u2019s\nbag, and at evening is divided among the cattle to guard them from magic\nand harm. In some places the Christmas Boar is partaken of by\nfarm-servants and cattle at the time of the barley sowing, for the purpose\nof thereby producing a heavier crop.(991)\n\n\n\n\n\u00a7 12. On the Animal Embodiments of the Corn-spirit.\n\n\n(M261) So much for the animal embodiments of the corn-spirit as they are\npresented to us in the folk-customs of Northern Europe. These customs\nbring out clearly the sacramental character of the harvest-supper. The\ncorn-spirit is conceived as embodied in an animal; this divine animal is\nslain, and its flesh and blood are partaken of by the harvesters. Thus,\nthe cock, the goose, the hare, the cat, the goat, and the ox are eaten\nsacramentally by the harvesters, and the pig is eaten sacramentally by\nploughmen in spring.(992) Again, as a substitute for the real flesh of the\ndivine being, bread or dumplings are made in his image and eaten\nsacramentally; thus, pig-shaped dumplings are eaten by the harvesters, and\nloaves made in boar-shape (the Yule Boar) are eaten in spring by the\nploughman and his cattle.\n\n(M262) The reader has probably remarked the complete parallelism between\nthe conceptions of the corn-spirit in human and in animal form. The\nparallel may be here briefly resumed. When the corn waves in the wind it\nis said either that the Corn-mother or that the Corn-wolf, etc., is\npassing through the corn. Children are warned against straying in\ncorn-fields either because the Corn-mother or because the Corn-wolf, etc.,\nis there. In the last corn cut or the last sheaf threshed either the\nCorn-mother or the Corn-wolf, etc., is supposed to be present. The last\nsheaf is itself called either the Corn-mother or the Corn-wolf, etc., and\nis made up in the shape either of a woman or of a wolf, etc. The person\nwho cuts, binds, or threshes the last sheaf is called either the Old Woman\nor the Wolf, etc., according to the name bestowed on the sheaf itself. As\nin some places a sheaf made in human form and called the Maiden, the\nMother of the Maize, etc., is kept from one harvest to the next in order\nto secure a continuance of the corn-spirit\u2019s blessing; so in some places\nthe Harvest-cock and in others the flesh of the goat is kept for a similar\npurpose from one harvest to the next. As in some places the grain taken\nfrom the Corn-mother is mixed with the seed-corn in spring to make the\ncrop abundant; so in some places the feathers of the cock, and in Sweden\nthe Yule Boar, are kept till spring and mixed with the seed-corn for a\nlike purpose. As part of the Corn-mother or Maiden is given to the cattle\nat Christmas or to the horses at the first ploughing, so part of the Yule\nBoar is given to the ploughing horses or oxen in spring. Lastly, the death\nof the corn-spirit is represented by killing or pretending to kill either\nhis human or his animal representative; and the worshippers partake\nsacramentally either of the actual body and blood of the representative of\nthe divinity, or of bread made in his likeness.\n\n(M263) Other animal forms assumed by the corn-spirit are the stag, roe,\nsheep, bear, ass, mouse, stork, swan, and kite.(993) If it is asked why\nthe corn-spirit should be thought to appear in the form of an animal and\nof so many different animals, we may reply that to primitive man the\nsimple appearance of an animal or bird among the corn is probably enough\nto suggest a mysterious link between the creature and the corn; and when\nwe remember that in the old days, before fields were fenced in, all kinds\nof animals must have been free to roam over them, we need not wonder that\nthe corn-spirit should have been identified even with large animals like\nthe horse and cow, which nowadays could not, except by a rare accident, be\nfound straying in an English corn-field. This explanation applies with\npeculiar force to the very common case in which the animal embodiment of\nthe corn-spirit is believed to lurk in the last standing corn. For at\nharvest a number of wild animals, such as hares, rabbits, and partridges,\nare commonly driven by the progress of the reaping into the last patch of\nstanding corn, and make their escape from it as it is being cut down. So\nregularly does this happen that reapers and others often stand round the\nlast patch of corn armed with sticks or guns, with which they kill the\nanimals as they dart out of their last refuge among the stalks. Now,\nprimitive man, to whom magical changes of shape seem perfectly credible,\nfinds it most natural that the spirit of the corn, driven from his home in\nthe ripe grain, should make his escape in the form of the animal which is\nseen to rush out of the last patch of corn as it falls under the scythe of\nthe reaper. Thus the identification of the corn-spirit with an animal is\nanalogous to the identification of him with a passing stranger. As the\nsudden appearance of a stranger near the harvest-field or threshing-floor\nis, to the primitive mind, enough to identify him as the spirit of the\ncorn escaping from the cut or threshed corn, so the sudden appearance of\nan animal issuing from the cut corn is enough to identify it with the\ncorn-spirit escaping from his ruined home. The two identifications are so\nanalogous that they can hardly be dissociated in any attempt to explain\nthem. Those who look to some other principle than the one here suggested\nfor the explanation of the latter identification are bound to shew that\ntheir theory covers the former identification also.\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTE. THE PLEIADES IN PRIMITIVE CALENDARS.\n\n\n(M264) The constellation of the Pleiades plays an important part in the\ncalendar of primitive peoples, both in the northern and in the southern\nhemisphere; indeed for reasons which at first sight are not obvious\nsavages appear to have paid more attention to this constellation than to\nany other group of stars in the sky, and in particular they have commonly\ntimed the various operations of the agricultural year by observation of\nits heliacal rising or setting. Some evidence on the subject was adduced\nby the late Dr. Richard Andree,(994) but much more exists, and it may be\nworth while to put certain of the facts together.\n\n(M265) In the first place it deserves to be noticed that great attention\nhas been paid to the Pleiades by savages in the southern hemisphere who do\nnot till the ground, and who therefore lack that incentive to observe the\nstars which is possessed by peoples in the agricultural stage of society;\nfor we can scarcely doubt that in early ages the practical need of\nascertaining the proper seasons for sowing and planting has done more than\nmere speculative curiosity to foster a knowledge of astronomy by\ncompelling savages to scrutinise the great celestial clock for indications\nof the time of year. Now amongst the rudest of savages known to us are the\nAustralian aborigines, none of whom in their native state ever practised\nagriculture. Yet we are told that \u201cthey do, according to their manner,\nworship the hosts of heaven, and believe particular constellations rule\nnatural causes. For such they have names, and sing and dance to gain the\nfavour of the Pleiades (_Mormodellick_), the constellation worshipped by\none body as the giver of rain; but if it should be deferred, instead of\nblessings curses are apt to be bestowed upon it.\u201d(995) According to a\nwriter, whose evidence on other matters of Australian beliefs is open to\ngrave doubt, some of the aborigines of New South Wales denied that the sun\nis the source of heat, because he shines also in winter when the weather\nis cold; the real cause of warm weather they held to be the Pleiades,\nbecause as the summer heat increases, that constellation rises higher and\nhigher in the sky, reaching its greatest elevation in the height of\nsummer, and gradually sinking again in autumn as the days grow cooler,\ntill in winter it is either barely visible or lost to view\naltogether.(996) Another writer, who was well acquainted with the natives\nof Victoria in the early days of the colony and whose testimony can be\nrelied upon, tells us that an old chief of the Spring Creek tribe \u201ctaught\nthe young people the names of the favourite planets and constellations, as\nindications of the seasons. For example, when Canopus is a very little\nabove the horizon in the east at daybreak, the season for emu eggs has\ncome; when the Pleiades are visible in the east an hour before sunrise,\nthe time for visiting friends and neighbouring tribes is at hand.\u201d(997)\n\n(M266) Again, the Abipones of Paraguay, who neither sowed nor reaped,(998)\nnevertheless regarded the Pleiades as an image of their ancestor. As that\nconstellation is invisible in the sky of South America for several months\nevery year, the Abipones believed that their ancestor was then sick, and\nthey were dreadfully afraid that he would die. But when the constellation\nreappeared in the month of May, they saluted the return of their ancestor\nwith joyous shouts and the glad music of flutes and horns, and they\ncongratulated him on his recovery from sickness. Next day they all went\nout to collect wild honey, from which they brewed a favourite beverage.\nThen at sunset they feasted and kept up the revelry all night by the light\nof torches, while a sorceress, who presided at the festivity, shook her\nrattle and danced. But the proceedings were perfectly decorous; the sexes\ndid not mix with each other.(999) The Mocobis of Paraguay also looked upon\nthe Pleiades as their father and creator.(1000) The Guaycurus of the Gran\nChaco used to rejoice greatly at the reappearance of the Pleiades. On this\noccasion they held a festival at which men and women, boys and girls all\nbeat each other soundly, believing that this brought them health,\nabundance, and victory over their enemies.(1001) Amongst the Lengua\nIndians of Paraguay at the present day the rising of the Pleiades is\nconnected with the beginning of spring, and feasts are held at this time,\ngenerally of a markedly immoral character.(1002) The Guaranis of Paraguay\nknew the time of sowing by observation of the Pleiades;(1003) they are\nsaid to have revered the constellation and to have dated the beginning of\ntheir year from the rising of the constellation in May.(1004) The\nTapuiyas, formerly a numerous and warlike tribe of Brazil, hailed the\nrising of the Pleiades with great respect, and worshipped the\nconstellation with songs and dances.(1005) The Indians of north-western\nBrazil, an agricultural people who subsist mainly by the cultivation of\nmanioc, determine the time for their various field labours by the position\nof certain constellations, especially the Pleiades; when that\nconstellation has sunk beneath the horizon, the regular, heavy rains set\nin.(1006) The Omagua Indians of Brazil ascribe to the Pleiades a special\ninfluence on human destiny.(1007) A Brazilian name for the Pleiades is\n_Cyiuce_, that is, \u201cMother of those who are thirsty.\u201d The constellation,\nwe are told, \u201cis known to the Indians of the whole of Brasil and appears\nto be even worshipped by some tribes in Matto Grosso. In the valley of the\nAmazon a number of popular sayings are current about it. Thus they say\nthat in the first days of its appearance in the firmament, while it is\nstill low, the birds and especially the fowls sleep on the lower branches\nor perches, and that just as it rises so do they; that it brings much cold\nand rain; that when the constellation vanishes, the serpents lose their\nvenom; that the reeds used in making arrows must be cut before the\nappearance of the Pleiades, else they will be worm-eaten. According to the\nlegend the Pleiades disappear in May and reappear in June. Their\nreappearance coincides with the renewal of vegetation and of animal life.\nHence the legend relates that everything which appears before the\nconstellation is renewed, that is, the appearance of the Pleiades, marks\nthe beginning of spring.\u201d(1008) The Indians of the Orinoco called the\nPleiades _Ucasu_ or _Cacasau_, according to their dialect, and they dated\nthe beginning of their year from the time when these stars are visible in\nthe east after sunset.(1009)\n\n(M267) By the Indians of Peru \u201cthe Pleiades were called _Collca_ (the\nmaize-heap): in this constellation the Peruvians both of the sierra and\nthe coast beheld the prototype of their cherished stores of corn. It made\ntheir maize to grow, and was worshipped accordingly.\u201d(1010) When the\nPleiades appeared above the horizon on or about Corpus Christi Day, these\nIndians celebrated their chief festival of the year and adored the\nconstellation \u201cin order that the maize might not dry up.\u201d(1011) Adjoining\nthe great temple of the Sun at Cuzco there was a cloister with halls\nopening off it. One of these halls was dedicated to the Moon, and another\nto the planet Venus, the Pleiades, and all the other stars. The Incas\nvenerated the Pleiades because of their curious position and the symmetry\nof their shape.(1012) The tribes of Vera Cruz, on the coast of Mexico,\ndated the beginning of their year from the heliacal setting of the\nPleiades, which in the latitude of Vera Cruz (19\u00b0 N.) in the year 1519\nfell on the first of May of the Gregorian calendar.(1013) The Aztecs\nappear to have attached great importance to the Pleiades, for they timed\nthe most solemn and impressive of all their religious ceremonies so as to\ncoincide with the moment when that constellation was in the middle of the\nsky at midnight. The ceremony consisted in kindling a sacred new fire on\nthe breast of a human victim on the last night of a great period of\nfifty-two years. They expected that at the close of one of these periods\nthe stars would cease to revolve and the world itself would come to an\nend. Hence, when the critical moment approached, the priests watched from\nthe top of a mountain the movement of the stars, and especially of the\nPleiades, with the utmost anxiety. When that constellation was seen to\ncross the meridian, great was the joy; for they knew that the world was\nrespited for another fifty-two years. Immediately the bravest and\nhandsomest of the captives was thrown down on his back; a board of dry\nwood was placed on his breast, and one of the priests made fire by\ntwirling a stick between his hands on the board. As soon as the flame\nburst forth, the breast of the victim was cut open, his heart was torn\nout, and together with the rest of his body was thrown into the fire.\nRunners carried the new fire at full speed to all parts of the kingdom to\nrekindle the cold hearths; for every fire throughout the country had been\nextinguished as a preparation for this solemn rite.(1014)\n\n(M268) The Blackfeet Indians of North America \u201cknow and observe the\nPleiades, and regulate their most important feast by those stars. About\nthe first and the last days of the occultation of the Pleiades there is a\nsacred feast among the Blackfeet. The mode of observance is national, the\nwhole of the tribe turning out for the celebration of its rites, which\ninclude two sacred vigils, the solemn blessing and planting of the seed.\nIt is the opening of the agricultural season.... In all highly religious\nfeasts the calumet, or pipe, is always presented towards the Pleiades,\nwith invocation for life-giving goods. The women swear by the Pleiades as\nthe men do by the sun or the morning star.\u201d At the general meeting of the\nnation there is a dance of warriors, which is supposed to represent the\ndance of the seven young men who are identified with the Pleiades. For the\nIndians say that the seven stars of the constellation were seven brothers,\nwho guarded by night the field of sacred seed and danced round it to keep\nthemselves awake during the long hours of darkness.(1015) According to\nanother legend told by the Blackfeet, the Pleiades are six children, who\nwere so ashamed because they had no little yellow hides of buffalo calves\nthat they wandered away on the plains and were at last taken up into the\nsky. \u201cThey are not seen during the moon, when the buffalo calves are\nyellow (spring, the time of their shame), but, every year, when the calves\nturn brown (autumn), the lost children can be seen in the sky every\nnight.\u201d(1016) This version of the myth, it will be observed, recognises\nonly six stars in the constellation, and many savages apparently see no\nmore, which speaks ill for the keenness of their vision; since among\nourselves persons endowed with unusually good sight are able, I\nunderstand, to discern seven. Among the Pueblo Indians of Tusayan, an\nancient province of Arizona, the culmination of the Pleiades is often used\nto determine the proper time for beginning a sacred nocturnal rite,\nespecially an invocation addressed to the six deities who are believed to\nrule the six quarters of the world. The writer who records this fact adds:\n\u201cI cannot explain its significance, and why of all stellar objects this\nminute cluster of stars of a low magnitude is more important than other\nstellar groups is not clear to me.\u201d(1017) If the Pueblo Indians see only\nsix stars in the cluster, as to which I cannot speak, it might seem to\nthem a reason for assigning one of the stars to each of the six quarters,\nnamely, north, south, east, west, above, and below.\n\n(M269) The Society Islanders in the South Pacific divided the year into\ntwo seasons, which they determined by observation of the Pleiades. \u201cThe\nfirst they called _Matarii i nia_, Pleiades above. It commenced when, in\nthe evening, these stars appeared on or near the horizon; and the half\nyear, during which, immediately after sunset, they were seen above the\nhorizon, was called _Matarii i nia_. The other season commenced when, at\nsunset, the stars were invisible, and continued until at that hour they\nappeared again above the horizon. This season was called _Matarii i raro_,\nPleiades below.\u201d(1018) In the Hervey Islands of the South Pacific it is\nsaid that the constellation was originally a single star, which was\nshattered into six fragments by the god Tane. \u201cThis cluster of little\nstars is appropriately named Mata-riki or _little-eyes_, on account of\ntheir brightness. It is also designated Tau-ono, or _the-six_, on account\nof the apparent number of the fragments; the presence of the seventh star\nnot having been detected by the unassisted native eye.\u201d(1019) Among these\nislanders the arrival of the new year was indicated by the appearance of\nthe constellation on the eastern horizon just after sunset, that is, about\nthe middle of December. \u201cHence the idolatrous worship paid to this\nbeautiful cluster of stars in many of the South Sea Islands. The Pleiades\nwere worshipped at Danger Island, and at the Penrhyns, down to the\nintroduction of Christianity in 1857. In many islands extravagant joy is\nstill manifested at the rising of this constellation out of the\nocean.\u201d(1020) For example, in Manahiki or Humphrey\u2019s Island, South\nPacific, \u201cwhen the constellation Pleiades was seen there was unusual joy\nall over the month, and expressed by singing, dancing, and blowing-shell\ntrumpets.\u201d(1021) So the Maoris of New Zealand, another Polynesian people\nof the South Pacific, divided the year into moons and determined the first\nmoon by the rising of the Pleiades, which they called _Matariki_.(1022)\nIndeed throughout Polynesia the rising of the Pleiades (variously known as\nMatariki, Mataliki, Matalii, Makalii, etc.) seems to have marked the\nbeginning of the year.(1023)\n\n(M270) Among some of the Melanesians also the Pleiades occupy an important\nposition in the calendar. \u201cThe Banks\u2019 islanders and Northern New Hebrides\npeople content themselves with distinguishing the Pleiades, by which the\napproach of yam harvest is marked.\u201d(1024) \u201cAmongst the constellations, the\nPleiades and Orion\u2019s belt seem to be those which are most familiar to the\nnatives of Bougainville Straits. The former, which they speak of as\npossessing six stars, they name _Vuhu_; the latter _Matatala_. They have\nalso names for a few other stars. As in the case of many other savage\nraces, the Pleiades is a constellation of great significance with the\ninhabitants of these straits. The Treasury Islanders hold a great feast\ntowards the end of October, to celebrate, as far as I could learn, the\napproaching appearance of the constellation above the eastern horizon soon\nafter sunset. Probably, as in many of the Pacific Islands, this event\nmarks the beginning of their year. I learned from Mr. Stephens that, in\nUgi, where of all the constellations the Pleiades alone receives a name,\nthe natives are guided by it in selecting the times for planting and\ntaking up the yams.\u201d(1025)\n\n(M271) The natives of the Torres Straits islands observe the appearance of\nthe Pleiades (_Usiam_) on the horizon at sunset; and when they see it,\nthey say that the new yam time has come.(1026) The Kai and the Bukaua, two\nagricultural tribes of German New Guinea, also determine the season of\ntheir labour in the fields by observation of the Pleiades: the Kai say\nthat the time for such labours is when the Pleiades are visible above the\nhorizon at night.(1027) In some districts of northern Celebes the\nrice-fields are similarly prepared for cultivation when the Pleiades are\nseen at a certain height above the horizon.(1028) As to the Dyaks of\nSarawak we read that \u201cthe Pleiades themselves tell them when to farm; and\naccording to their position in the heavens, morning and evening, do they\ncut down the forest, burn, plant, and reap. The Malays are obliged to\nfollow their example, or their lunar year would soon render their farming\noperations unprofitable.\u201d(1029) When the season for clearing fresh land in\nthe forest approaches, a wise man is appointed to go out before dawn and\nwatch for the Pleiades. As soon as the constellation is seen to rise while\nit is yet dark, they know that the time has come to begin. But not until\nthe Pleiades are at the zenith before dawn do the Dyaks think it desirable\nto burn the fallen timber and to sow the rice.(1030) However, the Kenyahs\nand Kayans, two other tribes of Sarawak, determine the agricultural\nseasons by observation of the sun rather than of the stars; and for this\npurpose they have devised certain simple but ingenious mechanisms. The\nKenyahs measure the length of the shadow cast by an upright pole at noon;\nand the Kayans let in a beam of light through a hole in the roof and\nmeasure the distance from the point immediately below the hole to the\nplace where the light reaches the floor.(1031) But the Kayans of the\nMahakam river, in Dutch Borneo, determine the time for sowing by observing\nwhen the sun sets in a line with two upright stones.(1032) In Bali, an\nisland to the east of Java, the appearance of the Pleiades at sunset in\nMarch marks the end of the year.(1033) The Pleiades and Orion are the only\nconstellations which the people of Bali observe for the purpose of\ncorrecting their lunar calendar by intercalation. For example, they bring\nthe lunar year into harmony with the solar by prolonging the month Asada\nuntil the Pleiades are visible at sunset.(1034) The natives of Nias, an\nisland to the south of Sumatra, pay little heed to the stars, but they\nhave names for the Morning Star and for the Pleiades; and when the\nPleiades appear in the sky, the people assemble to till their fields, for\nthey think that to do so before the rising of the constellation would be\nuseless.(1035) In some districts of Sumatra \u201cmuch confusion in regard to\nthe period of sowing is said to have arisen from a very extraordinary\ncause. Anciently, say the natives, it was regulated by the stars, and\nparticularly by the appearance (heliacal rising) of the _bintang baniak_\nor Pleiades; but after the introduction of the Mahometan religion, they\nwere induced to follow the returns of the _pu\u0101sa_ or great annual fast,\nand forgot their old rules. The consequence of this was obvious; for the\nlunar year of the _hejrah_ being eleven days short of the sidereal or\nsolar year, the order of the seasons was soon inverted; and it is only\nastonishing that its inaptness to the purposes of agriculture should not\nhave been immediately discovered.\u201d(1036) The Battas or Bataks of central\nSumatra date the various operations of the agricultural year by the\npositions of Orion and the Pleiades. When the Pleiades rise before the sun\nat the beginning of July, the Achinese of northern Sumatra know that the\ntime has come to sow the rice.(1037)\n\n(M272) Scattered and fragmentary as these notices are, they suffice to\nshew that the Pleiades have received much attention from savages in the\ntropical regions of the world from Brasil in the east to Sumatra in the\nwest. Far to the north of the tropics the rude Kamchatkans are said to\nknow only three constellations, the Great Bear, the Pleiades, and three\nstars in Orion.(1038) When we pass to Africa we again find the Pleiades\nemployed by tribes in various parts of the continent to mark the seasons\nof the agricultural year. We have seen that the Caffres of South Africa\ndate their new year from the rising of the Pleiades just before sunrise\nand fix the time for sowing by observation of that constellation.(1039)\n\u201cThey calculate only twelve lunar months for the year, for which they have\ndescriptive names, and this results in frequent confusion and difference\nof opinion as to which month it really is. The confusion is always\nrectified by the first appearance of Pleiades just before sunrise, and a\nfresh start is made and things go on smoothly till once more the moons get\nout of place, and reference has again to be made to the stars.\u201d(1040)\nAccording to another authority on the Bantu tribes of South Africa, \u201cthe\nrising of the Pleiades shortly after sunset was regarded as indicating the\nplanting season. To this constellation, as well as to several of the\nprominent stars and planets, they gave expressive names. They formed no\ntheories concerning the nature of the heavenly bodies and their motions,\nand were not given to thinking of such things.\u201d(1041) The Amazulu call the\nPleiades _Isilimela_, which means \u201cThe digging-for (stars),\u201d because when\nthe Pleiades appear the people begin to dig. They say that \u201c_Isilimela_\n(the Pleiades) dies, and is not seen. It is not seen in winter; and at\nlast, when the winter is coming to an end, it begins to appear\u2014one of its\nstars first, and then three, until going on increasing it becomes a\ncluster of stars, and is perfectly clear when the sun is about to rise.\nAnd we say _Isilimela_ is renewed, and the year is renewed, and so we\nbegin to dig.\u201d(1042) The Bechuanas \u201care directed by the position of\ncertain stars in the heavens, that the time has arrived, in the revolving\nyear, when particular roots can be dug up for use, or when they may\ncommence their labours of the field. This is their _likhakologo_ (turnings\nor revolvings), or what we should call the spring time of the year. The\nPleiades they call _selem\u00e9la_, which may be translated \u2018cultivator,\u2019 or\nthe precursor of agriculture, from _lem\u00e9la_, the relative verb to\ncultivate _for_; and _se_, a pronominal prefix, distinguishing them as the\nactors. Thus, when this constellation assumes a certain position in the\nheavens, it is the signal to commence cultivating their fields and\ngardens.\u201d(1043) Among some of these South African tribes the period of\nseclusion observed by lads after circumcision comes to an end with the\nappearance of the Pleiades, and accordingly the youths are said to long as\nardently for the rising of the constellation as Mohammedans for the rising\nof the moon which will put an end to the fast of Ramadan.(1044) The\nHottentots date the seasons of the year by the rising and setting of the\nPleiades.(1045) An early Moravian missionary settled among the Hottentots,\nreports that \u201cat the return of the Pleiades these natives celebrate an\nanniversary; as soon as these stars appear above the eastern horizon\nmothers will lift their little ones on their arms, and running up to\nelevated spots, will show to them those friendly stars, and teach them to\nstretch their little hands towards them. The people of a kraal will\nassemble to dance and to sing according to the old custom of their\nancestors. The chorus always sings: \u2018O Tiqua, our Father above our heads,\ngive rain to us, that the fruits (bulbs, etc.), _uientjes_, may ripen, and\nthat we may have plenty of food, send us a good year.\u2019 \u201d(1046) With some\ntribes of British Central Africa the rising of the Pleiades early in the\nevening is the signal for the hoeing to begin.(1047) To the Masai of East\nAfrica the appearance of the Pleiades in the wrest is the sign of the\nbeginning of the rainy season, which takes its name from the\nconstellation.(1048) In Masailand the Pleiades are above the horizon from\nSeptember till about the seventeenth of May; and the people, as they\nexpress it themselves, \u201cknow whether it will rain or not according to the\nappearance or non-appearance of the six stars, called The Pleiades, which\nfollow after one another like cattle. When the month which the Masai call\n\u2018Of the Pleiades\u2019(1049) arrives, and the Pleiades are no longer visible,\nthey know that the rains are over. For the Pleiades set in that month and\nare not seen again until the season of showers has come to an end:(1050)\nit is then that they reappear.\u201d(1051) The only other groups of stars for\nwhich the Masai appear to have names are Orion\u2019s sword and Orion\u2019s\nbelt.(1052) The Nandi of British East Africa have a special name\n(_Koremerik_) for the Pleiades, \u201cand it is by the appearance or\nnon-appearance of these stars that the Nandi know whether they may expect\na good or a bad harvest.\u201d(1053) The Kikuyu of the same region say that\n\u201cthe Pleiades is the mark in the heavens to show the people when to plant\ntheir crops; they plant when this constellation is in a certain position\nearly in the night.\u201d(1054) In Sierra Leone \u201cthe proper time for preparing\nthe plantations is shewn by the particular situation in which the\nPleiades, called by the Bulloms _a-warrang_, the only stars which they\nobserve or distinguish by peculiar names, are to be seen at sunset.\u201d(1055)\nWe have seen that ancient Greek farmers reaped their corn when the\nPleiades rose at sunrise in May, and that they ploughed their fields when\nthe constellation set at sunrise in November.(1056) The interval between\nthe two dates is about six months. Both the Greeks and the Romans dated\nthe beginning of summer from the heliacal rising of the Pleiades and the\nbeginning of winter from their heliacal setting.(1057) Pliny regarded the\nautumnal setting of the Pleiades as the proper season for sowing the corn,\nparticularly the wheat and the barley, and he tells us that in Greece and\nAsia all the crops were sown at the setting of that constellation.(1058)\n\n(M273) So widespread over the world has been and is the association of the\nPleiades with agriculture, especially with the sowing or planting of the\ncrops. The reason for the association seems to be the coincidence of the\nrising or setting of the constellation with the commencement of the rainy\nseason; since men must very soon have learned that the best, if not the\nonly, season to sow and plant is the time of year when the newly-planted\nseeds or roots will be quickened by abundant showers. The same association\nof the Pleiades with rain seems sufficient to explain their importance\neven for savages who do not till the ground; for ignorant though such\nraces are, they yet can hardly fail to observe that wild fruits grow more\nplentifully, and therefore that they themselves have more to eat after a\nheavy fall of rain than after a long drought. In point of fact we saw that\nsome of the Australian aborigines, who are wholly ignorant of agriculture,\nlook on the Pleiades as the givers of rain, and curse the constellation if\nits appearance is not followed by the expected showers.(1059) On the other\nside of the world, and at the opposite end of the scale of culture, the\ncivilised Greeks similarly supposed that the autumnal setting of the\nPleiades was the cause of the rains which followed it; and the\nastronomical writer Geminus thought it worth while to argue against the\nsupposition, pointing out that the vicissitudes of the weather and of the\nseasons, though they may coincide with the risings and settings of the\nconstellations, are not produced by them, the stars being too distant from\nthe earth to exercise any appreciable influence on our atmosphere. Hence,\nhe says, though the constellations serve as the signals, they must not be\nregarded as the causes, of atmospheric changes; and he aptly illustrates\nthe distinction by a reference to beacon-fires, which are the signals, but\nnot the causes, of war.(1060)\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES\n\n\n   M1 Death and resurrection of Oriental gods of vegetation. The Dying and\n      Reviving god of vegetation in ancient Greece.\n   M2 Dionysus, the god of the vine, originally a Thracian deity.\n\n    1 On Dionysus in general, see L. Preller, _Griechische Mythologie_,4\n      i. 659 _sqq._; Fr. Lenormant, _s.v._ \u201cBacchus,\u201d in Daremberg and\n      Saglio\u2019s _Dictionnaire des Antiquit\u00e9s Grecques et Romaines_, i. 591\n      _sqq._; Voigt and Thraemer, _s.v._ \u201cDionysus,\u201d in W. H. Roscher\u2019s\n      _Lexikon der griech. u. r\u00f6m. Mythologie_, i. 1029 _sqq._; E. Rohde,\n      _Psyche_3 (T\u00fcbingen and Leipsic, 1903), ii. 1 _sqq._; Miss J. E.\n      Harrison, _Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion_, Second\n      Edition (Cambridge, 1908), pp. 363 _sqq._; Kern, _s.v._ \u201cDionysus,\u201d\n      in Pauly-Wissowa\u2019s _Real-Encyclop\u00e4die der classischen\n      Altertumswissenschaft_, v. 1010 _sqq._; M. P. Nilsson, _Griechische\n      Feste von religi\u00f6ser Bedeutung_ (Leipsic, 1906), pp. 258 _sqq._; L.\n      R. Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek States_, v. (Oxford, 1909) pp.\n      85 _sqq._ The epithet _Bromios_ bestowed on Dionysus, and his\n      identification with the Thracian and Phrygian deity Sabazius, have\n      been adduced as evidence that Dionysus was a god of beer or of other\n      cereal intoxicants before he became a god of wine. See W. Headlam,\n      in _Classical Review_, xv. (1901) p. 23; Miss J. E. Harrison,\n      _Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion_, pp. 414-426.\n\n    2 Plato, _Laws_, i. p. 637 E; Theopompus, cited by Athenaeus, x. 60,\n      p. 442 E F; Suidas, _s.v._ \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03c3\u03ba\u03b5\u03b4\u03ac\u03b6\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd; compare Xenophon,\n      _Anabasis_, vii. 3. 32. For the evidence of the Thracian origin of\n      Dionysus, see the writers cited in the preceding note, especially\n      Dr. L. R. Farnell, _op. cit._ v. 85 _sqq._ Compare W. Ridgeway, _The\n      Origin of Tragedy_ (Cambridge, 1910), pp. 10 _sqq._\n\n    3 Herodotus, ii. 49; Diodorus Siculus, i. 97. 4; P. Foucart, _Le Culte\n      de Dionyse en Attique_ (Paris, 1904), pp. 9 _sqq._, 159 _sqq._\n      (_M\u00e9moires de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres_,\n      xxxvii.).\n\n   M3 Dionysus a god of trees, especially of fruit-trees.\n\n    4 Plutarch, _Quaest. Conviv._ v. 3: \u0394\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd\u03cd\u03c3\u1ff3 \u03b4\u1f72 \u03b4\u03b5\u03bd\u03b4\u03c1\u03af\u03c4\u1fc3 \u03c0\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2, \u1f61\u03c2\n      \u1f14\u03c0\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b5\u1f30\u03c0\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd, \u1f1d\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd\u03b5\u03c2 \u03b8\u03cd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd.\n\n    5 Hesychius, _s.v._ \u1f1c\u03bd\u03b4\u03b5\u03bd\u03b4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2.\n\n    6 See the pictures of his images, drawn from ancient vases, in C.\n      B\u00f6tticher\u2019s _Baumkultus der Hellenen_ (Berlin, 1856), plates 42, 43,\n      43 A, 43 B, 44; Daremberg et Saglio, _Dictionnaire des Antiquit\u00e9s\n      Grecques et Romaines_, i. 361, 626 _sq._\n\n    7 Daremberg et Saglio, _op. cit._ i. 626.\n\n    8 P. Wendland und O. Kern, _Beitr\u00e4ge zur Geschichte der griechischen\n      Philosophie und Religion_ (Berlin, 1895), pp. 79 _sqq._; Ch. Michel,\n      _Recueil d\u2019 Inscriptions Grecques_ (Brussels, 1900), No. 856.\n\n    9 Cornutus, _Theologiae Graecae Compendium_, 30.\n\n   10 Pindar, quoted by Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 35.\n\n   11 Maximus Tyrius, _Dissertat._ viii. 1.