the golden bough-第191章

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f　revelry；　it　is　a　solemn　sacrament。　Yet　a　time　comes　when　reasonable　men　find　it　hard　to　understand　how　any　one　in　his　senses　can　suppose　that　by　eating　bread　or　drinking　wine　he　consumes　the　body　or　blood　of　a　deity。　When　we　call　corn　Ceres　and　wine　Bacchus；　says　Cicero；　we　use　a　common　figure　of　speech；　but　do　you　imagine　that　anybody　is　so　insane　as　to　believe　that　the　thing　he　feeds　upon　is　a　god？

Chapter　52。　Killing　the　Divine　Animal。

1。　Killing　the　Sacred　Buzzard。

IN　THE　PRECEDING　chapters　we　saw　that　many　communities　which　have　progressed　so　far　as　to　subsist　mainly　by　agriculture　have　been　in　the　habit　of　killing　and　eating　their　farinaceous　deities　either　in　their　proper　form　of　corn；　rice；　and　so　forth；　or　in　the　borrowed　shapes　of　animals　and　men。　It　remains　to　show　that　hunting　and　pastoral　tribes；　as　well　as　agricultural　peoples；　have　been　in　the　habit　of　killing　the　beings　whom　they　worship。　Among　the　worshipful　beings　or　gods；　if　indeed　they　deserve　to　be　dignified　by　that　name；　whom　hunters　and　shepherds　adore　and　kill　are　animals　pure　and　simple；　not　animals　regarded　as　embodiments　of　other　supernatural　beings。　Our　first　example　is　drawn　from　the　Indians　of　California；　who　living　in　a　fertile　country　under　a　serene　and　temperate　sky；　nevertheless　rank　near　the　bottom　of　the　savage　scale。　The　Acagchemem　tribe　adored　the　great　buzzard；　and　once　a　year　they　celebrated　a　great　festival　called　Panes　or　bird…feast　in　its　honour。　The　day　selected　for　the　festival　was　made　known　to　the　public　on　the　evening　before　its　celebration　and　preparations　were　at　once　made　for　the　erection　of　a　special　temple　（vanquech）；　which　seems　to　have　been　a　circular　or　oval　enclosure　of　stakes　with　the　stuffed　skin　of　a　coyote　or　prairie…wolf　set　up　on　a　hurdle　to　represent　the　god　Chinigchinich。　When　the　temple　was　ready；　the　bird　was　carried　into　it　in　solemn　procession　and　laid　on　an　altar　erected　for　the　purpose。　Then　all　the　young　women；　whether　married　or　single；　began　to　run　to　and　fro；　as　if　distracted；　some　in　one　direction　and　some　in　another；　while　the　elders　of　both　sexes　remained　silent　spectators　of　the　scene；　and　the　captains；　tricked　out　in　paint　and　feathers；　danced　round　their　adored　bird。　These　ceremonies　being　concluded；　they　seized　upon　the　bird　and　carried　it　to　the　principal　temple；　all　the　assembly　uniting　in　the　grand　display；　and　the　captains　dancing　and　singing　at　the　head　of　the　procession。　Arrived　at　the　temple；　they　killed　the　bird　without　losing　a　drop　of　its　blood。　The　skin　was　removed　entire　and　preserved　with　the　feathers　as　a　relic　or　for　the　purpose　of　making　the　festal　garment　or　paelt。　The　carcase　was　buried　in　a　hole　in　the　temple；　and　the　old　women　gathered　round　the　grave　weeping　and　moaning　bitterly；　while　they　threw　various　kinds　of　seeds　or　pieces　of　food　on　it；　crying　out；　Why　did　you　run　away？　Would　you　not　have　been　better　with　us？　you　would　have　made　pinole　（a　kind　of　gruel）　as　we　do；　and　if　you　had　not　run　away；　you　would　not　have　become　a　Panes；　and　so　on。　When　this　ceremony　was　concluded；　the　dancing　was　resumed　and　kept　up　for　three　days　and　nights。　They　said　that　the　Panes　was　a　woman　who　had　run　off　to　the　mountains　and　there　been　changed　into　a　bird　by　the　god　Chinigchinich。　They　believed　that　though　they　sacrificed　the　bird　annually；　she　came　to　life　again　and　returned　to　her　home　in　the　mountains。　Moreover；　they　thought　that　as　often　as　the　bird　was　killed；　it　became　multiplied；　because　every　year　all　the　different　Capitanes　celebrated　the　same　feast　of　Panes；　and　were　firm　in　the　opinion　that　the　birds　sacrificed　were　but　one　and　the　same　female。

