Journal of American Folk-Lore
Journal of American Folk-Lore
Journal of American Folk-Lore
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302 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.
the necessity of caution in drawing conclusions; thus, a certain coiffure,
which had been referredto the fourteenthcentury,had in fact only attained
its present amplitudeduring the nineteenth.
Mr. R. Rosires attempted to formulate certain laws for the develop-
ment of legends; such he thought were, that among all peoples of the same
mental capacity the imaginationworked in the same manner,and often
gave birth to similar legendary creations; again, that in proportion as the
reputation of any hero declines, the legend which had been created in his
honor attaches itself to another more famous personage; further, every
legend which alters its medium transformsitself in such manneras tn cor-
respond to the ethnographic and social conditions of the new medium.
Mr. M. Tcheraz discussed the "Origin and Development of Legends in
Armenia,"arrivingat the following conclusions: the reservoir from which
these legends have issued is not India, but Bactriana; each tale had for
author some man of genius, who at a later period had interpolators and
imitators. These views were naturally objected to by partisans of the
theory of independent origins. The Comte de Charenceyread a memoir
on "Negro Folk-Lore in America,"in the course of which he analyzed two
tales, one found among negroes in Africa, theother in Guiana, which had
the common trait of "the decapitated by persuasion. The story of Cay-
enne he considered to be formed by a combination of an aboriginal ele-
ment with elements Indian and civilized. Mr. S. Prato read a specimen
of a "Comparative Study of Popular neo-Greek Songs and of European
and Oriental Songs." Mr. Kunz presented a printed memoiron the folk-
lore of the precious metals exposed in the section of the United States.
Mr. Hoffmann-Krayerread a study on "Folk-Lore in Switzerland,"and
also gave an account of the formation of the Swiss Folk-Lore Society,
which now numbers nearly 500 members. He exhibited a magnificent
album of Swiss costumes, published by the Polygraphic Society of Zurich.
Mr. T. Volkov exemplified the primitive and traditional processes by the
aid of which the peasants of the Ukraine make their arithmetical and geo-
metrical calculations. In the course of discussion, similar methods of
peasants in Poitou were pointed out.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.
BOOKS.
ZUM ANIMISMUS DER SiIDAMERIKANISCHENINDIANER, von THEODORKOCH
(Supplement zu Band XIII. Internationales Archiv f. Ethnographie).
Leiden: E. J. Brill. 1900. Pp. viii, 146.
In this elaborate essay, which is provided with an excellent index (i-
145, three columns to a page) and a less satisfactorybibliography(pp. vii.-
viii.), the author confines himself to the record and discussion of animistic
phenomena among the Indians of South Americaalone, not venturingupon
Bibliographical Notes. 303
comparisonswith similar phenomena in other regions of the globe. The
value of his compilationis increased by the fact that Dr. Koch was himself
a member of the Meyer Expedition to the sources of the Xingi, being thus
enabled to add to his material many data obtained by him on the spot.
The topics treated of are: The Indians' idea of the soul; the transition of
the soul into the bodies of animals; the souls of the dead as spirits; the
soul as the cause of disease and death and defences against these; protec-
tive measures against the spirit of the dead; the other world. Rejecting
the earlier view (shared by Bastian) that death gave rise to the primitive
theories of soul-phenomena,Koch adopts the Peschel-Tylorview that the
belief in a soul was reached by savages through observation of dream-
occurrences. In support of this theory he utilizes the rich material re-
cently published by von den Steinen, Ehrenreich, and others concerning
the " dream-life" of the Brazilian Indians. He points out that the Indians'
idea of the nature of the soul during sleep and during the narcosis of the
"medicine-man" is the same, and that several tribes denote this narcosis
by the same word as that for "death." The Otomacs call the condition
induced by tobacco-smoke " day-dreaming,"" dreaming with open eyes,"
etc. Dreams are so real to some of these Indian tribes that their theory
of the soul and of the future life seems to rest upon as positive knowledge
as lies at the bottom of any of their beliefs.