\n\n   12 Athenaeus, iii. chs. 14 and 23, pp. 78 C, 82 D.\n\n_   13 Orphica_, Hymn l. 4. liii. 8.\n\n   14 Aelian, _Var. Hist._ iii. 41; Hesychius, _s.v._ \u03a6\u03bb\u03ad\u03c9[\u03c2]. Compare\n      Plutarch, _Quaest. Conviv._ v. 8. 3.\n\n   15 Pausanias, i. 31. 4; _id._ vii. 21. 6.\n\n   16 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 636, vol. ii.\n      p. 435, \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c1\u03c0\u1ff6\u03bd \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u1f10\u03bd \u03c4\u1fc7 \u03c7\u03ce\u03c1\u1fb3. However, the words may equally\n      well refer to the cereal crops.\n\n   17 Plutarch, _Quaest. Conviv._ v. 3.\n\n   18 Pausanias, ii. 2. 6 _sq._ Pausanias does not mention the kind of\n      tree; but from Euripides, _Bacchae_, 1064 _sqq._, and Philostratus,\n      _Imag._ i. 17 (18), we may infer that it was a pine, though\n      Theocritus (xxvi. 11) speaks of it as a mastich-tree.\n\n   19 M\u00fcller-Wieseler, _Denkm\u00e4ler der alten Kunst_, ii. pll. xxxii.\n      _sqq._; A. Baumeister, _Denkm\u00e4ler des klassischen Altertums_, i.\n      figures 489, 491, 492, 495. Compare F. Lenormant, in Daremberg et\n      Saglio, _Dictionnaire des Antiquit\u00e9s Grecques et Romaines_, i. 623;\n      Ch. F. Lobeck, _Aglaophamus_ (K\u00f6nigsberg, 1829), p. 700.\n\n   20 Pausanias, i. 31. 6.\n\n   21 Athenaeus, iii. 14, p. 78 C.\n\n   M4 Dionysus as a god of agriculture and the corn. The winnowing-fan as\n      an emblem of Dionysus.\n\n   22 Himerius, _Orat._ i. 10, \u0394\u03af\u03bf\u03bd\u03c5\u03c3\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b3\u03b5\u03c9\u03c1\u03b3\u03b5\u1fd6.\n\n   23 Diodorus Siculus, iii. 64. 1-3, iv. 4. 1 _sq._ On the agricultural\n      aspect of Dionysus, see L. R. Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek\n      States_, v. (Oxford, 1909) pp. 123 _sq._\n\n   24 [Aristotle,] _Mirab. Auscult._ 122 (p. 842 A, ed. Im. Bekker, Berlin\n      edition).\n\n   25 Servius on Virgil, _Georg._ i. 166; Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 35.\n      The literary and monumental evidence as to the winnowing-fan in the\n      myth and ritual of Dionysus has been collected and admirably\n      interpreted by Miss J. E. Harrison in her article \u201cMystica Vannus\n      Iacchi,\u201d _Journal of Hellenic Studies_, xxiii. (1903) pp. 292-324.\n      Compare her _Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion_2\n      (Cambridge, 1908), pp. 517 _sqq._ I must refer the reader to these\n      works for full details on the subject. In the passage of Servius\n      referred to the reading is somewhat uncertain; in his critical\n      edition G. Thilo reads \u03bb\u03b9\u03ba\u03bc\u03b7\u03c4\u1f74\u03bd and \u03bb\u03b9\u03ba\u03bc\u1f78\u03c2 instead of the usual\n      \u03bb\u03b9\u03ba\u03bd\u03b9\u03c4\u1f74\u03bd and \u03bb\u03b9\u03ba\u03bd\u03cc\u03bd. But the variation does not affect the meaning.\n\n   M5 Use of the winnowing-fan to cradle infants. The winnowing-fan\n      sometimes intended to avert evil spirits from children.\n\n   26 \u1f18\u03bd \u03b3\u1f70\u03c1 \u03bb\u03b5\u03af\u03ba\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u1f78 \u03c0\u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03b9\u1f78\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b5\u03ba\u03bf\u03af\u03bc\u03b9\u03b6\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u1f70 \u0392\u03c1\u03ad\u03c6\u03b7 \u03c0\u03bb\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c1\u03c0\u03bf\u03cd\u03c2\n      \u03bf\u1f30\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03b6\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9, Scholiast on Callimachus, i. 48 (_Callimachea_, edidit\n      O. Schneider, Leipsic, 1870-1873, vol. i. p. 109).\n\n   27 T. S. Raffles, _History of Java_ (London, 1817), i. 323; C. F.\n      Winter, \u201cInstellingen, Gewoontenen Gebruiken der Javanen te\n      Soerakarta,\u201d _Tijdschrift voor Ne\u00earlands Indie_, Vijfde Jaargang,\n      Eerste Deel (1843), p. 695; P. J. Veth, _Java_ (Haarlem, 1875-1884),\n      i. 639.\n\n   28 C. Poensen, \u201cIets over de kleeding der Javanen,\u201d _Mededeelingen van\n      wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xx. (1876) pp. 279\n      _sq._\n\n   29 Rev. J. Doolittle, _Social Life of the Chinese_, edited and revised\n      by the Rev. Paxton Hood (London, 1868), pp. 90 _sq._\n\n   30 Rev. E. M. Gordon, \u201cSome Notes concerning the People of Mung\u0113li\n      Tahs\u012bl, Bilaspur District,\u201d _Journal of the Asiatic Society of\n      Bengal_, lxxi., Part iii. (Calcutta, 1903) p. 74; _id._, _Indian\n      Folk Tales_ (London, 1908), p. 41.\n\n   31 C. B. Klunzinger, _Bilder aus Ober\u00e4gypten_ (Stuttgart, 1877), pp.\n      181, 182; _id._, _Upper Egypt, its People and Products_ (London,\n      1878), pp. 185, 186.\n\n   32 R. C. Temple, \u201cOpprobrious Names,\u201d _Indian Antiquary_, x. (1881) pp.\n      331 _sq._ Compare H. A. Rose, \u201cHindu Birth Observances in the\n      Punjab,\u201d _Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute_, xxxvii.\n      (1907) p. 234. See also _Panjab Notes and Queries_, vol. iii. August\n      1886, \u00a7 768, pp. 184 _sq._: \u201cThe winnowing fan in which a newly-born\n      child is laid, is used on the fifth day for the worship of Satw\u00e1\u00ed.\n      This makes it impure, and it is henceforward used only for the\n      house-sweepings.\u201d\n\n   33 Lieut.-Colonel Gunthorpe, \u201cOn the Ghos\u00ed or Gadd\u00ed Gaol\u00eds of the\n      Deccan,\u201d _Journal of the Anthropological Society of Bombay_, i. 45.\n\n   34 C. Bock, _Temples and Elephants_ (London, 1884), pp. 258 _sq._\n\n   M6 Use of the winnowing-fan to avert evil from children in India,\n      Madagascar, and China. Karen ceremony of fanning away evils from\n      children.\n\n   35 S. Mateer, _Native Life in Travancore_ (London, 1883), p. 213.\n\n   36 J. Richardson, \u201cTanala Customs, Superstitions, and Beliefs,\u201d\n      _Antananarivo Annual and Madagascar Magazine, Reprint of the First\n      Four Numbers_ (Antananarivo, 1885), pp. 226 _sq._\n\n   37 Pausanias, ii. 31. 8; K. F. Hermann, _Lehrbuch der\n      gottesdienstlichen Alterth\u00fcmer der Griechen_2 (Heidelberg, 1858),\n      pp. 132 _sq._, \u00a7 23, 25.\n\n   38 Rev. J. Doolittle, _Social Life of the Chinese_, edited and revised\n      by the Rev. Paxton Hood (London, 1868), pp. 114 _sq._ The beans used\n      in the ceremony had previously been placed before an image of the\n      goddess of small-pox.\n\n   39 Rev. F. Mason, D.D., \u201cPhysical Character of the Karens,\u201d _Journal of\n      the Asiatic Society of Bengal_, New Series, No. cxxxi. (Calcutta,\n      1866), pp. 9 _sq._\n\n   M7 Among the reasons for the use of the winnowing-fan in birth-rites\n      may have been the wish to avert evils and to promote fertility and\n      growth.\n\n   40 Servius on Virgil, _Georg._ i. 166: \u201c_Et vannus Iacchi.... Mystica\n      autem Bacchi ideo ait, quod Liberi patris sacra ad purgationem\n      animae pertinebant: et sic homines ejus mysteriis purgabantur, sicut\n      vannis frumenta purgantur._\u201d\n\n   41 W. Mannhardt, \u201cKind und Korn,\u201d _Mythologische Forschungen_\n      (Strasburg, 1884), pp. 351-374.\n\n   42 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 351 _sqq._\n\n   43 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 372, citing A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche\n      Volks-aberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 339, \u00a7 543; L. Strackerjan,\n      _Aberglaube und Sagen aus dem Herzogthum Oldenburg_ (Oldenburg,\n      1867), i. 81.\n\n   44 Boecler-Kreutzwald, _Der Ehsten abergl\u00e4ubische Gebr\u00e4uche_ (St.\n      Petersburg, 1854), p. 61. This custom is also cited by Mannhardt\n      (_l.c._).\n\n   M8 Use of the winnowing-fan in the rites of Dionysus.\n\n   45 Miss J. E. Harrison, \u201cMystica Vannus Iacchi,\u201d _Journal of Hellenic\n      Studies_, xxiii. (1903) pp. 296 _sqq._; _id._, _Prolegomena to the\n      Study of Greek Religion_,2 pp. 518 _sqq._; L. R. Farnell, _The Cults\n      of the Greek States_, v. (Oxford, 1909) p. 243.\n\n   46 Herodotus, ii. 48, 49; Clement of Alexandria, _Protrept._ ii. 34,\n      pp. 29-30, ed. Potter; Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum\n      Graecarum_,2 No. 19, vol. i. p. 32; M. P. Nilsson, _Studia de\n      Dionysiis Atticis_ (Lund, 1900), pp. 90 _sqq._; L. R. Farnell, _The\n      Cults of the Greek States_, v. 125, 195, 205.\n\n   47 Augustine, _De civitate Dei_, vii. 21.\n\n   M9 Myth of the death and resurrection of Dionysus. Legend that the\n      infant Dionysus occupied for a short time the throne of his father\n      Zeus. Death and resurrection of Dionysus represented in his rites.\n\n   48 Nonnus, _Dionys._ vi. 155-205.\n\n   49 Firmicus Maternus, _De errore profanarum religionum_, 6.\n\n   50 Clement of Alexandria, _Protrept._ ii. 17. Compare Ch. A. Lobeck,\n      _Aglaophamus_, pp. 1111 _sqq._\n\n   51 Proclus on Plato, _Cratylus_, p. 59, quoted by E. Abel, _Orphica_,\n      p. 228. Compare Chr. A. Lobeck, _Aglaophamus_, pp. 552 _sq._\n\n   52 Clement of Alexandria, _Protrept._ ii. 19. Compare _id._ ii. 22;\n      Scholiast on Lucian, _Dial. Meretr._ vii. p. 280, ed. H. Rabe.\n\n   53 Clement of Alexandria, _Protrept._ ii. 18; Proclus on Plato\u2019s\n      _Timaeus_, iii. p. 200 D, quoted by Lobeck, _Aglaophamus_, p. 562,\n      and by Abel, _Orphica_, p. 234. Others said that the mangled body\n      was pieced together, not by Apollo but by Rhea (Cornutus,\n      _Theologiae Graecae Compendium_, 30).\n\n   54 Ch. A. Lobeck, _Aglaophamus_, pp. 572 _sqq._ See _The Dying God_, p.\n      3. For a conjectural restoration of the temple, based on ancient\n      authorities and an examination of the scanty remains, see an article\n      by J. H. Middleton, in _Journal of Hellenic Studies_, ix. (1888) pp.\n      282 _sqq._ The ruins of the temple have now been completely\n      excavated by the French.\n\n   55 S. Clemens Romanus, _Recognitiones_, x. 24 (Migne\u2019s _Patrologia\n      Graeca_, i. col. 1434).\n\n   56 Diodorus Siculus, iii. 62.\n\n   57 Macrobius, _Comment. in Somn. Scip._ i. 12. 12; _Scriptores rerum\n      mythicarum Latini tres Romae nuper reperti_ (commonly referred to as\n      _Mythographi Vaticani_), ed. G. H. Bode (Cellis, 1834), iii. 12. 5,\n      p. 246; Origen, _Contra Celsum_, iv. 17 (vol. i. p. 286, ed. P.\n      Koetschau).\n\n   58 Himerius, _Orat._ ix. 4.\n\n   59 Proclus, _Hymn to Minerva_, quoted by Ch. A. Lobeck, _Aglaophamus_,\n      p. 561; _Orphica_, ed. E. Abel, p. 235.\n\n   60 Hyginus, _Fabulae_, 167.\n\n   61 The festivals of Dionysus were biennial in many places. See G. F.\n      Sch\u00f6mann, _Griechische Alterth\u00fcmer_,4 ii. 524 _sqq._ (The terms for\n      the festival were \u03c4\u03c1\u03b9\u03b5\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03af\u03c2, \u03c4\u03c1\u03b9\u03b5\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03b9\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2, both terms of the series\n      being included in the numeration, in accordance with the ancient\n      mode of reckoning.) Perhaps the festivals were formerly annual and\n      the period was afterwards lengthened, as has happened with other\n      festivals. See W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp. 172, 175, 491, 533\n      _sq._, 598. Some of the festivals of Dionysus, however, were annual.\n      Dr. Farnell has conjectured that the biennial period in many Greek\n      festivals is to be explained by \u201cthe original shifting of\n      land-cultivation which is frequent in early society owing to the\n      backwardness of the agricultural processes; and which would\n      certainly be consecrated by a special ritual attached to the god of\n      the soil.\u201d See L. R. Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek States_, v.\n      180 _sq._\n\n   62 Firmicus Maternus, _De errore profanarum religionum_, 6.\n\n_   63 Mythographi Vaticani_, ed. G. H. Bode, iii. 12. 5, p. 246.\n\n   64 Plutarch, _Consol. ad uxor._ 10. Compare _id._, _Isis et Osiris_,\n      35; _id._, _De E Delphico_, 9; _id._, _De esu carnium_, i. 7.\n\n   65 Pausanias, ii. 31. 2 and 37. 5; Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, iii. 5.\n      3.\n\n   66 Pausanias, ii. 37. 5 _sq._; Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 35; _id._,\n      _Quaest. Conviv._ iv. 6. 2.\n\n   67 Himerius, _Orat._ iii. 6, xiv. 7.\n\n   68 For Dionysus in this capacity see F. Lenormant in Daremberg et\n      Saglio, _Dictionnaire des Antiquit\u00e9s Grecques et Romaines_, i. 632.\n      For Osiris, see _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 344\n      _sq._\n\n  M10 Dionysus represented in the form of a bull.\n\n   69 Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 35; _id._, _Quaest. Graec._ 36;\n      Athenaeus, xi. 51, p. 476 A; Clement of Alexandria, _Protrept._ ii.\n      16; _Orphica_, Hymn xxx. _vv._ 3, 4, xlv. 1, lii. 2, liii. 8;\n      Euripides, _Bacchae_, 99; Scholiast on Aristophanes, _Frogs_, 357;\n      Nicander, _Alexipharmaca_, 31; Lucian, _Bacchus_, 2. The title\n      \u0395\u1f30\u03c1\u03b1\u03c6\u03b9\u03ce\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 applied to Dionysus (_Homeric Hymns_, xxxiv. 2; Porphyry,\n      _De abstinentia_, iii. 17; Dionysius, _Perieg._ 576; _Etymologicum\n      Magnum_, p. 371. 57) is etymologically equivalent to the Sanscrit\n      _varsabha_, \u201ca bull,\u201d as I was informed by my lamented friend the\n      late R. A. Neil of Pembroke College, Cambridge.\n\n   70 Euripides, _Bacchae_, 920 _sqq._, 1017; Nonnus, _Dionys._ vi. 197\n      _sqq._\n\n   71 Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 35; Athenaeus, xi. 51, p. 476 A.\n\n   72 Diodorus Siculus, iii. 64. 2, iv. 4. 2; Cornutus, _Theologiae\n      Graecae Compendium_, 30.\n\n   73 Diodorus Siculus, iii. 64. 2; J. Tzetzes, _Schol. on Lycophron_,\n      209, 1236; Philostratus, _Imagines_, i. 14 (15).\n\n   74 M\u00fcller-Wieseler, _Denkm\u00e4ler der alten Kunst_, ii. pl. xxxiii.;\n      Daremberg et Saglio, _Dictionnaire des Antiquit\u00e9s Grecques et\n      Romaines_, i. 619 _sq._, 631; W. H. Roscher, _Lexikon d. griech. u.\n      r\u00f6m. Mythologie_, i. 1149 _sqq._; F. Imhoof-Blumer, \u201cCoin-types of\n      some Kilikian Cities,\u201d _Journal of Hellenic Studies_, xviii. (1898)\n      p. 165.\n\n   75 F. G. Welcker, _Alte Denkm\u00e4ler_ (G\u00f6ttingen, 1849-1864), v. taf. 2.\n\n_   76 Archaeologische Zeitung_, ix. (1851) pl. xxxiii., with Gerhard\u2019s\n      remarks, pp. 371-373.\n\n_   77 Gazette Arch\u00e9ologique_, v. (1879) pl. 3.\n\n   78 Pausanias, viii. 19. 2.\n\n   79 Plutarch, _Quaestiones Graecae_, 36; _id._, _Isis et Osiris_, 35.\n\n   80 J. Tzetzes, _Schol. on Lycophron_, 1236.\n\n   81 Nonnus, _Dionys._ vi. 205.\n\n   82 Firmicus Maternus, _De errore profanarum religionum_, 6.\n\n   83 Euripides, _Bacchae_, 735 _sqq._; Scholiast on Aristophanes,\n      _Frogs_, 357.\n\n  M11 Dionysus as a goat. Live goats rent and devoured by his worshippers.\n\n   84 Hesychius, _s.v._ \u1f1c\u03c1\u03b9\u03c6\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f41 \u0394\u03b9\u03cc\u03bd\u03c5\u03c3\u03bf\u03c2, on which there is a marginal\n      gloss \u1f41 \u03bc\u03b9\u03ba\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f34\u03be, \u1f41 \u1f10\u03bd \u03c4\u1ff7 \u1f14\u03b1\u03c1\u03b9 \u03c6\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2, \u1f24\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd \u1f41 \u03c0\u03c1\u03ce\u03ca\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2;\n      Stephanus Byzantius, _s.v._ \u1f08\u03ba\u03c1\u03ce\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1.\n\n   85 Pausanias, ii. 35. 1; Scholiast on Aristophanes, _Acharn._ 146;\n      _Etymologicum Magnum_, _s.v._ \u1f08\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03cd\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1, p. 118. 54 _sqq._; Suidas,\n      _s.vv._ \u1f08\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03cd\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1 and \u03bc\u03b5\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03b1\u03af\u03b3\u03b9\u03b4\u03b1 \u0394\u03b9\u03cc\u03bd\u03c5\u03c3\u03bf\u03bd; Nonnus, _Dionys._ xxvii.\n      302. Compare Conon, _Narrat._ 39, where for \u039c\u03b5\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03b8\u03af\u03b4\u1fc3 we should\n      perhaps read \u039c\u03b5\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03b1\u03af\u03b3\u03b9\u03b4\u03b9.\n\n   86 Pausanias, ii. 13. 6. On their return from Troy the Greeks are said\n      to have found goats and an image of Dionysus in a cave of Euboea\n      (Pausanias, i. 23. 1).\n\n   87 Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, iii. 4. 3.\n\n   88 Ovid, _Metam._ v. 329; Antoninus Liberalis, _Transform._ 28;\n      _Mythographi Vaticani_, ed. G. H. Bode, i. 86, p. 29.\n\n   89 Arnobius, _Adversus nationes_, v. 19. Compare Suidas, _s.v._\n      \u03b1\u1f30\u03b3\u03af\u03b6\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd. As fawns appear to have been also torn in pieces at the\n      rites of Dionysus (Photius, _Lexicon_, _s.v._ \u03bd\u03b5\u03b2\u03c1\u03af\u03b6\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd;\n      Harpocration, _s.v._ \u03bd\u03b5\u03b2\u03c1\u03af\u03b6\u03c9\u03bd), it is probable that the fawn was\n      another of the god\u2019s embodiments. But of this there seems no direct\n      evidence. Fawn-skins were worn both by the god and his worshippers\n      (Cornutus, _Theologiae Graecae Compendium_, 30). Similarly the\n      female Bacchanals wore goat-skins (Hesychius, _s.v._ \u03c4\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03b7\u03c6\u03cc\u03c1\u03bf\u03b9).\n\n  M12 Custom of rending and devouring animals and men as a religious rite.\n      Ceremonial cannibalism among the Indians of British Columbia.\n\n   90 Mr. Duncan, quoted by Commander R. C. Mayne, _Four Years in British\n      Columbia and Vancouver Island_ (London, 1862), pp. 284-288. The\n      instrument which made the screeching sound was no doubt a\n      bull-roarer, a flat piece of stick whirled at the end of a string so\n      as to produce a droning or screaming note according to the speed of\n      revolution. Such instruments are used by the Koskimo Indians of the\n      same region at their cannibal and other rites. See Fr. Boas, \u201cThe\n      Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl\n      Indians,\u201d _Report of the U.S. National Museum for 1895_ (Washington,\n      1897), pp. 610, 611.\n\n  M13 Religious societies of Cannibals and Dog-eaters among the Indians of\n      British Columbia. Live goats rent in pieces and devoured by fanatics\n      in Morocco.\n\n   91 Fr. Boas, _op. cit._ pp. 437-443, 527 _sq._, 536, 537 _sq._, 579,\n      664; _id._, in \u201cFifth Report on the North-western Tribes of Canada,\u201d\n      _Report of the British Association for 1889_, pp. 54-56 (separate\n      reprint); _id._, in \u201cSixth Report on the North-western Tribes of\n      Canada,\u201d _Report of the British Association for 1890_, pp. 62, 65\n      _sq._ (separate reprint). As to the rules observed after the eating\n      of human flesh, see _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 188-190.\n\n   92 Fr. Boas, \u201cThe Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the\n      Kwakiutl Indians,\u201d _Report of the U.S. National Museum for 1895_\n      (Washington, 1897), pp. 649 _sq._, 658 _sq._; _id._, in \u201cSixth\n      Report on the North-western Tribes of Canada,\u201d _Report of the\n      British Association for 1890_, p. 51; (separate reprint); _id._,\n      \u201cSeventh Report on the North-western Tribes of Canada,\u201d _Report of\n      the British Association for 1891_, pp. 10 _sq._ (separate reprint);\n      _id._, \u201cTenth Report on the North-western Tribes of Canada,\u201d _Report\n      of the British Association for 1895_, p. 58 (separate reprint).\n\n   93 G. M. Dawson, _Report on the Queen Charlotte Islands, 1878_\n      (Montreal, 1880), pp. 125 B, 128 B.\n\n   94 J. R. Swanton, _Contributions to the Ethnology of the Haida_ (Leyden\n      and New York, 1905), pp. 156, 160 _sq._, 170 _sq._, 181 (_The Jesup\n      North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of Natural\n      History_). For details as to the practice of these savage rites\n      among the Indian coast tribes of British Columbia, see my _Totemism\n      and Exogamy_ (London, 1910), iii. pp. 501, 511 _sq._, 515 _sq._,\n      519, 521, 526, 535 _sq._, 537, 539 _sq._, 542 _sq._, 544, 545.\n\n   95 A. Leared, _Morocco and the Moors_ (London, 1876), pp. 267-269.\n      Compare Budgett Meakin, _The Moors_ (London, 1902), pp. 331 _sq._\n      The same order of fanatics also exists and holds similar orgies in\n      Algeria, especially at the town of Tlemcen. See E. Doutt\u00e9, _Les\n      A\u00efss\u00e2oua \u00e0 Tlemcen_ (Ch\u00e2lons-sur-Marne, 1900), p. 13.\n\n  M14 Later misinterpretations of the custom of killing a god in animal\n      form.\n\n   96 Varro, _Rerum rusticarum_, i. 2. 19; Virgil, _Georg._ ii. 376-381,\n      with the comments of Servius on the passage and on _Aen._ iii. 118;\n      Ovid, _Fasti_, i. 353 _sqq._; _id._, _Metamorph._ xv. 114 _sq._;\n      Cornutus, _Theologiae Graecae Compendium_, 30.\n\n   97 Euripides, _Bacchae_, 138 _sq._: \u1f00\u03b3\u03c1\u03b5\u03cd\u03c9\u03bd \u03b1\u1f37\u03bc\u03b1 \u03c4\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03bf\u03ba\u03c4\u03cc\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd, \u1f60\u03bc\u03bf\u03c6\u03ac\u03b3\u03bf\u03bd\n      \u03c7\u03ac\u03c1\u03b9\u03bd.\n\n   98 Schol. on Aristophanes, _Frogs_, 357.\n\n   99 Hera \u03b1\u1f30\u03b3\u03bf\u03c6\u03ac\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 at Sparta, Pausanias, iii. 15. 9; Hesychius, _s.v._\n      \u03b1\u1f30\u03b3\u03bf\u03c6\u03ac\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 (compare the representation of Hera clad in a goat\u2019s skin,\n      with the animal\u2019s head and horns over her head, M\u00fcller-Wieseler,\n      _Denkm\u00e4ler der alten Kunst_, i. No. 229 B; and the similar\n      representation of the Lanuvinian Juno, W. H. Roscher, _Lexikon d.\n      griech. u. r\u00f6m. Mythologie_, ii. 605 _sqq._); Zeus \u03b1\u1f30\u03b3\u03bf\u03c6\u03ac\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2,\n      _Etymologicum Magnum_, _s.v._ \u03b1\u1f30\u03b3\u03bf\u03c6\u03ac\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2, p. 27. 52 (compare\n      Scholiast on Oppianus, _Halieut._ iii. 10; L. Stephani, in\n      _Compte-Rendu de la Commission Imp\u00e9riale Arch\u00e9ologique pour l\u2019ann\u00e9e\n      1869_ (St. Petersburg, 1870), pp. 16-18); Apollo \u1f40\u03c8\u03bf\u03c6\u03ac\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 at Elis,\n      Athenaeus, viii. 36, p. 346 B; Artemis \u03ba\u03b1\u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c6\u03ac\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 in Samos,\n      Hesychius, _s.v._ \u03ba\u03b1\u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c6\u03ac\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2; compare _id._, _s.v._ \u03ba\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03c6\u03ac\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2.\n      Divine titles derived from killing animals are probably to be\n      similarly explained, as Dionysus \u03b1\u1f30\u03b3\u03cc\u03b2\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 (Pausanias, ix. 8. 2);\n      Rhea or Hecate \u03ba\u03c5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c3\u03c6\u03b1\u03b3\u03ae\u03c2 (J. Tzetzes, _Scholia on Lycophron_, 77);\n      Apollo \u03bb\u03c5\u03ba\u03bf\u03ba\u03c4\u03cc\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 (Sophocles, _Electra_, 6); Apollo \u03c3\u03b1\u03c5\u03c1\u03bf\u03ba\u03c4\u03cc\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2\n      (Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxxiv. 70).\n\n  100 See below, vol. ii. pp. 184, 194, 196, 197 _sq._, 233.\n\n  M15 Human sacrifices in the worship of Dionysus.\n\n  101 Porphyry, _De abstinentia_, ii. 55.\n\n  102 Pausanias, ix. 8. 2.\n\n  103 See _The Dying God_, pp. 163 _sq._\n\n  M16 The legendary deaths of Pentheus and Lycurgus may be reminiscences\n      of a custom of sacrificing divine kings in the character of\n      Dionysus.\n\n_  104 Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 332 _sq._\n\n  105 Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, iii. 5. 1.\n\n_  106 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 344, 345, 346, 352,\n      354, 366 _sq._\n\n  107 Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, iii. 5. 1.\n\n  108 Herodotus, vii. 197; Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, i. 9. 1 _sq._;\n      Scholiast on Aristophanes, _Clouds_, 257; J. Tzetzes, _Schol. on\n      Lycophron_, 21; Hyginus, _Fabulae_, 1-5. See _The Dying God_, pp.\n      161-163.\n\n  109 Clemens Romanus, _Recognitiones_, x. 24 (Migne\u2019s _Patrologia\n      Graeca_, i. col. 1434).\n\n  110 Euripides, _Bacchae_, 43 _sqq._, 1043 _sqq._; Theocritus, _Idyl._\n      xxvi.; Pausanias, ii. 2. 7. Strictly speaking, the murder of\n      Pentheus is said to have been perpetrated not at Thebes, of which he\n      was king, but on Mount Cithaeron.\n\n  M17 Survival of Dionysiac rites among the modern Thracian peasantry.\n\n  111 See Mr. R. M. Dawkins, \u201cThe Modern Carnival in Thrace and the Cult\n      of Dionysus,\u201d _Journal of Hellenic Studies_, xxvi. (1906) pp.\n      191-206. Mr. Dawkins describes the ceremonies partly from his own\n      observation, partly from an account of them published by Mr. G. M.\n      Vizyenos in a Greek periodical \u0398\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03b9\u03ba\u1f74 \u1f18\u03c0\u03b5\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03af\u03c2, of which only one\n      number was published at Athens in 1897. From his personal\n      observations Mr. Dawkins was able to confirm the accuracy of Mr.\n      Vizyenos\u2019s account.\n\n_  112 Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 333 _sq._\n\n  M18 Drama annually performed at the Carnival in the villages round Viza,\n      an old Thracian capital. The actors in the drama.\n\n  113 Strabo, vii. frag. 48; Stephanus Byzantius, _s.v._ \u0392\u03b9\u03b6\u03cd\u03b7.\n\n  114 R. M. Dawkins, _op. cit._ p. 192.\n\n  M19 The ceremonies include the forging of a ploughshare, a mock\n      marriage, and a pretence of death and resurrection.\n  M20 The ceremonies also include a simulation of ploughing and sowing by\n      skin-clad men, accompanied by prayers for good crops.\n\n  115 R. M. Dawkins, \u201cThe Modern Carnival in Thrace and the Cult of\n      Dionysus,\u201d _Journal of Hellenic Studies_, xxvi. (1906) pp. 193-201.\n\n  M21 Kindred ceremony performed by a masked and skin-clad man who is\n      called a king.\n\n  116 R. M. Dawkins, _op. cit._ pp. 201 _sq._\n\n  M22 Analogy of these modern Thracian ceremonies to the ancient rites of\n      Dionysus.\n\n  117 They have been clearly indicated by Mr. R. M. Dawkins, _op. cit._\n      pp. 203 _sqq._ Compare W. Ridgeway, _The Origin of Tragedy_\n      (Cambridge, 1910), pp. 15 _sqq._, who fully recognises the connexion\n      of the modern Thracian ceremonies with the ancient rites of\n      Dionysus.\n\n  118 Lucian, _Dialogi Deorum_, ix. 2; Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, iii. 4.\n      4. According to the latter writer Dionysus was born in the sixth\n      month.\n\n  M23 The modern Thracian celebration seems to correspond most closely to\n      the ancient Athenian festival of the Anthesteria.\n\n  119 As to such festivals of All Souls see _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_,\n      Second Edition, pp. 301-318.\n\n  120 The passages of ancient authors which refer to the Anthesteria are\n      collected by Professor Martin P. Nilsson, _Studia de Dionysiis\n      Atticis_ (Lund, 1900), pp. 148 _sqq._ As to the festival, which has\n      been much discussed of late years, see August Mommsen, _Heortologie_\n      (Leipsic, 1864), pp. 345 _sqq._; _id._, _Feste der Stadt Athen im\n      Altertum_ (Leipsic, 1898), pp. 384 _sqq._; G. F. Schoemann,\n      _Griechische Alterth\u00fcmer_4 (Berlin, 1902), ii. 516 _sqq._; E. Rohde,\n      _Psyche_3 (T\u00fcbingen and Leipsic, 1903), i. 236 _sqq._; Martin P.\n      Nilsson, _op. cit._ pp. 115 _sqq._; P. Foucart, _Le Culte de\n      Dionysos en Attique_ (Paris, 1904), pp. 107 _sqq._; Miss J. E.\n      Harrison, _Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion_2 (Cambridge,\n      1908), pp. 32 _sqq._; L. R. Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek\n      States_, v. (Oxford, 1909) pp. 214 _sqq._ As to the marriage of\n      Dionysus to the Queen of Athens, see _The Magic Art and the\n      Evolution of Kings_, i. 136 _sq._\n\n  121 By Professor U. von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff, _Aristoteles und Athen_\n      (Berlin, 1893), ii. 42; and afterwards by Miss J. E. Harrison,\n      _Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion_,2 p. 536.\n\n_  122 The Dying God_, p. 71.\n\n  123 Plutarch, _Conjugalia Praecepta_, 42.\n\n  124 Miss J. E. Harrison, _Mythology and Monuments of Ancient Athens_\n      (London, 1890), pp. 166 _sq._\n\n  125 Aristotle, _Constitution of Athens_, 3. As to the situation of the\n      Prytaneum see my note on Pausanias, i. 18. 3 (vol. ii. p. 172).\n\n  M24 Theory that the rites of the Anthesteria comprised a drama of the\n      violent death and resurrection of Dionysus.\n\n  126 August Mommsen, _Heortologie_, pp. 371 _sqq._; _id._, _Feste der\n      Stadt Athen im Altertum_, pp. 398 _sqq._; P. Foucart, _Le Culte de\n      Dionysos en Attique_, pp. 138 _sqq._\n\n  127 Demosthenes, _Contra Neaer_. 73, pp. 1369 _sq._; Julius Pollux,\n      viii. 108; _Etymologicum Magnum_, p. 227, _s.v._ \u03b3\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1\u1fd6\u03c1\u03b1\u03b9;\n      Hesychius, _s.v._ \u03b3\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03af.\n\n  128 Chr. A. Lobeck, _Aglaophamus_, p. 505.\n\n  129 Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 18, 42.\n\n  130 The resurrection of Osiris is not described by Plutarch in his\n      treatise _Isis et Osiris_, which is still our principal source for\n      the myth of the god; but it is fortunately recorded in native\n      Egyptian writings. See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, p.\n      274. P. Foucart supposes that the resurrection of Dionysus was\n      enacted at the Anthesteria; August Mommsen prefers to suppose that\n      it was enacted in the following month at the Lesser Mysteries.\n\n  M25 Legends of human sacrifice in the worship of Dionysus may be mere\n      misinterpretations of ritual.\n\n  131 Aelian, _De Natura Animalium_, xii. 34. Compare W. Robertson Smith,\n      _Religion of the Semites_2 (London, 1894), pp. 300 _sqq._\n\n  132 Aulus Gellius, v. 12. 12.\n\n  133 See _The Dying God_, p. 166 note 1, and below, p. 249.\n\n  M26 Demeter and Persephone as Greek personifications of the decay and\n      revival of vegetation.\n  M27 The Homeric _Hymn to Demeter_. The rape of Persephone. The wrath of\n      Demeter. The return of Persephone.\n\n  134 R. Foerster, _Der Raub und die R\u00fcckkehr der Persephone_ (Stuttgart,\n      1874), pp. 37-39; _The Homeric Hymns_, edited by T. W. Allen and E.\n      E. Sikes (London, 1904), pp. 10 _sq._ A later date\u2014the age of the\n      Pisistratids\u2014is assigned to the hymn by A. Baumeister (_Hymni\n      Homerici_, Leipsic, 1860, p. 280).\n\n_  135 Hymn to Demeter_, 1 _sqq._, 302 _sqq._, 330 _sqq._, 349 _sqq._, 414\n      _sqq._, 450 _sqq._\n\n_  136 Hymn to Demeter_, 310 _sqq._ With the myth as set forth in the\n      Homeric hymn may be compared the accounts of Apollodorus\n      (_Bibliotheca_, i. 5) and Ovid (_Fasti_, iv. 425-618;\n      _Metamorphoses_, v. 385 _sqq._).\n\n  M28 The aim of the Homeric _Hymn to Demeter_ is to explain the\n      traditional foundation of the Eleusinian mysteries by Demeter.\n\n_  137 Hymn to Demeter_, 47-50, 191-211, 292-295, with the notes of\n      Messrs. Allen and Sikes in their edition of the Homeric Hymns\n      (London, 1904). As to representations of the candidates for\n      initiation seated on stools draped with sheepskins, see L. R.\n      Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek States_, iii. (Oxford, 1907) pp.\n      237 _sqq._, with plate xv _a_. On a well-known marble vase there\n      figured the stool is covered with a lion\u2019s skin and one of the\n      candidate\u2019s feet rests on a ram\u2019s skull or horns; but in two other\n      examples of the same scene the ram\u2019s fleece is placed on the seat\n      (Farnell, _op. cit._ p. 240 note a), just as it is said to have been\n      placed on Demeter\u2019s stool in the Homeric hymn. As to the form of\n      communion in the Eleusinian mysteries, see Clement of Alexandria,\n      _Protrept._ 21, p. 18 ed. Potter; Arnobius, _Adversus nationes_, v.\n      26; L. R. Farnell, _op. cit._ iii. 185 _sq._, 195 _sq._ For\n      discussions of the ancient evidence bearing on the Eleusinian\n      mysteries it may suffice to refer to Chr. A. Lobeck, _Aglaophamus_\n      (K\u00f6nigsberg, 1829), pp. 3 _sqq._; G. F. Schoemann, _Griechische\n      Alterth\u00fcmer_,4 ii. 387 _sqq._; Aug. Mommsen, _Heortologie_ (Leipsic,\n      1864), pp. 222 _sqq._; _id._, _Feste der Stadt Athen im Altertum_\n      (Leipsic, 1898), pp. 204 _sqq._; P. Foucart, _Recherches sur\n      l\u2019Origine et la Nature des Myst\u00e8res d\u2019Eleusis_ (Paris, 1895)\n      (_M\u00e9moires de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie des Inscriptions_, xxxv.); _id._, _Les\n      grands Myst\u00e8res d\u2019Eleusis_ (Paris, 1900) (_M\u00e9moires de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie\n      des Inscriptions_, xxxvii.); F. Lenormant and E. Pottier, _s.v._\n      \u201cEleusinia,\u201d in Daremberg et Saglio, _Dictionnaire des Antiquit\u00e9s\n      Grecques et Romaines_, ii. 544 _sqq._; L. R. Farnell, _The Cults of\n      the Greek States_, iii. 126 _sqq._\n\n  M29 Revelation of a reaped ear of corn the crowning act of the\n      mysteries.\n\n  138 Hippolytus, _Refutatio Omnium Haeresium_, v. 8, p. 162, ed. L.\n      Duncker et F. G. Schneidewin (G\u00f6ttingen, 1859). The word which the\n      poet uses to express the revelation (\u03b4\u03b5\u1fd6\u03be\u03b5, _Hymn to Demeter_, verse\n      474) is a technical one in the mysteries; the full phrase was\n      \u03b4\u03b5\u03b9\u03ba\u03bd\u03cd\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u1f70 \u1f31\u03b5\u03c1\u03ac. See Plutarch, _Alcibiades_, 22; Xenophon,\n      _Hellenica_, vi. 3. 6; Isocrates, _Panegyricus_, 6; Lysias, _Contra\n      Andocidem_, 51; Chr. A. Lobeck, _Aglaophamus_, p. 51.\n\n  139 Clement of Alexandria, _Protrept._ ii. 12, p. 12 ed. Potter: \u0394\u03b7\u1f7c \u03b4\u1f72\n      \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u039a\u03cc\u03c1\u03b7 \u03b4\u03c1\u1fb6\u03bc\u03b1 \u1f24\u03b4\u03b7 \u1f10\u03b3\u03b5\u03bd\u03ad\u03c3\u03b8\u03b7\u03bd \u03bc\u03c5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03ba\u03cc\u03bd; \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u03c0\u03bb\u03ac\u03bd\u03b7\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd\n      \u1f00\u03c1\u03c0\u03b1\u03b3\u1f74\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u1f78 \u03c0\u03ad\u03bd\u03b8\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03b1\u1fd6\u03bd \u1f18\u03bb\u03b5\u03c5\u03c3\u1f76\u03c2 \u03b4\u1fb3\u03b4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c7\u03b5\u1fd6. Compare F. Lenormant,\n      _s.v._ \u201cEleusinia,\u201d in Daremberg et Saglio, _Dictionnaire des\n      Antiquit\u00e9s Grecques et Romaines_ iii. 578: \u201c_Que le drame mystique\n      des aventures de D\u00e9m\u00e9ter et de Cor\u00e9 constitu\u00e2t le spectacle\n      essentiel de l\u2019initiation, c\u2019est ce dont il nous semble impossible\n      de douter_.\u201d A similar view is expressed by G. F. Schoemann\n      (_Griechische Alterth\u00fcmer_,4 ii. 402); Preller-Robert (_Griechische\n      Mythologie_, i. 793); P. Foucart (_Recherches sur l\u2019Origine et la\n      Nature des Myst\u00e8res d\u2019Eleusis_, Paris, 1895, pp. 43 _sqq._; _id._,\n      _Les Grands Myst\u00e8res d\u2019Eleusis_, Paris, 1900, p. 137); E. Rohde\n      (_Psyche_,3 i. 289); and L. R. Farnell (_The Cults of the Greek\n      States_, iii. 134, 173 _sqq._).\n\n  M30 Demeter and Persephone personifications of the corn. Persephone the\n      seed sown in autumn and sprouting in spring. Demeter the old corn of\n      last year. The view that Demeter was the Earth goddess is implicitly\n      rejected by the author of the Homeric _Hymn to Demeter_.