the golden bough-第206章

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ugh　the　streets　of　the　town　to　the　light　of　torches；　with　drums　beating　and　fifes　playing　in　front　of　them。　At　the　door　of　every　house　they　stopped；　and　one　of　them　wrote　with　chalk　on　the　door　vive　le　roi！　with　the　number　of　the　year　which　was　about　to　begin。　On　the　morning　of　Twelfth　Day　the　King　again　marched　in　procession　with　great　pomp；　wearing　a　crown　and　a　blue　mantle　and　carrying　a　sceptre。　In　front　of　him　was　borne　the　wren　fastened　to　the　top　of　a　pole；　which　was　adorned　with　a　verdant　wreath　of　olive；　of　oak；　and　sometimes　of　mistletoe　grown　on　an　oak。　After　hearing　high　mass　in　the　parish　church　of　St。　Vincent；　surrounded　by　his　officers　and　guards；　the　King　visited　the　bishop；　the　mayor；　the　magistrates；　and　the　chief　inhabitants；　collecting　money　to　defray　the　expenses　of　the　royal　banquet　which　took　place　in　the　evening　and　wound　up　with　a　dance。

The　parallelism　between　this　custom　of　hunting　the　wren　and　some　of　those　which　we　have　considered；　especially　the　Gilyak　procession　with　the　bear；　and　the　Indian　one　with　the　snake；　seems　too　close　to　allow　us　to　doubt　that　they　all　belong　to　the　same　circle　of　ideas。　The　worshipful　animal　is　killed　with　special　solemnity　once　a　year；　and　before　or　immediately　after　death　he　is　promenaded　from　door　to　door；　that　each　of　his　worshippers　may　receive　a　portion　of　the　divine　virtues　that　are　supposed　to　emanate　from　the　dead　or　dying　god。　Religious　processions　of　this　sort　must　have　had　a　great　place　in　the　ritual　of　European　peoples　in　prehistoric　times；　if　we　may　judge　from　the　numerous　traces　of　them　which　have　survived　in　folk…custom。　For　example；　on　the　last　day　of　the　year；　or　Hogmanay　as　it　was　called；　it　used　to　be　customary　in　the　Highlands　of　Scotland　for　a　man　to　dress　himself　up　in　a　cow's　hide　and　thus　attired　to　go　from　house　to　house；　attended　by　young　fellows；　each　of　them　armed　with　a　staff；　to　which　a　bit　of　raw　hide　was　tied。　Round　every　house　the　hide…clad　man　used　to　run　thrice　deiseal；　that　is；　according　to　the　course　of　the　sun；　so　as　to　keep　the　house　on　his　right　hand；　while　the　others　pursued　him；　beating　the　hide　with　their　staves　and　thereby　making　a　loud　noise　like　the　beating　of　a　drum。　In　this　disorderly　procession　they　also　struck　the　walls　of　the　house。　On　being　admitted；　one　of　the　party；　standing　within　the　threshold；　pronounced　a　blessing　on　the　family　in　these　words：　May　God　bless　the　house　and　all　that　belongs　to　it；　cattle；　stones；　and　timber！　In　plenty　of　meat；　of　bed　and　body　clothes；　and　health　of　men　may　it　ever　abound！　Then　each　of　the　party　singed　in　the　fire　a　little　bit　of　the　hide　which　was　tied　to　his　staff；　and　having　done　so　he　applied　the　singed　hide　to　the　nose　of　every　person　and　of　every　domestic　animal　belonging　to　the　house。　This　was　imagined　to　secure　them　from　diseases　and　other　misfortunes；　particularly　from　witchcraft；　throughout　the　ensuing　year。　The　whole　ceremony　was　called　calluinn　because　of　the　great　noise　made　in　beating　the　hide。　It　was　observed　in　the　Hebrides；　including　St。　Kilda；　down　to　the　second　half　of　the　eighteenth　century　at　least；　and　it　seems　to　have　survived　well　into　the　nineteenth　century。

Chapter　55。　The　Transference　of　Evil。

1。　The　Transference　to　Inanimate　Objects

WE　have　now　traced　the　practice　of　killing　a　god　among　peoples　in　the　hunting；　pastoral；　and　agricultural　stages　of　society；　and　I　have　attempted　to　explain　the　motives　which　led　men　to　adopt　so　curious　a　custom。　One　aspect　of　the　custom　still　remains　to　be　noticed。　The　accumulated　misfortunes　and　sins　of　the　whole　people　are　sometimes　laid　upon　the　dying　god；　who　is　supposed　to　bear　them　away　for　ever；　leaving　the　people　innocent　and　happy。　The　notion　that　we　can　transfer　our　guilt　and　sufferings　to　some　other　being　who　will　bear　them　for　us　is　familiar　to　the　savage　mind。　It　arises　from　a　very　obvious　confusion　between　the　physical　and　the　mental；　between　the　material　and　the　immaterial。　Because　it　is　possible　to　shift　a　load　of　wood；　stones；　or　what　not；　from　our　own　back　to　the　back　of　another；　the　savage　fancies　that　it　is　equally　possible　to　shift　the　burden　of　his　pains　and　sorrows　to　another；　who　will　suffer　them　in　his　stead。　Upon　this　idea　he　acts；　and　the　result　is　an　endless　number　of　very　unamiable　devices　for　palming　off　upon　some　one　else　the　trouble　which　a　man　shrinks　from　bearing　himself。　In　short；　the　principle　of　vicarious　suffering　is　commonly　understood　and　practised　by　races　who　stand　on　a　low　level　of　social　and　intellectual　culture。　In　the　following　pages　I　shall　illustrate　the　theory　and　the　practice　as　they　are　found　among　savages　in　all　their　naked　simplicity；　undisguised　by　the　refinements　of　metaphysics　and　the　subtleties　of　theology。