The　unity　in　multiplicity　thus　postulated　by　the　Californians　is　very　noticeable　and　helps　to　explain　their　motive　for　killing　the　divine　bird。　The　notion　of　the　life　of　a　species　as　distinct　from　that　of　an　individual；　easy　and　obvious　as　it　seems　to　us；　appears　to　be　one　which　the　Californian　savage　cannot　grasp。　He　is　unable　to　conceive　the　life　of　the　species　otherwise　than　as　an　individual　life；　and　therefore　as　exposed　to　the　same　dangers　and　calamities　which　menace　and　finally　destroy　the　life　of　the　individual。　Apparently　he　imagines　that　a　species　left　to　itself　will　grow　old　and　die　like　an　individual；　and　that　therefore　some　step　must　be　taken　to　save　from　extinction　the　particular　species　which　he　regards　as　divine。　The　only　means　he　can　think　of　to　avert　the　catastrophe　is　to　kill　a　member　of　the　species　in　whose　veins　the　tide　of　life　is　still　running　strong　and　has　not　yet　stagnated　among　the　fens　of　old　age。　The　life　thus　diverted　from　one　channel　will　flow；　he　fancies；　more　freshly　and　freely　in　a　new　one；　in　other　words；　the　slain　animal　will　revive　and　enter　on　a　new　term　of　life　with　all　the　spring　and　energy　of　youth。　To　us　this　reasoning　is　transparently　absurd；　but　so　too　is　the　custom。　A　similar　confusion；　it　may　be　noted；　between　the　individual　life　and　the　life　of　the　species　was　made　by　the　Samoans。　Each　family　had　for　its　god　a　particular　species　of　animal；　yet　the　death　of　one　of　these　animals；　for　example　an　owl；　was　not　the　death　of　the　god；　he　was　supposed　to　be　yet　alive；　and　incarnate　in　all　the　owls　in　existence。

2。　Killing　the　Sacred　Ram

THE　RUDE　Californian　rite　which　we　have　just　considered　has　a　close　parallel　in　the　religion　of　ancient　Egypt。　The　Thebans　and　all　other　Egyptians　who　worshipped　the　Theban　god　Ammon　held　rams　to　be　sacred；　and　would　not　sacrifice　them。　But　once　a　year　at　the　festival　of　Ammon　they　killed　a　ram；　skinned　it；　and　clothed　the　image　of　the　god　in　the　skin。　Then　they　mourned　over　the　ram　and　buried　it　in　a　sacred　tomb。　The　custom　was　explained　by　a　story　that　Zeus　had　once　exhibited　himself　to　Hercules　clad　in　the　fleece　and　wearing　the　head　of　a　ram。　Of　course　the　ram　in　this　case　was　simply　the　beast…god　of　Thebes；　as　the　wolf　was　the　beast…god　of　Lycopolis；　and　the　goat　was　the　beast…god　of　Mendes。　In　other　words；　the　ram　was　Ammon　himself。　On　the　monuments；　it　is　true；　Ammon　appears　in　semi…human　form　with　the　body　of　a　man　and　the　head　of　a　ram。　But　this　only　shows　that　he　was　in　the　usual　chrysalis　state　through　which　beast…gods　regularly　pass　before　they　emerge　as　full…blown　anthropomorphic　gods。　The　ram；　therefore；　was　killed；　not　as　a　sacrifice　to　Ammon；　but　as　the　god　himself；　whose　identity　with　the　beast　is　plainly　shown　by　the　custom　of　clothing　his　image　in　the　skin　of　the　slain　ram。　The　reason　for　thus　killing　the　ram…god　annually　may　have　been　that　which　I　have　assigned　for　the　general　custom　of　killing　a　god　and　for　the　special　Californian　custom　of　killing　the　divine　buzzard。　As　applied　to　Egypt；　this　explanation　is　supported　by　the　analogy　of　the　bull…god　Apis；　who　was　not　suffered　to　outlive　a　certain　term　of　years。　The　intention　of　thus　putting　a　limit　to　the　life　of　the　human　god　was；　as　I　have　argued；　to　secure　him　from　the　weakness　and　frailty　of　age。　The　same　reasoning　would　explain　the　customprobably　an　older　oneof　putting　the　beast…god　to　death　annually；　as　was　done　with　the　ram　of　Thebes。

One　point　in　the　Theban　ritualthe　application　of　the　skin　to　the　image　of　the　goddeserves　particular　attention。　If　the　god　was　at　first　the　living　ram；　his　representation　by　an　image　must　have　originated　later。　But　how　did　it　originate？　One　answer　to　this　question　is　perhaps　furnished　by　the　practice　of　preserving　the　skin　of　the　animal　which　is　slain　as　divine。　The　Californians；　as　we　have　seen；　preserved　the　skin　of　the　buzzard；　and　the　skin　of　the　goat；　which　is　killed　on　the　harvest…field　as　a　representative　of　the　corn…spirit；　is　kept　for　various　superstitious　purposes。　The　skin　in　fact　was　kept　as　a　token　or　memorial　of　the　god；　or　rather　as　containing　in　it　a　part　of　the　divine　life；　and　it　had　only　to　be　stuffed　or　stretched　upon　a　frame　to　become　a　regular　image　of　him。　At　first　an　image　of　this　kind　would　be　renewed　annually；　the　new　image　being　provided　by　the　skin　of　the　slain　animal。　But　from　annual　images　to　permanent　images　the　transition　is　easy。　We　have　seen　that　the　older　custom　of　cutting　a　new　May…tree　every　year　was　superseded　by　the　practice　of　maintaining　a　permanent　May…pole；　which　was；　however；　annually　decked　with　fresh　le