\n\n  140 On Demeter and Proserpine as goddesses of the corn, see L. Preller,\n      _Demeter und Persephone_ (Hamburg, 1837), pp. 315 _sqq._; and\n      especially W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_ (Strasburg,\n      1884), pp. 202 _sqq._\n\n  141 According to the author of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter (verses 398\n      _sqq._, 445 _sqq._) and Apollodorus (_Bibliotheca_, i. 5. 3) the\n      time which Persephone had to spend under ground was one third of the\n      year; according to Ovid (_Fasti_, iv. 613 _sq._; _Metamorphoses_, v.\n      564 _sqq._) and Hyginus (_Fabulae_, 146) it was one half.\n\n  142 This view of the myth of Persephone is, for example, accepted and\n      clearly stated by L. Preller (_Demeter und Persephone_, pp. 128\n      _sq._).\n\n  143 See, for example, Firmicus Maternus, _De errore profanarum\n      religionum_, 17. 3: \u201c_Frugum substantiam volunt Proserpinam dicere,\n      quia fruges hominibus cum seri coeperint prosunt. Terram ipsam\n      Cererem nominant, nomen hoc a gerendis fructibus mutuati_\u201d; L.\n      Preller, _Demeter und Persephone_, p. 128, \u201c_Der Erdboden wird\n      Demeter, die Vegetation Persephone_.\u201d Fran\u00e7ois Lenormant, again,\n      held that Demeter was originally a personification of the earth\n      regarded as divine, but he admitted that from the time of the\n      Homeric poems downwards she was sharply distinguished from Ge, the\n      earth-goddess proper. See Daremberg et Saglio, _Dictionnaire des\n      Antiquit\u00e9s Grecques et Romaines_, _s.v._ \u201cCeres,\u201d ii. 1022 _sq._\n      Some light might be thrown on the question whether Demeter was an\n      Earth Goddess or a Corn Goddess, if we could be sure of the\n      etymology of her name, which has been variously explained as \u201cEarth\n      Mother\u201d (\u0394\u1fc6 \u03bc\u03ae\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1 equivalent to \u0393\u1fc6 \u03bc\u03ae\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1) and as \u201cBarley Mother\u201d\n      (from an alleged Cretan word \u03b4\u03b7\u03b1\u03af \u201cbarley\u201d: see _Etymologicum\n      Magnum_, _s.v._ \u0394\u03b7\u03ce, pp. 263 _sq._). The former etymology has been\n      the most popular; the latter is maintained by W. Mannhardt. See L.\n      Preller, _Demeter und Persephone_, pp. 317, 366 _sqq._; F. G.\n      Welcker, _Griechische G\u00f6tterlehre_, i. 385 _sqq._; Preller-Robert,\n      _Griechische Mythologie_, i. 747 note 6; Kern, in Pauly-Wissowa\u2019s\n      _Real-Encyclop\u00e4die der classischen Altertumswissenschaft_, iv. 2713;\n      W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 281 _sqq._ But my\n      learned friend the Rev. Professor J. H. Moulton informs me that both\n      etymologies are open to serious philological objections, and that no\n      satisfactory derivation of the first syllable of Demeter\u2019s name has\n      yet been proposed. Accordingly I prefer to base no argument on an\n      analysis of the name, and to rest my interpretation of the goddess\n      entirely on her myth, ritual, and representations in art. Etymology\n      is at the best a very slippery ground on which to rear mythological\n      theories.\n\n_  144 Hymn to Demeter_, 8 _sqq._\n\n  M31 The Yellow Demeter, the goddess who sifts the ripe grain from the\n      chaff at the threshing-floor. The Green Demeter the goddess of the\n      green corn.\n\n_  145 Hymn to Demeter_, 279, 302.\n\n  146 Homer, _Iliad_, v. 499-504.\n\n_  147 Iliad_, xiii. 322, xxi. 76.\n\n  148 Hesiod, _Works and Days_, 31 _sq._\n\n  149 Quoted by Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 66.\n\n  150 Pausanias, i. 22. 3 with my note; Dittenberger, _Sylloge\n      Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 615; J. de Prott et L. Ziehen, _Leges\n      Graecorum Sacrae_, Fasciculus I. (Leipsic, 1896) p. 49; Cornutus,\n      _Theologiae Graecae Compendium_, 28; Scholiast on Sophocles,\n      _Oedipus Colon._ 1600; L. R. Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek\n      States_, iii. 312 _sq._\n\n  M32 The cereals called \u201cDemeter\u2019s fruits.\u201d\n\n  151 Herodotus, i. 193, iv. 198; Xenophon, _Hellenica_, vi. 3. 6; Aelian,\n      _Historia Animalium_, xvii. 16; Cornutus, _Theologiae Graecae\n      Compendium_, 28; _Geoponica_, i. 12. 36; _Paroemiographi Graeci_,\n      ed. Leutsch et Schneidewin, Appendix iv. 20 (vol. i. p. 439).\n\n_  152 Cerealia_ in Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xxiii. 1; _Cerealia munera_ and\n      _Cerealia dona_ in Ovid, _Metamorphoses_, xi. 121 _sq._\n\n  153 Libanius, ed. J. J. Reiske, vol. iv. p. 367, _Corinth. Oratio_: \u039f\u1f50\u03ba\n      \u03b1\u1f56\u03b8\u03b9\u03c2 \u1f21\u03bc\u1ff6\u03bd \u03b1\u03ba\u03b1\u03c1\u03c0\u03bf\u03c3 \u1f21 \u03b3\u1fc6 \u03b4\u03bf\u03ba\u03b5\u1fd6 \u03b3\u03b5\u03b3\u03bf\u03bd\u03ad\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9? \u03bf\u1f50 \u03c0\u03ac\u03bb\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41 \u03c0\u03c1\u1f78 \u0394\u03ae\u03bc\u03b7\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2\n      \u03b5\u1f36\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b2\u03af\u03bf\u03c2? \u03ba\u03b1\u03af \u03c4\u03bf\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c0\u03c1\u1f78 \u0394\u03ae\u03bc\u03b7\u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f31 \u03b3\u03b5\u03c9\u03c1\u03b3\u03af\u03b1\u03b9 \u03bc\u1f72\u03bd \u03bf\u1f50\u03ba \u1f26\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd; \u03bf\u1f50\u03b4\u1f72\n      \u1f04\u03c1\u03bf\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9, \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03cc\u03c6\u03c5\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9 \u03b4\u1f72 \u03b2\u03bf\u03c4\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c0\u03cc\u03b1\u03b9; \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u1f70 \u03b5\u1f36\u03c7\u03b5\u03bd \u03b5\u1f30\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c9\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03af\u03b1\u03bd\n      \u1f00\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03ce\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03bf\u03c3\u03c7\u03ad\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1 \u1f04\u03bd\u03b8\u03b7 \u1f21 \u03b3\u1fc6 \u1f60\u03b4\u03af\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03ba\u03cd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1 \u03c0\u03c1\u1f78 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u1f21\u03bc\u03ad\u03c1\u03c9\u03bd \u03c4\u1f70\n      \u1f04\u03b3\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1. \u1f18\u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u1ff6\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf \u03bc\u1f72\u03bd, \u1f00\u03bb\u03bb\u1fbd \u03bf\u1f50\u03ba \u1f10\u03c0\u1fbd \u1f00\u03bb\u03bb\u03ae\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2; \u1f04\u03bb\u03c3\u03b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f44\u03c1\u03b7 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u1fc4\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd,\n      \u03b6\u03b7\u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03cc\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u03c1\u03bf\u03c6\u03ae\u03bd. In this passage, which no doubt\n      represents the common Greek view on the subject, the earth is\n      plainly personified (\u1f60\u03b4\u03af\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03ba\u03cd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b1), which points the\n      antithesis between her and the goddess of the corn. Diodorus Siculus\n      also says (v. 68) that corn grew wild with the other plants before\n      Demeter taught men to cultivate it and to sow the seed.\n\n  M33 Corn and poppies as symbols of Demeter.\n\n  154 Ovid, _Fasti_, iv. 616; Eusebius, _Praeparatio Evangelii_, iii. 11.\n      5; Cornutus, _Theologiae Graecae Compendium_, 28; _Anthologia\n      Palatina_, vi. 104. 8; W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p.\n      235; J. Overbeck, _Griechische Kunstmythologie_, iii. (Leipsic,\n      1873-1878) pp. 420, 421, 453, 479, 480, 502, 505, 507, 514, 522,\n      523, 524, 525 _sq._; L. R. Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek States_,\n      iii. 217 _sqq._, 220 _sq._, 222, 226, 232, 233, 237, 260, 265, 268,\n      269 _sq._, 271.\n\n  155 Theocritus, _Idyl._ vii. 155 _sqq._ That the sheaves which the\n      goddess grasped were of barley is proved by verses 31-34 of the\n      poem.\n\n  156 Eusebius, _Praeparatio Evangelii_, iii. 11. 5; Cornutus, _Theologiae\n      Graecae Compendium_, 28, p. 56, ed. C. Lang; Virgil, _Georg._ i.\n      212, with the comment of Servius.\n\n  157 See the references to the works of Overbeck and Farnell above. For\n      example, a fine statue at Copenhagen, in the style of the age of\n      Phidias, represents Demeter holding poppies and ears of corn in her\n      left hand. See Farnell, _op. cit._ iii. 268, with plate xxviii.\n\n  158 Cornutus, _Theologiae Graecae Compendium_, 28, p. 56 ed. C. Lang.\n\n  M34 Persephone portrayed as the young corn sprouting from the ground.\n\n  159 Percy Gardner, _Types of Greek Coins_ (Cambridge, 1883), p. 174,\n      with plate x. No. 25.\n\n  M35 Demeter invoked and propitiated by Greek farmers before the autumnal\n      sowing. Boeotian festival of mourning for the descent of Persephone\n      at the autumnal sowing.\n\n  160 Diodorus Siculus, v. 68. 1.\n\n  161 Hesiod, _Works and Days_, 448-474; Epictetus, _Dissertationes_, iii.\n      21. 12. For the autumnal migration and clangour of the cranes as the\n      signal for sowing, see Aristophanes, _Birds_, 711; compare Theognis,\n      1197 _sqq._ But the Greeks also ploughed in spring (Hesiod, _op.\n      cit._ 462; Xenophon, _Oeconom._ 16); indeed they ploughed thrice in\n      the year (Theophrastus, _Historia Plantarum_, vii. 13. 6). At the\n      approach of autumn the cranes of northern Europe collect about\n      rivers and lakes, and after much trumpeting set out in enormous\n      bands on their southward journey to the tropical regions of Africa\n      and India. In early spring they return northward, and their flocks\n      may be descried passing at a marvellous height overhead or halting\n      to rest in the meadows beside some broad river. The bird emits its\n      trumpet-like note both on the ground and on the wing. See Alfred\n      Newton, _Dictionary of Birds_ (London, 1893-1896), pp. 110 _sq._\n\n  162 Hesiod, _Works and Days_, 383 _sq._, 615-617; Aratus, _Phaenomena_,\n      254-267; L. Ideler, _Handbuch der mathematischen und technischen\n      Chronologie_ (Berlin, 1825-1826), i. 241 _sq._ According to Pliny\n      (_Nat. Hist._ xviii. 49) wheat, barley, and all other cereals were\n      sown in Greece and Asia from the time of the autumn setting of the\n      Pleiades. This date for ploughing and sowing is confirmed by\n      Hippocrates and other medical writers. See W. Smith\u2019s _Dictionary of\n      Greek and Roman Antiquities_,3 i. 234. Latin writers prescribe the\n      same date for the sowing of wheat. See Virgil, _Georg._ i. 219-226;\n      Columella, _De re rustica_, ii. 8; Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xviii.\n      223-226. In Columella\u2019s time the Pleiades, he tells us (_l.c._), set\n      in the morning of October 24th of the Julian calendar, which would\n      correspond to the October 16th of our reckoning.\n\n  163 Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 69.\n\n  164 Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 70. Similarly Cornutus says that \u201cHades\n      is fabled to have carried off Demeter\u2019s daughter because the seed\n      vanishes for a time under the earth,\u201d and he mentions that a\n      festival of Demeter was celebrated at the time of sowing\n      (_Theologiae Graecae Compendium_, 28, pp. 54, 55 ed. C. Lang). In a\n      fragment of a Greek calendar which is preserved in the Louvre \u201cthe\n      ascent (\u1f00\u03bd\u03b1\u03b2\u03ac\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2) of the goddess\u201d is dated the seventh day of the\n      month Dius, and \u201cthe descent or setting (\u03b4\u03cd\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2) of the goddess\u201d is\n      dated the fourth day of the month Hephaestius, a month which seems\n      to be otherwise unknown. See W. Froehner, _Mus\u00e9e Nationale du\n      Louvre, Les Inscriptions Grecques_ (Paris, 1880), pp. 50 _sq._ Greek\n      inscriptions found at Mantinea refer to a worship of Demeter and\n      Persephone, who are known to have had a sanctuary there (Pausanias,\n      viii. 9. 2). The people of Mantinea celebrated \u201cmysteries of the\n      goddess\u201d and a festival called the _koragia_, which seems to have\n      represented the return of Persephone from the lower world. See W.\n      Immerwahr, _Die Kulte und Mythen Arkadiens_ (Leipsic, 1891), pp. 100\n      _sq._; S. Reinach, _Trait\u00e9 d\u2019Epigraphie Grecque_ (Paris, 1885), pp.\n      141 _sqq._; Hesychius, _s.v._ \u03ba\u03bf\u03c1\u03ac\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd.\n\n  M36 Thank-offerings of ripe grain presented by Greek farmers to Demeter\n      after the harvest. Theocritus\u2019s description of a harvest-home in\n      Cos.\n\n  165 Theocritus, _Idyl._ vii.\n\n  M37 The harvest-home described by Theocritus fell in autumn.\n\n  166 In ancient Greece the vintage seems to have fallen somewhat earlier;\n      for Hesiod bids the husbandman gather the ripe clusters at the time\n      when Arcturus is a morning star, which in the poet\u2019s age was on the\n      18th of September. See Hesiod, _Works and Days_, 609 _sqq._; L.\n      Ideler, _Handbuch der mathematischen und technischen Chronologie_,\n      i. 247.\n\n  167 See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, p. 190 note 2.\n\n  M38 The Greeks seem to have deferred the offering of first-fruits till\n      the autumn in order to propitiate the Corn Goddess at the moment of\n      ploughing and sowing, when her help was urgently needed.\n\n  168 See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, p. 190 note 2.\n\n  169 Hesiod, _Works and Days_, 383 _sq._\n\n  170 L. Ideler, _Handbuch der mathematischen und technischen\n      Chronologie_, i. 242.\n\n  171 Compare Xenophon, _Oeconomicus_, 17, \u1f10\u03c0\u03b5\u03b9\u03b4\u1f70\u03bd \u03b3\u1f70\u03c1 \u1f41 \u03bc\u03b5\u03c4\u03bf\u03c0\u03c9\u03c1\u03b9\u03bd\u1f78\u03c2\n      \u03c7\u03c1\u03cc\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f14\u03bb\u03b8\u1fc3, \u03c0\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u03c0\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bf\u1f31 \u1f04\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03c9\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9 \u03c0\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2 \u03c4\u1f78\u03bd \u03b8\u03ad\u03bf\u03bd \u1f00\u03c0\u03bf\u03b2\u03bb\u03ad\u03c0\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd,\n      \u1f45\u03c0\u03bf\u03c4\u03b5 \u03b2\u03c1\u03ad\u03be\u03b1\u03c2 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u03b3\u1fc6\u03bd \u1f00\u03c6\u03ae\u03c3\u03b5\u03b9 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c0\u03b5\u03af\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd.\n\n  172 August Mommsen, _Feste der Stadt Athen im Altertum_, p. 193.\n\n  173 See above, pp. 44 _sqq._\n\n  M39 The festival of the _Proerosia_ (\u201cBefore the Ploughing\u201d) held at\n      Eleusis in honour of Demeter.\n\n  174 See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 283 _sqq._\n\n  175 Scholiast on Aristophanes, _Knights_, 720; Suidas, _s.vv_. \u03b5\u1f30\u03c1\u03b5\u03c3\u03b9\u03ce\u03bd\u03b7\n      and \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03af\u03b1\u03b9; _Etymologicum Magnum_, Hesychius, and Photius,\n      _Lexicon_, _s.v._ \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03b7\u03c1\u03cc\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1; Plutarch, _Septem Sapientum Convivium_,\n      15; Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 521, line\n      29, and No. 628; Aug. Mommsen, _Feste der Stadt Athen im Altertum_\n      (Leipsic, 1898), pp. 192 _sqq._ The inscriptions prove that the\n      Proerosia was held at Eleusis and that it was distinct from the\n      Great Mysteries, being mentioned separately from them. Some of the\n      ancients accounted for the origin of the festival by a universal\n      plague instead of a universal famine. But this version of the story\n      no doubt arose from the common confusion between the similar Greek\n      words for plague and famine (\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2 and \u03bb\u03b9\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2). That in the original\n      version famine and not plague must have been alleged as the reason\n      for instituting the Proerosia, appears plainly from the reference of\n      the name to ploughing, from the dedication of the festival to\n      Demeter, and from the offerings of first-fruits; for these\n      circumstances, though quite appropriate to ceremonies designed to\n      stay or avert dearth and famine, would be quite inappropriate in the\n      case of a plague.\n\n  M40 The _Proerosia_ seems to have been held before the ploughing in\n      October but after the Great Mysteries in September. However, the\n      date of the Great Mysteries, being determined by the lunar calendar,\n      must have fluctuated in the solar year; whereas the date of the\n      _Proerosia_, being determined by observation of Arcturus, must have\n      been fixed.\n\n  176 Hesychius, _s.v._ \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03b7\u03c1\u03cc\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1.\n\n  177 August Mommsen, _Feste der Stadt Athen im Altertum_, p. 194.\n\n  178 August Mommsen, _l.c._\n\n  179 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 521, lines 29\n      _sqq._\n\n  180 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 628.\n\n  181 The view that the Festival before Ploughing (_Proerosia_) fell in\n      Pyanepsion is accepted by W. Mannhardt and W. Dittenberger. See W.\n      Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_ (Berlin, 1877), pp. 238\n      _sq._; _id._, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 258; Dittenberger,\n      _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 note 2 on Inscr. No. 628 (vol.\n      ii. pp. 423 _sq._). The view that the Festival before Ploughing fell\n      in Boedromion is maintained by August Mommsen. See his _Heortologie_\n      (Leipsic, 1864), pp. 218 _sqq._; _id._, _Feste der Stadt Athen im\n      Altertum_ (Leipsic, 1898), pp. 192 _sqq._\n\n  182 See below, p. 82.\n\n  183 L. Ideler, _Handbuch der mathematischen und technischen Chronologie_\n      (Berlin, 1825-1826), i. 292 _sq._; compare August Mommsen,\n      _Chronologie_ (Leipsic, 1883), pp. 58 _sq._\n\n  184 For example, Theophrastus notes that squills flowered thrice a year,\n      and that each flowering marked the time for one of the three\n      ploughings. See Theophrastus, _Historia Plantarum_, vii. 13. 6.\n\n  185 Hesiod, _Works and Days_, 383 _sqq._ The poet indeed refers (_vv._\n      765 _sqq._) to days of the month as proper times for engaging in\n      certain tasks; but such references are always simply to days of the\n      lunar month and apply equally to every month; they are never to days\n      as dates in the solar year.\n\n  M41 Offerings of the first-fruits of the barley and wheat to Demeter and\n      Persephone at Eleusis. Isocrates on the offerings of first-fruits at\n      Eleusis.\n\n  186 See below, p. 72.\n\n  187 Dionysius Halicarnasensis, _Antiquit. Rom._ i. 12. 2.\n\n  188 Xenophon, _Historia Graeca_, vi. 3. 6.\n\n  189 Isocrates, _Panegyric_, 6 _sq._\n\n  M42 Athenian decree concerning the offerings of first-fruits at Eleusis.\n\n  190 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 20 (vol. i.\n      pp. 33 _sqq._); E. S. Roberts and E. A. Gardner, _An Introduction to\n      Greek Epigraphy_, Part ii. (Cambridge, 1905) No. 9, pp. 22 _sqq._\n\n  191 Aristides, _Panathen._ and _Eleusin._, vol. i. pp. 167 _sq._, 417\n      ed. G. Dindorf (Leipsic, 1829).\n\n  M43 Even after foreign states ceased to send first-fruits of the corn to\n      Eleusis, they continued to acknowledge the benefit which the\n      Athenians had conferred on mankind by diffusing among them Demeter\u2019s\n      gift of the corn. Testimony of the Sicilian historian Diodorus.\n      Testimony of Cicero and Himerius.\n\n  192 Diodorus Siculus, v. 2 and 4; Cicero, _In C. Verrem_, act. ii. bk.\n      iv. chapters 48 _sq._ Both writers mention that the whole of Sicily\n      was deemed sacred to Demeter and Persephone, and that corn was said\n      to have grown in the island before it appeared anywhere else. In\n      support of the latter claim Diodorus Siculus (v. 2. 4) asserts that\n      wheat grew wild in many parts of Sicily.\n\n  193 Diodorus Siculus, v. 4.\n\n  194 This legend, which is mentioned also by Cicero (_In C. Verrem_, act.\n      ii. bk. iv. ch. 48), was no doubt told to explain the use of torches\n      in the mysteries of Demeter and Persephone. The author of the\n      Homeric _Hymn to Demeter_ tells us (verses 47 _sq._) that Demeter\n      searched for her lost daughter for nine days with burning torches in\n      her hands, but he does not say that the torches were kindled at the\n      flames of Etna. In art Demeter and Persephone and their attendants\n      were often represented with torches in their hands. See L. R.\n      Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek States_, iii. (Oxford, 1907) plates\n      xiii., xv. _a_, xvi., xvii., xviii., xix., xx., xxi. _a_, xxv.,\n      xxvii. _b_. Perhaps the legend of the torchlight search for\n      Persephone and the use of the torches in the mysteries may have\n      originated in a custom of carrying fire about the fields as a charm\n      to secure sunshine for the corn. See _The Golden Bough_,2 iii. 313.\n\n  195 The words which I have translated \u201cthe bringing home of the Maiden\u201d\n      (\u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u039a\u03cc\u03c1\u03b7\u03c2 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03b3\u03c9\u03b3\u03ae\u03bd) are explained with great probability by\n      Professor M. P. Nilsson as referring to the bringing of the ripe\n      corn to the barn or the threshing-floor (_Griechische Feste_,\n      Leipsic, 1906, pp. 356 _sq._). This interpretation accords perfectly\n      with a well-attested sense of \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03b3\u03c9\u03b3\u03ae and its cognate verb\n      \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03ac\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd, and is preferable to the other possible interpretation\n      \u201cthe bringing down,\u201d which would refer to the descent of Persephone\n      into the nether world; for such a descent is hardly appropriate to a\n      harvest festival.\n\n  196 Cicero, _Pro L. Flacco_, 26.\n\n  197 Himerius, _Orat._ ii. 5.\n\n  198 \u039c\u03b7\u03c4\u03c1\u03cc\u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c1\u03c0\u1ff6\u03bd, Aristides, _Panathen._ vol. i. p. 168 ed. G.\n      Dindorf (Leipzig, 1829).\n\n  M44 The Sicilians seem to have associated Demeter with the seed-corn and\n      Persephone with the ripe ears. Difficulty of distinguishing between\n      Demeter and Persephone as personifications of different aspects of\n      the corn.\n  M45 The time of the year when the first-fruits of the corn were offered\n      to Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis is not known.\n\n  199 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 20, lines 25\n      _sqq._; E. S. Roberts and E. A. Gardner, _Introduction to Greek\n      Epigraphy_, ii. (Cambridge, 1905) No. 9, lines 25 _sqq._, \u03ba\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03c5\u03ad\u03c4\u03c9\n      \u03b4\u1f72 \u03ba\u03b1\u03af \u1f41 \u1f31\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c6\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f41 \u03b4\u1fb3\u03b4\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c7\u03bf\u03c2 \u03bc\u03c5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03af\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u1f00\u03c0\u03ac\u03c1\u03c7\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2\n      \u1f1c\u03bb\u03bb\u03b7\u03bd\u03b1\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c1\u03c0\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u1f70 \u03c4\u1f70 \u03c0\u03ac\u03c4\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u03bc\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03af\u03b1\u03bd \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u1f10\u03b3 \u0394\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u1ff6\u03bd. By\n      coupling \u03bc\u03c5\u03c3\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03af\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 with \u1f00\u03c0\u03ac\u03c1\u03c7\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b1\u03b9 instead of with \u03ba\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03cd\u03b5\u03c4\u03c9, Miss\n      J. E. Harrison understands the offering instead of the exhortation\n      to have been made at the mysteries (_Prolegomena to the Study of\n      Greek Religion_, Second Edition, p. 155, \u201cLet the Hierophant and the\n      Torchbearer command that at the mysteries the Hellenes should offer\n      first-fruits of their crops,\u201d etc.). This interpretation is no doubt\n      grammatically permissible, but the context seems to plead strongly,\n      if not to be absolutely decisive, in favour of the other. It is to\n      be observed that the exhortation was addressed not to the Athenians\n      and their allies (who were compelled to make the offering) but only\n      to the other Greeks, who might make it or not as they pleased; and\n      the amount of such voluntary contributions was probably small\n      compared to that of the compulsory contributions, as to the date of\n      which nothing is said. That the proclamation to the Greeks in\n      general was an exhortation (\u03ba\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03c5\u03ad\u03c4\u03c9), not a command, is clearly\n      shewn by the words of the decree a few lines lower down, where\n      commissioners are directed to go to all Greek states exhorting but\n      not commanding them to offer the first-fruits (\u1f10\u03ba\u03b5\u03af\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 \u03b4\u1f72 \u03bc\u1f74\n      \u1f10\u03c0\u03b9\u03c4\u03ac\u03c4\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2, \u03ba\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03cd\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03b4\u1f72 \u1f00\u03c0\u03ac\u03c1\u03c7\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b1\u03b9 \u1f10\u1f70\u03bd \u03b2\u03bf\u03cd\u03bb\u03c9\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u1f70 \u03c4\u1f70 \u03c0\u03ac\u03c4\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1\n      \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u03bc\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03af\u03b1\u03bd \u1f10\u03b3 \u0394\u03b5\u03bb\u03c6\u1ff6\u03bd). The Athenians could not command free\n      and independent states to make such offerings, still less could they\n      prescribe the exact date when the offerings were to be made. All\n      that they could and did do was, taking advantage of the great\n      assembly of Greeks from all quarters at the mysteries, to invite or\n      exhort, by the mouth of the great priestly functionaries, the\n      foreigners to contribute.\n\n  200 August Mommsen, _Feste der Stadt Athen im Altertum_ (Leipsic, 1898),\n      pp. 192 _sqq._\n\n  M46 The Festival of the Threshing-floor (_Haloa_) at Eleusis.\n\n  201 Eustathius on Homer, _Iliad_, ix. 534, p. 772; Im. Bekker, _Anecdota\n      Graeca_, i. 384 _sq._, _s.v._ \u1f09\u03bb\u1ff6\u03b1. Compare O. Rubensohn, _Die\n      Mysterienheiligt\u00fcmer in Eleusis und Samothrake_ (Berlin, 1892), p.\n      116.\n\n  202 Eustathius on Homer, _Iliad_, ix. 534, p. 772; Im. Bekker, _Anecdota\n      Graeca_, i. 384 _sq._, _s.v._ \u1f09\u03bb\u1ff6\u03b1.\n\n_  203 Scholia in Lucianum_, ed. H. Rabe (Leipsic, 1906), pp. 279 _sq._\n      (scholium on _Dialog. Meretr._ vii. 4).\n\n  204 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 Nos. 192, 246,\n      587, 640; \u1f18\u03c6\u03b7\u03bc\u03b5\u03c1\u1f76\u03c2 \u1f08\u03c1\u03c7\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae, 1884, coll. 135 _sq._ The passages\n      of inscriptions and of ancient authors which refer to the festival\n      are collected by Dr. L. R. Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek States_,\n      iii. (Oxford, 1907) pp. 315 _sq._ For a discussion of the evidence\n      see August Mommsen, _Feste der Stadt Athen im Altertum_ (Leipsic,\n      1898), pp. 359 _sqq._; Miss J. E. Harrison, _Prolegomena to the\n      Study of Greek Religion_, Second Edition (Cambridge, 1908), pp. 145\n      _sqq._\n\n  205 The threshing-floor of Triptolemus at Eleusis (Pausanias, i. 38. 6)\n      is no doubt identical with the Sacred Threshing-floor mentioned in\n      the great Eleusinian inscription of 329 B.C. (Dittenberger, _Sylloge\n      Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 587, line 234). We read of a\n      hierophant who, contrary to ancestral custom, sacrificed a victim on\n      the hearth in the Hall at Eleusis during the Festival of the\n      Threshing-floor, \u201cit being unlawful to sacrifice victims on that\n      day\u201d (Demosthenes, _Contra Neaeram_, 116, pp. 1384 _sq._), but from\n      such an unlawful act no inference can be drawn as to the place where\n      the festival was held. That the festival probably had special\n      reference to the threshing-floor of Triptolemus has already been\n      pointed out by O. Rubensohn (_Die Mysterienheiligt\u00fcmer in Eleusis\n      und Samothrake_, Berlin, 1892, p. 118).\n\n  206 See above, pp. 41 _sq._, 43. Maximus Tyrius observes (_Dissertat._\n      xxx. 5) that husbandmen were the first to celebrate sacred rites in\n      honour of Demeter at the threshing-floor.\n\n  207 See above, p. 61, note 4.\n\n  208 Harpocration, _s.v._ \u1f09\u03bb\u1ff6\u03b1 (vol. i. p. 24, ed. G. Dindorf).\n\n  209 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 587, lines\n      124, 144, with the editor\u2019s notes; August Mommsen, _Feste der Stadt\n      Athen im Altertum_, p. 360.\n\n  210 So I am informed by my friend Professor J. L. Myres, who speaks from\n      personal observation.\n\n  211 This is recognised by Professor M. P. Nilsson. See his _Studia de\n      Dionysiis Atticis_ (Lund, 1900), pp. 95 _sqq._, and his _Griechische\n      Feste_, p. 329. To explain the lateness of the festival, Miss J. E.\n      Harrison suggests that \u201cthe shift of date is due to Dionysos. The\n      rival festivals of Dionysos were in mid-winter. He possessed himself\n      of the festivals of Demeter, took over her threshing-floor and\n      compelled the anomaly of a winter threshing festival\u201d (_Prolegomena\n      to the Study of Greek Religion_, Second Edition, p. 147).\n\n  212 Scholiast on Lucian, _Dial. Meretr._ vii. 4 (_Scholia in Lucianum_,\n      ed. H. Rabe, Leipsic, 1906, pp. 279-281).\n\n  213 Clement of Alexandria, _Protrept._ ii. 15 and 20, pp. 13 and 17 ed.\n      Potter; Arnobius, _Adversus Nationes_, v. 25-27, 35, 39.\n\n  214 See below, p. 116; vol. ii. pp. 17 _sqq._\n\n  M47 The Green Festival and the Festival of the Cornstalks at Eleusis.\n      Epithets of Demeter referring to the corn.\n\n  215 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 640; Ch.\n      Michel, _Recueil d\u2019Inscriptions Grecques_ (Brussels, 1900), No. 135,\n      p. 145. To be exact, while the inscription definitely mentions the\n      sacrifices to Demeter and Persephone at the Green Festival, it does\n      not record the deities to whom the sacrifice at the Festival of the\n      Cornstalks (\u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u039a\u03b1\u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03af\u03c9\u03bd \u03b8\u03c5\u03c3\u03af\u03b1\u03bd) was offered. But mentioned as\n      it is in immediate connexion with the sacrifices to Demeter and\n      Persephone at the Green Festival, we may fairly suppose that the\n      sacrifice at the Festival of the Cornstalks was also offered to\n      these goddesses.\n\n  216 See above, p. 42.\n\n_  217 Anthologia Palatina_, vi. 36. 1 _sq._\n\n  218 Polemo, cited by Athenaeus, iii. 9, p. 416 B.\n\n  219 Nonnus, _Dionys._ xvii. 153. The Athenians sacrificed to her under\n      this title (Eustathius, on Homer, _Iliad_, xviii. 553, p. 1162).\n\n  220 Theocritus, _Idyl._ vii. 155; _Orphica_, xl. 5.\n\n_  221 Anthologia Palatina_, vi. 98. 1.\n\n_  222 Orphica_, xl. 3.\n\n_  223 Anthologia Palatina_, vi. 104. 8.\n\n_  224 Orphica_, xl. 5.\n\n_  225 Ibid._\n\n_  226 Orphica_, xl. 18.\n\n  227 This title she shared with Persephone at Tegea (Pausanias, viii. 53.\n      7), and under it she received annual sacrifices at Ephesus\n      (Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 655). It was\n      applied to her also at Epidaurus (\u1f18\u03c6\u03b7\u03bc. \u1f08\u03c1\u03c7., 1883, col. 153) and at\n      Athens (Aristophanes, _Frogs_, 382), and appears to have been a\n      common title of the goddess. See L. R. Farnell, _The Cults of the\n      Greek States_, iii. 318 note 30.\n\n  228 Polemo, cited by Athenaeus, iii. 73, p. 109 A B, x. 9. p. 416 C.\n\n  M48 Belief in ancient and modern times that the corn-crops depend on\n      possession of an image of Demeter.\n\n  229 E. Dodwell, _A Classical and Topographical Tour through Greece_\n      (London, 1819), i. 583. E. D. Clarke found the image \u201con the side of\n      the road, immediately before entering the village, and in the midst\n      of a heap of dung, buried as high as the neck, a little beyond the\n      farther extremity of the pavement of the temple. Yet even this\n      degrading situation had not been assigned to it wholly independent\n      of its antient history. The inhabitants of the small village which\n      is now situated among the ruins of Eleusis still regarded this\n      statue with a very high degree of superstitious veneration. They\n      attributed to its presence the fertility of their land; and it was\n      for this reason that they heaped around it the manure intended for\n      their fields. They believed that the loss of it would be followed by\n      no less a calamity than the failure of their annual harvests; and\n      they pointed to the ears of bearded wheat, upon the sculptured\n      ornaments upon the head of the figure, as a never-failing indication\n      of the produce of the soil.\u201d When the statue was about to be\n      removed, a general murmur ran among the people, the women joining in\n      the clamour. \u201cThey had been always,\u201d they said, \u201cfamous for their\n      corn; and the fertility of the land would cease when the statue was\n      removed.\u201d See E. D. Clarke, _Travels in various Countries of Europe,\n      Asia, and Africa_, iii. (London, 1814) pp. 772-774, 787 _sq._\n      Compare J. C. Lawson, _Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek\n      Religion_ (Cambridge, 1910), p. 80, who tells us that \u201cthe statue\n      was regularly crowned with flowers in the avowed hope of obtaining\n      good harvests.\u201d\n\n  230 Cicero, _In C. Verrem_, act. ii. lib. iv. 51.\n\n  M49 Sacred marriage of Zeus and Demeter at Eleusis. Homer on the love of\n      Zeus for Demeter. Zeus the Sky God may have been confused with\n      Subterranean Zeus, that is, Pluto. Demeter may have been confused\n      with Persephone; in art the types of the two goddesses are often\n      very similar.\n\n_  231 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 138 _sq._\n\n  232 This view was expressed by my friend Professor Ridgeway in a paper\n      which I had the advantage of hearing him read at Cambridge in the\n      early part of 1911. Compare _The Athenaeum_, No. 4360, May 20th,\n      1911, p. 576.\n\n  233 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 20; E. S.\n      Roberts and E. A. Gardner, _Introduction to Greek Epigraphy_, ii.\n      (Cambridge, 1905) No. 9, pp. 22 _sq._ See above, pp. 55 _sq._\n\n  234 Homer, _Iliad_, xiv. 326.\n\n  235 Homer, _Odyssey_, v. 125 _sqq._\n\n  236 Diodorus Siculus, iii. 62. 