The　devices　to　which　the　cunning　and　selfish　savage　resorts　for　the　sake　of　easing　himself　at　the　expense　of　his　neighbour　are　manifold；　only　a　few　typical　examples　out　of　a　multitude　can　be　cited。　At　the　outset　it　is　to　be　observed　that　the　evil　of　which　a　man　seeks　to　rid　himself　need　not　be　transferred　to　a　person；　it　may　equally　well　be　transferred　to　an　animal　or　a　thing；　though　in　the　last　case　the　thing　is　often　only　a　vehicle　to　convey　the　trouble　to　the　first　person　who　touches　it。　In　some　of　the　East　Indian　islands　they　think　that　epilepsy　can　be　cured　by　striking　the　patient　on　the　face　with　the　leaves　of　certain　trees　and　then　throwing　them　away。　The　disease　is　believed　to　have　passed　into　the　leaves；　and　to　have　been　thrown　away　with　them。　To　cure　toothache　some　of　the　Australian　blacks　apply　a　heated　spear…thrower　to　the　cheek。　The　spear…thrower　is　then　cast　away；　and　the　toothache　goes　with　it　in　the　shape　of　a　black　stone　called　karriitch。　Stones　of　this　kind　are　found　in　old　mounds　and　sandhills。　They　are　carefully　collected　and　thrown　in　the　direction　of　enemies　in　order　to　give　them　toothache。　The　Bahima；　a　pastoral　people　of　Uganda；　often　suffer　from　deep…seated　abscesses：　their　cure　for　this　is　to　transfer　the　disease　to　some　other　person　by　obtaining　herbs　from　the　medicine…man；　rubbing　them　over　the　place　where　the　swelling　is；　and　burying　them　in　the　road　where　people　continually　pass；　the　first　person　who　steps　over　these　buried　herbs　contracts　the　disease；　and　the　original　patient　recovers。

Sometimes　in　case　of　sickness　the　malady　is　transferred　to　an　effigy　as　a　preliminary　to　passing　it　on　to　a　human　being。　Thus　among　the　Baganda　the　medicine…man　would　sometimes　make　a　model　of　his　patient　in　clay；　then　a　relative　of　the　sick　man　would　rub　the　image　over　the　sufferer's　body　and　either　bury　it　in　the　road　？？　it　in　the　grass　by　the　wayside。　The　first　person　who　stepped　over　the　image　or　passed　by　it　would　catch　the　disease。　Sometimes　the　effigy　was　made　out　of　a　plantain…flower　tied　up　so　as　to　look　like　a　person；　it　was　used　in　the　same　way　as　the　clay　figure。　But　the　use　of　images　for　this　maleficent　purpose　was　a　capital　crime；　any　person　caught　in　the　act　of　burying　one　of　them　in　the　public　road　would　surely　have　been　put　to　death。

In　the　western　district　of　the　island　of　Timor；　when　men　or　women　are　making　long　and　tiring　journeys；　they　fan　themselves　with　leafy　branches；　which　they　afterwards　throw　away　on　particular　spots　where　their　forefathers　did　the　same　before　them。　The　fatigue　which　they　felt　is　thus　supposed　to　have　passed　into　the　leaves　and　to　be　left　behind。　Others　use　stones　instead　of　leaves。　Similarly　in　the　Babar　Archipelago　tired　people　will　strike　themselves　with　stones；　believing　that　they　thus　transfer　to　the　stones　the　weariness　which　they　felt　in　their　own　bodies。　They　then　throw　away　the　stones　in　places　which　are　specially　set　apart　for　the　purpose。　A　like　belief　and　practice　in　many　distant　parts　of　the　world　have　given　rise　to　those　cairns　or　heaps　of　sticks　and　leaves　which　travellers　often　observe　beside　the　path；　and　to　which　every　passing　native　adds　his　contribution　in　the　shape　of　a　stone；　or　stick；　or　leaf。　Thus　in　the　Solomon　and　Banks'　Islands　the　natives　are　wont　to　throw　sticks；　stones；　or　leaves　upon　a　heap　at　a　place　of　steep　descent；　or　where　a　difficult　path　begins；　saying；　There　goes　my　fatigue。　The　act　is　not　a　religious　rite；　for　the　thing　thrown　on　the　heap　is　not　an　offering