the golden bough-第100章

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。　For　example；　the　king　is　often　called　a　lion；　hence　at　the　death　of　a　king　named　Lion　a　new　name　for　lions　in　general　has　to　be　coined。　In　Siam　it　used　to　be　difficult　to　ascertain　the　king's　real　name；　since　it　was　carefully　kept　secret　from　fear　of　sorcery；　any　one　who　mentioned　it　was　clapped　into　gaol。　The　king　might　only　be　referred　to　under　certain　high…sounding　titles；　such　as　the　august；　the　perfect；　the　supreme；　the　great　emperor；　descendant　of　the　angels；　and　so　on。　In　Burma　it　was　accounted　an　impiety　of　the　deepest　dye　to　mention　the　name　of　the　reigning　sovereign；　Burmese　subjects；　even　when　they　were　far　from　their　country；　could　not　be　prevailed　upon　to　do　so；　after　his　accession　to　the　throne　the　king　was　known　by　his　royal　titles　only。

Among　the　Zulus　no　man　will　mention　the　name　of　the　chief　of　his　tribe　or　the　names　of　the　progenitors　of　the　chief；　so　far　as　he　can　remember　them；　nor　will　he　utter　common　words　which　coincide　with　or　merely　resemble　in　sound　tabooed　names。　In　the　tribe　of　the　Dwandwes　there　was　a　chief　called　Langa；　which　means　the　sun；　hence　the　name　of　the　sun　was　changed　from　langa　to　gala；　and　so　remains　to　this　day；　though　Langa　died　more　than　a　hundred　years　ago。　Again；　in　the　Xnumayo　tribe　the　word　meaning　to　herd　cattle　was　changed　from　alusa　or　ayusa　to　kagesa；　because　u…Mayusi　was　the　name　of　the　chief。　Besides　these　taboos；　which　were　observed　by　each　tribe　separately；　all　the　Zulu　tribes　united　in　tabooing　the　name　of　the　king　who　reigned　over　the　whole　nation。　Hence；　for　example；　when　Panda　was　king　of　Zululand；　the　word　for　a　root　of　a　tree；　which　is　impando；　was　changed　to　nxabo。　Again；　the　word　for　lies　or　slander　was　altered　from　amacebo　to　amakwata；　because　amacebo　contains　a　syllable　of　the　name　of　the　famous　King　Cetchwayo。　These　substitutions　are　not；　however；　carried　so　far　by　the　men　as　by　the　women；　who　omit　every　sound　even　remotely　resembling　one　that　occurs　in　a　tabooed　name。　At　the　king's　kraal；　indeed；　it　is　sometimes　difficult　to　understand　the　speech　of　the　royal　wives；　as　they　treat　in　this　fashion　the　names　not　only　of　the　king　and　his　forefathers；　but　even　of　his　and　their　brothers　back　for　generations。　When　to　these　tribal　and　national　taboos　we　add　those　family　taboos　on　the　names　of　connexions　by　marriage　which　have　been　already　described；　we　can　easily　understand　how　it　comes　about　that　in　Zululand　every　tribe　has　words　peculiar　to　itself；　and　that　the　women　have　a　considerable　vocabulary　of　their　own。　Members；　too；　of　one　family　may　be　debarred　from　using　words　employed　by　those　of　another。　The　women　of　one　kraal；　for　instance；　may　call　a　hyaena　by　its　ordinary　name；　those　of　the　next　may　use　the　common　substitute；　while　in　a　third　the　substitute　may　also　be　unlawful　and　another　term　may　have　to　be　invented　to　supply　its　place。　Hence　the　Zulu　language　at　the　present　day　almost　presents　the　appearance　of　being　a　double　one；　indeed；　for　multitudes　of　things　it　possesses　three　or　four　synonyms；　which　through　the　blending　of　tribes　are　known　all　over　Zululand。

In　Madagascar　a　similar　custom　everywhere　prevails　and　has　resulted；　as　among　the　Zulus；　in　producing　certain　dialectic　differences　in　the　speech　of　the　various　tribes。　There　are　no　family　names　in　Madagascar；　and　almost　every　personal　name　is　drawn　from　the　language　of　daily　life　and　signifies　some　common　object　or　action　or　quality；　such　as　a　bird；　a　beast；　a　tree；　a　plant；　a　colour；　and　so　on。　Now；　whenever　one　of　these　common　words　forms　the　name　or　part　of　the　name　of　the　chief　of　the　tribe；　it　becomes　sacred　and　may　no　longer　be　used　in　its　ordinary　signification　as　the　name　of　a　tree；　an　insect；　or　what　not。　Hence　a　new　name　for　the　object　must　be　invented　to　replace　the　one　which　has　been　discarded。　It　is　easy　to　conceive　what　confusion　and　uncertainty　may　thus　be　introduced　into　a　language　when　it　is　spoken　by　many　little　local　tribes　each　ruled　by　a　petty　chief　with　his　own　sacred　name。　Yet　there　are　tribes　and　people　who　submit　to　this　tyranny　of　words　as　their　fathers　did　before　them　from　time　immemorial。　The　inconvenient　results　of　the　custom　are　especially　marked　on　the　western　coast　of　the　island；　where；　on　account　of　the　large　number　of　independent　chieftains；　the　names　of　things；　places；　and　rivers　have　suffered　so　many　changes　that　confusion　often　arises；　for　when　once　common　words　have　been　banned　by　the　chiefs　the　natives　will　not　acknowledge　to　have　ever　known　them　in　their　old　sense。