6.\n\n  237 Clement of Alexandria, _Protrept._ 12, p. 12, ed. Potter.\n\n  238 Hesiod, _Works and Days_, 465 _sqq._\n\n  239 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 615, lines 25\n      _sq._; Ch. Michel, _Recueil d\u2019Inscriptions Grecques_, No. 714; J. de\n      Prott et L. Ziehen, _Leges Graecorum Sacrae_, No. 4.\n\n  240 See L. R. Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek States_, iii. (Oxford,\n      1907), p. 259, \u201cIt was long before the mother could be distinguished\n      from the daughter by any organic difference of form or by any\n      expressive trait of countenance. On the more ancient vases and\n      terracottas they appear rather as twin-sisters, almost as if the\n      inarticulate artist were aware of their original identity of\n      substance. And even among the monuments of the transitional period\n      it is difficult to find any representation of the goddesses in\n      characters at once clear and impressive. We miss this even in the\n      beautiful vase of Hieron in the British Museum, where the divine\n      pair are seen with Triptolemos: the style is delicate and stately,\n      and there is a certain impression of inner tranquil life in the\n      group, but without the aid of the inscriptions the mother would not\n      be known from the daughter\u201d; _id._, vol. iii. 274, \u201cBut it would be\n      wrong to give the impression that the numismatic artists of this\n      period were always careful to distinguish\u2014in such a manner as the\n      above works indicate\u2014between mother and daughter. The old idea of\n      their unity of substance still seemed to linger as an art-tradition:\n      the very type we have just been examining appears on a\n      fourth-century coin of Hermione, and must have been used here to\n      designate Demeter Chthonia who was there the only form that the\n      corn-goddess assumed. And even at Metapontum, where coin-engraving\n      was long a great art, a youthful head crowned with corn, which in\n      its own right and on account of its resemblance to the masterpiece\n      of Euainetos could claim the name of Kore [Persephone], is actually\n      inscribed \u2018Damater.\u2019 \u201d Compare J. Overbeck, _Griechische\n      Kunstmythologie_, iii. (Leipsic, 1873-1878), p. 453. In regard, for\n      example, to the famous Eleusinian bas-relief, one of the most\n      beautiful monuments of ancient religious art, which seems to\n      represent Demeter giving the corn-stalks to Triptolemus, while\n      Persephone crowns his head, there has been much divergence of\n      opinion among the learned as to which of the goddesses is Demeter\n      and which Persephone. See J. Overbeck, _op. cit._ iii. 427 _sqq._;\n      L. R. Farnell, _op. cit._ iii. 263 _sq._ On the close resemblance of\n      the artistic types of Demeter and Persephone see further E. Gerhard,\n      _Gesammelte akademische Abhandlungen_ (Berlin, 1866-1868), ii. 357\n      _sqq._; F. Lenormant, in Daremberg et Saglio, _Dictionnaire des\n      Antiquit\u00e9s Grecques et Romaines_, i. 2, _s.v._ \u201cCeres,\u201d p. 1049.\n\n  M50 The date of the Eleusinian Mysteries in September would have been a\n      very appropriate time for a Sacred Marriage of the Sky God with the\n      Corn Goddess or the Earth Goddess.\n\n_  241 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 97 _sqq._\n\n  242 Homer, _Odyssey_, v. 125 _sqq._\n\n  243 Proclus, on Plato, _Timaeus_, p. 293 c, quoted by L. F. Farnell,\n      _The Cults of the Greek States_, iii. 357, where Lobeck\u2019s emendation\n      of \u1f54\u03b5, \u03ba\u03cd\u03b5 for \u03c5\u1f36\u03b5, \u03c4\u03bf\u03ba\u03c5\u1fd6\u03b5 (_Aglaophamus_, p. 782) may be accepted\n      as certain, confirmed as it is by Hippolytus, _Refutatio Omnium\n      Haeresium_, v. 7, p. 146, ed. Duncker and Schneidewin (G\u00f6ttingen,\n      1859), \u03c4\u1f78 \u03bc\u03ad\u03b3\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f04\u03c1\u03c1\u03b7\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u1f18\u03bb\u03b5\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd\u03af\u03c9\u03bd \u03bc\u03c5\u03c3\u03c4\u03ae\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u1f54\u03b5 \u03ba\u03cd\u03b5.\n\n  M51 The Eleusinian games distinct from the Eleusinian Mysteries. The\n      Eleusinian games of later origin than the Eleusinian Mysteries. The\n      Eleusinian games sacred to Demeter and Persephone. Triptolemus, the\n      mythical hero of the corn.\n\n  244 As to the Eleusinian games see August Mommsen, _Feste der Stadt\n      Athen im Altertum_, pp. 179-204; P. Foucart, _Les Grands Myst\u00e8res\n      d\u2019\u00c9leusis_ (Paris, 1900), pp. 143-147; P. Stengel, in\n      Pauly-Wissowa\u2019s _Real-Encyclop\u00e4die der classischen\n      Altertumswissenschaft_, v. coll. 2330 _sqq._ The quadriennial\n      celebration of the Eleusinian Games is mentioned by Aristotle\n      (_Constitution of Athens_, 54), and in the great Eleusinian\n      inscription of 329 B.C., which is also our only authority for the\n      biennial celebration of the games. See Dittenberger, _Sylloge\n      Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 587, lines 258 _sqq._ The regular and\n      official name of the games was simply Eleusinia (\u03c4\u1f70 \u1f18\u03bb\u03b5\u03c5\u03c3\u03af\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1), a\n      name which late writers applied incorrectly to the Mysteries. See\n      August Mommsen, _op. cit._ pp. 179 _sqq._; Dittenberger, _op. cit._\n      No. 587, note 171.\n\n  245 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 246, lines 25\n      _sqq._; _id._ No. 587, lines 244 _sq._, 258 _sqq._\n\n_  246 Marmor Parium_, in _Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum_, ed. C.\n      M\u00fcller, i. 544 _sq._\n\n  247 Aristides, _Panathen._ and _Eleusin._ vol. i. pp. 168, 417, ed. G.\n      Dindorf.\n\n  248 Schol. on Pindar, _Olymp._ ix. 150, p. 228, ed. Aug. Boeckh.\n\n  249 Aristides, _ll.cc._\n\n  250 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 246, lines 25\n      _sqq._ The editor rightly points out that the Great Eleusinian Games\n      are identical with the games celebrated every fourth year, which are\n      mentioned in the decree of 329 B.C. (Dittenberger, _Sylloge\n      Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 587, lines 260 _sq._).\n\n  251 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 587, lines 259\n      _sqq._ From other Attic inscriptions we learn that the Eleusinian\n      games comprised a long foot-race, a race in armour, and a\n      pancratium. See Dittenberger, _op. cit._ No. 587 note 171 (vol. ii.\n      p. 313). The Great Eleusinian Games also included the pentathlum\n      (Dittenberger, _op. cit._ No. 678, line 2). The pancratium included\n      wrestling and boxing; the pentathlum included a foot-race, leaping,\n      throwing the quoit, throwing the spear, and wrestling. See W. Smith,\n      _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities_, Third Edition, _s.vv._\n      \u201cPancratium\u201d and \u201cPentathlon.\u201d\n\n  252 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 246, lines 46\n      _sqq._; Ch. Michel, _Recueil d\u2019Inscriptions Grecques_, No. 609. See\n      above, p. 61. The identification lies all the nearer to hand because\n      the inscription records a decree in honour of a man who had\n      sacrificed to Demeter and Persephone at the Great Eleusinian Games,\n      and a provision is contained in the decree that the honour should be\n      proclaimed \u201cat the Ancestral Contest of the Festival of the\n      Threshing-floor.\u201d The same Ancestral Contest at the Festival of the\n      Threshing-floor is mentioned in another Eleusinian inscription,\n      which records honours decreed to a man who had sacrificed to Demeter\n      and Persephone at the Festival of the Threshing-floor. See \u1f18\u03c6\u03b7\u03bc\u03b5\u03c1\u1f76\u03c2\n      \u1f08\u03c1\u03c7\u03b1\u03b9\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03b9\u03ba\u03ae, 1884, coll. 135 _sq._\n\n  253 See above, p. 61.\n\n  254 Diodorus Siculus, v. 68; Arrian, _Indic._ 7; Lucian, _Somnium_, 15;\n      _id._, _Philopseudes_, 3; Plato, _Laws_, vi. 22, p. 782;\n      Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, i. 5. 2; Cornutus, _Theologiae Graecae\n      Compendium_, 28, p. 53, ed. C. Lang; Pausanias, i. 14. 2, vii. 18.\n      2, viii. 4. 1; Aristides, _Eleusin._ vol. i. pp. 416 _sq._, ed. G.\n      Dindorf; Hyginus, _Fabulae_, 147, 259, 277; Ovid, _Fasti_, iv. 549\n      _sqq._; _id._, _Metamorph._ v. 645 _sqq._; Servius, on Virgil,\n      _Georg._ i. 19. See also above, p. 54. As to Triptolemus, see L.\n      Preller, _Demeter und Persephone_ (Hamburg, 1837), pp. 282 _sqq._;\n      _id._, _Griechische Mythologie_,4 i. 769 _sqq._\n\n  255 C. Strube, _Studien \u00fcber den Bilderkreis von Eleusis_ (Leipsic,\n      1870), pp. 4 _sqq._; J. Overbeck, _Griechische Kunstmythologie_,\n      iii. (Leipsic, 1873-1880), pp. 530 _sqq._; A. Baumeister, _Denkm\u00e4ler\n      des classischen Altertums_, iii. 1855 _sqq._ That Triptolemus sowed\n      the earth with corn from his car is mentioned by Apollodorus,\n      _Bibliotheca_, i. 5. 2; Cornutus, _Theologiae Graecae Compendium_,\n      28, pp. 53 _sq._, ed. C. Lang; Hyginus, _Fabulae_, 147; and Servius,\n      on Virgil, _Georg._ i. 19.\n\n  256 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 20, lines 37\n      _sqq._; E. S. Roberts and E. A. Gardner, _Introduction to Greek\n      Epigraphy_, ii. (Cambridge, 1905), No. 9, p. 24.\n\n  257 Arrian, _Epicteti Dissertationes_, i. 4. 30.\n\n  258 Scholiast on Homer, _Iliad_, xviii. 483; L. Preller, _Demeter und\n      Persephone_, p. 286; F. A. Paley on Hesiod, _Works and Days_, 460.\n      The custom of ploughing the land thrice is alluded to by Homer\n      (_Iliad_, xviii. 542, _Odyssey_, v. 127) and Hesiod (_Theogony_,\n      971), and is expressly mentioned by Theophrastus (_Historia\n      Plantarum_, vii. 13. 6).\n\n  259 So I am informed by my learned friend the Rev. Professor J. H.\n      Moulton.\n\n  260 J. Toepffer, _Attische Genealogie_ (Berlin, 1889), pp. 138 _sq._\n      However, the Eleusinian Torchbearer Callias apparently claimed to be\n      descended from Triptolemus, for in a speech addressed to the\n      Lacedaemonians he is said by Xenophon (_Hellenica_, vi. 3. 6) to\n      have spoken of Triptolemus as \u201cour ancestor\u201d (\u1f41 \u1f21\u03bc\u03ad\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c1\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2).\n      See above, p. 54. But it is possible that Callias was here speaking,\n      not as a direct descendant of Triptolemus, but merely as an\n      Athenian, who naturally ranked Triptolemus among the most\n      illustrious of the ancestral heroes of his people. Even if he\n      intended to claim actual descent from the hero, this would prove\n      nothing as to the historical character of Triptolemus, for many\n      Greek families boasted of being descended from gods.\n\n  M52 Prizes of barley given to victors in the Eleusinian games.\n\n  261 The prize of barley is mentioned by the Scholiast on Pindar,\n      _Olymp._ ix. 150. The Scholiast on Aristides (vol. iii. pp. 55, 56,\n      ed. G. Dindorf) mentions ears of corn as the prize without\n      specifying the kind of corn. In the official Athenian inscription of\n      329 B.C., though the amount of corn distributed in prizes both at\n      the quadriennial and at the biennial games is stated, we are not\n      told whether the corn was barley or wheat. See Dittenberger,\n      _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 587, lines 259 _sqq._\n      According to Aristides (_Eleusin._ vol. i. p. 417, ed. G. Dindorf,\n      compare p. 168) the prize consisted of the corn which had first\n      appeared at Eleusis.\n\n_  262 Marmor Parium_, in _Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum_, ed. C.\n      M\u00fcller, i. 544. That the Rarian plain was the first to be sown and\n      the first to bear crops is affirmed by Pausanias (i. 38. 6).\n\n  263 Pausanias, i. 38. 6.\n\n  264 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 587, lines 119\n      _sq._ In the same inscription, a few lines lower down, mention is\n      made of two pigs which were used in purifying the sanctuary at\n      Eleusis. On the pig in Greek purificatory rites, see my notes on\n      Pausanias, ii. 31. 8 and v. 16. 8.\n\n  M53 The Eleusinian games primarily concerned with Demeter and\n      Persephone. The Ancestral Contest in the games may have been\n      originally a contest between the reapers to finish reaping.\n\n  265 See below, pp. 140 _sqq._, 155 _sqq._, 164 _sqq._, compare 218\n      _sqq._\n\n  266 See below, pp. 147 _sqq._, 221 _sq._, 223 _sq._\n\n  267 See above, p. 43.\n\n  M54 Games at harvest festivals in modern Europe.\n\n  268 A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und Gebr\u00e4uche_\n      (Leipsic, 1848), pp. 398, 399, 400.\n\n  269 P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic,\n      1903-1906), ii. 70 _sq._\n\n  270 A. Kuhn, _M\u00e4rkische Sagen und M\u00e4rchen_ (Berlin, 1843), pp. 341 _sq._\n\n  271 See below, pp. 133 _sqq._\n\n  M55 Date of the Eleusinian games uncertain.\n\n  272 Scholiast on Pindar, _Olymp._ ix. 150, p. 228, ed. Aug. Boeckh.\n\n  273 The games are assigned to Metageitnion by P. Stengel (Pauly-Wissowa,\n      _Real-Encyclop\u00e4die der classischen Altertumswissenschaft_, v. 2.\n      coll. 2331 _sq._) and to Boedromion by August Mommsen and W.\n      Dittenberger. The last-mentioned scholar supposes that the games\n      immediately followed the Mysteries, and August Mommsen formerly\n      thought so too, but he afterwards changed his view and preferred to\n      suppose that the games preceded the Mysteries. See Aug. Mommsen,\n      _Heortologie_ (Leipsic, 1864), p. 263; _id._, _Feste der Stadt Athen\n      im Altertum_ (Leipsic, 1898), pp. 182 _sqq._; Dittenberger, _Sylloge\n      Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 587, note 171 (vol. ii. pp. 313\n      _sq._). The dating of the games in Metageitnion or in the early part\n      of Boedromion depends on little more than a series of conjectures,\n      particularly the conjectural restoration of an inscription and the\n      conjectural dating of a certain sacrifice to Democracy.\n\n  M56 Why should games intended to promote the annual growth of the crops\n      be held only every second or fourth year? The Eleusinian Mysteries\n      probably much older than the Eleusinian games.\n\n  274 A. de Candolle, _Origin of Cultivated Plants_ (London, 1884), pp.\n      354 _sq._, 367 _sqq._; R. Munro, _The Lake-dwellings of Europe_\n      (London, Paris, and Melbourne, 1890), pp. 497 _sqq._; O. Schrader,\n      _Reallexikon der indogermanischen Altertumskunde_ (Strasburg, 1901),\n      pp. 8 _sqq._; _id._, _Sprachvergleichung und Urgeschichte_ (Jena,\n      1906-1907), ii. 185 _sqq._; H. Hirt, _Die Indogermanen_ (Strasburg,\n      1905-1907), i. 254 _sqq._, 273 _sq._, 276 _sqq._, ii. 640 _sqq._; M.\n      Much, _Die Heimat der Indogermanen_ (Jena and Berlin, 1904), pp. 221\n      _sqq._; T. E. Peet, _The Stone and Bronze Ages in Italy and Sicily_\n      (Oxford, 1909), p. 362.\n\n  M57 Quadriennial period of many of the great games of Greece. Old\n      octennial period of the Pythian and probably of the Olympian games.\n      The octennial cycle was instituted by the Greeks at a very early era\n      for the purpose of harmonising solar and lunar time.\n\n  275 Aristotle, _Constitution of Athens_, 54, where the quadriennial\n      (penteteric) festival of the Eleusinian Games is mentioned along\n      with the quadriennial festivals of the Panathenaica, the Delia, the\n      Brauronia, and the Heraclea. The biennial (trieteric) festival of\n      the Eleusinian Games is mentioned only in the inscription of 329\n      B.C. (Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 No. 587,\n      lines 259 _sq._). As to the identity of the Great Eleusinian Games\n      with the quadriennial games see Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum\n      Graecarum_, No. 246 note 9, No. 587 note 171.\n\n  276 As to the Plataean games see Plutarch, _Aristides_, 21; Pausanias,\n      ix. 2. 6.\n\n  277 Strabo, vii. 7. 6, p. 325; Suetonius, _Augustus_, 18; Dio Cassius,\n      li. 1; Daremberg et Saglio, _Dictionnaire des Antiquit\u00e9s Grecques et\n      Romaines_, _s.v._ \u201cActia.\u201d\n\n  278 Pausanias, viii. 9. 8.\n\n  279 Scholiast on Pindar, _Pyth._, Argument, p. 298, ed. Aug. Boeckh;\n      Censorinus, _De die natali_, xviii. 6. According to the scholiast on\n      Pindar (_l.c._) the change from the octennial to the quadriennial\n      period was occasioned by the nymphs of Parnassus bringing ripe\n      fruits in their hands to Apollo, after he had slain the dragon at\n      Delphi.\n\n  280 Scholiast on Pindar, _Olymp._ iii. 35 (20), p. 98, ed. Aug. Boeckh.\n      Compare Boeckh\u2019s commentary on Pindar (vol. iii. p. 138 of his\n      edition); L. Ideler, _Handbuch der mathematischen und technischen\n      Chronologie_, i. 366 _sq._, ii. 605 _sqq._\n\n  281 See _The Dying God_, chapter ii. \u00a7 4, \u201cOctennial Tenure of the\n      Kingship,\u201d especially pp. 68 _sq._, 80, 89 _sq._\n\n  282 Geminus, _Elementa Astronomiae_, viii. 25 _sqq._, pp. 110 _sqq._,\n      ed. C. Manitius (Leipsic, 1898); Censorinus, _De die natali_, xviii.\n      2-6.\n\n  283 Geminus, _l.c._\n\n  284 Geminus, _Elementa Astronomiae_, viii. 36-41.\n\n  285 Censorinus, _De die natali_, xviii. 5. As Eudoxus flourished in the\n      fourth century B.C., some sixty or seventy years after Meton, who\n      introduced the nineteen years\u2019 cycle to remedy the defects of the\n      octennial cycle, the claim of Eudoxus to have instituted the latter\n      cycle may at once be put out of court. The claim of Cleostratus, who\n      seems to have lived in the sixth or fifth century B.C., cannot be\n      dismissed so summarily; but for the reasons given in the text he can\n      hardly have done more than suggest corrections or improvements of\n      the ancient octennial cycle.\n\n  286 Geminus, _Elementa Astronomiae_, viii. 27. With far less probability\n      Censorinus (_De die natali_, xviii. 2-4) supposes that the octennial\n      cycle was produced by the successive duplication of biennial and\n      quadriennial cycles. See below, pp. 86 _sq._\n\n  287 L. Ideler, _Handbuch der mathematischen und technischen\n      Chronologie_, ii. 605.\n\n_  288 The Dying God_, pp. 58 _sqq._ Speaking of the octennial cycle\n      Censorinus observes that \u201c_Ob hoc in Graecia multae religiones hoc\n      intervallo temporis summa caerimonia coluntur_\u201d (_De die natali_,\n      xviii. 6). Compare L. Ideler, _op. cit._ ii. 605 _sq._; G. F. Unger,\n      \u201cZeitrechnung der Griechen und R\u00f6mer,\u201d in Iwan M\u00fcller\u2019s _Handbuch\n      der classischen Altertumswissenschaft_, i.2 732 _sq._ The great age\n      and the wide diffusion of the octennial cycle in Greece are rightly\n      maintained by A. Schmidt (_Handbuch der griechischen Chronologie_,\n      Jena, 1888, pp. 61 _sqq._), who suggests that the cycle may have\n      owed something to the astronomy of the Egyptians, with whom the\n      inhabitants of Greece are known to have had relations from a very\n      early time.\n\n  M58 The motive for instituting the eight years\u2019 cycle was religious, not\n      practical or scientific.\n\n  289 Aratus, _Phaenomena_, 733 _sqq._; L. Ideler, _Handbuch der\n      mathematischen und technischen Chronologie_, i. 255 _sq._\n\n  290 Geminus, _Elementa Astronomiae_, viii. 15-45.\n\n  M59 In early times the regulation of the calendar is largely an affair\n      of religion.\n\n  291 Macrobius, _Saturnalia_, i. 15. 9 _sqq._; Livy, ix. 46. 5; Valerius\n      Maximus, ii. 5. 2; Cicero, _Pro Muraena_, xi. 25; _id._, _De\n      legibus_, ii. 12. 29; Suetonius, _Divus Iulius_, 40; Plutarch,\n      _Caesar_, 59.\n\n  M60 The quadriennial period of games and festivals in Greece was\n      probably arrived at by bisecting an older octennial period.\n\n  292 See _The Dying God_, pp. 92 _sqq._\n\n  293 Plato, _Meno_, p. 81 A-C; Pindar, ed. Aug. Boeckh, vol. iii. pp. 623\n      _sq._, Frag. 98. See further _The Dying God_, pp. 69 _sq._\n\n  294 Plutarch, _Aristides_, 21; Pausanias, ix. 2. 6.\n\n  295 See above, p. 80.\n\n  M61 The reasons for bisecting the old octennial period into two\n      quadriennial periods may have been partly religious, partly\n      political.\n\n  296 Pausanias, iv. 5. 10; compare Aristotle, _Constitution of Athens_,\n      iii. 1; G. Gilbert, _Handbuch der griechischen Staatsalterthumer_,\n      i.2 (Leipsic, 1893) pp. 122 _sq._\n\n  297 See _The Dying God_, pp. 89-92.\n\n  M62 The biennial period of some Greek games may have been obtained by\n      bisecting the quadriennial period.\n\n  298 L. Ideler, _Handbuch der mathematischen und technischen\n      Chronologie_, ii. 606 _sq._\n\n  299 Censorinus, _De die natali_, xviii. 2-4.\n\n  300 Censorinus, _De die natali_, xviii. 2.\n\n  301 L. Ideler, _Handbuch der mathematischen und technischen\n      Chronologie_, i. 270.\n\n  M63 Application of the foregoing conclusion to the Eleusinian games.\n  M64 Varro on the rites of Eleusis.\n\n  302 Augustine, _De civitate Dei_, vii. 20. \u201c_In Cereris autem sacris\n      praedicantur illa Eleusinia, quae apud Athenienses nobilissima\n      fuerunt. De quibus iste [Varro] nihil interpretatur, nisi quod\n      attinet ad frumentum, quod Ceres invenit, et ad Proserpinam, quam\n      rapiente Orco perdidit. Et hanc ipsam dicit significare\n      foecunditatem seminum.... Dicit deinde multa in mysteriis ejus\n      tradi, quae nisi ad frugum inventionem non pertineant._\u201d\n\n  M65 The close resemblance between the artistic types of Demeter and\n      Persephone militates against the theory that the two goddesses\n      personified two things so different as the earth and the corn.\n\n  303 A. Baumeister, _Denkm\u00e4ler des classischen Altertums_, i. 577 _sq._;\n      Drexler, _s.v._ \"Gaia,\" in W. H. Roscher\u2019s _Lexikon der griech. und\n      r\u00f6m. Mythologie_, i. 1574 _sqq._; L. R. Farnell, _The Cults of the\n      Greek States_, iii. (Oxford, 1907) p. 27.\n\n  304 Pausanias, vii. 21. 11. At Athens there was a sanctuary of Earth the\n      Nursing-Mother and of Green Demeter (Pausanias, i. 22. 3), but we do\n      not know how the goddesses were represented.\n\n  305 L. R. Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek States_, iii. 256 with plate\n      xxi. b.\n\n  306 The distinction between Demeter (Ceres) and the Earth Goddess is\n      clearly marked by Ovid, _Fasti_, iv. 673 _sq._:\n\n      \u201c_Officium commune Ceres et Terra tuentur;_\n      _ Haec praebet causam frugibus, illa locum._\u201d\n\n  307 Dittenberger, _Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum_,2 Nos. 20, 408, 411,\n      587, 646, 647, 652, 720, 789. Compare the expression \u03b4\u03b9\u03ce\u03bd\u03c5\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9 \u03b8\u03ad\u03b1\u03b9\n      applied to them by Euripides, _Phoenissae_, 683, with the\n      Scholiast\u2019s note.\n\n  308 The substantial identity of Demeter and Persephone has been\n      recognised by some modern scholars, though their interpretations of\n      the myth do not altogether agree with the one adopted in the text.\n      See F. G. Welcker, _Griechische G\u00f6tterlehre_ (G\u00f6ttingen, 1857-1862),\n      ii. 532; L. Preller, in Pauly\u2019s _Realencyclop\u00e4die der classischen\n      Altertumswissenschaft_, vi. 106 _sq._; F. Lenormant, in Daremberg et\n      Saglio, _Dictionnaire des Antiquit\u00e9s Grecques et Romaines_, i. 2.\n      pp. 1047 _sqq._\n\n  M66 As goddesses of the corn Demeter and Persephone came to be\n      associated with the ideas of death and resurrection.\n\n_  309 Homeric Hymn to Demeter_, 480 _sqq._; Pindar, quoted by Clement of\n      Alexandria, _Strom._ iii. 3. 17, p. 518, ed. Potter; Sophocles,\n      quoted by Plutarch, _De audiendis poetis_, 4; Isocrates,\n      _Panegyricus_, 6; Cicero, _De legibus_, ii. 14. 36; Aristides,\n      _Eleusin._ vol. i. p. 421, ed. G. Dindorf.\n\n  310 A learned German professor has thought it worth while to break the\n      poor butterfly argument on the wheel of his inflexible logic. The\n      cruel act, while it proves the hardness of the professor\u2019s head,\n      says little for his knowledge of human nature, which does not always\n      act in strict accordance with the impulse of the syllogistic\n      machinery. See Erwin Rohde, _Psyche_3 (T\u00fcbingen and Leipsic, 1903),\n      i. 290 _sqq._\n\n  311 1 Corinthians xv. 35 _sqq._\n\n  M67 Games played as magical ceremonies to promote the growth of the\n      crops. The Kayans of central Borneo, a primitive agricultural\n      people. The sacred rice-fields (_luma lali_) on which all religious\n      ceremonies requisite for agriculture are performed.\n\n  312 See above, p. 71, with the footnote 5.\n\n  313 See above, pp. 74 _sqq._\n\n  314 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _Quer durch Borneo_ (Leyden, 1904-1907), i. 156\n      _sq._\n\n  M68 Ceremonies observed at the sowing festival. Taboos observed at the\n      sowing festival.\n\n  315 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _op. cit._ i. 164.\n\n  316 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _Quer durch Borneo_, i. 164-167.\n\n  317 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _op. cit._ i. 163. The motive assigned for the\n      exclusion of strangers at the sowing festival applies equally to all\n      religious rites. \u201cIn all religious observances,\u201d says Dr.\n      Nieuwenhuis, \u201cthe Kayans fear the presence of strangers, because\n      these latter might frighten and annoy the spirits which are\n      invoked.\u201d On the periods of seclusion and quiet observed in\n      connexion with agriculture by the Kayans of Sarawak, see W. H.\n      Furness, _Home-life of Borneo Head-hunters_ (Philadelphia, 1902),\n      pp. 160 _sqq._\n\n  M69 Games played at the sowing festival. Masquerade at the sowing\n      festival.\n\n  318 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _op. cit._ i. 167-169.\n\n  M70 Rites at hoeing.\n\n  319 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _op. cit._ i. 169.\n\n  M71 The Kayan New Year festival. Offerings and addresses to the spirits.\n      Sacrifice of pigs.\n\n  320 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _Quer durch Borneo_, i. 171-182.\n\n  M72 Dr. Nieuwenhuis on the games played by the Kayans in connexion with\n      agriculture.\n\n  321 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _op. cit._ i. 169 _sq._\n\n  M73 Serious religious or magical significance of the games.\n\n  322 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _op. cit._ i. 163 _sq._\n\n  323 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _Quer durch Borneo_, ii. 130 _sq._ The game as to\n      the religious significance of which Dr. Nieuwenhuis has no doubt is\n      the masquerade performed by the Kayans of the Mahakam river, where\n      disguised men personate spirits and pretend to draw home the souls\n      of the rice from the far countries to which they may have wandered.\n      See below, pp. 186 _sq._\n\n  M74 The Kai, an agricultural people of German New Guinea. Superstitious\n      practices observed by the Kai for the good of the crops.\n\n  324 Ch. Keysser, \u201cAus dem Leben der Kaileute,\u201d in R. Neuhauss, _Deutsch\n      Neu-Guinea_, iii. (Berlin, 1911) pp. 3, 9 _sq._, 12 _sq._\n\n  325 Ch. Keysser, _op. cit._ pp. 123-125.\n\n  M75 Games played by the Kai people to promote the growth of the yams and\n      taro. Tales and legends told by the Kai to cause the fruits of the\n      earth to thrive.\n\n  326 Ch. Keysser, _op. cit._ iii. 125 _sq._\n\n  327 Ch. Keysser, _op. cit._ iii. 161.\n\n  M76 Thus among these New Guinea people games are played and stories told\n      as charms to ensure good crops.\n\n  328 On the principles of homoeopathic or imitative magic, see _The Magic\n      Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 52 _sqq._ The Esquimaux play\n      cat\u2019s cradle as a charm to catch the sun in the meshes of the string\n      and so prevent him from sinking below the horizon in winter. See\n      _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 316 _sq._ Cat\u2019s\n      cradle is played as a game by savages in many parts of the world,\n      including the Torres Straits Islands, the Andaman Islands, Africa,\n      and America. See A. C. Haddon, _The Study of Man_ (London and New\n      York, 1898), pp. 224-232; Miss Kathleen Haddon, _Cat\u2019s Cradles from\n      Many Lands_ (London, 1911). For example, the Indians of\n      North-western Brazil play many games of cat\u2019s cradle, each of which\n      has its special name, such as the Bow, the Moon, the Pleiades, the\n      Armadillo, the Spider, the Caterpillar, and the Guts of the Tapir.\n      See Th. Koch-Gr\u00fcnberg, _Zwei Jahre unter den Indianern_ (Berlin,\n      1909-1910), i. 120, 123, 252, 253, ii. 127, 131. Finding the game\n      played as a magical rite to stay the sun or promote the growth of\n      the crops among peoples so distant from each other as the Esquimaux\n      and the natives of New Guinea, we may reasonably surmise that it has\n      been put to similar uses by many other peoples, though civilised\n      observers have commonly seen in it nothing more than a pastime.\n      Probably many games have thus originated in magical rites. When\n      their old serious meaning was forgotten, they continued to be\n      practised simply for the amusement they afforded the players.\n      Another such game seems to be the \u201cTug of War.\u201d See _The Golden\n      Bough_,2 iii. 95.\n\n  329 See _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 318 _sqq._\n\n  330 Stefan Lehner, \"Bukaua,\" in R. Neuhauss, _Deutsch Neu-Guinea_, iii.\n      (Berlin, 1911) pp. 478 _sq._\n\n  M77 The Yabim of German New Guinea also tell tales on purpose to obtain\n      abundant crops.\n\n  331 See _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, p. 386.\n\n  332 H. Zahn, \u201cDie Jabim,\u201d in R. Neuhauss, _Deutsch Neu-Guinea_, iii.\n      (Berlin, 1911) p. 290.\n\n  333 H. Zahn, _op. cit._ pp. 332 _sq._\n\n  M78 Specimens of Yabim tales told as charms to procure a good harvest.\n      Such tales may be called narrative spells.\n\n  334 H. Zahn, _op. cit._ p. 333.\n\n  335 Stefan Lehner, \u201cBukaua,\u201d in R. Neuhauss, _Deutsch Neu-Guinea_, iii.\n      (Berlin, 1911) p. 448.\n\n  M79 Use of the bull-roarer to quicken the fruits of the earth.\n\n  336 A. C. Haddon, in _Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological\n      Expedition to Torres Straits_, v. (Cambridge, 1904) pp. 218, 219.\n      Compare _id._, _Head-hunters, Black, White, and Brown_ (London,\n      1901) p. 104.\n\n  337 A. C. Haddon, in _Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological\n      Expedition to Torres Straits_, v. (Cambridge, 1904) pp. 346 _sq._\n\n  338 A. W. Howitt, \u201cThe Dieri and other kindred Tribes of Central\n      Australia,\u201d _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xx. (1891)\n      p. 83; _id._, _Native Tribes of South-East Australia_ (London,\n      1904), p. 660. The first, I believe, to point out the fertilising\n      power ascribed to the bull-roarer by some savages was Dr. A. C.\n      Haddon. See his essay, \u201cThe Bull-roarer,\u201d in _The Study of Man_\n      (London and New York, 1898), pp. 277-327. In this work Dr. Haddon\n      recognises the general principle of the possible derivation of many\n      games from magical rites. As to the bull-roarer compare my paper \u201cOn\n      some Ceremonies of the Central Australian Tribes,\u201d in the _Report of\n      the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science for the\n      year 1900_ (Melbourne, 1901), pp. 313-322.\n\n  M80 Swinging as an agricultural charm.\n\n  339 J. G. Kohl, _Die deutsch-russischen Ostseeprovinzen_ (Dresden and\n      Leipsic, 1841), ii. 25.\n\n  340 For the evidence see _The Dying God_, pp. 277-285.\n\n  M81 Analogy of the Kayans of Borneo to the Greeks of Eleusis in the\n      early time. The Sacred Ploughing at Eleusis.\n\n  341 On the Kayan chiefs and their religious duties, see A. W.\n      Nieuwenhuis, _Quer durch Borneo_, i. 58-60.\n\n  342 See above, p. 36.\n\n  343 See above, p. 74.\n\n  344 Plutarch, _Praecepta Conjugalia_, 42. Another of these Sacred\n      Ploughings was performed at Scirum, and the third at the foot of the\n      Acropolis at Athens; for in this passage of Plutarch we must, with\n      the latest editor, read \u1f51\u03c0\u1f78 \u03c0\u03cc\u03bb\u03b9\u03bd for the \u1f51\u03c0\u1f78 \u03c0\u03ad\u03bb\u03b9\u03bd of the\n      manuscripts.\n\n  345 See above, pp. 50 _sqq._\n\n_  346 Etymologicum Magnum_, _s.v._ \u0392\u03bf\u03c5\u03b6\u03c5\u03b3\u03af\u03b1, p. 206, lines 47 _sqq._; Im.\n      Bekker, _Anecdota Graeca_ (Berlin, 1814-1821), i. 221; Pliny, _Nat.\n      Hist._ vii. 199; Hesychius, _s.v._ \u0392\u03bf\u03c5\u03b6\u03cd\u03b3\u03b7\u03c2; \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03af\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf \u03b4\u1f72 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u1fbd\n      \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f41 \u03c4\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2 \u1f31\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2 \u1f00\u03c1\u03cc\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u1f10\u03c0\u03b9\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u1ff6\u03bd \u0392\u03bf\u03c5\u03b6\u03cd\u03b3\u03b7\u03c2; _Paroemiographi\n      Graeci_, ed. E. L. Leutsch und F. G. Schneidewin (G\u00f6ttingen,\n      1839-1851), i. 388, \u0392\u03bf\u03c5\u03b6\u03cd\u03b3\u03b7\u03c2; \u1f10\u03c0\u1f76 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u1f70 \u1f00\u03c1\u03c9\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd. \u1f49 \u03b3\u1f70\u03c1 \u0392\u03bf\u03c5\u03b6\u03cd\u03b3\u03b7\u03c2\n      \u1f08\u03b8\u03ae\u03bd\u03b7\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u1f41 \u03c4\u1f78\u03bd \u1f31\u03b5\u03c1\u1f78\u03bd \u1f04\u03c1\u03bf\u03c4\u03bf\u03bd \u1f10\u03c0\u03b9\u03c4\u03b5\u03bb\u1ff6\u03bd ... \u1f04\u03bb\u03bb\u03b1 \u03c4\u03b5 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bb\u03bb\u1f70 \u1f00\u03c1\u1fb6\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\n      \u03c4\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c2 \u03bc\u1f74 \u03ba\u03bf\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c3\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u1f70 \u03c4\u1f78\u03bd \u0392\u03af\u03bf\u03bd \u1f55\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f22 \u03c0\u03c5\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2 \u1f22 \u03bc\u1f74 \u1f51\u03c0\u03bf\u03c6\u03b1\u03af\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd\n      \u1f41\u03b4\u1f78\u03bd \u03c0\u03bb\u03b1\u03bd\u03c9\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2; Scholiast on Sophocles, _Antigone_, 255, \u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u03bf\u03c2 \u03b4\u1f72\n      \u1f45\u03c4\u03b9 \u0392\u03bf\u03c5\u03b6\u03cd\u03b3\u03b7\u03c2 \u1f08\u03b8\u03ae\u03bd\u03b7\u03c3\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b7\u03c1\u03ac\u03c3\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf \u03c4\u03bf\u1fd6\u03c2 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03bf\u03c1\u1ff6\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u1f04\u03c4\u03b1\u03c6\u03bf\u03bd \u03c3\u1ff6\u03bc\u03b1. The\n      Sacred Ploughing at the foot of the Acropolis was specially called\n      _bouzygios_ (Plutarch, _Praecepta Conjugalia_, 42). Compare J.\n      Toepffer, _Attische Genealogie_ (Berlin, 1889) pp. 136 _sqq._\n\n  347 Such Sabbaths are very commonly and very strictly observed in\n      connexion with the crops by the agricultural hill tribes of Assam.\n      The native name for such a Sabbath is _genna_. See T. C. Hodson,\n      \u201cThe _Genna_ amongst the Tribes of Assam,\u201d _Journal of the\n      Anthropological Institute_, xxxvi. (1906) pp. 94 _sq._: \u201cCommunal\n      tabus are observed by the whole village.... Those which are of\n      regular occurrence are for the most part connected with the crops.