In the transition of the soul (during sleep, in the narcosis, after death)
into the bodies of beasts and birds, the naturalpredilectionsof certaintribes
for certain creaturesoften crop out. The great power of the " medicine-
man" arises from the belief that he can change himself into animals,birds,
etc., during his lifetime, and can trafficwith all sorts of souls, bestial or
aviform. Another very common belief is that the souls of the dead, which,
though human-likein shape, are invisible to those awake, appear in sleep
and dreams, most frequently as evil spirits, who can be conjured up also
by "medicine-men." Most to be feared of all such spirits are the souls of
the " medicine-men,"whose graves even are greatly dreaded.
Hardly any native tribe of South America,if we believe the author,attrib-
utes disease and death to natural causes. They are ascribed to the power-
ful " medicine-men,"to the evil-mindedsouls of the dead, who hover about
the living eager to work ill. Needless to say that in South America it is
the fundamentalidea of innumerableceremonies to prevent the dead from
coming back to earth to plague the living. To that end, special pains are
taken with the funeral, etc.; sometimes companions, wives, relatives, are
buried with him; sacrifices of infinite variety are made; a scapegoat is
employed; self-mutilation,etc., of the survivors is ordained, likewise fast-
ings and similar procedures; fires are kept up on the grave, etc. Other
more forcible means, too, are often employed: The hut in which the man
died is cleansed, abandoned,or destroyed; the return of the dead is barred
(he is buried a long way from home; obstacles are put in his path; loud
cries and noises are made to drive him off; the corpse, the grave, etc., are
treated in a fashion likely to hinder or prevent the movementsof the spirit;
the name of the dead is left unspoken, etc.) in a hundred diverse ways.
304 7ournal of American Folk-Lore.
The section on "Mourning for the Dead" (pp. Io101-7) is very interest-
ing. Among other things Dr. Koch notes that mourning often continues
for a very long time, the funeral songs and ceremonies being repeated
sometimes until nature can no more; that these ceremonies are mostly left
to the women; that the mourning,weeping, etc., are not infrequently"put
on," the funeralceremonyoften quite formal, with set phrases, etc.; that
the mourningis often begun before the death of the patient; that strangers
and parties not at all connected with the dead often join in "loud and
long." Sometimes it is probable we have in this "mourning" a custom
originally dictated by fear, practised as a means of protection, but sunk in
the course of time into an empty ceremonial. The existence of such
"reductions" among primitive peoples is a matter that merits further
investigation.
Another interesting section of the essay is that which treats of "the
other world and the future life " (pp. 117-132). That the "other world"
lies in some part of the earth is a belief common to many tribes; others,
like the Matacos, place it underground; others, still, located it in the stars,
the sun, etc. Worthyof remarkis the Bakairiidea that heaven and earth
lay once beside each other, and the transit was easy; but too many people
died in heaven, so they settled on the earth, causing the sky to rise up
where it now is. As to the mannerof life in the other world, opinions dif-
fer among the South American Indians. Many tribes believe it to be a
continuation (sometimes intensified) of life on earth with the same actions,
institutions, etc.; others hold that only the "good" or "brave" go to
heaven, or have the best places there. Often the passage into the next
world is thought to be very difficult,with many obstacles in the way, so
that the "medicine-man" has to be called upon to "make the path
straight." Some tribes, like the Marauhas,e. g., show, according to the
author,the results of missionaryinfluence. Dr. Koch believes that no in-
dependentlydeveloped " theory of recompense,"in our sense, exists among
any South AmericanIndians, although many tribes have the idea, more or
less, that the condition of life in the next world is in some way or other
connected with actions during life in this.
The authorhas not fully digested his material,which needs furtherstudy
and consideration. His essay is, however, a collection of folk-lore data of
the highest value, and will be welcomed by all students of the mind of
primitiveman.
Alex. F. Chamberlain.
Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History. Volume III.
Anthropology II. OF THE HUICHOL INDIANS. By CARL
I. SYMBOLISM
LUMHOLTZ. New York, May, 900oo Pp. 228. Maps, Plates i.-iv., 298
figures. Fol.
This well-printedand profusely illustrated study is a credit alike to the
author and to the Museum. The authorvisited the Huichols in 1895-
1896, and again in the spring of I898, spending altogether more than a
year amongst them and their neighbors the Coras. After a " Brief Sketch