But　it　is　not　merely　the　names　of　living　kings　and　chiefs　which　are　tabooed　in　Madagascar；　the　names　of　dead　sovereigns　are　equally　under　a　ban；　at　least　in　some　parts　of　the　island。　Thus　among　the　Sakalavas；　when　a　king　has　died；　the　nobles　and　people　meet　in　council　round　the　dead　body　and　solemnly　choose　a　new　name　by　which　the　deceased　monarch　shall　be　henceforth　known。　After　the　new　name　has　been　adopted；　the　old　name　by　which　the　king　was　known　during　his　life　becomes　sacred　and　may　not　be　pronounced　under　pain　of　death。　Further；　words　in　the　common　language　which　bear　any　resemblance　to　the　forbidden　name　also　become　sacred　and　have　to　be　replaced　by　others。　Persons　who　uttered　these　forbidden　words　were　looked　on　not　only　as　grossly　rude；　but　even　as　felons；　they　had　committed　a　capital　crime。　However；　these　changes　of　vocabulary　are　confined　to　the　district　over　which　the　deceased　king　reigned；　in　the　neighbouring　districts　the　old　words　continue　to　be　employed　in　the　old　sense。

The　sanctity　attributed　to　the　persons　of　chiefs　in　Polynesia　naturally　extended　also　to　their　names；　which　on　the　primitive　view　are　hardly　separable　from　the　personality　of　their　owners。　Hence　in　Polynesia　we　find　the　same　systematic　prohibition　to　utter　the　names　of　chiefs　or　of　common　words　resembling　them　which　we　have　already　met　with　in　Zululand　and　Madagascar。　Thus　in　New　Zealand　the　name　of　a　chief　is　held　so　sacred　that；　when　it　happens　to　be　a　common　word；　it　may　not　be　used　in　the　language；　and　another　has　to　be　found　to　replace　it。　For　example；　a　chief　of　the　southward　of　East　Cape　bore　the　name　of　Maripi；　which　signified　a　knife；　hence　a　new　word　（nekra）　for　knife　was　introduced；　and　the　old　one　became　obsolete。　Elsewhere　the　word　for　water　（wai）　had　to　be　changed；　because　it　chanced　to　be　the　name　of　the　chief；　and　would　have　been　desecrated　by　being　applied　to　the　vulgar　fluid　as　well　as　to　his　sacred　person。　This　taboo　naturally　produced　a　plentiful　crop　of　synonyms　in　the　Maori　language；　and　travellers　newly　arrived　in　the　country　were　sometimes　puzzled　at　finding　the　same　things　called　by　quite　different　names　in　neighbouring　tribes。　When　a　king　comes　to　the　throne　in　Tahiti；　any　words　in　the　language　that　resemble　his　name　in　sound　must　be　changed　for　others。　In　former　times；　if　any　man　were　so　rash　as　to　disregard　this　custom　and　to　use　the　forbidden　words；　not　only　he　but　all　his　relations　were　immediately　put　to　death。　But　the　changes　thus　introduced　were　only　temporary；　on　the　death　of　the　king　the　new　words　fell　into　disuse；　and　the　original　ones　were　revived。

In　ancient　Greece　the　names　of　the　priests　and　other　high　officials　who　had　to　do　with　the　performance　of　the　Eleusinian　mysteries　might　not　be　uttered　in　their　lifetime。　To　pronounce　them　was　a　legal　offence　The　pedant　in　Lucian　tells　how　he　fell　in　with　these　august　personages　haling　along　to　the　police　court　a　ribald　fellow　who　had　dared　to　name　them；　though　well　he　knew　that　ever　since　their　consecration　it　was　unlawful　to　do　so；　because　they　had　become　anonymous；　having　lost　their　old　names　and　acquired　new　and　sacred　titles。　From　two　inscriptions　found　at　Eleusis　it　appears　that　the　names　of　the　priests　were　committed　to　the　depths　of　the　sea；　probably　they　were　engraved　on　tablets　of　bronze　or　lead；　which　were　then　thrown　into　deep　water　in　the　Gulf　of　Salamis。　The　intention　doubtless　was　to　keep　the　names　a　profound　secret；　and　how　could　that　be　done　more　surely　than　by　sinking　them　in　the　sea？　what　human　vision　could　spy　them　glimmering　far　down　in　the　dim　depths　of　the　green　water？　A　clearer　illustration　of　the　confusion　between　the　incorporeal　and　the　corporeal；　between　the　name　and　its　material　embodiment；　could　hard