\n      Even where irrigated terraces are made, the rice plant is much\n      affected by deficiencies of rain and excess of sun. Before the crop\n      is sown, the village is tabu or _genna_. The gates are closed and\n      the friend without has to stay outside, while the stranger that is\n      within the gates remains till all is ended. The festival is marked\n      among some tribes by an outburst of licentiousness, for, so long as\n      the crops remain ungarnered, the slightest incontinence might ruin\n      all. An omen of the prosperity of the crops is taken by a mock\n      contest, the girls pulling against the men. In some villages the\n      _gennas_ last for ten days, but the tenth day is the crowning day of\n      all. The men cook, and eat apart from the women during this time,\n      and the food tabus are strictly enforced. From the conclusion of the\n      initial crop _genna_ to the commencement of the _genna_ which ushers\n      in the harvest-time, all trade, all fishing, all hunting, all\n      cutting grass and felling trees is forbidden. Those tribes which\n      specialise in cloth-weaving, salt-making or pottery-making are\n      forbidden the exercise of these minor but valuable industries. Drums\n      and bugles are silent all the while.... Between the initial crop\n      _genna_ and the harvest-home, some tribes interpose a _genna_ day\n      which depends on the appearance of the first blade of rice. All\n      celebrate the commencement of the gathering of the crops by a\n      _genna_, which lasts at least two days. It is mainly a repetition of\n      the initial _genna_ and, just as the first seed was sown by the\n      _gennabura_, the religious head of the village, so he is obliged to\n      cut the first ear of rice before any one else may begin.\u201d On such\n      occasions among the Kabuis, in spite of the licence accorded to the\n      people generally, the strictest chastity is required of the\n      religious head of the village who initiates the sowing and the\n      reaping, and his diet is extremely limited; for example, he may not\n      eat dogs or tomatoes. See T. C. Hodson, \u201cThe Native Tribes of\n      Manipur,\u201d _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxi. (1901)\n      pp. 306 _sq._; and for more details, _id._, _The Naga Tribes of\n      Manipur_ (London, 1911), pp. 168 _sqq._ The resemblance of some of\n      these customs to those of the Kayans of Borneo is obvious. We may\n      conjecture that the \u201ctug of war\u201d which takes place between the sexes\n      on several of these Sabbaths was originally a magical ceremony to\n      ensure good crops rather than merely a mode of divination to\n      forecast the coming harvest. Magic regularly dwindles into\n      divination before it degenerates into a simple game. At one of these\n      taboo periods the men set up an effigy of a man and throw pointed\n      bamboos at it. He who hits the figure in the head will kill an\n      enemy; he who hits it in the belly will have plenty of food. See T.\n      C. Hodson, in _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxvi.\n      (1906) p. 95; _id._, _The Naga Tribes of Manipur_, p. 171. Here also\n      we probably have an old magical ceremony passing through a phase of\n      divination before it reaches the last stage of decay. On Sabbaths\n      observed in connexion with agriculture in Borneo and Assam, see\n      further Hutton Webster, _Rest Days, a Sociological Study_, pp. 11\n      _sqq._ (_University Studies_, Lincoln, Nebraska, vol. xi. Nos. 1-2,\n      January-April, 1911).\n\n  M82 The connexion of the Eleusinian games with agriculture, attested by\n      the ancients, is confirmed by modern savage analogies.\n\n  348 See above, p. 71.\n\n  349 See above, p. 71 note 5.\n\n  350 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 137-139.\n\n  351 See the old Greek scholiast on Clement of Alexandria, quoted by Chr.\n      Aug. Lobeck, _Aglaophamus_ (K\u00f6nigsberg, 1829), p. 700; Andrew Lang,\n      _Custom and Myth_ (London, 1884), p. 39. It is true that the\n      bull-roarer seems to have been associated with the rites of Dionysus\n      rather than of Demeter; perhaps the sound of it was thought to\n      mimick the bellowing of the god in his character of a bull. But the\n      worship of Dionysus was from an early time associated with that of\n      Demeter in the Eleusinian mysteries; and the god himself, as we have\n      seen, had agricultural affinities. See above, p. 5. An annual\n      festival of swinging (which, as we have seen, is still practised\n      both in New Guinea and Russia for the good of the crops) was held by\n      the Athenians in antiquity and was believed to have originated in\n      the worship of Dionysus. See _The Dying God_, pp. 281 _sq._\n\n  M83 The sacred drama of the Eleusinian mysteries compared to the masked\n      dances of agricultural savages.\n\n  352 See above, pp. 95 _sq._, and below, pp. 186 _sq._\n\n  353 See above, p. 39.\n\n  354 Th. Koch-Gr\u00fcnberg, _Zwei Jahre unter den Indianern_ (Berlin,\n      1909-1910), i. 137-140, ii. 193-196. As to the cultivation of manioc\n      among these Indians see _id._ ii. 202 _sqq._\n\n  M84 Theory that the personification of corn as feminine was suggested by\n      the part played by women in primitive agriculture.\n\n  355 F. B. Jevons, _Introduction to the History of Religion_ (London,\n      1896), p. 240; H. Hirt, _Die Indogermanen_ (Strasburg, 1905-1907),\n      i. 251 _sqq._\n\n  M85 Among many savage tribes the labour of hoeing the ground and sowing\n      the seed devolves on women. Agricultural work done by women among\n      the Zulus and other tribes of South Africa.\n\n  356 Rev. J. Shooter, _The Kafirs of Natal and the Zulu Country_ (London,\n      1857), pp. 17 _sq._ Speaking of the Zulus another writer observes:\n      \u201cIn gardening, the men clear the land, if need be, and sometimes\n      fence it in; the women plant, weed, and harvest\u201d (Rev. L. Grout,\n      _Zulu-land_, Philadelphia, N.D., p. 110).\n\n  357 A. Delegorgue, _Voyage dans l\u2019Afrique Australe_ (Paris, 1847), ii.\n      225.\n\n  358 H. A. Junod, _Les Ba-Ronga_ (Neuchatel, 1908), pp. 195 _sq._\n\n  359 L. Decle, _Three Years in Savage Africa_ (London, 1898), p. 85.\n\n  360 L. Decle, _op. cit._ p. 160.\n\n  361 C. Gouldsbury and H. Sheane, _The Great Plateau of Northern\n      Rhodesia_ (London, 1911), p. 302.\n\n  M86 Chastity required in the sowers of seed.\n\n  362 L. Decle, _op. cit._ p. 295.\n\n  363 C. Gouldsbury and H. Sheane, _The Great Plateau of Northern Nigeria_\n      (London, 1911), p. 179.\n\n  364 Rev. J. H. Weeks, \u201cNotes on some Customs of the Lower Congo People,\u201d\n      _Folk-lore_, xx. (1909) p. 311.\n\n  365 In order to guard against any breach of the rule they strewed _Agnus\n      castus_ and other plants, which were esteemed anaphrodisiacs, under\n      their beds. See Dioscorides, _De Materia Medica_, i. 134 (135), vol.\n      i. p. 130, ed. C. Sprengel (Leipsic, 1829-1830); Pliny, _Nat. Hist._\n      xxiv. 59; Aelian, _De Natura Animalium_, ix. 26; Hesychius, _s.v._\n      \u03ba\u03bd\u03ad\u03c9\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd; Scholiast on Theocritus, iv. 25; Scholiast on Nicander,\n      _Ther._ 70 _sq._\n\n  366 Scholiast on Aristophanes, _Thesmophor._ 80; Plutarch,\n      _Demosthenes_, 30; Aug. Mommsen, _Feste der Stadt Athen im Altertum_\n      (Leipsic, 1898), pp. 310 _sq._ That Pyanepsion was the month of\n      sowing is mentioned by Plutarch (_Isis et Osiris_, 69). See above,\n      pp. 45 _sq._\n\n  367 See below, vol. ii. p. 17 _sq._\n\n  M87 Woman\u2019s part in agriculture among the Caffres of South Africa in\n      general.\n\n  368 Dudley Kidd, _The Essential Kaffir_ (London, 1904), p. 323. Compare\n      B. Ankermann, \u201cL\u2019Ethnographie actuelle de l\u2019Afrique m\u00e9ridionale,\u201d\n      _Anthropos_, i. (1906) pp. 575 _sq._ As to the use of the Pleiades\n      to determine the time of sowing, see note at the end of the volume,\n      \u201cThe Pleiades in Primitive Calendars.\u201d\n\n  369 Rev. E. Casalis, _The Basutos_ (London, 1861), pp. 143 (with plate),\n      pp. 162-165.\n\n  M88 Agricultural work done by women among the Nandi, Baganda, the Congo,\n      and other tribes of Central and Western Africa.\n\n  370 A. C. Hollis, _The Nandi_ (Oxford, 1909), p. 19. However, among the\n      Bantu Kavirondo, an essentially agricultural people of British East\n      Africa, both men and women work in the fields with large iron hoes.\n      See Sir Harry Johnston, _The Uganda Protectorate_ (London, 1904),\n      ii. 738.\n\n  371 M. W. H. Beech, _The Suk_ (Oxford, 1911), p. 33.\n\n  372 F. Stuhlmann, _Mit Emin Pascha ins Herz von Afrika_ (Berlin, 1894),\n      p. 36.\n\n  373 F. Stuhlmann, _op. cit._ p. 75.\n\n  374 Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), pp. 426, 427; compare\n      pp. 5, 38, 91 _sq._, 93, 94, 95, 268.\n\n  375 H. Rehse, _Kiziba, Land und Leute_ (Stuttgart, 1910), p. 53.\n\n  376 G. Schweinfurth, _The Heart of Africa_3 (London, 1878), i. 281.\n\n  377 G. Schweinfurth, _op. cit._ ii. 40.\n\n  378 Rev. J. H. Weeks, \u201cAnthropological Notes on the Bangala of the Upper\n      Congo River,\u201d _Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute_,\n      xxxix. (1909) pp. 117, 128.\n\n  379 E. Torday, \u201cDer Tofoke,\u201d _Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen\n      Gesellschaft in Wien_, xli. (1911) p. 198.\n\n  380 E. Torday and T. A. Joyce, \u201cNotes on the Ethnography of the\n      Ba-Mbala,\u201d _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxv. (1905)\n      p. 405.\n\n  381 P. B. du Chaillu, _Explorations and Adventures in Equatorial Africa_\n      (London, 1861), p. 22.\n\n  382 P. B. du Chaillu, _op. cit._ p. 417.\n\n  M89 Agricultural work done by women among the Indian tribes of South\n      America.\n\n  383 A. D\u2019Orbigny, _L\u2019Homme Am\u00e9ricain (de l\u2019Am\u00e9rique M\u00e9ridionale)_\n      (Paris, 1839), i. 198 _sq._\n\n  384 Le Sieur de la Borde, \u201cRelation de l\u2019Origine, M\u0153urs, Coustumes,\n      Religion, Guerres et Voyages des Caraibes Sauvages des Isles\n      Antilles de l\u2019Amerique,\u201d pp. 21-23, in _Recueil de divers Voyages\n      faits en Afrique et en l\u2019Amerique_ (Paris, 1684).\n\n  385 E. F. im Thurn, _Among the Indians of Guiana_ (London, 1883), pp.\n      250 _sqq._, 260 _sqq._\n\n  M90 Cultivation of manioc by women among the Indian tribes of tropical\n      South America.\n\n  386 C. F. Phil. v. Martius, _Zur Ethnographie Amerika\u2019s, zumal\n      Brasiliens_ (Leipsic, 1867), pp. 486-489. On the economic importance\n      of the manioc or cassava plant in the life of the South American\n      Indians, see further E. J. Payne, _History of the New World called\n      America_, i. (Oxford, 1892) pp. 310 _sqq._, 312 _sq._\n\n  387 A. R. Wallace, _Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro_\n      (London, 1889), pp. 336, 337 (_The Minerva Library_). Mr. Wallace\u2019s\n      account of the agriculture of these tribes is entirely confirmed by\n      the observations of a recent explorer in north-western Brazil. See\n      Th. Koch-Gr\u00fcnberg, _Zwei Jahre unter den Indianern_ (Berlin,\n      1909-1910), ii. 202-209; _id._, \u201cFrauenarbeit bei den Indianern\n      Nordwest-Brasiliens,\u201d _Mitteilungen der Anthropologischen\n      Gesellschaft in Wien_, xxxviii. (1908) pp. 172-174. This writer\n      tells us (_Zwei Jahre unter den Indianern_, ii. 203) that these\n      Indians determine the time for planting by observing certain\n      constellations, especially the Pleiades. The rainy season begins\n      when the Pleiades have disappeared below the horizon. See Note at\n      end of the volume.\n\n  388 R. Southey, _History of Brazil_, vol. i. Second Edition (London,\n      1822), p. 253.\n\n  389 J. B. von Spix und C. F. Ph. von Martius, _Reise in Brasilien_\n      (Munich, 1823-1831), i. 381.\n\n  390 K. von den Steinen, _Unter den Naturv\u00f6lkern Zentral-Brasiliens_\n      (Berlin, 1894), p. 214.\n\n  391 J. J. von Tschudi, _Peru_ (St. Gallen, 1846), ii. 214.\n\n  M91 Agricultural work done by women among savage tribes in India, New\n      Guinea, and New Britain.\n\n  392 Captain T. H. Lewin, _Wild Races of South-Eastern India_ (London,\n      1870), p. 255.\n\n  393 E. T. Dalton, _Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal_ (Calcutta, 1872), p.\n      33.\n\n  394 E. T. Dalton, _op. cit._ pp. 226, 227.\n\n_  395 Nieuw Guinea, ethnographisch en natuurkundig onderzocht en\n      beschreven_ (Amsterdam, 1862), p. 159.\n\n_  396 Op. cit._ p. 119; H. von Rosenberg, _Der Malayische Archipel_\n      (Leipsic, 1878), p. 433.\n\n  397 P. A. Kleintitschen, _Die K\u00fcstenbewohner der Gazellehalbinsel_\n      (Hiltrup bei M\u00fcnster, preface dated Christmas, 1906), pp. 60 _sq._;\n      G. Brown, D.D., _Melanesians and Polynesians_ (London, 1910), pp.\n      324 _sq._\n\n  M92 Division of agricultural work between men and women in the Indian\n      Archipelago.\n\n  398 A. C. Kruijt, \u201cEen en ander aangaande het geestelijk en\n      maatschappelijk leven van den Poso-Alfoer,\u201d _Mededeelingen van wege\n      het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xxxix. (1895) pp. 132, 134;\n      J. Boot, \u201cKorte schets der noordkust van Ceram,\u201d _Tijdschrift van\n      het Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig Genootschap_, Tweede Serie, x.\n      (1893) p. 672; E. H. Gomes, _Seventeen Years among the Sea Dyaks of\n      Borneo_ (London, 1911), p. 46; E. Modigliani, _Un Viaggio a N\u00edas_\n      (Milan, 1890), pp. 590 _sq._; K. Vetter, _Komm her\u00fcber und hilf\n      uns!_ Heft 2 (Barmen, 1898), pp. 6 _sq._; Ch. Keysser, \u201cAus dem\n      Leben der Kaileute,\u201d in R. Neuhauss, _Deutsch Neu-Guinea_, iii.\n      (Berlin, 1911) pp. 14, 85.\n\n  399 J. Gumilla, _Histoire Naturelle, Civile et G\u00e9ographique de\n      l\u2019Or\u00e9noque_ (Avignon, 1758), ii. 166 _sqq._, 183 _sqq._ Compare _The\n      Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 139 _sqq._\n\n  M93 Among savages who have not learned to till the ground the task of\n      collecting the vegetable food in the form of wild seeds and roots\n      generally devolves on women. Examples furnished by the Californian\n      Indians.\n\n  400 S. Powers, _Tribes of California_ (Washington, 1877), p. 23.\n\n  401 Father Geronimo Boscana, \u201cChinigchinich,\u201d in [A. Robinson\u2019s] _Life\n      in California_ (New York, 1846), p. 287. Elsewhere the same\n      well-informed writer observes of these Indians that \u201cthey neither\n      cultivated the ground, nor planted any kind of grain; but lived upon\n      the wild seeds of the field, the fruits of the forest, and upon the\n      abundance of game\u201d (_op. cit._ p. 285).\n\n  402 Father Geronimo Boscana, _op. cit._ pp. 302-305. As to the _puplem_,\n      see _id._ p. 264. The writer says that criers informed the people\n      \u201cwhen to cultivate their fields\u201d (p. 302). But taken along with his\n      express statement that they \u201cneither cultivated the ground, nor\n      planted any kind of grain\u201d (p. 285, see above, p. 125 note 2), this\n      expression \u201cto cultivate their fields\u201d must be understood loosely to\n      denote merely the gathering of the wild seeds and fruits.\n\n  403 See above, pp. 81 _sq._\n\n  M94 Among the aborigines of Australia the women provided the vegetable\n      food, while the men hunted.\n\n  404 H. E. A. Meyer, \u201cManners and Customs of the Encounter Bay Tribe,\u201d in\n      _Native Tribes of South Australia_ (Adelaide, 1879), pp. 191 _sq._\n\n  405 (Sir) George Grey, _Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in\n      North-West and Western Australia_ (London, 1841), ii. 292 _sq._ The\n      women also collect the nuts from the palms in the month of March\n      (_id._ ii. 296).\n\n  406 (Sir) George Grey, _op. cit._ ii. 12. The yam referred to is a\n      species of _Diascorea_, like the sweet potato.\n\n  407 R. Brough Smyth, _The Aborigines of Victoria_ (Melbourne, 1878), i.\n      209.\n\n  408 P. Beveridge, \u201cOf the Aborigines inhabiting the Great Lacustrine and\n      Riverine Depression of the Lower Murray, Lower Murrumbidgee, Lower\n      Lachlan, and Lower Darling,\u201d _Journal and Proceedings of the Royal\n      Society of New South Wales for 1883_, vol. xvii. (Sydney, 1884) p.\n      36.\n\n  409 R. Brough Smyth, _The Aborigines of Victoria_, i. 214.\n\n  410 W. Stanbridge, \u201cSome Particulars of the General Characteristics,\n      Astronomy, and Mythology of the Tribes in the Central Part of\n      Victoria, South Australia,\u201d _Transactions of the Ethnological\n      Society of London_, N.S., i. (1861) p. 291.\n\n  411 Baldwin Spencer and F. J. Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central\n      Australia_ (London, 1899), p. 22.\n\n  M95 The digging of the earth for wild fruits may have led to the origin\n      of agriculture.\n  M96 The discovery of agriculture due mainly to women.\n  M97 Women as agricultural labourers among the Aryans of Europe. The\n      Greek conception of the Corn Goddess probably originated in a simple\n      personification of the corn.\n\n  412 O. Schrader, _Reallexikon der indogermanischen Altertumskunde_\n      (Strasburg, 1901), pp. 6 _sqq._, 630 _sqq._; _id._,\n      _Sprachvergleichung und Urgeschichte_3 (Jena, 1905-1907), ii. 201\n      _sqq._; H. Hirt, _Die Indogermanen_, i. 251 _sqq._, 263, 274. The\n      use of oxen to draw the plough is very ancient in Europe. On the\n      rocks at Bohusl\u00e4n in Sweden there is carved a rude representation of\n      a plough drawn by oxen and guided by a ploughman: it is believed to\n      date from the Bronze Age. See H. Hirt, _op. cit._ i. 286.\n\n  413 Strabo, iii. 4. 17, p. 165; Heraclides Ponticus, \u201cDe rebus\n      publicis,\u201d 33, in _Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum_, ed. C. M\u00fcller,\n      ii. 219.\n\n  414 Tacitus, _Germania_, 15.\n\n  415 J. Spieth, _Die Ewe-St\u00e4mme_ (Berlin, 1906), p. 313.\n\n  416 (Sir) G. Grey, _Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in\n      North-west and Western Australia_ (London, 1841), ii. 292.\n\n  M98 Suggested derivation of the name Demeter.\n\n  417 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_ (Strasburg, 1884), pp. 292\n      _sqq._ See above, p. 40, note 3.\n\n  418 O. Schrader, _Reallexikon der indogermanischen Altertumskunde_\n      (Strasburg, 1901), pp. 11, 289; _id._, _Sprachvergleichung und\n      Urgeschichte_2 (Jena, 1890), pp. 409, 422; _id._,\n      _Sprachvergleichung und Urgeschichte_3 (Jena, 1905-1907), ii. 188\n      _sq._ Compare V. Hehn, _Kulturpflanzen und Hausthiere in ihrem\n      Uebergang aus Asien_7 (Berlin, 1902), pp. 58 _sq._\n\n  419 Hesiod, _Theog._ 969 _sqq._; F. Lenormant, in Daremberg et Saglio,\n      _Dictionnaire des Antiquit\u00e9s Grecques et Romaines_, i. 2, p. 1029;\n      Kern, in Pauly-Wissowa\u2019s _Real-Encyclop\u00e4die der classischen\n      Altertumswissenschaft_, iv. 2, coll. 2720 _sq._\n\n  420 My friend Professor J. H. Moulton tells me that there is great doubt\n      as to the existence of a word \u03b4\u03b7\u03b1\u03af, \u201cbarley\u201d (_Etymologicum Magnum_,\n      p. 264, lines 12 _sq._), and that the common form of Demeter\u2019s name,\n      _D\u00e2m\u00e2ter_ (except in Ionic and Attic) is inconsistent with \u03b7 in the\n      supposed Cretan form. \u201cFinally if \u03b4\u03b7\u03b1\u03af = \u03b6\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03af, you are bound to\n      regard her as a Cretan goddess, or as arising in some other area\n      where the dialect changed Indogermanic _y_ into \u03b4 and not \u03b6: since\n      Ionic and Attic have \u03b6, the two crucial letters of the name tell\n      different tales\u201d (Professor J. H. Moulton, in a letter to me, dated\n      19 December 1903).\n\n  421 A. Kuhn, _Die Herabkunft des Feuers und des G\u00f6ttertranks_2\n      (G\u00fctersloh, 1886), pp. 68 _sq._; O. Schrader, _Reallexikon der\n      indogermanischen Altertumskunde_, pp. 11, 12, 289; _id._,\n      _Sprachvergleichung und Urgeschichte_,3 ii. 189, 191, 197 _sq._; H.\n      Hirt, _Die Indogermanen_ (Strasburg, 1905-1907), i. 276 _sqq._ In\n      the oldest Vedic ritual barley and not rice is the cereal chiefly\n      employed. See H. Oldenberg, _Die Religion des Veda_ (Berlin, 1894),\n      p. 353. For evidence that barley was cultivated in Europe by the\n      lake-dwellers of the Stone Age, see A. de Candolle, _Origin of\n      Cultivated Plants_ (London, 1884), pp. 368, 369; R. Munro, _The\n      Lake-dwellings of Europe_ (London, Paris, and Melbourne, 1890), pp.\n      497 _sq._ According to Pliny (_Nat. Hist._ xviii. 72) barley was the\n      oldest of all foods.\n\n  M99 The Corn-mother among the Germans and the Slavs.\n\n  422 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_ (Strasburg, 1884), p. 296.\n      Compare O. Hartung, \u201cZur Volkskunde aus Anhalt,\u201d _Zeitschrift des\n      Vereins f\u00fcr Volkskunde_, vii. (1897) p. 150.\n\n  423 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_ (Strasburg, 1884), p. 297.\n\n_  424 Ibid._ pp. 297 _sq._\n\n_  425 Ibid._ p. 299. Compare R. Andree, _Braunschweiger Volkskunde_\n      (Brunswick, 1896), p. 281.\n\n  426 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 300.\n\n  427 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 310.\n\n_  428 Ibid._ pp. 310 _sq._ Compare O. Hartung, _l.c._\n\n M100 The Corn-mother in the last sheaf. Fertilising power of the\n      Corn-mother. The Corn-mother in the last sheaf among the Slavs and\n      in France.\n\n  429 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 316.\n\n_  430 Ibid._ p. 316.\n\n_  431 Ibid._ pp. 316 _sq._\n\n_  432 Ibid._ p. 317. As to such rain-charms see _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_,\n      Second Edition, pp. 195-197.\n\n  433 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 317.\n\n_  434 Ibid._ pp. 317 _sq._\n\n_  435 Ibid._ p. 318.\n\n_  436 Ibid._\n\n  437 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 318 _sq._\n\n  438 P. S\u00e9billot, _Coutumes populaires de la Haute-Bretagne_ (Paris,\n      1886), p. 306.\n\n M101 The Harvest-mother or the Great Mother in the last sheaf.\n\n  439 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 319.\n\n M102 The Grandmother in the last sheaf.\n\n  440 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 320.\n\n_  441 Ibid._ p. 321.\n\n M103 The Old Woman or the Old Man in the last sheaf.\n\n_  442 Ibid._ pp. 321, 323, 325 _sq._\n\n_  443 Ibid._ p. 323; F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_\n      (Munich, 1848-1855), ii. p. 219, \u00a7 403.\n\n  444 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 325.\n\n_  445 Ibid._ p. 323.\n\n_  446 Ibid._\n\n  447 A. Kuhn and W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und Gebr\u00e4uche_\n      (Leipsic, 1848), pp. 396 _sq._, 399; K. Bartsch, _Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und\n      Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg_ (Vienna, 1879-1880), ii. 309, \u00a7 1494.\n\n  448 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 323 _sq._\n\n  449 H. Prahn, \u201cGlaube und Brauch in der Mark Brandenburg,\u201d _Zeitschrift\n      des Vereins f\u00fcr Volkskunde_, i. (1891) pp. 186 _sq._\n\n  450 K. Haupt, _Sagenbuch der Lausitz_ (Leipsic, 1862-1863), i. p. 233,\n      No. 277 note.\n\n M104 The Old Man or the Old Woman in the last sheaf.\n\n  451 R. Krause, _Sitten, Gebr\u00e4uche und Aberglauben in Westpreussen_\n      (Berlin, preface dated March 1904), p. 51.\n\n  452 P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic,\n      1903-1906), ii. 65 _sqq._\n\n  453 A. John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westb\u00f6hmen_\n      (Prague, 1905), p. 189.\n\n  454 A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebr\u00e4uche und M\u00e4rchen aus Westfalen_ (Leipsic,\n      1859), ii. 184, \u00a7\u00a7 512 b, 514.\n\n  455 W. von Schulenburg, _Wendisches Volksthum_ (Berlin, 1882), p. 147.\n\n  456 A. Jaussen, _Coutumes des Arabes au pays de Moab_ (Paris, 1908), pp.\n      252 _sq._\n\n M105 Identification of the harvester with the corn-spirit.\n\n  457 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 324.\n\n_  458 Ibid._ p. 320.\n\n  459 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 325.\n\n  460 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 74 _sqq._\n\n M106 The last sheaf made unusually large and heavy.\n\n  461 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 324.\n\n_  462 Ibid._ pp. 324 _sq._\n\n_  463 Ibid._ p. 325. The author of _Die gestriegelte Rockenphilosophie_\n      (Chemnitz, 1759) mentions (p. 891) the German superstition that the\n      last sheaf should be made large in order that all the sheaves next\n      year may be of the same size; but he says nothing as to the shape or\n      name of the sheaf. Compare A. John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube\n      im deutschen Westb\u00f6hmen_ (Prague, 1905), p. 188.\n\n  464 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 327.\n\n_  465 Ibid._ p. 328.\n\n M107 The Carlin and the Maiden in Scotland. The Old Wife (_Cailleach_) at\n      harvest in the Highlands of Scotland.\n\n  466 J. Jamieson, _Dictionary of the Scottish Language_, New Edition\n      (Paisley, 1879-1882), iii. 206, _s.v._ \u201cMaiden\u201d; W. Mannhardt,\n      _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 326.\n\n  467 That is, with the reaping.\n\n  468 Rev. J. G. Campbell, _Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of\n      Scotland_ (Glasgow, 1900), pp. 243 _sq._\n\n M108 The Old Wife (_Cailleach_) in the last sheaf at harvest in the\n      islands of Lewis and Islay. The Old Wife at harvest in Argyleshire.\n      The reaper of the last sheaf called the Winter.\n\n  469 R. C. Maclagan, \u201cNotes on folk-lore objects collected in\n      Argyleshire,\u201d _Folk-lore_, vi. (1895) pp. 149 _sq._\n\n  470 R. C. Maclagan, _op. cit._ p. 151.\n\n  471 R. C. Maclagan, _op. cit._ p. 149.\n\n_  472 Ibid._ pp. 151 _sq._\n\n  473 Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-East of\n      Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 182.\n\n  474 Rev. J. Macdonald, _Religion and Myth_ (London, 1893), p. 141.\n\n M109 The Hag (_wrach_) at harvest in North Pembrokeshire.\n M110 The Hag (_wrach_) at harvest in South Pembrokeshire. The Carley at\n      harvest in Antrim.\n\n  475 D. Jenkyn Evans, in an article entitled \u201cThe Harvest Customs of\n      Pembrokeshire,\u201d _Pembroke County Guardian_, 7th December 1895. In a\n      letter to me, dated 23 February 1901, Mr. E. S. Hartland was so good\n      as to correct the Welsh words in the text. He tells me that they\n      mean literally, \u201cI rose early, I pursued late on her neck,\u201d and he\n      adds: \u201cThe idea seems to be that the man has pursued the Hag or\n      Corn-spirit to a later refuge, namely, his neighbour\u2019s field not yet\n      completely reaped, and now he leaves her for the other reapers to\n      catch. The proper form of the Welsh word for Hag is _Gwrach_. That\n      is the radical from _gwr_, man; _gwraig_, woman. _Wrach_ is the\n      \u2018middle mutation.\u2019 \u201d\n\n  476 M. S. Clark, \u201cAn old South Pembrokeshire Harvest Custom,\u201d\n      _Folk-lore_, xv. (1904) pp. 194-196.\n\n  477 Communicated by my friend Professor W. Ridgeway.\n\n M111 The Old Woman (the Baba) at harvest among Slavonic peoples.\n\n  478 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 328.\n\n  479 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 238.\n\n_  480 Ibid._ pp. 328 _sq._\n\n_  481 Ibid._ p. 329.\n\n_  482 Ibid._ p. 330.\n\n M112 The Old Woman (the Baba) at harvest in Lithuania.\n\n_  483 Ibid._\n\n  484 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 331.\n\n_  485 Ibid._\n\n M113 The Corn-queen and the Harvest-queen.\n\n_  486 Ibid._ p. 332.\n\n  487 Th. Vernaleken, _Mythen und Br\u00e4uche des Volkes in Oesterreich_\n      (Vienna, 1859), p. 310.\n\n  488 Hutchinson, _History of Northumberland_, ii. _ad finem_, 17, quoted\n      by J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities of Great Britain_, ii. 20, Bohn\u2019s\n      edition.\n\n  489 E. D. Clarke, _Travels in Various Countries of Europe, Asia, and\n      Africa_, Part ii., Section First, Second Edition (London, 1813), p.\n      229. Perhaps _Morgay_ (which Clarke absurdly explains as \u03bc\u03b7\u03c4\u1f74\u03c1 \u03b3\u1fc6)\n      is a mistake for _Hawkie_ or _Hockey_. The waggon in which the last\n      corn was brought from the harvest field was called the _hockey_ cart\n      or _hock_ cart. In a poem called \u201cThe Hock-cart or Harvest Home\u201d\n      Herrick has described the joyous return of the laden cart drawn by\n      horses swathed in white sheets and attended by a merry crowd, some\n      of whom kissed or stroked the sheaves, while others pranked them\n      with oak leaves. See further J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, ii. 22\n      _sq._, Bohn\u2019s edition. The name _Hockey_ or _Hawkie_ is no doubt the\n      same with the German _hokelmei_, _h\u00f6rkelmei_, or _harkelmei_, which\n      in Westphalia is applied to a green bush or tree set up in the field\n      at the end of harvest and brought home in the last waggon-load; the\n      man who carries it into the farmhouse is sometimes drenched with\n      water. See A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebr\u00e4uche und M\u00e4rchen aus Westfalen_\n      (Leipsic, 1859), ii. 178-180, \u00a7\u00a7 494-497. The word is thought to be\n      derived from the Low German _hokk_ (plural _hokken_), \u201ca heap of\n      sheaves.\u201d See Joseph Wright, _English Dialect Dictionary_, iii.\n      (London, 1902) p. 190, _s.v._ \u201cHockey,\u201d from which it appears that\n      in England the word has been in use in Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire,\n      and Suffolk.\n\n  490 Book ix. lines 838-842.\n\n M114 The corn-spirit as the Old Woman or Old Man at threshing.\n\n  491 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 333 _sq._\n\n_  492 Ibid._ p. 334.\n\n  493 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 334.\n\n_  494 Ibid._ p. 336.\n\n M115 The man who gives the last stroke at threshing is called the\n      Corn-fool, the Oats-fool, etc.\n\n  495 A. Kuhn and W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und Gebr\u00e4uche_\n      (Leipsic, 1848), p. 397.\n\n  496 A. Peter, _Volksth\u00fcmliches aus \u00d6sterreichisch-Schlesien_ (Troppau,\n      1865-1867), ii. 270.\n\n M116 The man who gives the last stroke at threshing is said to get the\n      Old Woman or the Old Man. The Corn-woman at threshing.\n\n_  497 Bavaria Landes- und Volkskunde des K\u00f6nigreichs Bayern_, iii.\n      (Munich, 1865) pp. 344, 969.\n\n  498 P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic,\n      1903-1906), ii. 67.\n\n  499 A. John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in deutschen Westb\u00f6hmen_\n      (Prague, 1905), pp. 193, 194, 197.\n\n  500 R. Wuttke, _S\u00e4chsische Volkskunde_ (Dresden, 1901), p. 360.\n\n  501 W. Mannhardt. _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 336.\n\n_  502 Ibid._ p. 336; W. Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, p. 612.\n\n  503 A. John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westb\u00f6hmen_\n      (Prague, 1905), p. 194.\n\n  504 E. H. Meyer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), p. 437.\n\n M117 The corn-spirit as a child at harvest.\n\n  505 A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebr\u00e4uche und M\u00e4rchen aus Westfalen_ (Leipsic,\n      1859), ii. 184 _sq._, \u00a7 515.\n\n  506 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_ (Berlin, 1868), p. 28.\n\n  507 W. Mannhardt, _l.c._\n\n  508 W. Mannhardt, _l.c._\n\n M118 The last corn cut called the _mell_, the _kirn_, or the _churn_ in\n      various parts of England. The _churn_ cut by throwing sickles at it.\n\n  509 Joseph Wright, _English Dialect Dictionary_, vol. i. (London, 1898)\n      p. 605 _s.v._ \u201cChurn\u201d; _id._, vol. iii. (London, 1902) p. 453 _s.v._\n      \u201cKirn\u201d; _id._ vol. iv. (London, 1903) pp. 82 _sq._ Sir James Murray,\n      editor of the _New English Dictionary_, kindly informs me that the\n      popular etymology which identifies _kern_ or _kirn_ in this sense\n      with _corn_ is entirely mistaken; and that \u201cbaby\u201d or \u201cbabbie\u201d in the\n      same phrase means only \u201cdoll,\u201d not \u201cinfant.\u201d He writes,\n      \u201c_Kirn-babbie_ does not mean \u2018corn-baby,\u2019 but merely _kirn-doll_,\n      _harvest-home doll_. _Bab_, _babbie_ was even in my youth the\n      regular name for \u2018doll\u2019 in the district, as it was formerly in\n      England; the only woman who sold dolls in Hawick early in the\n      [nineteenth] century, and whose toy-shop all bairns knew, was known\n      as \u2018Betty o\u2019 the Babs,\u2019 Betty of the dolls.\u201d\n\n  510 W. Henderson, _Folk-lore of the Northern Counties of England_\n      (London, 1879), pp. 88 _sq._; M. C. F. Morris, _Yorkshire\n      Folk-talk_, pp. 212-214. Compare F. Grose, _Provincial Glossary_\n      (London, 1811), _s.v._ \u201cMell-supper\u201d; J. Brand, _Popular\n      Antiquities_, ii. 27 _sqq._, Bohn\u2019s edition; _The Denham Tracts_,\n      edited by Dr. James Hardy (London, 1892-1895), ii. 2 _sq._ The sheaf\n      out of which the Mell-doll was made was no doubt the Mell-sheaf,\n      though this is not expressly said. Dr. Joseph Wright, editor of _The\n      English Dialect Dictionary_, kindly informs me that the word _mell_\n      is well known in these senses in all the northern counties of\n      England down to Cheshire. He tells me that the proposals to connect\n      _mell_ with \u201cmeal\u201d or with \u201cmaiden\u201d (through a form like the German\n      _M\u00e4del_) are inadmissible.\n\n  511 Joseph Wright, _The English Dialect Dictionary_, vol. iv. (London,\n      1903) _s.v._ \u201cMell,\u201d p. 83.\n\n  512 R. Chambers, _The Book of Days_ (Edinburgh, 1886), ii. 377 _sq._ The\n      expression \u201cCorn Baby\u201d used by the writer is probably his\n      interpretation of the correct expression _kirn_ or _kern_ baby. See\n      above, p. 151, note 3. It is not clear whether the account refers to\n      England or Scotland. Compare F. Grose, _Provincial Glossary_ (London\n      1811), _s.v._ \u201cKern-baby,\u201d \u201can image dressed up with corn, carried\n      before the reapers to their mell-supper, or harvest-home\u201d; J. Brand,\n      _Popular Antiquities_, ii. 20; W. Henderson, _Folk-lore of the\n      Northern Counties of England_, p. 87.\n\n  513 Joseph Wright, _The English Dialect Dictionary_, iii. (London, 1902)\n      _s.v._ \u201cKirn,\u201d p. 453.\n\n  514 Joseph Wright, _The English Dialect Dictionary_, i. (London, 1898)\n      p. 605.\n\n  515 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, ii. 21 _sq._\n\n M119 The last corn cut called the _kirn_ in some parts of Scotland. The\n      _kirn_ cut by reapers blindfold.\n\n  516 J. Jamieson, _Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language_, New\n      Edition (Paisley, 1879-1882), iii. 42 _sq._, _s.v._ \u201cKirn.\u201d\n\n  517 Mrs. A. B. Gomme, \u201cA Berwickshire Kirn-dolly,\u201d _Folk-lore_, xii.\n      (1901) p. 215.\n\n  518 Mrs. A. B. Gomme, \u201cHarvest Customs,\u201d _Folk-lore_, xiii. (1902) p.\n      178.\n\n  519 J. G. Frazer, \u201cNotes on Harvest Customs,\u201d _Folk-lore_, vii. (1889)\n      p. 48.\n\n M120 The _churn_ in Ireland cut by throwing the sickles at it.\n\n  520 (Rev.) H. W. Lett, \u201cWinning the Churn (Ulster),\u201d _Folk-lore_, xvi.\n      (1905) p. 185. My friend Miss Welsh, formerly Principal of Girton\n      College, Cambridge, told me (30th May 1901) that she remembers the\n      custom of the _churn_ being observed in the north of Ireland; the\n      reapers cut the last handful of standing corn (called the _churn_)\n      by throwing their sickles at it, and the corn so cut was taken home\n      and kept for some time.\n\n M121 The last corn cut called the Maiden in the Highlands of Scotland.\n\n  521 J. Jamieson, _Dictionary of the Scottish Language_, New Edition\n      (Paisley, 1879-1882), iii. 206, _s.v._ \u201cMaiden.\u201d An old Scottish\n      name for the Maiden (_autumnalis nymphula_) was _Rapegyrne_. See\n      Fordun, _Scotichren_. ii. 418, quoted by J. Jamieson, _op. cit._\n      iii. 624, _s.v._ \u201cRapegyrne.\u201d\n\n  522 R. C. Maclagan, in _Folk-lore_, vi. (1895) pp. 149, 151.\n\n M122 The cutting of the Maiden at harvest in Argyleshire.\n\n  523 Rev. M. MacPhail (Free Church Manse, Kilmartin, Lochgilphead),\n      \u201cFolk-lore from the Hebrides,\u201d _Folk-lore_, xi. (1900) p. 441. That\n      the Maiden, hung up in the house, is thought to keep out witches\n      till the next harvest is mentioned also by the Rev. J. G. Campbell,\n      _Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland_ (Glasgow,\n      1900), p. 20. So with the _churn_ (above, p. 153).\n\n M123 The cutting of the Maiden at harvest in Perthshire.\n\n  524 Sir John Sinclair, _Statistical Account of Scotland_, xix.\n      (Edinburgh, 1797), pp. 550 _sq._ Compare Miss E. J. Guthrie, _Old\n      Scottish Customs_ (London and Glasgow, 1885), pp. 130 _sq._\n\n_  525 Folk-lore Journal_, vi. (1888) pp. 268 _sq._\n\n  526 The late Mrs. Macalister, wife of Professor Alexander Macalister,\n      Cambridge. Her recollections referred especially to the\n      neighbourhood of Glen Farg, some ten or twelve miles to the south of\n      Perth.\n\n M124 The Maiden at harvest in Lochaber. The cutting of the Maiden at\n      harvest on the Gareloch in Dumbartonshire.\n\n  527 Rev. James Macdonald, _Religion and Myth_ (London, 1893), pp. 141\n      _sq._\n\n  528 From information supplied by Archie Leitch, late gardener to my\n      father at Rowmore, Garelochhead. The Kirn was the name of the\n      harvest festivity in the south of Scotland also. See Lockhart\u2019s\n      _Life of Scott_, ii. 184 (first edition); _Early Letters of Thomas\n      Carlyle_, ed. Norton, ii. 325 _sq._\n\n  529 Communicated by the late Mr. Macfarlane of Faslane, Gareloch.\n\n M125 The cutting of the _clyack_ sheaf at harvest in Aberdeenshire.\n M126 The _clyack_ sheaf cut by the youngest girl and not allowed to touch\n      the ground.\n\n  530 A slightly different mode of making up the _clyack_ sheaf is\n      described by the Rev. Walter Gregor elsewhere (_Notes on the\n      Folk-lore of the North-east of Scotland_, London, 1881, pp. 181\n      sq.): \u201cThe _clyack_ sheaf was cut by the maidens on the harvest\n      field. On no account was it allowed to touch the ground. One of the\n      maidens seated herself on the ground, and over her knees was the\n      band of the sheaf laid. Each of the maidens cut a handful, or more\n      if necessary, and laid it on the band. The sheaf was then bound,\n      still lying over the maiden\u2019s knees, and dressed up in woman\u2019s\n      clothing.\u201d\n\n M127 The _clyack_ feast or \u201cmeal and ale.\u201d\n M128 The _clyack_ sheaf in the dance.\n M129 The _clyack_ sheaf given to a mare in foal or to a cow in calf.\n\n  531 W. Gregor, \u201cQuelques coutumes du Nord-est du Comt\u00e9 d\u2019Aberdeen,\u201d\n      _Revue des Traditions populaires_, iii. (October, 1888) pp. 484-487\n      (wrong pagination; should be 532-535). This account, translated into\n      French by M. Loys Brueyre from the author\u2019s English and translated\n      by me back from French into English, is fuller than the account\n      given by the same writer in his _Notes on the Folk-lore of the\n      North-east of Scotland_ (London, 1881), pp. 181-183. I have\n      translated \u201c_une jument ayant son poulain_\u201d by \u201ca mare in foal,\u201d and\n      \u201c_la plus ancienne vache ayant son veau_\u201d by \u201cthe oldest cow in\n      calf,\u201d because in the author\u2019s _Notes on the Folk-lore of the\n      North-east of Scotland_ (p. 182) we read that the last sheaf was\n      \u201ccarefully preserved till Christmas or New Year morning. On that\n      morning it was given to a mare in foal,\u201d etc. Otherwise the French\n      words might naturally be understood of a mare with its foal and a\n      cow with its calf.\n\n M130 Sanctity attributed to the _clyack_ sheaf. The sacrament of\n      barley-meal and water at Eleusis.\n\n  532 See above, pp. 115 _sq._\n\n  533 See below, vol. ii. p. 110.\n\n  534 The drinking of the draught (called the \u03ba\u03c5\u03ba\u03b5\u03ce\u03bd) as a solemn rite in\n      the Eleusinian mysteries is mentioned by Clement of Alexandria\n      (_Protrept._ 21, p. 18, ed. Potter) and Arnobius (_Adversus\n      Nationes_, v. 26). The composition of the draught is revealed by the\n      author of the Homeric _Hymn to Demeter_ (verses 206-211), where he\n      represents Demeter herself partaking of the sacred cup. That the\n      compound was a kind of thick gruel, half-solid, half-liquid, is\n      mentioned by Eustathius (on Homer, _Iliad_, xi. 638, p. 870).\n      Compare Miss J. E. Harrison, _Prolegomena to the Study of Greek\n      Religion_, Second Edition (Cambridge, 1908), pp. 155 _sqq._\n\n  535 Rev. J. Macdonald, _Religion and Myth_ (London, 1893), pp. 140\n      _sq._, from MS. notes of Miss J. Ligertwood.\n\n_  536 Folk-lore Journal_, vii. (1889) p. 51; _The Quarterly Review_,\n      clxxii. (1891) p. 195.\n\n  537 As to Inverness-shire my old friend Mr. Hugh E. Cameron, formerly of\n      Glen Moriston, Inverness-shire, wrote to me many years ago: \u201cAs a\n      boy, I remember the last bit of corn cut was taken home, and neatly\n      tied up with a ribbon, and then stuck up on the wall above the\n      kitchen fire-place, and there it often remained till the \u2018maiden\u2019 of\n      the following year took its place. There was no ceremony about it,\n      beyond often a struggle as to who would get, or cut, the last sheaf\n      to select the \u2018maiden\u2019 from\u201d (_The Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 1889,\n      pp. 50 _sq._). As to Sutherlandshire my mother was told by a\n      servant, Isabella Ross, that in that county \u201cthey hang up the\n      \u2018maiden\u2019 generally over the mantel-piece (chimney-piece) till the\n      next harvest. They have always a kirn, whipped cream, with often a\n      ring in it, and sometimes meal sprinkled over it. The girls must all\n      be dressed in lilac prints, they all dance, and at twelve o\u2019clock\n      they eat potatoes and herrings\u201d (_op. cit._ pp. 53 _sq._).\n\n M131 The corn-spirit as a bride.\n\n  538 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_ (Berlin, 1868), p. 30.\n\n  539 W. M\u00fcller, _Beitr\u00e4ge zur Volkskunde der Deutschen in M\u00e4hren_ (Vienna\n      and Olm\u00fctz, 1893), p. 327.\n\n  540 J. E. Waldfreund, \u201cVolksgebr\u00e4uche und Aberglaube in Tirol und dem\n      Salzburger Gebirg,\u201d _Zeitschrift f\u00fcr deutsche Mythologie und\n      Sittenkunde_, iii. (1855) p. 340.\n\n  541 Th. Vernaleken, _Mythen und Br\u00e4uche des Volkes in Oesterreich_\n      (Vienna, 1859), p. 310.\n\n  542 Mr. R. Matheson, in _The Folk-lore Journal_, vii. (1889) pp. 49, 50.\n\n M132 The corn-spirit as Bride and Bridegroom.\n\n  543 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_ (Berlin, 1868), p. 30.\n\n  544 E. Sommer, _Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Sachsen und Th\u00fcringen_\n      (Halle, 1846), pp. 160 _sq._; W. Mannhardt, _l.c._\n\n  545 W. Mannhardt, _l.c._; E. Peter, _Volksth\u00fcmliches aus\n      \u00d6sterreichisch-Schlesien_ (Troppau, 1865-1867), ii. 269.\n\n M133 The corn-spirit in the double form of the Old Wife and the Maiden\n      simultaneously at harvest in the Highlands of Scotland.\n\n  546 Alexander Nicolson, _A Collection of Gaelic Proverbs and Familiar\n      Phrases, based on Macintosh\u2019s Collection_ (Edinburgh and London,\n      1881), p. 248.\n\n  547 A. Nicolson, _op. cit._ pp. 415 _sq._\n\n  548 R. C. Maclagan, \u201cCorn-maiden in Argyleshire,\u201d _Folk-lore_, vii.\n      (1896) pp. 78 _sq._\n\n M134 In these customs the Old Wife represents the old corn of last year,\n      and the Maiden the new corn of this year.\n\n  549 See above, p. 149, where, however, the corn-spirit is conceived as\n      an Old Man.\n\n M135 Analogy of the harvest customs to the spring customs of Europe.\n\n  550 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 73 _sqq._\n\n  551 Above, pp. 134, 137, 138 _sq._, 142, 145, 147, 148, 149.\n\n  552 See below, pp. 237 _sq._\n\n_  553 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 47 _sqq._\n\n  554 Above, pp. 134, 135.\n\n  555 Above, pp. 141, 155, 156, 158, 160 _sq._, 162, 165.\n\n  556 See above, p. 135.\n\n  557 Above, p. 145. Compare A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebr\u00e4uche und M\u00e4rchen aus\n      Westfalen_ (Leipsic, 1859), ii. p. 185, \u00a7 516.\n\n  558 Above, pp. 136, 139, 155, 157 _sq._, 162; compare p. 160.\n\n M136 The spring and harvest customs of Europe are parts of a primitive\n      heathen ritual.\n M137 Marks of a primitive ritual.\n\n_  559 The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 220 _sqq._\n\n M138 Reasons for regarding the spring and harvest customs of modern\n      Europe as a primitive ritual.\n\n  560 Above, p. 146. The common custom of wetting the last sheaf and its\n      bearer is no doubt also a rain-charm; indeed the intention to\n      procure rain or make the corn grow is sometimes avowed. See above,\n      pp. 134, 137, 143, 144, 145; _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second\n      Edition, pp. 195-197.\n\n  561 Above, pp. 135 _sq._, 138, 139, 152.\n\n  562 Above, p. 134.\n\n  563 Above, pp. 134, 155, 158, 161.\n\n M139 The Corn-mother in many lands.\n M140 The Maize-mother among the Peruvian Indians.\n\n  564 Above, pp. 136, 138, 140, 143, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158: W.\n      Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, pp. 7, 26.\n\n  565 J. de Acosta, _Natural and Moral History of the Indies_, bk. v. ch.\n      28, vol. ii. p. 374 (Hakluyt Society, London, 1880). In quoting the\n      passage I have modernised the spelling. The original Spanish text of\n      Acosta\u2019s work was reprinted in a convenient form at Madrid in 1894.\n      See vol. ii. p. 117 of that edition.\n\n M141 The Maize-mother, the Quinoa-mother, the Coca-mother, and the\n      Potato-mother among the Peruvian Indians.\n\n  566 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 342 _sq._ Mannhardt\u2019s\n      authority is a Spanish tract (_Carta pastorale de exortacion e\n      instruccion contra las idolatrias de los Indios del ar\u00e7obispado de\n      Lima_) by Pedro de Villagomez, Archbishop of Lima, published at Lima\n      in 1649, and communicated to Mannhardt by J. J. v. Tschudi. The\n      _Carta Pastorale_ itself seems to be partly based on an earlier\n      work, the _Extirpacion de la Idolatria del Piru. Dirigido al Rey\n      N.S. en Su real conseio de Indias, por el Padre Pablo Joseph de\n      Arriaga de la Compa\u00f1ia de Jesus_ (Lima, 1621). A copy of this work\n      is possessed by the British Museum, where I consulted it. The writer\n      explains (p. 16) that the Maize-mothers (_Zaramamas_) are of three\n      sorts, namely (1) those which are made of maize stalks, dressed up\n      like women, (2) those which are carved of stone in the likeness of\n      cobs of maize, and (3) those which consist simply of fruitful stalks\n      of maize or of two maize-cobs naturally joined together. These last,\n      the writer tells us, were the principal _Zaramamas_, and were\n      revered by the natives as Mothers of the Maize. Similarly, when two\n      potatoes were found growing together the Indians called them\n      Potato-mothers (_Axomamas_) and kept them in order to get a good\n      crop of potatoes. As Arriaga\u2019s work is rare, it may be well to give\n      his account of the Maize-mothers, Coca-mothers, and Potato-mothers\n      in his own words. He says (p. 16): \u201c_Zaramamas, son de tres maneras,\n      y son las que se quentan entre las cosas halladas en los pueblos. La\n      primera es una como mu\u00f1eca hecha de ca\u00f1as de maiz, vestida como\n      muger con su anaco, y llicilla, y sus topos de plata, y entienden,\n      que como madre tiene virtud de engendrar, y parir mucho maiz. A este\n      modo tienen tambien Cocamamas para augmento de la coca. Otras son de\n      piedra labradas como choclos, o mazorcas de maiz, con sus granos\n      relevados, y de estas suelen tener muchas en lugar de Conopas_\n      [household gods]. _Otras son algunas ca\u00f1as fertiles de maiz, que con\n      la fertilidad de la tierra dieron muchas ma\u00e7orcas, y grandes, o\n      quando salen dos ma\u00e7orcas juntas, y estas son las principales,\n      Zaramamas, y assi las reverencian como a madres del maiz, a estas\n      llaman tambien Huantayzara, o Ayrihuayzara. A este tercer genero no\n      le dan la adoracion que a Huaca, ni Conopa, sino que le tienen\n      supersticiosamente como una cosa sagrada, y colgando estas ca\u00f1as con\n      muchos choclos de unos ramos de sauce bailen con ellas el bayle, que\n      llaman Ayrihua, y acabado el bayle, las queman, y sacrifican a\n      Libiac para que les de buena cosecha. Con la misma supersticion\n      guardan las mazorcas del maiz, que salen muy pintadas, que llaman\n      Micsazara, o Mantayzara, o Caullazara, y otros que llaman Piruazara,\n      que son otras ma\u00e7orcas en que van subiendo los granos no derechos\n      sino haziendo caracol. Estas Micsazara, o Piruazara, ponen\n      supersticiosamente en los montones de maiz, y en las Piruas (que son\n      donde guardan el maiz) paraque se las guarde, y el dia de las\n      exhibiciones se junta tanto de estas ma\u00e7orcas, que tienen bien que\n      comer las mulas. La misma supersticion tienen con las que llaman\n      Axomamas, que son quando salen algunas papas juntas, y las guardan\n      para tener buena cosecha de papas._\u201d The _exhibiciones_ here\n      referred to are the occasions when the Indians brought forth their\n      idols and other relics of superstition and delivered them to the\n      ecclesiastical visitors. At Tarija in Bolivia, down to the present\n      time, a cross is set up at harvest in the maize-fields, and on it\n      all maize-spadices growing as twins are hung. They are called\n      Pachamamas (Earth-mothers) and are thought to bring good harvests.\n      See Baron E. Nordenski\u00f6ld, \u201cTravels on the Boundaries of Bolivia and\n      Argentina,\u201d _The Geographical Journal_, xxi. (1903) pp. 517, 518.\n      Compare E. J. Payne, _History of the New World called America_\n      (Oxford, 1892), i. 414 _sq._\n\n M142 Customs of the ancient Mexicans at the maize-harvest.\n\n  567 Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations civilis\u00e9es du Mexique\n      et de l\u2019Am\u00e9rique Centrale_ (Paris 1857-1859), iii. 40 _sqq._ Compare\n      _id._, iii. 505 _sq._; E. J. Payne, _History of the New World called\n      America_, i. 419 _sq._\n\n M143 Sahagun\u2019s account of the ancient Mexican religion.\n M144 Sahagun\u2019s description of the Mexican Maize-goddess and her festival.\n\n  568 E. Seler, \u201cAltmexikanische Studien, ii.,\u201d _Ver\u00f6ffentlichungen aus\n      dem k\u00f6niglichen Museum f\u00fcr V\u00f6lkerkunde_, vi. (Berlin, 1899) 2/4\n      Heft, pp. 67 _sqq._ Another chapter of Sahagun\u2019s work, describing\n      the costumes of the Mexican gods, has been edited and translated\n      into German by Professor E. Seler in the same series of publications\n      (\u201cAltmexikanische Studien,\u201d _Ver\u00f6ffentlichungen aus dem k\u00f6niglichen\n      Museum f\u00fcr V\u00f6lkerkunde_, i. 4 (Berlin, 1890) pp. 117 _sqq._).\n      Sahagun\u2019s work as a whole is known to me only in the excellent\n      French translation of Messrs. D. Jourdanet and R. Simeon (_Histoire\n      G\u00e9n\u00e9rale des choses de la Nouvelle-Espagne par le R. P. Fray\n      Bernardino de Sahagun_, Paris, 1880). As to the life and character\n      of Sahagun see M. R. Simeon\u2019s introduction to the translation, pp.\n      vii. _sqq._\n\n  569 B. de Sahagun, Aztec text of book ii., translated by Professor E.\n      Seler, \u201cAltmexikanische Studien, ii.,\u201d _Ver\u00f6ffentlichungen aus dem\n      k\u00f6niglichen Museum f\u00fcr V\u00f6lkerkunde_, vi. 2/4 Heft (Berlin, 1899),\n      pp. 188-194. The account of the ceremonies given in the Spanish\n      version of Sahagun\u2019s work is a good deal more summary. See B. de\n      Sahagun, _Histoire G\u00e9n\u00e9rale des choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_\n      (Paris, 1880), pp. 94-96.\n\n M145 The Corn-mother among the North American Indians.\n\n  570 J. Mooney, \u201cMyths of the Cherokee,\u201d _Nineteenth Annual Report of the\n      Bureau of American Ethnology_, Part I. (Washington, 1900) pp. 423,\n      432. See further _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 296\n      _sq._\n\n  571 L. H. Morgan, _League of the Iroquois_ (Rochester, 1851), pp. 161\n      _sq._, 199. According to the Iroquois the corn plant sprang from the\n      bosom of the mother of the Great Spirit after her burial (L. H.\n      Morgan, _op. cit._ p. 199 note 1).\n\n  572 C. Lumholtz, _Unknown Mexico_ (London, 1903), ii. 280.\n\n M146 The Mother-cotton in the Punjaub.\n\n  573 H. M. Elliot, _Supplemental Glossary of Terms used in the\n      North-Western Provinces_, edited by J. Beames (London, 1869), i.\n      254.\n\n M147 The Barley Bride among the Berbers.\n\n  574 W. B. Harris, \u201cThe Berbers of Morocco,\u201d _Journal of the\n      Anthropological Institute_, xxvii. (1898) p. 68.\n\n M148 Another account of the Barley Bride among the Berbers. Competitions\n      for the possession of the image that represents the Corn-mother.\n\n  575 Sir John Drummond Hay, _Western Barbary, its Wild Tribes and Savage\n      Animals_ (1844), p. 9, quoted in _Folk-lore_, vii. (1896) pp. 306\n      _sq._\n\n  576 See above, pp. 70 _sqq._\n\n M149 Comparison of the European ritual of the corn with the Indonesian\n      ritual of the rice.\n M150 The Indonesian ritual of the rice is based on the belief that the\n      rice is animated by a soul.\n M151 Parallelism between the human soul and the rice-soul.\n\n  577 R. J. Wilkinson (of the Civil Service of the Federated Malay\n      States), _Malay Beliefs_ (London and Leyden, 1906), pp. 49-51. On\n      the conception of the soul as a bird, see _Taboo and the Perils of\n      the Soul_, pp. 33 _sqq._ The Toradjas of Central Celebes think that\n      the soul of the rice is embodied in a pretty little blue bird, which\n      builds its nest in the rice-field when the ears are forming and\n      vanishes after harvest. Hence no one may drive away, much less kill,\n      these birds; to do so would not only injure the crop, the\n      sacrilegious wretch himself would suffer from sickness, which might\n      end in blindness. See A. C. Kruyt, \u201cDe Rijstmoeder in den Indischen\n      Archipel,\u201d p. 374 (see the full reference in the next note).\n\n M152 The soul-stuff of rice.\n\n  578 A. C. Kruyt, \u201cDe Rijstmoeder in den Indischen Archipel,\u201d _Verslagen\n      en Mededeelingen der koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen_,\n      Afdeeling Letterkunde, Vierde Reeks, v. part 4 (Amsterdam, 1903),\n      pp. 361 _sq._ This essay (pp. 361-411) contains a valuable\n      collection of facts relating to what the writer calls the\n      Rice-mother in the East Indies. But it is to be observed that while\n      all the Indonesian peoples seem to treat a certain portion of the\n      rice at harvest with superstitious respect and ceremony, only a part\n      of them actually call it \u201cthe Rice-mother.\u201d Mr. Kruyt prefers to\n      speak of \u201csoul-stuff\u201d rather than of \u201ca soul,\u201d because, according to\n      him, in living beings the animating principle is conceived, not as a\n      tiny being confined to a single part of the body, but as a sort of\n      fluid or ether diffused through every part of the body. See his\n      work, _Het Animisme in den Indischen Archipel_ (The Hague, 1906),\n      pp. 1 _sqq._ In the latter work (pp. 145-150) the writer gives a\n      more summary account of the Indonesian theory of the rice-soul.\n\n M153 Rice treated by the Indonesians as if it were a woman.\n\n  579 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 28 _sq._; A. C.\n      Kruyt, \u201cDe Rijstmoeder,\u201d _op. cit._ pp. 363 _sq._, 370 _sqq._\n\n  580 See above, pp. 113 _sqq._\n\n  581 See above, p. 181.\n\n  582 See _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 411 _sq._; A. C. Kruyt,\n      \u201cDe Rijstmoeder,\u201d _op. cit._ p. 372.\n\n M154 The Kayans of Borneo, their treatment of the soul of the rice.\n\n  583 See above, pp. 92 _sqq._\n\n  584 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _Quer durch Borneo_ (Leyden, 1904-1907), i. 157\n      _sq._\n\n M155 Instruments used by the Kayans for the purpose of catching and\n      detaining the soul of the rice. Ceremonies performed by Kayan\n      housewives at fetching rice from the barn.\n\n  585 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _op. cit._ i. 118-121. Compare _id._, _In\n      Centraal Borneo_ (Leyden, 1900), i. 154 _sqq._\n\n M156 Masquerade performed by the Kayans before sowing for the purpose of\n      attracting the soul of the rice.\n\n  586 A similar belief probably explains the masked dances and pantomimes\n      of many savage tribes. If that is so, it shews how deeply the\n      principle of imitative magic has influenced savage religion.\n\n  587 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _Quer durch Borneo_, i. 322-330. Compare _id._,\n      _In Centraal Borneo_, i. 185 _sq._ As to the masquerades performed\n      and the taboos observed at the sowing season by the Kayans of the\n      Mendalam river, see above, pp. 94 _sqq._\n\n  588 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _op. cit._ i. 317.\n\n M157 Comparison of the Kayan masquerade with the Eleusinian drama.\n M158 Securing the soul of the rice among the Dyaks of Northern Borneo.\n\n  589 Spenser St. John, _Life in the Forests of the Far East_2 (London,\n      1863), i. 187, 192 _sqq._; W. Chalmers, quoted in H. Ling Roth\u2019s\n      _Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo_ (London, 1896), i.\n      412-414.\n\n M159 Recalling the soul of the rice among the Karens of Burma.\n\n  590 Rev. E. B. Cross, \u201cOn the Karens,\u201d _Journal of the American Oriental\n      Society_, iv. (1854) p. 309.\n\n M160 Securing the soul of the rice in various parts of Burma.\n\n  591 (Sir) J. G. Scott and J. P. Hardiman, _Gazetteer of Upper Burma and\n      of the Shan States_ (Rangoon, 1900-1901), Part i. vol. i. p. 559.\n\n  592 J. Mooney, \u201cMyths of the Cherokee,\u201d _Nineteenth Annual Report of the\n      Bureau of American Ethnology_, Part i. (Washington, 1900) p. 423.\n      Compare _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 296 _sq._\n\n  593 (Sir) J. G. Scott and J. P. Hardiman, _op. cit._ Part ii. vol. i. p.\n      172.\n\n  594 From a letter written to me by Mr. J. S. Furnivall and dated Pegu\n      Club, Rangoon, 6/6 (_sic_). Mr. Furnivall adds that in Upper Burma\n      the custom of the _Bonmagyi_ sheaf is unknown.\n\n M161 The Rice-mother among the Minangkabauers of Sumatra.\n\n  595 J. L. van der Toorn, \u201cHet animisme bij den Minangkabauer der\n      Padangsche Bovenlanden,\u201d _Bijdragen tot de Taal- Land- en\n      Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch Indi\u00eb_, xxxix. (1890) pp. 63-65. In the\n      charm recited at sowing the Rice-mother in the bed, I have\n      translated the Dutch word _stoel_ as \u201croot,\u201d but I am not sure of\n      its precise meaning in this connexion. It is doubtless identical\n      with the English agricultural term \u201cto stool,\u201d which is said of a\n      number of stalks sprouting from a single seed, as I learn from my\n      friend Professor W. Somerville of Oxford.\n\n M162 The Rice-mother among the Tomori of Celebes. Special words used at\n      reaping among the Tomori. Riddles and stories in connexion with the\n      rice.\n\n  596 A. C. Kruijt, \u201cEenige ethnografische aanteekeningen omtrent de\n      Toboengkoe en de Tomori,\u201d _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche\n      Zendelinggenootschap_, xliv. (1900) pp. 227, 230 _sq._\n\n  597 See _Taboo and the Perils of the Soul_, pp. 411 _sq._\n\n  598 A. C. Kruijt, _op. cit._ p. 228.\n\n  599 A. C. Kruijt, \u201cEen en ander aangaande het geestelijk en\n      maatschapelijk leven van den Poso-Alfoer,\u201d _Mededeelingen van wege\n      het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xxxix. (1895) pp. 142 _sq._\n\n M163 The Rice-mother among the Toradjas of Celebes.\n\n  600 G. Maan, \u201cEenige mededeelingen omtrent de zeden en gewoonten der\n      Toerateya ten opzichte van den rijstbouw,\u201d _Tijdschrift voor\n      Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xlvi. (1903) pp. 330-337. The\n      writer dates his article from Tanneteya (in Celebes?), but otherwise\n      gives no indication of the geographical position of the people he\n      describes. A similar omission is common with Dutch writers on the\n      geography and ethnology of the East Indies, who too often appear to\n      assume that the uncouth names of these barbarous tribes and obscure\n      hamlets are as familiar to European readers as Amsterdam or the\n      Hague. The Toerateyas whose customs Mr. Maan describes in this\n      article are the inland inhabitants of Celebes. Their name Toerateyas\n      or Toradjas signifies simply \u201cinlanders\u201d and is applied to them by\n      their neighbours who live nearer the sea; it is not a name used by\n      the people themselves. The Toradjas include many tribes and the\n      particular tribe whose usages in regard to the Rice-mother are\n      described in the text is probably not one of those whose customs and\n      beliefs have been described by Mr. A. C. Kruijt in many valuable\n      papers. See above, p. 183 note 1, and _The Magic Art and the\n      Evolution of Kings_, i. 109 note 1.\n\n M164 The rice personified as a young woman among the Bataks of Sumatra.\n\n  601 M. Joustra, \u201cHet leven, de zeden en gewoonten der Bataks,\u201d\n      _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_,\n      xlvi. (1902) pp. 425 _sq._\n\n  602 J. H. Neumann, \u201cIets over den landbouw bij de Karo-Bataks,\u201d\n      _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_,\n      xlvi. (1902) pp. 380 _sq._ As to the employment in ritual of young\n      people whose parents are both alive, see _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_,\n      Second Edition, pp. 413 _sqq._\n\n M165 The King of the Rice in Mandeling.\n\n  603 A. L. van Hasselt, \u201cNota, betreffende de rijstcultuur in de\n      Residentie Tapanoeli,\u201d _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en\n      Volkenkunde_, xxxvi. (1893) pp. 526-529; Th. A. L. Heyting,\n      \u201cBeschrijving der Onderafdeeling Groot- mandeling en Batangnatal,\u201d\n      _Tijdschrift van het Nederlandsch Aardrijkskundig Genootschap_,\n      Tweede Serie, xiv. (1897) pp. 290 _sq._ As to the rule of sowing\n      seed on a full stomach, which is a simple case of homoeopathic or\n      imitative magic, see further _The Magic Art and the Evolution of\n      Kings_, i. 136.\n\n M166 The Rice-mother and the Rice-child at harvest in the Malay\n      Peninsula.\n\n  604 W. W. Skeat, _Malay Magic_ (London, 1900), pp. 225 _sq._\n\n  605 W. W. Skeat, _Malay Magic_, pp. 235-249.\n\n M167 The Rice-bride and the Rice-bridegroom at harvest in Java.\n\n  606 See above, pp. 163 _sq._\n\n  607 P. J. Veth, _Java_ (Haarlem, 1875-1884), i. 524-526. The ceremony\n      has also been described by Miss Augusta de Wit (_Facts and Fancies\n      about Java_, Singapore, 1898, pp. 229-241), who lays stress on the\n      extreme importance of the rice-harvest for the Javanese. The whole\n      island of Java, she tells us, \u201cis one vast rice-field. Rice on the\n      swampy plains, rice on the rising ground, rice on the slopes, rice\n      on the very summits of the hills. From the sod under one\u2019s feet to\n      the verge of the horizon, everything has one and the same colour,\n      the bluish-green of the young, or the gold of the ripened rice. The\n      natives are all, without exception, tillers of the soil, who reckon\n      their lives by seasons of planting and reaping, whose happiness or\n      misery is synonymous with the abundance or the dearth of the\n      precious grain. And the great national feast is the harvest home,\n      with its crowning ceremony of the Wedding of the Rice\u201d (_op. cit._\n      pp. 229 _sq._). I have to thank my friend Dr. A. C. Haddon for\n      directing my attention to Miss de Wit\u2019s book.\n\n M168 Another account of the Javanese custom.\n\n  608 A. C. Kruijt, \u201cGebruiken bij den rijstoogst in enkele streken op\n      Oost-Java,\u201d _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche\n      Zendelinggenootschap_, xlvii. (1903) pp. 132-134. Compare _id._, \u201cDe\n      rijst-moeder in den Indischen Archipel,\u201d _Verslagen en Mededeelingen\n      der koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen_, Afdeeling Letterkunde,\n      Vierde Reeks, v. part 4 (Amsterdam, 1903), pp. 398 _sqq._\n\n M169 The rice-spirit as husband and wife in Bali and Lombok.\n\n  609 J. C. van Eerde, \u201cGebruiken bij den rijstbouw en rijstoogst op\n      Lombok,\u201d _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_,\n      xlv. (1902) pp. 563-565 note.\n\n  610 J. C. van Eerde, \u201cGebruiken bij den rijstbouw en rijstoogst op\n      Lombok,\u201d _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_,\n      xlv. (1902) pp. 563-573.\n\n M170 The Father and Mother of the Rice among the Szis of Burma.\n\n  611 (Sir) J. G. Scott and J. P. Hardiman, _Gazetteer of Upper Burma and\n      the Shan States_, Part i. vol. i. (Rangoon, 1900) p. 426.\n\n M171 The spirit of the corn sometimes thought to be embodied in men or\n      women.\n M172 The Old Woman who Never Dies, the goddess of the crops among the\n      Mandans and Minnitarees.\n\n  612 Maximilian, Prinz zu Wied, _Reise in das innere Nord-America_\n      (Coblenz, 1839-1841), ii. 182 _sq._\n\n M173 Miami myth of the Corn-spirit in the form of a broken-down old man.\n\n  613 H. R. Schoolcraft, _Indian Tribes of the United States_, v.\n      (Philadelphia, 1856) pp. 193-195.\n\n M174 The harvest-goddess Gauri represented by a girl and a bundle of\n      plants.\n\n  614 B. A. Gupte, \u201cHarvest Festivals in honour of Gauri and Ganesh,\u201d\n      _Indian Antiquary_, xxxv. (1906) p. 61. For details see _The Magic\n      Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 77 _sq._\n\n M175 Analogy of Demeter and Persephone to the Corn-mother, the\n      Harvest-maiden, and similar figures in the harvest customs of modern\n      European peasantry. The rustic analogues of Demeter and Persephone.\n\n  615 It is possible that the image of Demeter with corn and poppies in\n      her hands, which Theocritus (vii. 155 _sqq._) describes as standing\n      on a rustic threshing-floor (see above, p. 47), may have been a\n      Corn-mother or a Corn-maiden of the kind described in the text. The\n      suggestion was made to me by my learned and esteemed friend Dr. W.\n      H. D. Rouse.\n\n  616 Homer, _Odyssey_, v. 125 _sqq._; Hesiod, _Theog._ 969 _sqq._\n\n  617 See above, pp. 150 _sq._\n\n  618 It is possible that a ceremony performed in a Cyprian worship of\n      Ariadne may have been of this nature: at a certain annual sacrifice\n      a young man lay down and mimicked a woman in child-bed. See\n      Plutarch, _Theseus_, 20: \u1f10\u03bd \u03b4\u1f74 \u03c4\u1fc7 \u03b8\u03c5\u03c3\u03af\u1fb3 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u0393\u03bf\u03c1\u03c0\u03b9\u03b1\u03af\u03bf\u03c5 \u03bc\u03b7\u03bd\u1f78\u03c2\n      \u1f30\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5 \u03b4\u03b5\u03c5\u03c4\u03ad\u03c1\u1fb3 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03ba\u03bb\u03b9\u03bd\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03cc\u03bd \u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u03b1 \u03c4\u1ff6\u03bd \u03bd\u03b5\u03b1\u03bd\u03af\u03c3\u03ba\u03c9\u03bd \u03c6\u03b8\u03ad\u03b3\u03b3\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b1\u03b9 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\n      \u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd \u1f05\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1 \u1f60\u03b4\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c3\u03b1\u03b9 \u03b3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b1\u1fd6\u03ba\u03b5\u03c2. We have already seen grounds for\n      regarding Ariadne as a goddess or spirit of vegetation. See _The\n      Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 138. Amongst the\n      Minnitarees in North America, the Prince of Neuwied saw a tall\n      strong woman pretend to bring up a stalk of maize out of her\n      stomach; the object of the ceremony was to secure a good crop of\n      maize in the following year. See Maximilian, Prinz zu Wied, _Reise\n      in das innere Nord-America_ (Coblenz, 1839-1841), ii. 269.\n\n  619 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 97 _sqq._\n\n M176 Why did the Greeks personify the corn as a mother and a daughter?\n M177 Demeter was perhaps the ripe crop and Persephone the seed-corn.\n\n  620 See above, p. 135.\n\n  621 See above, pp. 140 _sqq._, 155 _sqq._, 164 _sqq._, 197 _sqq._\n\n  622 However, the Sicilians seem on the contrary to have regarded Demeter\n      as the seed-corn and Persephone as the ripe crop. See above, pp. 57,\n      58 _sq._\n\n  623 According to Augustine (_De civitate Dei_, iv. 8) the Romans\n      imagined a whole series of distinct deities, mostly goddesses, who\n      took charge of the corn at all its various stages from the time when\n      it was committed to the ground to the time when it was lodged in the\n      granary. Such a multiplication of mythical beings to account for the\n      process of growth is probably late rather than early.\n\n M178 Or the Greeks may have started with the personification of the corn\n      as a single goddess, and the conception of a second goddess may have\n      been a later development. Duplication of deities as a consequence of\n      the anthropomorphic tendency. Example of such duplication in Japan,\n      where there are two distinct deities of the sun. Perhaps the Greek\n      personification of the corn as a mother and a daughter (Demeter and\n      Persephone) is a case of such a mythical duplication.\n\n  624 In some places it was customary to kneel down before the last sheaf,\n      in others to kiss it. See W. Mannhardt, _Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 26; _id._,\n      _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 339. The custom of kneeling and\n      bowing before the last corn is said to have been observed, at least\n      occasionally, in England. See _Folk-lore Journal_, vii. (1888) p.\n      270; and Herrick\u2019s evidence, above, p. 147, note 1. The Malay\n      sorceress who cut the seven ears of rice to form the Rice-child\n      kissed the ears after she had cut them (W. W. Skeat, _Malay Magic_,\n      p. 241).\n\n  625 Above, pp. 132 _sq._\n\n  626 Even in one of the oldest documents, the Homeric _Hymn to Demeter_,\n      Demeter is represented as the goddess who controls the growth of the\n      corn rather than as the spirit who is immanent in it. See above, pp.\n      36 _sq._\n\n  627 W. G. Aston, _Shinto_ (London, 1905), p. 127.\n\n  628 See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 323 _sqq._, 330\n      _sqq._, 346 _sqq._\n\n  629 A. Pauly, _Real-Encyclop\u00e4die der classischen\n      Alterthumswissenschaft_, v. (Stuttgart, 1849) p. 1011.\n\n M179 Death and resurrection a leading incident in the myth of Persephone,\n      as in the myths of Adonis, Attis, Osiris, and Dionysus.\n M180 Popular harvest and vintage customs in ancient Egypt, Syria, and\n      Phrygia.\n M181 Maneros, a plaintive song of Egyptian reapers.\n\n  630 Diodorus Siculus, i. 14, \u1f14\u03c4\u03b9 \u03b3\u1f70\u03c1 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03bd\u1fe6\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u1f70 \u03c4\u1f78\u03bd \u03b8\u03b5\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u1f78\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2\n      \u03c0\u03c1\u03ce\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u1f00\u03bc\u03b7\u03b8\u03ad\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c4\u03ac\u03c7\u03c5\u03c2 \u03b8\u03ad\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 \u03c4\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2 \u1f00\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03ce\u03c0\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03ba\u03cc\u03c0\u03c4\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c0\u03bb\u03b7\u03c3\u03af\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\n      \u03b4\u03c1\u03ac\u03b3\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c3 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u1f74\u03bd \u1f3e\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd \u1f00\u03bd\u03b1\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c3\u03b8\u03b1\u03b9 \u03ba\u03c4\u03bb. For \u03b8\u03ad\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2 we should\n      perhaps read \u03c3\u03cd\u03bd\u03b8\u03b5\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2, which is supported by the following\n      \u03b4\u03c1\u03ac\u03b3\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2.\n\n  631 Herodotus, ii. 79; Julius Pollux, iv. 54; Pausanias, ix. 29. 7;\n      Athenaeus, xiv. 11, p. 620 A.\n\n  632 H. Brugsch, _Die Adonisklage und das Linoslied_ (Berlin, 1852), p.\n      24. According to another interpretation, however, Maneros is the\n      Egyptian _manurosh_, \u201cLet us be merry.\u201d See Lauth, \u201c\u00dcber den\n      \u00e4gyptischen Maneros,\u201d _Sitzungsberichte der k\u00f6nigl. bayer._\n      _Akademie der Wissenschaften zu M\u00fcnchen_, 1869, ii. 163-194.\n\n  633 Above, pp. 197 _sqq._\n\n  634 W. R. S. Ralston, _Songs of the Russian People_ (London, 1872), pp.\n      249 _sq._\n\n  635 See above, pp. 158 _sq._\n\n  636 W. Gregor, \u201cQuelques coutumes du Nord-est du comt\u00e9 d\u2019Aberdeen,\u201d\n      _Revue des Traditions populaires_, iii. (1888) p. 487 (should be\n      535).\n\n M182 Linus or Ailinus, a plaintive song sung at the vintage in Phoenicia.\n\n  637 Homer, _Iliad_, xviii. 570; Herodotus, ii. 79; Pausanias, ix. 29.\n      6-9; Conon, _Narrat_. 19. For the form Ailinus see Suidas, _s.v._;\n      Euripides, _Orestes_, 1395; Sophocles, _Ajax_, 627. Compare Moschus,\n      _Idyl._ iii. 1; Callimachus, _Hymn to Apollo_, 20. See Greve, _s.v._\n      \u201cLinos,\u201d in W. H. Roscher\u2019s _Ausf\u00fchrliches Lexikon der griech, und\n      r\u00f6m. Mythologie_, ii. 2053 _sqq._\n\n  638 Conon, _Narrat._ 19.\n\n  639 F. C. Movers, _Die Ph\u00f6nizier_, i. (Bonn, 1841), p. 246; W.\n      Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_ (Berlin, 1877), p. 281. In\n      Hebrew the expression would be _o\u00ef lanu_ (\u05d0\u05d5\u05d9 \u05dc\u05e0\u05d5), which occurs in\n      1 Samuel, iv. 7 and 8; Jeremiah, iv. 13, vi. 4. However, the\n      connexion of the Linus song with the lament for Adonis is regarded\n      by Baudissin as very doubtful. See W. W. Graf Baudissin, _Adonis und\n      Esmun_ (Leipsic, 1911), p. 360, note 3.\n\n  640 Pausanias, ix. 29. 8.\n\n M183 Bormus, a plaintive song sung by Mariandynian reapers in Bithynia.\n\n  641 Julius Pollux, iv. 54; Athenaeus, xiv. 11, pp. 619 F-620 A;\n      Hesychius, _svv._ \u0392\u1ff6\u03c1\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd and \u039c\u03b1\u03c1\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03c5\u03bd\u1f78\u03c2 \u03b8\u03c1\u1fc6\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2.\n\n M184 Lityerses, a song sung at reaping and threshing in Phrygia. Legend\n      of Lityerses.\n\n  642 The story was told by Sositheus in his play of _Daphnis_. His verses\n      have been preserved in the tract of an anonymous writer. See\n      _Scriptores rerum mirabilium Graeci_, ed. A. Westermann (Brunswick,\n      1839), pp. 220 _sq._; also Athenaeus, x. 8, p. 415 B; Scholiast on\n      Theocritus, x. 41; Photius, _Lexicon_, Suidas, and Hesychius, _s.v._\n      \u201cLityerses\u201d; Apostolius, _Centur._ x. 74; Servius, on Virgil,\n      _Bucol._ viii. 68. Photius mentions the sickle with which Lityerses\n      beheaded his victims. Servius calls Lityerses a king and says that\n      Hercules cut off his head with the sickle that had been given him to\n      reap with. Lityerses is the subject of a special study by W.\n      Mannhardt (_Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 1 _sqq._), whom I\n      follow. Compare O. Crusius, _s.v._ \u201cLityerses,\u201d in W. H. Roscher\u2019s\n      _Ausf\u00fchrliches Lexikon der griech. und r\u00f6m. Mythologie_, ii. 2065\n      _sqq._\n\n  643 Julius Pollux, iv. 54.\n\n M185 The story of Lityerses seems to reflect an old Phrygian harvest\n      custom of killing strangers as embodiments of the corn-spirit.\n\n  644 In this comparison I closely follow W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische\n      Forschungen_, pp. 18 _sqq._\n\n M186 Contests among reapers, binders, and threshers in order not to be\n      the last at their work.\n\n  645 Compare above, pp. 134, 136, 137 _sq._, 140, 142, 143, 144, 145, 147\n      _sq._, 149, 164 _sq._ On the other hand, the last sheaf is sometimes\n      an object of desire and emulation. See above, pp. 136, 141, 153, 154\n      _sq._, 156, 162 note 3, 165. It is so at Balquhidder also\n      (_Folk-lore Journal_, vi. 269); and it was formerly so on the\n      Gareloch, Dumbartonshire, where there was a competition for the\n      honour of cutting it, and handfuls of standing corn used to be\n      hidden under sheaves in order that the last to be uncovered should\n      form the Maiden.\u2014(From the information of Archie Leitch. See pp. 157\n      _sq._)\n\n  646 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 19 _sq._\n\n  647 A. Kuhn, _M\u00e4rkische Sagen und M\u00e4rchen_ (Berlin, 1843), p. 342.\n\n  648 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 20; F. Panzer,\n      _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855), ii. p. 217,\n      \u00a7 397; A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Th\u00fcringen_\n      (Vienna, 1878), p. 222, \u00a7 69.\n\n M187 Custom of wrapping up in corn-stalks the last reaper, binder, or\n      thresher.\n\n  649 Above, pp. 167 _sq._\n\n  650 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 22.\n\n  651 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 22.\n\n_  652 Ibid._ pp. 22 _sq._\n\n_  653 Ibid._ p. 23.\n\n_  654 Ibid._ pp. 23 _sq._\n\n_  655 Ibid._ p. 24.\n\n_  656 Ibid._ p. 24.\n\n_  657 Ibid._ p. 24.\n\n_  658 Ibid._ pp. 24 _sq._\n\n_  659 Ibid._ p. 25.\n\n  660 P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic,\n      1903-1906), ii. 65.\n\n  661 A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Th\u00fcringen_ (Vienna,\n      1878), p. 223, \u00a7 70.\n\n M188 The corn-spirit, driven out of the last corn, lives in the barn\n      during the winter.\n\n  662 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 25 _sq._\n\n M189 Similar ideas as to the last corn in India.\n\n  663 C. A. Elliot, _Hoshang\u00e1b\u00e1d Settlement Report_, p. 178, quoted in\n      _Panjab Notes and Queries_, iii. \u00a7\u00a7 8, 168 (October and December,\n      1885); W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India_\n      (Westminster, 1896), ii. 306.\n\n  664 W. Crooke, _op. cit._ ii. 306 _sq._\n\n M190 The corn-spirit supposed to be killed at reaping or threshing.\n      Corn-spirit represented by a man, who is threshed.\n\n  665 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 31.\n\n_  666 Ibid._ p. 334.\n\n_  667 Ibid._ p. 330.\n\n_  668 Ibid._\n\n_  669 Ibid._ p. 331.\n\n  670 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 335.\n\n_  671 Ibid._ p. 335.\n\n  672 Above, pp. 135, 146.\n\n  673 J. Nicholson, _Folk-lore of East Yorkshire_ (London, Hull, and\n      Driffield, 1890), p. 28, supplemented by a letter of the author\u2019s\n      addressed to Mr. E. S. Hartland and dated 33 Leicester Street, Hull,\n      11th September, 1890. I have to thank Mr. E. S. Hartland for calling\n      my attention to the custom and allowing me to see Mr. Nicholson\u2019s\n      letter.\n\n  674 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 26.\n\n  675 Above, pp. 149 _sq._\n\n  676 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 50.\n\n_  677 Ibid._ pp. 50 _sq._\n\n  678 See above, pp. 146, 170 note 1; _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second\n      Edition, pp. 195 sqq.\n\n M191 Corn-spirit represented by a stranger or a visitor to the\n      harvest-field, who is treated accordingly.\n\n  679 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschunge_ pp. 32 _sqq._ Compare K.\n      Bartsch, _Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg_ (Vienna,\n      1879-1880), ii. 296 _sq._; P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und\n      Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, 1903-1906), ii. 62 _sq._; A.\n      John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westb\u00f6hmen_\n      (Prague, 1905), p. 193; A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche\n      aus Th\u00fcringen_ (Vienna, 1878), p. 221, \u00a7 61; R. Krause, _Sitten,\n      Gebr\u00e4uche und Aberglauben in Westpreussen_ (Berlin, preface dated\n      March, 1904), p. 51; _Revue des Traditions populaires_, iii. (1888)\n      p. 598.\n\n  680 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 35 _sq._\n\n_  681 Ibid._ p. 36.\n\n  682 A. John, _Sitte, Brauch, und Volksglaube im deutschen Westb\u00f6hmen_,\n      (Prague, 1905), p. 194.\n\n  683 O. Hartung, \u201cZur Volkskunde aus Anhalt,\u201d _Zeitschrift des Vereins\n      f\u00fcr Volkskunde_, vii. (1897) p. 153.\n\n  684 J. Lec\u0153ur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Cond\u00e9-sur-Noireau,\n      1883-1887), ii. 240 _sq._\n\n  685 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 36.\n\n  686 For the evidence, see _ibid._ p. 36, note 2. The \u201ckey\u201d in the\n      European custom is probably intended to serve the same purpose as\n      the \u201cknot\u201d in the Cingalese custom, as to which see _Taboo and the\n      Perils of the Soul_, pp. 308 _sq._\n\n  687 From a letter written to me by Colonel Henry Wilson, of Farnborough\n      Lodge, Farnborough, Kent. The letter is dated 21st March, 1901.\n\n  688 \u201cNotes on Harvest Customs,\u201d _The Folk-lore Journal_, vii. (1889) pp.\n      52 _sq._\n\n M192 Ceremonies of the Tarahumare Indians at hoeing, ploughing, and\n      harvest.\n\n  689 C. Lumholtz, _Unknown Mexico_ (London, 1903), i. 214 _sq._\n\n  690 Compare _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 75 _sq._\n\n  691 K. Vetter, _Komm her\u00fcber und hilf uns!_ Heft 2 (Barmen, 1898), p. 7.\n\n  692 A. C. Kruijt, \u201cEen en ander aangaande het geestelijk en\n      maatschappelijk leven van den Poso-Alfoer,\u201d _Mededeelingen van wege\n      het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xxxix. (1895) p. 137. As to\n      influence which the spirits of the dead are thought to exercise on\n      the growth of the crops, see above, pp. 103 _sq._, and below, vol.\n      ii. pp. 109 _sqq._\n\n M193 Pretence made by the reapers of killing some one with their scythes.\n\n  693 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 39.\n\n  694 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 39 _sq._\n\n_  695 Ibid._ p. 40. For the speeches made by the woman who binds the\n      stranger or the master, see _ibid._ p. 41; C. Lemke,\n      _Volksth\u00fcmliches in Ostpreussen_ (Mohrungen, 1884-1887), i. 23 _sq._\n\n  696 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 41 _sq._\n\n M194 Pretence made by threshers of choking a person with their flails.\n\n  697 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 42. See also above, p. 150.\n\n  698 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 42. See above, p. 149. In Th\u00fcringen a\n      being called the Rush-cutter (_Binsenschneider_) used to be much\n      dreaded. On the morning of St. John\u2019s Day he was wont to walk\n      through the fields with sickles tied to his ankles cutting avenues\n      in the corn as he walked. To detect him, seven bundles of brushwood\n      were silently threshed with the flail on the threshing-floor, and\n      the stranger who appeared at the door of the barn during the\n      threshing was the Rush-cutter. See A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und\n      Gebr\u00e4uche aus Th\u00fcringen_ (Vienna, 1878), p. 221. With the\n      _Binsenschneider_ compare the _Bilschneider_ and _Biberschneider_\n      (F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_, Munich, 1848-1855,\n      ii. pp. 210 _sq._, \u00a7\u00a7 372-378).\n\n M195 Custom observed at the madder-harvest in Zealand.\n\n  699 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 47 _sq._\n\n M196 The spirit of the corn conceived as poor and robbed by the reapers.\n      Some of the corn left on the harvest-field for the corn-spirit.\n      Little fields or gardens cultivated for spirits or gods.\n\n  700 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 48.\n\n  701 W. Mannhardt, _l.c._\n\n_  702 Ibid._ pp. 48 _sq._\n\n  703 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 49.\n\n_  704 Ibid._ p. 337.\n\n_  705 Ibid._\n\n  706 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 337 _sq._\n\n  707 A. John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westb\u00f6hmen_\n      (Prague, 1905), p. 189.\n\n  708 A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Th\u00fcringen_ (Vienna,\n      1878), p. 224, \u00a7 74.\n\n_  709 Bavaria, Landes- und Volkskunde des K\u00f6nigreichs Bayern_ (Munich,\n      1860-1867), iii. 343 _sq._\n\n_  710 Zeitschrift des Vereins f\u00fcr Volkskunde_, vii. (1897) p. 154.\n\n  711 P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch, und Volksglaube in Schlesien_\n      (Leipsic, 1903-1906), ii. 64, \u00a7 419.\n\n  712 W. R. S. Ralston, _Songs of the Russian People_, Second Edition\n      (London, 1872), pp. 251 _sq._ As to Perun, the old Slavonic\n      thunder-god, see _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii.\n      365.\n\n  713 Rev. Walter Gregor, _Notes on the Folk-lore of the North-east of\n      Scotland_ (London, 1881), p. 182.\n\n  714 See above, pp. 136 _sqq._\n\n  715 A. Germain, \u201cNote zur Zanzibar et la C\u00f4te Orientale d\u2019Afrique,\u201d\n      _Bulletin de la Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 de G\u00e9ographie_ (Paris), V\u00e8me S\u00e9rie, xvi.\n      (1868) p. 555.\n\n  716 E. Modigliani, _Un Viaggio a N\u00edas_ (Milan, 1890), p. 593.\n\n  717 J. Spieth, _Die Ewe-St\u00e4mme_ (Berlin, 1906), p. 303. In the Central\n      Provinces of India \u201csometimes the oldest man in the house cuts the\n      first five bundles of the crop and they are afterwards left in the\n      fields for the birds to eat. And at the end of harvest the last one\n      or two sheaves are left standing in the field and any one who likes\n      can cut and carry them away. In some localities the last sheaves are\n      left standing in the field and are known as _barhona_, or the giver\n      of increase. Then all the labourers rush together at this last patch\n      of corn and tear it up by the roots; everybody seizes as much as he\n      can [and] keeps it, the master having no share in this patch. After\n      the _barhona_ has been torn up all the labourers fall on their faces\n      to the ground and worship the field\u201d (A. E. Nelson, _Central\n      Provinces Gazetteers, Bilaspur District_, vol. A, 1910, p. 75). This\n      quotation was kindly sent to me by Mr. W. Crooke; I have not seen\n      the original. It seems to shew that in the Central Provinces the\n      last corn is left standing on the field as a portion for the\n      corn-spirit, and that he is believed to be immanent in it; hence the\n      name of \u201cthe giver of increase\u201d bestowed on it, and the eagerness\n      with which other people, though not the owner of the land, seek to\n      appropriate it.\n\n M197 Hence perhaps we may explain the dedication of sacred fields and the\n      offering of first-fruits to gods and spirits.\n\n  718 See above, pp. 93 _sq._\n\n  719 See above, pp. 36, 74.\n\n  720 Leviticus, xix. 9 _sq._, xxiii. 22; Deuteronomy, xxiv. 19-21.\n\n  721 See above, pp. 46 _sq._, 53 _sqq._, and below, vol. ii. pp. 109\n      _sqq._\n\n M198 Passing strangers treated as the spirit of the madder-roots.\n\n  722 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 49 _sq._; A. Wuttke,\n      _Der deutsche Volksaberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 254, \u00a7 400; M.\n      T\u00f6ppen, _Aberglaube aus Masuren_2 (Danzig, 1867), p. 57. The same\n      belief is held and acted upon in Japan (L. Hearn, _Glimpses of\n      Unfamiliar Japan_, London, 1904, ii. 603).\n\n  723 The explanation of the custom is W. Mannhardt\u2019s (_Mythologische\n      Forschungen_, p. 49).\n\n_  724 Odyssey_, xvii. 485 _sqq._ Compare Plato, _Sophist_, p. 216 A.\n\n  725 A. C. Kruijt, \u201cMijne eerste ervaringen te Poso,\u201d _Mededeelingen van\n      wege het Nederlandsche Zendelinggenootschap_, xxxvi. (1892) p. 402.\n\n M199 Killing of the personal representative of the corn-spirit.\n\n  726 For throwing him into the water, see p. 225.\n\n M200 Human sacrifices for the crops in South and Central America.\n\n  727 Cieza de Leon, _Travels_, translated by C. R. Markham, p. 203\n      (Hakluyt Society, London, 1864).\n\n  728 Juan de Velasco, _Histoire du Royaume de Quito_, i. (Paris, 1840)\n      pp. 121 _sq._ (Ternaux-Compans, _Voyages, Relations et M\u00e9moires\n      Originaux pour servir \u00e0 l\u2019Histoire de la D\u00e9couverte de l\u2019Am\u00e9rique_,\n      vol. xviii.).\n\n  729 Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations civilis\u00e9es du Mexique\n      et de l\u2019Am\u00e9rique Centrale_ (Paris, 1857-1859), i. 274; H. H.\n      Bancroft, _Native Races of the Pacific States_ (London, 1875-1876),\n      ii. 340.\n\n  730 Brasseur de Bourbourg, \u201cAper\u00e7us d\u2019un voyage dans les \u00c9tats de\n      San-Salvador et de Guatemala,\u201d _Bulletin de la Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 de\n      G\u00e9ographie_ (Paris), IV\u00e8me S\u00e9rie, xiii. (1857) pp. 278 _sq._\n\n  731 Herrera, quoted by A. Bastian, _Die Culturl\u00e4nder des alten Amerika_\n      (Berlin, 1878), ii. 379 _sq._ See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second\n      Edition, pp. 338 _sq._\n\n M201 Human sacrifices for the crops among the Pawnees.\n\n  732 E. James, _Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky\n      Mountains_ (London, 1823), ii. 80 _sq._; H. R. Schoolcraft, _Indian\n      Tribes of the United States_ (Philadelphia, 1853-1856), v. 77\n      _sqq._; J. De Smet, in _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_, xi.\n      (1838) pp. 493 _sq._; _id._, in _Annales de la Propagation de la\n      Foi_, xv. (1843) pp. 277-279; _id._, _Voyages aux Montagnes\n      Rocheuses_, Nouvelle Edition (Paris and Brussels, 1873), pp. 121\n      _sqq._ The accounts by Schoolcraft and De Smet of the sacrifice of\n      the Sioux girl are independent and supplement each other. According\n      to De Smet, who wrote from the descriptions of four eye-witnesses,\n      the procession from hut to hut for the purpose of collecting wood\n      took place on the morning of the sacrifice. Another description of\n      the sacrifice is given by Mr. G. B. Grinnell from the recollection\n      of an eye-witness (_Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk-tales_, New York,\n      1889, pp. 362-369). According to this last account the victim was\n      shot with arrows and afterwards burnt. Before the body was consumed\n      in the fire a man pulled out the arrows, cut open the breast of the\n      victim, and having smeared his face with the blood ran away as fast\n      as he could.\n\n M202 Human sacrifices for the crops in Africa.\n\n  733 J. B. Labat, _Relation historique de l\u2019Ethiopie occidentale_ (Paris,\n      1732), i. 380.\n\n  734 John Adams, _Sketches taken during Ten Voyages in Africa between the\n      years 1786 and 1800_ (London, N.D.), p. 25.\n\n  735 P. Bouche, _La C\u00f4te des Esclaves_ (Paris, 1885), p. 132.\n\n  736 T. Arbousset et F. Daumas, _Voyage d\u2019exploration au Nord-est de la\n      Colonie du Cap de Bonne-Esp\u00e9rance_ (Paris, 1842), pp. 117 _sq._ The\n      custom has probably long been obsolete.\n\n  737 From information given me by my friend the Rev. John Roscoe, who\n      resided for some time among the Wamegi and suppressed the sacrifice\n      in 1886.\n\n M203 Human sacrifices for the crops in the Philippines.\n\n  738 F. Blumentritt, \u201cDas Stromgebiet des Rio Grande de Mindanao,\u201d\n      _Petermanns Mitteilungen_, xxxvii. (1891) p. 110.\n\n  739 A. Schadenberg, \u201cBeitr\u00e4ge zur Kenntniss der im Innern Nordluzons\n      lebenden St\u00e4mme,\u201d _Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft f\u00fcr\n      Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte_, 1888, p. (39) (bound\n      with _Zeitschrift f\u00fcr Ethnologie_, xx. 1888).\n\n  740 Schadenberg, in _Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft f\u00fcr\n      Anthropologie, Ethnologie und Urgeschichte_, 1889, p. (681) (bound\n      with _Zeitschrift f\u00fcr Ethnologie_, xxi. 1889).\n\n M204 Human sacrifices for the crops among the Wild Wa of Burma.\n\n  741 (Sir) J. G. Scott and J. P. Hardiman, _Gazetteer of Upper Burma and\n      the Shan States_ (Rangoon, 1900-1901), Part i. vol. i. pp. 493-509.\n\n M205 Human sacrifices for the crops among the Shans of Indo-China and the\n      Nagas and other tribes of India.\n\n  742 Col. R. G. Woodthorpe, \u201cSome Account of the Shans and Hill Tribes of\n      the States on the Mekong,\u201d _Journal of the Anthropological\n      Institute_, xxvi. (1897) p. 24.\n\n  743 For a general description of the country and the tribes see L. A.\n      Waddell, \u201cThe Tribes of the Brahmaputra Valley,\u201d _Journal of the\n      Asiatic Society of Bengal_, lxix. Part iii. (Calcutta, 1901), pp.\n      1-127.\n\n  744 Miss G. M. Godden, \u201cNaga and other Frontier Tribes of North-Eastern\n      India,\u201d _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxvii. (1898)\n      pp. 9 _sq._, 38 _sq._\n\n_  745 North Indian Notes and Queries_, i. p. 4, \u00a7 15 (April 1891).\n\n_  746 Panjab Notes and Queries_, ii. pp. 127 _sq._, \u00a7 721 (May 1885).\n\n  747 Rev. P. Dehon, S.J., \u201cReligion and Customs of the Uraons,\u201d _Memoirs\n      of the Asiatic Society of Bengal_, vol. i. No. 9 (Calcutta, 1906),\n      pp. 141 _sq._\n\n M206 Human sacrifices for the crops among the Khonds.\n\n  748 Major S. C. Macpherson, _Memorials of Service in India_ (London,\n      1865), pp. 113-131; Major-General John Campbell, _Wild Tribes of\n      Khondistan_ (London, 1864), pp. 52-58, etc. Compare Mgr. Neyret,\n      Bishop of Vizagapatam, in _Annales de la Propagation de la Foi_,\n      xxiii. (1851) pp. 402-404; E. Thurston, _Ethnographic Notes on\n      Southern India_ (Madras, 1906), pp. 510-519; _id._, _Castes and\n      Tribes of Southern India_ (Madras, 1909), iii. 371-385.\n\n  749 J. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 56.\n\n  750 S. C. Macpherson, _op. cit._ pp. 115 _sq._\n\n  751 S. C. Macpherson, _op. cit._ pp. 117 _sq._; J. Campbell, _op. cit._\n      p. 112.\n\n M207 Ceremonies preliminary to the sacrifice.\n\n  752 S. C. Macpherson, _op. cit._ pp. 117 _sq._\n\n  753 S. C. Macpherson, _op. cit._ p. 118.\n\n  754 J. Campbell, _op. cit._ pp. 54 _sq._\n\n M208 Consummation of the sacrifice.\n\n  755 J. Campbell, _op. cit._ pp. 55, 112.\n\n  756 S. C. Macpherson, _op. cit._ p. 119; J. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 113.\n\n  757 S. C. Macpherson, _op. cit._ p. 127. Instead of the branch of a\n      green tree, Campbell mentions two strong planks or bamboos (p. 57)\n      or a slit bamboo (p. 182).\n\n  758 J. Campbell, _op. cit._ pp. 56, 58, 120.\n\n  759 E. T. Dalton, _Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal_ (Calcutta, 1872), p.\n      288, quoting Colonel Campbell\u2019s _Report_.\n\n  760 J. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 126. The elephant represented the Earth\n      Goddess herself, who was here conceived in elephant-form (Campbell,\n      _op. cit._ pp. 51, 126). In the hill tracts of Goomsur she was\n      represented in peacock-form, and the post to which the victim was\n      bound bore the effigy of a peacock (Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 54).\n\n  761 S. C. Macpherson, _op. cit._ p. 130. In Mexico also the tears of the\n      human victims were sometimes regarded as an omen of rain (B. de\n      Sahagun, _Histoire g\u00e9n\u00e9rale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_,\n      traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon, Paris, 1880, bk. ii. ch. 20,\n      p. 86).\n\n M209 Flesh of the victim used to fertilise the fields.\n\n  762 E. T. Dalton, _Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal_, p. 288, referring\n      to Colonel Campbell\u2019s _Report_.\n\n  763 S. C. Macpherson, _op. cit._ p. 129. Compare J. Campbell, _op. cit._\n      pp. 55, 58, 113, 121, 187.\n\n  764 J. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 182.\n\n  765 S. C. Macpherson, _op. cit._ p. 128; E. T. Dalton, _Descriptive\n      Ethnology of Bengal_, p. 288.\n\n  766 J. Campbell, _op. cit._ pp. 55, 182.\n\n  767 J. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 187.\n\n  768 E. Thurston, _Castes and Tribes of Southern India_ (Madras, 1909),\n      iii. 381-385.\n\n M210 In these Khond sacrifices the human victims appear to have been\n      regarded as divine.\n\n  769 J. Campbell, _op. cit._ p. 112.\n\n  770 S. C. Macpherson, _op. cit._ p. 118.\n\n M211 Traces of an identification of the human victim with the god in\n      other sacrifices.\n\n  771 Above, pp. 239, 240, 244.\n\n M212 Analogy of these barbarous rites to the harvest customs of Europe.\n\n  772 Above, p. 134.\n\n  773 Above, pp. 134, 157 _sqq._\n\n  774 Above, p. 223.\n\n  775 Above, p. 224.\n\n  776 Above, p. 170, with the references in note 1; _Adonis, Attis,\n      Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 195-197.\n\n M213 Human representative of the corn-spirit slain on the harvest-field.\n M214 The victim who represented the corn-spirit may have been a passing\n      stranger or the reaper, binder, or thresher of the last corn.\n\n  777 See above, p. 217.\n\n  778 Above, p. 224.\n\n  779 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 5.\n\n  780 H. Pfannenschmid, _Germanische Erntefeste_ (Hanover, 1878), p. 98.\n\n M215 Perhaps the victim annually sacrificed in the character of the\n      corn-spirit may have been the king himself.\n\n  781 Above, p. 217. It is not expressly said that he was wrapt in a\n      sheaf.\n\n  782 Above, pp. 225 _sq._, 229 _sq._\n\n  783 See _The Dying God_, pp. 160 _sqq._\n\n M216 Relation of Lityerses to Attis: both may have been originally\n      corn-spirits, or the one a corn-spirit and the other a tree-spirit.\n      Human representatives both of Lityerses and Attis annually slain.\n\n  784 See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 231 _sqq._, 239\n      _sq._\n\n  785 See _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 47 _sqq._\n\n  786 I do not know when the corn is reaped in Phrygia; but the high\n      upland character of the country makes it likely that harvest is\n      later there than on the coasts of the Mediterranean.\n\n  787 See above, pp. 240 _sqq._; and _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second\n      Edition, pp. 247-249. As to head-hunting in British Borneo see H. L.\n      Roth, _The Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo_ (London,\n      1896), ii. 140 _sqq._; in Central Celebes, see A. C. Kruijt, \u201cHet\n      koppensnellen der Toradja\u2019s van Midden-Celebes, en zijne\n      Beteekenis,\u201d _Verslagen en Mededeelingen der koninklijke Akademie\n      van Wetenschappen_, Afdeelung Letterkunde, Vierde Reeks, iii. part 2\n      (Amsterdam, 1899), pp. 147-229; among the Igorot of Bontoc in Luzon,\n      see A. E. Jenks, _The Bontoc Igorot_ (Manilla, 1905), pp. 172\n      _sqq._; among the Naga tribes of Assam, see Miss G. M. Godden, \u201cNaga\n      and other Frontier Tribes of North-East India\u201d, _Journal of the\n      Anthropological Institute_, xxvii. (1898) pp. 12-17. It must not,\n      however, be thought that among these tribes the custom of procuring\n      human heads is practised merely as a means to ensure the growth of\n      the crops; it is apparently supposed to exert a salutary influence\n      on the whole life of the people by providing them with guardian\n      spirits in the shape of the ghosts of the men to whom in their\n      lifetime the heads belonged. The Scythians of Central Europe in\n      antiquity set great store on the heads of the enemies whom they had\n      slain in war. See Herodotus, iv. 64 _sq._\n\n  788 There are traces in Greece itself of an old custom of sacrificing\n      human victims to promote the fertility of the earth. See Pausanias,\n      vii. 19. 3 _sq._ compared with vii. 20. 1; _id._, viii. 53. 3; L. R.\n      Farnell, _The Cults of the Greek States_, ii. (Oxford, 1896) p. 455;\n      and _The Dying God_, pp. 161 _sq._\n\n M217 Similarity of the Bithynian Bormus to the Phrygian Attis.\n\n  789 Above, pp. 215 _sq._\n\n  790 Above, p. 216.\n\n  791 Hesychius, _s.v._ \u0392\u1ff6\u03c1\u03bc\u03bf\u03bd.\n\n M218 The Phoenician Linus song at the vintage. Linus identified with\n      Adonis, who may have been annually represented by a human victim.\n\n  792 Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, ii. 6. 3.\n\n  793 The scurrilities exchanged both in ancient and modern times between\n      vine-dressers, vintagers, and passers-by seem to belong to a\n      different category. See W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_,\n      pp. 53 _sq._\n\n  794 See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, pp. 188 _sqq._\n\n  795 Above, pp. 236 _sq._, 240, 243, 244, 248 _sq._\n\n  796 The probable correspondence of the months, which supplies so welcome\n      a confirmation of the conjecture in the text, was pointed out to me\n      by my friend W. Robertson Smith, who furnished me with the following\n      note: \u201cIn the Syro-Macedonian calendar Lous represents Ab, not\n      Tammuz. Was it different in Babylon? I think it was, and one month\n      different, at least in the early times of the Greek monarchy in\n      Asia. For we know from a Babylonian observation in the Almagest\n      (_Ideler_, i. 396) that in 229 B.C. Xanthicus began on February 26.\n      It was therefore the month before the equinoctial moon, not Nisan\n      but Adar, and consequently Lous answered to the lunar month Tammuz.\u201d\n\n M219 The corn-spirit in Egypt (Osiris) annually represented by a human\n      victim.\n\n  797 Above, p. 215.\n\n  798 Apollodorus, _Bibliotheca_, ii. 5. 11; Scholiast on Apollonius\n      Rhodius, _Argon._ iv. 1396; Plutarch, _Parall._ 38. Herodotus (ii.\n      45) discredits the idea that the Egyptians ever offered human\n      sacrifices. But his authority is not to be weighed against that of\n      Manetho (Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 73), who affirms that they did.\n      See further Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge, _Osiris and the Egyptian\n      Resurrection_ (London and New York, 1911), i. 210 _sqq._, who says\n      (pp. 210, 212): \u201cThere is abundant proof for the statement that the\n      Egyptians offered up sacrifices of human beings, and that, in common\n      with many African tribes at the present day, their customs in\n      dealing with vanquished enemies were bloodthirsty and savage.... The\n      passages from Egyptian works quoted earlier in this chapter prove\n      that human sacrifices were offered up at Heliopolis as well as at\n      Tetu, or Busiris, and the rumour of such sacrifices has found\n      expression in the works of Greek writers.\u201d\n\n  799 E. Meyer, _Geschichte des Altertums_, i. (Stuttgart, 1884), \u00a7 57, p.\n      68.\n\n  800 E. Meyer, _Geschichte des Altertums_,2 i. 2 (Stuttgart and Berlin,\n      1909), p. 97; G. Maspero, _Histoire Ancienne des Peuples de l\u2019Orient\n      Classique, Les Origines_ (Paris, 1895), pp. 129 _sqq._ Both these\n      eminent historians have abandoned their former theory that Osiris\n      was the Sun-god. Professor E. Meyer now speaks of Osiris as \u201cthe\n      great vegetation god\u201d and, on the same page, as \u201can earth-god\u201d (_op.\n      cit._ i. 2. p. 70). I am happy to find the view of the nature of\n      Osiris, which I advocated many years ago, supported by the authority\n      of so distinguished an Oriental scholar. Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge\n      holds that Busiris was the oldest shrine of Osiris in the north of\n      Egypt, but that it was less ancient than his shrine at Abydos in the\n      south. See E. A. Wallis Budge, _Osiris and the Egyptian\n      Resurrection_ (London and New York, 1911), ii. 1.\n\n  801 Diodorus Siculus, i. 88; Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 73, compare 30,\n      33.\n\n  802 Margaret A. Murray, _The Osireion at Abydos_ (London, 1904), p. 30,\n      referring to Mariette, _Dendereh_, iv. plates xxxi., lvi., and\n      lxxxi. The passage of Diodorus Siculus referred to is i. 62. 4. As\n      to masks of animals worn by Egyptian men and women in religious\n      rites see _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 133; _The\n      Dying God_, p. 72.\n\n M220 Assimilation of human victims to the corn which they represent.\n\n  803 Above, pp. 237 _sq._, 240, 251.\n\n  804 E. J. Payne, _History of the New World called America_, i. (Oxford,\n      1892) p. 422.\n\n  805 Brasseur de Bourbourg, _Histoire des Nations civilis\u00e9es du Mexique\n      et de l\u2019Am\u00e9rique Centrale_ (Paris, 1857-1859), iii. 535.\n\n  806 Festus, _s.v._ _Catularia_, p. 45 ed. C. O. M\u00fcller. Compare _id._,\n      _s.v._ _Rutilae canes_, p. 285; Columella, _De re rustica_, x. 342\n      _sq._; Ovid, _Fasti_, iv. 905 _sqq._; Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xviii. 14.\n\n  807 D. Chwolsohn, _Die Ssabier und der Ssabismus_ (St. Petersburg,\n      1856), ii. 388 _sq._ Compare _ibid._, pp. 384 _sq._, 386 _sq._, 391,\n      393, 395, 397. For other instances of the assimilation of the victim\n      to the god, see H. Oldenberg, _Die Religion des Veda_ (Berlin,\n      1894), pp. 77 _sq._, 357-359.\n\n M221 Remains of victims scattered over the fields to fertilise them.\n\n  808 Above, pp. 240, 249.\n\n  809 Above, pp. 149 _sq._, 237 _sq._, 239.\n\n  810 Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 18.\n\n  811 See above, p. 248; and compare _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second\n      Edition, pp. 331 _sqq._\n\n  812 See _Adonis, Attis, Osiris_, Second Edition, p. 323.\n\n M222 The black and green Osiris like the black and green Demeter.\n\n  813 Plutarch, _Isis et Osiris_, 22, 30, 31, 33, 73.\n\n  814 Sir J. G. Wilkinson, _Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians_\n      (ed. 1878), iii. 81.\n\n  815 Pausanias, i. 22. 3, viii. 5. 8, viii. 42. i.\n\n  816 Cornutus, _Theologiae Graecae Compendium_, 28. See above, p. 42.\n\n M223 The key to the mysteries of Osiris furnished by the lamentations of\n      the reapers for the annual death of the corn-spirit.\n M224 Crying \u201cthe neck\u201d at harvest in Devonshire.\n\n  817 W. Hone, _Every-day Book_ (London, N.D.), ii. coll. 1170 _sq._\n\n  818 Miss C. S. Burne and Miss G. F. Jackson, _Shropshire Folk-lore_\n      (London, 1883), pp. 372 _sq._, referring to Mrs. Bray\u2019s _Traditions\n      of Devon_, i. 330.\n\n  819 W. Hone, _op. cit._ ii. 1172.\n\n  820 The Rev. Sydney Cooper, of 80 Gloucester Street, Cirencester, wrote\n      to me (4th February 1893) that his wife remembers the \u201cneck\u201d being\n      kept on the mantelpiece of the parlour in a Cornish farmhouse; it\n      generally stayed there throughout the year.\n\n M225 Other accounts of cutting and crying \u201cthe neck\u201d in Devonshire.\n\n  821 \u201cOld Harvest Customs in Devon and Cornwall,\u201d _Folk-lore_, i. (1890)\n      p. 280.\n\n_  822 Ibid._\n\n M226 Cutting \u201cthe neck\u201d in Pembrokeshire.\n\n  823 Frances Hoggan, M.D., \u201cThe Neck Feast,\u201d _Folk-lore_, iv. (1893) p.\n      123. In Pembrokeshire the last sheaf of corn seems to have been\n      commonly known as \u201cthe Hag\u201d (_wrach_) rather than as \u201cthe Neck.\u201d See\n      above, pp. 142-144.\n\n M227 Cutting \u201cthe neck\u201d in Shropshire. Why the last corn cut is called\n      \u201cthe neck.\u201d\n\n  824 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, ii. 20 (Bohn\u2019s edition); Miss C. S.\n      Burne and Miss G. F. Jackson, _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 371.\n\n  825 Burne and Jackson, _l.c._\n\n  826 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 185.\n\n  827 See above, p. 158.\n\n  828 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 185.\n\n_  829 Ibid._\n\n_  830 Revue des Traditions populaires_, ii. (1887) p. 500.\n\n  831 Above, p. 150.\n\n M228 Cries of the reapers in Germany.\n\n  832 E. Meier, in _Zeitschrift f\u00fcr deutsche Mythologie und Sittenkunde_,\n      i. (1853) pp. 170-173; U. Jahn, _Die deutschen Opfergebr\u00e4uche bei\n      Ackerbau und Viehzucht_ (Breslau, 1884), pp. 166-169; H.\n      Pfannenschmid, _Germanische Erntefeste_ (Hanover, 1878), pp. 104\n      _sq._; A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebr\u00e4uche und M\u00e4rchen aus Westfalen_\n      (Leipsic, 1859), ii. pp. 177 _sq._, \u00a7\u00a7 491, 492; A. Kuhn und W.\n      Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und Gebr\u00e4uche_ (Leipsic,\n      1848), p. 395), \u00a7 97; K. Lynker, _Deutsche Sagen und Sitten in\n      hessischen Gauen_ (Cassel and G\u00f6ttingen, 1860), p. 256, \u00a7 340.\n\n M229 The corn-spirit as an animal.\n M230 The corn-spirit in the form of an animal is supposed to be present\n      in the last corn cut or threshed, and to be caught or killed by the\n      reaper or thresher.\n\n  833 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_ (Berlin, 1868), pp. 1-6.\n\n M231 The corn-spirit as a wolf or a dog, supposed to run through the\n      corn.\n\n  834 W. Mannhardt, _Roggenwolf und Roggenhund_2 (Danzig, 1866), pp. 6\n      _sqq._; _id._, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_ (Berlin, 1877), pp. 318\n      _sq._; _id._, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 103; A. Witzchel,\n      _Sagen, Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Th\u00fcringen_ (Vienna, 1878), p. 213;\n      O. Hartung, \u201cZur Volkskunde aus Anhalt,\u201d _Zeitschrift des Vereins\n      f\u00fcr Volkskunde_, vii. (1897) p. 150; W. M\u00fcller, _Beitr\u00e4ge zur\n      Volkskunde der Deutschen in M\u00e4hren_ (Vienna and Olm\u00fctz, 1893), p.\n      327; P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_\n      (Leipsic, 1903-1906), ii, 60.\n\n  835 W. Mannhardt, _Roggenwolf und Roggenhund_,2 pp. 10 _sqq._; _id._,\n      _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, p. 319.\n\n  836 W. Mannhardt, _Roggenwolf und Roggenhund_,2 pp. 14 _sq._\n\n M232 The corn-spirit as a dog at reaping and threshing.\n\n  837 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 104; P. Drechsler,\n      _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_, ii. 64.\n\n  838 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 104.\n\n_  839 Ibid._ pp. 104 _sq._ On the Harvest-May, see _The Magic Art and the\n      Evolution of Kings_, ii. 47 _sq._\n\n  840 L. F. Sauv\u00e9, _Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), p. 191.\n\n  841 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 105.\n\n_  842 Ibid._ p. 30.\n\n_  843 Ibid._ pp. 30, 105.\n\n_  844 Ibid._ pp. 105 _sq._\n\n M233 The corn-spirit as a wolf at reaping.\n\n  845 P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic,\n      1903-1906), ii. 64.\n\n  846 W. Mannhardt, _Roggenwolf und Roggenhund_,2 pp. 33, 39; K. Bartsch,\n      _Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Meklenburg_ (Vienna, 1879-1880),\n      ii. p. 309, \u00a7 1496, p. 310, \u00a7\u00a7 1497, 1498.\n\n  847 W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, p. 320.\n\n  848 W. Mannhardt, _Roggenwolf und Roggenhund_,2 p. 33.\n\n  849 W. Mannhardt, _Roggenwolf und Roggenhund_,2 pp. 33 _sq._; K.\n      Bartsch, _op. cit._ ii. p. 309, \u00a7 1496, p. 310, \u00a7\u00a7 1497, 1500, 1501.\n\n  850 W. Mannhardt, _Roggenwolf und Roggenhund_,2 pp. 33, 34.\n\n  851 W. Mannhardt, _Roggenwolf und Roggenhund_,2 p. 38; _id._, _Antike\n      Wald- und Feldkulte_, p. 320.\n\n  852 W. Mannhardt, _Roggenwolf und Roggenhund_,2 pp. 34 _sq._\n\n  853 K. Bartsch, _op. cit._ ii. p. 311, \u00a7 1505.\n\n  854 W. Mannhardt, _Roggenwolf und Roggenhund_,2 pp. 35-37; K. Bartsch,\n      _op. cit._ ii. p. 309, \u00a7 1496, p. 310, \u00a7\u00a7 1499, 1501, p. 311, \u00a7\u00a7\n      1506, 1507.\n\n M234 The corn-spirit as a wolf killed at threshing.\n\n  855 W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, p. 321.\n\n_  856 Ibid._ pp. 321 _sq._\n\n M235 The corn-wolf at harvest in France. The corn-wolf killed on the\n      harvest-field.\n\n_  857 Ibid._ p. 320.\n\n_  858 Ibid._ pp. 320 _sq._\n\n M236 The corn-wolf at midwinter.\n\n_  859 Ibid._ p. 322.\n\n_  860 Ibid._ p. 323.\n\n M237 The corn-spirit as a cock at harvest.\n\n  861 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 13.\n\n  862 W. Mannhardt, _l.c._; J. H. Schmitz, _Sitten und Sagen, Lieder,\n      Spr\u00fcchw\u00f6rter und Rathsel des Eifler Volkes_ (Treves, 1856-1858), i.\n      95; A. Kuhn und W. Schwartz, _Norddeutsche Sagen, M\u00e4rchen und\n      Gebr\u00e4uche_ (Leipsic, 1848), p. 398.\n\n  863 G. A. Heinrich, _Agrarische Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche unter den Sachsen\n      Siebenb\u00fcrgens_ (Hermannstadt, 1880), p. 21.\n\n  864 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 13. Compare A. Kuhn and W.\n      Schwartz, _l.c._\n\n  865 K. Haupt, _Sagenbuch der Lausitz_ (Leipsic, 1862-1863), i. p. 232,\n      No. 277 note.\n\n  866 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 13.\n\n  867 A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Th\u00fcringen_ (Vienna,\n      1878), p. 220.\n\n  868 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, pp. 13 _sq._; J. H. Schmitz,\n      _Sitten und Sagen, Lieder, Spr\u00fcchw\u00f6rter und R\u00e4thsel des Eifler\n      Volkes_ (Treves, 1856-1858), i. 95; A. Kuhn, _Sagen, Gebr\u00e4uche und\n      M\u00e4rchen aus Westfalen_ (Leipsic, 1859), ii. 180 _sq._; H.\n      Pfannenschmid, _Germanische Erntefeste_ (Hanover, 1878), p. 110.\n\n  869 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 14; H. Pfannenschmid, _op. cit._\n      pp. 111, 419 _sq._\n\n  870 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 15. So in Shropshire, where the\n      corn-spirit is conceived in the form of a gander (see above, p.\n      268), the expression for overthrowing a load at harvest is \u201cto lose\n      the goose,\u201d and the penalty used to be the loss of the goose at the\n      harvest-supper (C. S. Burne and G. F. Jackson, _Shropshire\n      Folk-lore_, London, 1883, p. 375); and in some parts of England the\n      harvest-supper was called the Harvest Gosling, or the Inning Goose\n      (J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, ii. 23, 26, Bohn\u2019s edition).\n\n  871 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 14.\n\n_  872 Ibid._ p. 15.\n\n M238 The corn-spirit killed in the form of a live cock.\n\n  873 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 30.\n\n  874 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 15.\n\n_  875 Ibid._ pp. 15 _sq._\n\n  876 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 15; _id._, _Mythologische\n      Forschungen_, p. 30.\n\n M239 The corn-spirit as a hare at harvest. The corn-spirit as a hare\n      killed in the last corn cut.\n\n  877 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 1.\n\n  878 W. Gregor, \u201cPreliminary Report on Folklore in Galloway, Scotland,\u201d\n      _Report of the British Association for 1896_, p. 623.\n\n_  879 Folk-lore Journal_, vii. (1889) pp. 47 _sq._\n\n  880 L. F. Sauv\u00e9, _Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), p. 191.\n\n  881 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 3.\n\n  882 O. Hartung, \u201cZur Volkskunde aus Anhalt,\u201d _Zeitschrift des Vereins\n      f\u00fcr Volkskunde_, vii. (1897) p. 154.\n\n  883 C. Lemke, _Volksth\u00fcmliches in Ostpreussen_ (Mohrungen, 1884-1887),\n      i. 24.\n\n  884 G. A. Heinrich, _Agrarische Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche unter den Sachsen\n      Siebenb\u00fcrgens_ (Hermannstadt, 1880), p. 21.\n\n  885 Above, p. 268.\n\n  886 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 29.\n\n  887 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 29 _sq._; _id._, _Die\n      Kornd\u00e4monen_, p. 5.\n\n  888 Georgeakis et Pineau, _Folk-lore de Lesbos_ (Paris, 1894), p. 310.\n\n M240 The corn-spirit as a cat sitting in the corn. The corn-spirit as a\n      cat killed at reaping and threshing.\n\n  889 W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, pp. 172-174; _id._,\n      _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 30; P. Drechsler, _Sitte, Brauch und\n      Volksglaube in Schlesien_ (Leipsic, 1903-1906), ii. 64, 65.\n\n  890 L. F. Sauv\u00e9, _Le Folk-lore des Hautes-Vosges_ (Paris, 1889), p. 191.\n\n  891 Ch. Beauquier, _Les Mois en Franche-Comt\u00e9_ (Paris, 1900), p. 102.\n\n M241 The corn-spirit as a goat running through the corn or sitting in it.\n      The corn-goat at reaping and binding the corn.\n\n  892 W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, pp. 155 _sq._\n\n_  893 Ibid._ pp. 157 _sq._\n\n_  894 Ibid._ p. 159.\n\n_  895 Ibid._ pp. 161 _sq._\n\n_  896 Ibid._ p. 162.\n\n  897 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855),\n      ii. pp. 232 _sq._, \u00a7 426; W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und\n      Feldkulte_, p. 162.\n\n  898 F. Panzer, _op. cit._ ii. pp. 228 _sq._, \u00a7 422; W. Mannhardt,\n      _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, p. 163; _Bavaria, Landes- und\n      Volkskunde des K\u00f6nigreichs Bayern_, iii. (Munich, 1865) p. 344.\n\n  899 W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, p. 163.\n\n  900 E. H. Meyer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), p. 428.\n\n  901 W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, p. 164.\n\n_  902 Ibid._ p. 164.\n\n  903 E. H. Meyer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), p. 428.\n\n  904 W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, pp. 164 _sq._\n\n_  905 Ibid._ p. 165.\n\n M242 The corn-spirit as the Cripple Goat in Skye.\n\n  906 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, ii. 24, Bohn\u2019s edition, quoting\n      _The Gentleman\u2019s Magazine_ for February, 1795, p. 124; W. Mannhardt,\n      _op. cit._ p. 165.\n\n  907 R. C. Maclagan, \u201cNotes on folk-lore objects collected in\n      Argyleshire,\u201d _Folk-lore_, vi. (1895) p. 151, from information given\n      by Mrs. C. Nicholson.\n\n  908 Above, p. 232.\n\n  909 W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, p. 165.\n\n M243 The corn-spirit killed as a goat on the harvest-field.\n\n  910 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 166; _id._, _Mythologische Forschungen_,\n      p. 185.\n\n  911 W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, p. 166.\n\n  912 Above, p. 281.\n\n  913 J. B. Holzmayer, \u201cOsiliana,\u201d _Verhandlungen der gelehrten Estnischen\n      Gesellschaft zu Dorpat_, vii. Heft 2 (Dorpat, 1872), p. 107.\n\n  914 G. A. Heinrich, _Agrarische Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche unter den Sachsen\n      Siebenb\u00fcrgens_ (Hermannstadt, 1880), p. 19. Compare W. Mannhardt,\n      _Baumkultus_, pp. 482 _sqq._\n\n M244 The corn-spirit in the form of a goat supposed to lurk among the\n      corn in the barn, till he is expelled by the flail at threshing.\n\n  915 E. L. Meyer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), p. 436.\n\n  916 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_, ii. pp. 225 _sqq._, \u00a7\n      421; W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, pp. 167 _sq._\n\n  917 W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, p. 168.\n\n  918 A. John, _Sitte, Brauch und Volksglaube im deutschen Westb\u00f6hmen_\n      (Prague, 1905), p. 194.\n\n  919 E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Schwaben_\n      (Stuttgart, 1852), p. 445, \u00a7 162; W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und\n      Feldkulte_, p. 168.\n\n M245 The corn-spirit in the form of a goat passed on to a neighbour who\n      has not finished his threshing.\n\n  920 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 169.\n\n  921 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_, ii. pp. 224 _sq._, \u00a7\n      420; W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, p. 169.\n\n  922 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 169.\n\n M246 The corn-spirit in goat form killed at threshing.\n\n_  923 Ibid._ p. 170.\n\n_  924 Ibid._ p. 170. As to the custom of leaving a little corn on the\n      field for the subsistence of the corn-spirit, see above, pp. 231\n      _sqq._\n\n M247 Old Prussian custom of killing a goat at sowing.\n\n  925 M. Praetorius, _Deliciae Prussicae_ (Berlin, 1871), pp. 23 _sq._; W.\n      Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_, pp. 394 _sq._\n\n  926 A. C. Kruijt, \u201cEenige ethnografische aanteekeningen omtrent de\n      Toboengkoe en de Tomori,\u201d _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche\n      Zendelinggenootschap_, xliv. (1900) p. 241.\n\n M248 The corn-spirit in the form of a bull running through the corn or\n      lying in it. The corn-spirit as a bull, ox, or cow at harvest.\n\n  927 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 58.\n\n_  928 Ibid._\n\n_  929 Ibid._ p. 62.\n\n  930 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 59.\n\n  931 Above, p. 275.\n\n  932 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 59.\n\n  933 E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Schwaben_\n      (Stuttgart, 1852), pp. 440 _sq._, \u00a7\u00a7 151, 152, 153; F. Panzer,\n      _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_, ii. p. 234, \u00a7 428; W. Mannhardt,\n      _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 59.\n\n  934 F. Panzer, _op. cit._ ii. p. 233, \u00a7 427; W. Mannhardt,\n      _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 59.\n\n  935 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 59 _sq._\n\n_  936 Ibid._ p. 58.\n\n  937 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 58 _sq._\n\n M249 The corn-spirit in the form of a bull or ox killed at the close of\n      the reaping.\n\n_  938 Ibid._ p. 60.\n\n M250 The corn-spirit as a bull or cow at threshing.\n\n  939 E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Schwaben_, pp.\n      444 _sq._, \u00a7 162; W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 61.\n\n  940 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_, ii. p. 233, \u00a7 427.\n\n  941 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 61 _sq._\n\n_  942 Ibid._ p. 62.\n\n_  943 Ibid._ p. 62.\n\n  944 E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Schwaben_, pp.\n      445 _sq._, \u00a7 163.\n\n M251 The corn-spirit in the form of a bull supposed to be killed at\n      threshing.\n\n  945 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 60.\n\n  946 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 62.\n\n M252 The corn-spirit as a calf at harvest or in spring.\n\n  947 Above, pp. 150 _sq._\n\n  948 Laisnel de la Salle, _Croyances et L\u00e9gendes du Centre de la France_\n      (Paris, 1875), ii. 135.\n\n  949 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 62: \u201c_Il fait le\n      veau._\u201d\n\n_  950 Ibid._\n\n_  951 Ibid._ p. 63.\n\n M253 The corn-spirit as a horse or mare running through the corn. \u201cCrying\n      the Mare\u201d in Hertfordshire and Shropshire.\n\n_  952 Ibid._ p. 167.\n\n  953 E. H. Meyer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), p. 428.\n\n  954 J. Brand, _Popular Antiquities_, ii. 24, Bohn\u2019s edition.\n\n  955 C. F. Burne and G. F. Jackson, _Shropshire Folk-lore_ (London,\n      1883), pp. 373 _sq._\n\n M254 The corn-spirit as a horse in France.\n\n  956 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 167. We may compare\n      the Scotch custom of giving the last sheaf to a horse or mare to\n      eat. See above, pp. 141, 156, 158, 160 _sq._, 162.\n\n  957 Laisnel de la Salle, _Croyances et L\u00e9gendes du Centre de la France_\n      (Paris, 1875), ii. 133; W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_,\n      pp. 167 _sq._ We have seen (above, p. 267) that in South\n      Pembrokeshire the man who cut the \u201cNeck\u201d used to be \u201cshod,\u201d that is,\n      to have the soles of his feet severely beaten with sods. Perhaps he\n      was thus treated as representing the corn-spirit in the form of a\n      horse.\n\n M255 The corn-spirit as a quail. The rice-spirit as a blue bird. The\n      rice-spirit as a quail.\n\n  958 G. A. Heinrich, _Agrarische Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche unter den Sachsen\n      Siebenb\u00fcrgens_ (Hermannstadt, 1880), p. 21.\n\n  959 A. Peter, _V\u00f6lksthumliches aus \u00d6sterreichisch-Schlesien_ (Troppau,\n      1865-1867), ii. 268.\n\n  960 J. Lecoeur, _Esquisses du Bocage Normand_ (Cond\u00e9-sur-Noireau,\n      1883-1887), ii. 240.\n\n  961 A. Wuttke, _Der deutsche Volks aberglaube_2 (Berlin, 1869), p. 189,\n      \u00a7 277; Chr. Schneller, _M\u00e4rchen und Sagen aus W\u00e4lschtirol_\n      (Innsbruck, 1867), p. 238; Rev. Ch. Swainson, _The Folk Lore and\n      Provincial Names of British Birds_ (London, 1886), p. 173.\n\n  962 Alfred Newton, _Dictionary of Birds_, New Edition (London,\n      1893-1896), p. 755.\n\n  963 A. C. Kruijt, \u201cEenige ethnografische aanteekeningen omtrent de\n      Toboengkoe en de Tomori,\u201d _Mededeelingen van wege het Nederlandsche\n      Zendelinggenootschap_, xliv. (1900) pp. 228, 229; _id._, \u201cDe\n      rijstmoeder in den Indischen Archipel,\u201d _Verslagen en Mededeelingen\n      van der koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen_, Afdeeling\n      Letterkunde, Vierde Reeks, v., part 3 (Amsterdam, 1903), pp. 374\n      _sq._\n\n M256 The corn-spirit as a fox running through the corn or sitting in it.\n      The corn-spirit as a fox at reaping the last corn. The corn-spirit\n      as a fox at threshing. The Japanese rice-god associated with the\n      fox.\n\n  964 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 109 note 2.\n\n  965 L. Pineau, _Folk-lore du Poitou_ (Paris, 1892), pp. 500 _sq._\n\n  966 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 109 _sq._, note 2.\n\n  967 J. F. L. Woeste, _V\u00f6lks\u00fcberlieferungen in der Grafschaft Mark_\n      (Iserlohn, 1848), p. 27; W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_,\n      p. 110 note.\n\n  968 Lafcadio Hearn, _Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan_ (London, 1894), ii.\n      312 _sqq._; W. G. Aston, _Shinto_ (London, 1905), pp. 162 _sq._ At\n      the festival of the Roman corn-goddess Ceres, celebrated on the\n      nineteenth of April, foxes were allowed to run about with burning\n      torches tied to their tails, and the custom was explained as a\n      punishment inflicted on foxes because a fox had once in this way\n      burned down the crops (Ovid, _Fasti_, iv. 679 _sqq._). Samson is\n      said to have burned the crops of the Philistines in a similar\n      fashion (Judges xv. 4 _sq._). Whether the custom and the tradition\n      are connected with the idea of the fox as an embodiment of the\n      corn-spirit is doubtful. Compare W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische\n      Forschungen_, pp. 108 _sq._; W. Warde Fowler, _Roman Festivals of\n      the Period of the Republic_ (London, 1899), pp. 77-79.\n\n M257 The corn-spirit as a boar rushing through the corn. The corn-spirit\n      as a boar or sow at reaping. The corn-spirit as a sow at threshing.\n\n  969 A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Th\u00fcringen_ (Vienna,\n      1878), p. 213, \u00a7 4. So at Klepzig, in Anhalt (_Zeitschrift des\n      Vereins f\u00fcr Volkskunde_, vii. (1897) p. 150).\n\n  970 J. B. Holzmayer, \u201cOsiliana,\u201d _Verhandlungen der gelehrten Estnischen\n      Gesellschaft zu Dorpat_, vii. Heft 2 (Dorpat, 1872), p. 107; W.\n      Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 187.\n\n  971 A. Birlinger, _Aus Schwaben_ (Wiesbaden, 1874), ii. 328.\n\n  972 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_ (Munich, 1848-1855),\n      ii. pp. 223, 224, \u00a7\u00a7 417, 419.\n\n  973 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 112.\n\n  974 E. L. Meyer, _Badisches Volksleben_ (Strasburg, 1900), pp. 428, 436.\n\n  975 E. Meier, _Deutsche Sagen, Sitten und Geba\u00fcche aus Schwaben_\n      (Stuttgart, 1852), p. 445, \u00a7 162.\n\n  976 A. Birlinger, _Volksth\u00fcmliches aus Schwaben_ (Freiburg im Breisgau,\n      1861-1862), ii. p. 425, \u00a7 379.\n\n  977 F. Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_, ii. pp. 221-224, \u00a7\u00a7\n      409, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414, 415, 418.\n\n M258 The corn-spirit as a pig at sowing.\n\n  978 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, pp. 186 _sq._\n\n  979 Above, p. 272; compare 268.\n\n  980 Above, p. 298.\n\n  981 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ p. 187.\n\n  982 W. Mannhardt, _op. cit._ pp. 187 _sq._; A. Witzschel, _Sagen, Sitten\n      und Gebr\u00e4uche aus Th\u00fcringen_, pp. 189, 218; W. Kolbe, _Hessische\n      Volks-Sitten und Gebr\u00e4uche_ (Marburg, 1888), p. 35.\n\n  983 W. Mannhardt, _Mythologische Forschungen_, p. 188; W. R. S. Ralston,\n      _Songs of the Russian People_ (London, 1872), p. 220.\n\n M259 The corn-spirit embodied in the Yule Boar of Scandinavia. The Yule\n      straw in Sweden.\n\n  984 W. Mannhardt, _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_, pp. 197 _sq._; F.\n      Panzer, _Beitrag zur deutschen Mythologie_, ii. 491; J. Jamieson,\n      _Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language_, New Edition\n      (Paisley, 1879-1882), vol. iii. pp. 206 _sq._, _s.v._ \u201cMaiden\u201d; Arv.\n      Aug. Afzelius, _Volkssagen und Volkslieder aus Schwedens \u00e4lterer und\n      neuerer Zeit_, \u00fcbersetzt von F. H. Ungewitter (Leipsic, 1842), i. 9.\n\n  985 Above, p. 275.\n\n  986 L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_ (London, 1870), pp. 169 _sq._,\n      182. On Christmas night children sleep on a bed of the Yule straw\n      (_ibid._ p. 177).\n\n  987 U. Jahn, _Die deutschen Opfergebr\u00e4uche_ (Breslau, 1884), p. 215.\n      Compare _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, ii. 17, 27 _sq._\n\n  988 A. A. Afzelius, _op. cit._ i. 31.\n\n  989 A. A. Afzelius, _op. cit._ i. 9; L. Lloyd, _Peasant Life in Sweden_,\n      pp. 181, 185.\n\n M260 The Christmas Boar among the Esthonians.\n\n  990 J. B. Holzmayer, \u201cOsiliana,\u201d _Verhandlungen der gelehrten Estnischen\n      Gesellschaft zu Dorpat_, vii. Heft 2 (Dorpat, 1872), pp. 55 _sq._\n\n  991 F. J. Wiedemann, _Aus dem inneren und \u00e4ussern Leben der Ehsten_ (St.\n      Petersburg, 1876), pp. 344, 485.\n\n M261 Sacramental character of the harvest-supper.\n\n  992 Above, pp. 277 _sq._, 280, 281, 285, 290, 300, 301. In regard to the\n      hare, the substitution of brandy for hare\u2019s blood is probably\n      modern.\n\n M262 Parallelism between the conceptions of the corn-spirit in human and\n      animal forms.\n M263 The reason why the corn-spirit is thought to take the forms of so\n      many animals may be that wild creatures are commonly penned by the\n      advance of the reapers into the last patch of standing corn, which\n      is usually regarded as the last refuge of the corn-spirit.\n\n  993 W. Mannhardt, _Die Kornd\u00e4monen_ (Berlin, 1868), p. 1.\n\n M264 Importance of the Pleiades in primitive calendars.\n\n  994 R. Andree, \u201cDie Pleiaden im Mythus und in ihrer Beziehung zum\n      Jahresbeginn und Landbau,\u201d _Globus_, lxiv. (1893) pp. 362-366.\n\n M265 Attention paid to the Pleiades by the Australian aborigines.\n\n  995 Mr. McKellar, quoted by the Rev. W. Ridley, \u201cReport on Australian\n      Languages and Traditions,\u201d _Journal of the Anthropological\n      Institute_, ii. (1873) p. 279; _id._, _Kamilaroi_ (Sydney, 1875), p.\n      138. Mr. McKellar\u2019s evidence was given before a Select Committee of\n      the Legislative Council of Victoria in 1858; from which we may\n      perhaps infer that his statement refers especially to the tribes of\n      Victoria or at all events of south-eastern Australia. It seems to be\n      a common belief among the aborigines of central and south-eastern\n      Australia that the Pleiades are women who once lived on earth but\n      afterwards went up into the sky. See W. E. Stanbridge, in\n      _Transactions of the Ethnological Society of London_, N.S. i. (1861)\n      p. 302; P. Beveridge, \u201cOf the Aborigines inhabiting the great\n      Lacustrine and Riverine Depression of the Lower Murray,\u201d etc.,\n      _Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales_,\n      xvii. (Sydney, 1884) p. 61; Baldwin Spencer and F. J. Gillen,\n      _Native Tribes of Central Australia_ (London, 1899), p. 566; _id._,\n      _Northern Tribes of Central Australia_ (London, 1904), p. 628; A. W.\n      Howitt, _Native Tribes of South-East Australia_ (London, 1904), pp.\n      429 _sq._ Some tribes of Victoria believed that the Pleiades were\n      originally a queen and six of her attendants, but that the Crow\n      (Waa) fell in love with the queen and ran away with her, and that\n      since then the Pleiades have been only six in number. See James\n      Dawson, _Australian Aborigines_ (Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide,\n      1881), p. 100.\n\n  996 J. Manning, \u201cNotes on the Aborigines of New Holland,\u201d _Journal and\n      Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales_, xvi. (Sydney,\n      1883) p. 168.\n\n  997 James Dawson, _Australian Aborigines_, p. 75.\n\n M266 Attention paid to the Pleiades by the Indians of Paraguay and\n      Brazil.\n\n  998 M. Dobrizhoffer, _Historia de Abiponibus_ (Vienna, 1784), ii. 118.\n\n  999 M. Dobrizhoffer, _op. cit._ ii. 77 _sq._, 101-105.\n\n 1000 Pedro de Angelis, _Coleccion de Obras y Documentes relativos a la\n      Historia antigua y moderna de las Provincias del Rio de la Plata_\n      (Buenos Ayres, 1836-1837), iv. 15.\n\n 1001 P. Lozano, _Descripcion chorographico del terreno, rios, arboles, y\n      animales del Gran Chaco_ (Cordova, 1733). p. 67.\n\n 1002 W. Barbrooke Grubb, _An Unknown People in an Unknown Land_ (London,\n      1911), p. 139.\n\n 1003 Pedro de Angelis, _op. cit._ iv. 14.\n\n 1004 Th. Waitz, _Anthropologie der Naturv\u00f6lker_, iii. (Leipsic, 1862) p.\n      418, referring to Marcgrav de Liebstadt, _Hist. rerum naturalium\n      Brasil_. (Amsterdam, 1648), viii. 5 and 12.\n\n 1005 M. Dobrizhoffer, _Historia de Abiponibus_, ii. 104.\n\n 1006 Th. Koch-Gr\u00fcnberg, _Zwei Jahre unter den Indianern_ (Berlin,\n      1909-1910), ii. 203.\n\n 1007 C. F. Phil. v. Martius, _Zur Ethnographie Amerika\u2019s, zumal\n      Brasiliens_ (Leipsic, 1867), p. 441.\n\n 1008 Carl Teschauer, S.J., \u201cMythen und alte Volkssagen aus Brasilien,\u201d\n      _Anthropos_, i. (1906) p. 736.\n\n 1009 J. Gumilla, _Histoire Naturelle et Civile et G\u00e9ographique de\n      l\u2019Orenoque_ (Avignon, 1758), iii. 254 _sq._\n\n M267 Attention paid to the Pleiades by the Indians of Peru and Mexico.\n\n 1010 E. J. Payne, _History of the New World called America_, i. (Oxford,\n      1892) p. 492.\n\n 1011 P. J. de Arriaga, _Extirpacion de la Idolatria del Piru_ (Lima,\n      1621), pp. 11, 29 _sq._ According to Arriaga, the Peruvian name for\n      the Pleiades is _Oncoy_.\n\n 1012 Garcilasso de la Vega, _First Part of the Royal Commentaries of the\n      Yncas_, translated by (Sir) Clements R. Markham (London, 1869-1871,\n      Hakluyt Society), i. 275. Compare J. de Acosta, _Natural and Moral\n      History of the Indies_ (London, 1880, Hakluyt Society), ii. 304.\n\n 1013 E. Seler, _Alt-Mexikanische Studien_, ii. (Berlin, 1899) pp. 166\n      _sq._, referring to Petrus Martyr, _De nuper sub D. Carolo repertis\n      insulis_ (Basileae, 1521), p. 15.\n\n 1014 B. de Sahagun, _Histoire G\u00e9n\u00e9rale des choses de la Nouvelle Espagne_\n      (Paris, 1880), pp. 288 _sq._, 489 _sqq._; A. de Herrera, _General\n      History of the Vast Continent and Islands of America_, translated by\n      Capt. J. Stevens (London, 1725-1726), iii. 222; F. S. Clavigero,\n      _History of Mexico_, translated by C. Cullen (London, 1807), i. 315\n      _sq._; J. G. M\u00fcller, _Geschichte der amerikanischen Urreligionen_\n      (B\u00e2le, 1867), pp. 519 _sq._; H. H. Bancroft, _The Native Races of\n      the Pacific States of North America_ (London, 1875-1876), iii.\n      393-395.\n\n M268 Attention paid to the Pleiades by the North American Indians.\n\n 1015 Jean l\u2019Heureux, \u201cEthnological Notes on the Astronomical Customs and\n      Religious Ideas of the Chokitapia or Blackfeet Indians,\u201d _Journal of\n      the Anthropological Institute_, xv. (1886) pp. 301-303.\n\n 1016 Walter McClintock, _The Old North Trail_ (London, 1910), p. 490.\n\n 1017 J. Walter Fewkes, \u201cThe Tusayan New Fire Ceremony,\u201d _Proceedings of\n      the Boston Society of Natural History_, xxvi. (1895) p. 453.\n\n M269 Attention paid to the Pleiades by the Polynesians.\n\n 1018 Rev. W. Ellis, _Polynesian Researches_, Second Edition (London,\n      1832-1836), i. 87.\n\n 1019 Rev. W. W. Gill, _Myths and Songs from the South Pacific_ (London,\n      1876), p. 43.\n\n 1020 Rev. W. W. Gill, _op. cit._ p. 317, compare p. 44.\n\n 1021 G. Turner, _Samoa_ (London, 1884), p. 279.\n\n 1022 E. Shortland, _Traditions and Superstitions of the New Zealanders_,\n      Second Edition (London, 1856), p. 219.\n\n_ 1023 The United States Exploring Expedition, Ethnography and Philology_,\n      by Horatio Hale (Philadelphia, 1846), p. 170; E. Tregear,\n      _Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary_ (Wellington, N.Z., 1891),\n      p. 226.\n\n M270 Attention paid to the Pleiades by the Melanesians.\n\n 1024 Rev. R. H. Codrington, _The Melanesians_ (Oxford, 1891), p. 348. In\n      the island of Florida the Pleiades are called _togo ni samu_, \u201cthe\n      company of maidens\u201d (_op. cit._ p. 349).\n\n 1025 H. B. Guppy, _The Solomon Islands and their Natives_ (London, 1887),\n      p. 56.\n\n M271 Attention paid to the Pleiades by the natives of New Guinea and the\n      Indian Archipelago.\n\n 1026 A. C. Haddon, \u201cLegends from Torres Straits,\u201d _Folk-lore_, i. (1890)\n      p. 195. We may conjecture that the \u201cnew yam time\u201d means the time for\n      planting yams.\n\n 1027 R. Neuhauss, _Deutsch Neu-Guinea_ (Berlin, 1911), pp. 159, 431 _sq._\n\n 1028 A. F. van Spreeuwenberg, \u201cEen blik op de Minahassa,\u201d _Tijdschrift\n      voor Neerlands Indi\u00eb_, Vierde Deel (Batavia, 1845), p. 316; J. G. F.\n      Riedel, \u201cDe landschappen Holontalo, Limoeto, Bone, Boalemo, en\n      Kattinggola, of Andagile,\u201d _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en\n      Volkenkunde_, xix. (1869) p. 140; _id._, in _Zeitschrift f\u00fcr\n      Ethnologie_, iii. (1871) p. 404.\n\n 1029 Spenser St. John, _Life in the Forests of the Far East_, Second\n      Edition (London, 1863), i. 214. Compare H. Low, _Sarawak_ (London,\n      1848), p. 251.\n\n 1030 Dr. Charles Hose, \u201cVarious Modes of computing the Time for Planting\n      among the Races of Borneo,\u201d _Journal of the Straits Branch of the\n      Royal Asiatic Society_, No. 42 (Singapore, 1905), pp. 1 _sq._\n      Compare Charles Brooke, _Ten Years in Sarawak_ (London, 1866), i.\n      59; Rev. J. Perham, \u201cSea Dyak Religion,\u201d _Journal of the Straits\n      Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society_, No. 10 (Singapore, 1883), p.\n      229.\n\n 1031 Dr. Charles Hose, _op. cit._ p. 4. Compare _id._, \u201cThe Natives of\n      Borneo,\u201d _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxiii. (1894)\n      pp. 168 _sq._, where the writer tells us that the Kayans and many\n      other races in Borneo sow the rice when the Pleiades appear just\n      above the horizon at daybreak, though the Kayans more usually\n      determine the time for sowing by observation of the sun. As to the\n      Kayan mode of determining the time for sowing by the length of\n      shadow cast by an upright pole, see also W. K\u00fckenthal,\n      _Forschungsreise in den Molukken und in Borneo_ (Frankfort, 1896),\n      pp. 292 _sq._ Some Dyaks employ a species of sun-dial for dating the\n      twelve months of the year. See H. E. D. Engelhaard, \u201cAanteekeningen\n      betreffende de Kindjin Dajaks in het Landschap Baloengan,\u201d\n      _Tijdschrift voor Indische Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde_, xxxix.\n      (1897) pp. 484-486.\n\n 1032 A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _Quer durch Borneo_ (Leyden, 1904-1907), i. 160.\n\n 1033 F. K. Ginzel, _Handbuch der mathematischen und technischen\n      Chronologie_, i. (Leipsic, 1906) p. 424.\n\n 1034 R. Friederich, \u201cVoorloopig Verslag van het eiland Bali,\u201d\n      _Verhandelingen van het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en\n      Wetenschappen_, xxiii. (1849) p. 49.\n\n 1035 J. T. Nieuwenhuisen en H. C. B. von Rosenberg, \u201cVerslag omtrent het\n      eiland Nias en deszelfs Bewoners,\u201d _Verhandelingen van het\n      Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen_, xxx.\n      (Batavia, 1863) p. 119.\n\n 1036 W. Marsden, _History of Sumatra_, Third Edition (London, 1811), p.\n      71.\n\n 1037 F. K. Ginzel, _Handbuch der mathematischen und technischen\n      Chronologie_, i. (Leipsic, 1906) p. 428.\n\n M272 Attention paid to the Pleiades by the natives of Africa, Greeks, and\n      Romans.\n\n 1038 S. Krascheninnikow, _Beschreibung des Landes Kamtschatka_ (Lemgo,\n      1766), p. 217. The three stars are probably the Belt.\n\n 1039 See above, vol. i. p. 116.\n\n 1040 Rev. J. Macdonald, _Light in Africa_, Second Edition (London, 1890),\n      pp. 194 _sq._ Compare J. Sechefo, \u201cThe Twelve Lunar Months among the\n      Basuto,\u201d _Anthropos_, iv. (1909) p. 931.\n\n 1041 G. McCall Theal, _Records of South-Eastern Africa_, vii. (1901) p.\n      418. Compare G. Thompson, _Travels and Adventures in Southern\n      Africa_ (London, 1827), ii. 359.\n\n 1042 Rev. H. Callaway, _The Religious System of the Amazulu_, Part iii.\n      (London, etc., 1870), p. 397.\n\n 1043 R. Moffat, _Missionary Labours and Scenes in Southern Africa_\n      (London, 1842), pp. 337 _sq._\n\n 1044 Stephen Kay, _Travels and Researches in Caffraria_ (London, 1833),\n      p. 273.\n\n 1045 Gustav Fritsch, _Die Eingeborenen S\u00fcd-Afrika\u2019s_ (Breslau, 1872). p.\n      340.\n\n 1046 Theophilus Hahn, _Tsuni-Goam, the Supreme Being of the Khoi-Khoi_\n      (London, 1881), p. 43, quoting the Moravian missionary George\n      Schmidt, who was sent out to the Cape of Good Hope in 1737.\n\n 1047 H. S. Stannus, \u201cNotes on some Tribes of British Central Africa,\u201d\n      _Journal of the R. Anthropological Institute_, xl. (1910) p. 289.\n\n 1048 M. Merker, _Die Masai_ (Berlin, 1894), pp. 155, 198.\n\n 1049 May.\n\n 1050 June-August.\n\n 1051 A. C. Hollis, _The Masai_ (Oxford, 1905), p. 275, compare p. 333.\n      The \u201cseason of showers\u201d seems to be a name for the dry season (June,\n      July, August), when rain falls only occasionally; it is thus\n      distinguished from the rainy season of winter, which begins after\n      the reappearance of the Pleiades in September.\n\n 1052 A. C. Hollis, _The Masai_, pp. 275 _sq._\n\n 1053 A. C. Hollis, _The Nandi_ (Oxford, 1909), p. 100.\n\n 1054 C. W. Hobley, \u201cFurther Researches into Kikuyu and Kamba Religious\n      Beliefs and Customs,\u201d _Journal of the Royal Anthropological\n      Institute_, xli. (1911) p. 442.\n\n 1055 Thomas Winterbottom, _An Account of the Native Africans in the\n      Neighbourhood of Sierra Leone_ (London, 1803), p. 48.\n\n 1056 Hesiod, _Works and Days_, 383 _sq._, 615 _sqq._ See above, pp. 45,\n      48.\n\n 1057 Aratus, _Phaenomena_, 264-267; Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ ii. 123, 125,\n      xviii. 280, \u201c_Vergiliae privatim attinent ad fructus, ut quarum\n      exortu aestas incipiat, occasu hiems, semenstri spatio intra se\n      messes vindemiasque et omnium maturitatem conplexae._\u201d Compare L.\n      Ideler, _Handbuch der mathematischen und technischen Chronologie_\n      (Berlin, 1825-1826), i. 241 _sq._ Pliny dated the rising of the\n      Pleiades on the 10th of May and their setting on the 11th of\n      November (_Nat. Hist._ ii. 123, 125).\n\n 1058 Pliny, _Nat. Hist._ xviii. 49 and 223.\n\n M273 The widespread association of the Pleiades with agriculture seems to\n      be based on the coincidence of their rising or setting with the\n      commencement of the rainy season.\n\n 1059 See above, p. 307.\n\n 1060 Geminus, _Elementa Astronomiae_, xvii. 10 _sqq._ If \u201cthe sweet\n      influences of the Pleiades\u201d in the Authorised Version of the English\n      Bible were an exact translation of the corresponding Hebrew words in\n      Job xxxviii. 31, we should naturally explain the \u201csweet influences\u201d\n      by the belief that the autumnal setting of the constellation is the\n      cause of rain. But the rendering of the words is doubtful; it is not\n      even certain that the constellation referred to is the Pleiades. See\n      the commentaries of A. B. Davidson and Professor A. S. Peak on the\n      passage. The Revised English Version translates the words in\n      question \u201cthe cluster of the Pleiades.\u201d Compare H. Grimme, _Das\n      israelitische Pfingstfest und der Plejadenkult_ (Paderborn, 1907),\n      pp. 61 _sqq._","title":"The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 07 of 12)","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":143145}