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The Journal of the Anthropological
Institute of Great Britain and Ireland
Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and
Ireland, JSTOR (Organization)
2c■c^o<^o.l.n
l^arbarli College l.ti)rars
FROM TUB BSqUEST OF
JAMES WALKER, D.D., LL.D.
(Class of 1814)
FORMER PRESIDENT OF HARVARD COLLEGE
** Preference being given to works in the
Intellectual and Moral Sciences.**
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•for^
THE JOURNAL ^ ^ V* '
OP THE
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
OF
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
VOL. XXIX (NEW SERIES, VOL. H).
LONDON :
FUBLUHHD lOE
t9e ^nt^tofotoiitat Ins^fufe of &ttaf ^tifain and 3tefanb.
BY
KBGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRtJBNER & CO.,
CHARING CROSS ROAD.
All Sight* Re*«rv»d.
1899.
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NOTICE.
To facilitate reference to the contents of this Journal, and to make it a more
convenient record of the work of the Institute, the Council has authorised the
following amendment of its form : —
Each volume of the Jov/i^nal will henceforth contain the papers presented to
the Institute between January and December of tlie calendar year; and the
President's Address, delivered at the Annual Meeting in January, will form the
introduction to each volume.
Consequently the latter part of Vol. XXIX (= Vol. II of the new royal
octavo series) contains only those papers which were presented before the end of
1899 ; while Vol. XXX (= Vol. Ill of the new series) will contain those which
are presented between January and December, 1900; and will open with the
President's Address delivered in January, 1900.
For convenience of reference, also, greater prominence will be given to the
number of a volume in continuation of the old series, than to its number in the
new (royal octavo) series. Thus the current volume is described as Vol. XXIX
(= New Series, Vol. TI).
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CONTENTS
PAGE
I. Swatis and Afridis. By Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich, K.C.I.E., C.B. 2
IT. The Arab Tribes of oar Indian Frontier. By Colonel Sir T. H.
Holdich, K.C.I.E., C.B 10
III. The Secret Societies of West Africa. By H. P. Fitzgerald
Marriott (Abstract) 21
IV. Mitla : An Archsaological Study of the Ancient Rains and Biemains
in that Pueblo. By William Corner 29
V. Ju-Ju Laws and Customs in the Niger Delta. By M. Le Comte C.
V N. DB Cardi 51
^ VI. Ethnographical Notes on the Pang. By Albert ]p. Bennett, M.D.,
F.B.S 66
VII. Beginnings of Currency. By Colonel R. C. Temple, CLE. ... 99
VIII. Prehistoric Man in the Neighbourhood of the Kent and Surrey
Border: Neolithic Age. By George Clinch, F.G.S 124
IX. On the MedifiBval Population of Bristol. By Dr. Bbddob, LL.D.,
F.R.S 142
X. Note on a Skull from Syria. By W. L. H. Duckworth, M.A.,
Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge 145
XI. Some Australian Tree Carvings. By Herbert Perkins 152
XII. Dialect Changes in the Polynesian Languages. By Rev. Samuel
Ella 154
XIII. Notes on the Ethnology of Tribes met with during Progress of the
Juba Expedition of 1897-99. By Lieut.-Colonel J. R. L.*
Macdokald, R.E 226
XrV. Notes on the Masai Section of Lieut.-Colonel Macdonald's Vocabu-
lary. By Mrs. S. L. HiNDB 248
XY. Notes on the Swahili Section of Lieut.-Colonel Macdonald's
Vocabulary. By Miss M. E. Woodward 250
XVI. The Nature of the Arab Ginn, illustrated by the Present Beliefis of
the People of Morocco. By Edward Westermarck, Ph.D. ... 252
XVII. Primitive Rites of Disposal of the Dead, with Special Reference to
India. By W. Crooke, B.A. 271
XVin. Sequences in Prehistoric Remains. By Professor W. M. Flinders
Petrib 295
XIX. On the Discovery of Neritina FluviaUlts with a Pleistocene Fauna
and Worked Flints in High Terrace Gravels of the Thames
Valley. By H. Stopis ^ 302
a 2
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IV CONTENTS.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL REVIEWS AND MISCELLANEA.
PAGE
Notes on the Langaages of the South Andaman Group of Tribes. By M. V.
PORTMAN 181
The Dolmens and Burial Mounds in Japan. Bj Wm. Gowland, F.S.A. ... 183
The Dolmens of Japan and their Builders. Bj Wm. Gowland, F.S.A. ... 183
Ethnology, in two parts. By A. H. Keane, F.R.G.S 184
Der Periplns des Hanno. By Dr. Karl Emil Illing 185
Bird Gods. By Charles de Kay 186
Authority and ArcheBology, Sacred and Profane. Edited by D. G. Hogarth ... 186
The Kingdom of the Barotsi, Upper Zambesi. By A. D. Miall 188
The Races of Europe. By William Z. Ripley, Ph.D ' ... ... J88
The Cult of Othin. By H. M. Chadwick 189
The Negritos. By A. B. Meyer, M.D 191
The Temple of Mut in Asher. By Miss M. Benson and Miss J. Gourlay ... 191
The Philippine Islands. By John Foreman, F.R.G.S 191
Among the Wild Ngoni. By Dr. W. A. Elmslie 191
Vocabulary of the Gualluma tribe. By E. Clement 192
Centralblatt fur Anthropologic, Ethnologic und Urgeschichte. Edited by Dr.
E. BuscHAN 196
Eaglehawk and Crow. By John Mathew 197
Notes and Queries on Anthropology. Edited by Dr. J. G. Garson and C. H.
Read 197
Anthropology at the British Association. Dover Meeting : September 13th to
20th, 1899. (With Plate XXVIII) 198
Additions to the Library of the Anthropological Institute since July Ist, 1899 224
New Zealand Kotahas or Whip Slings, for Throwing Darts. (With Plate
XXXIV) 304
Note on a Carved Canoe Head from New Zealand. (With Plato XXXV, 1) ... 305
Note on a Stone Battle-axe from New Zealand. (With Plate XXXV, 2) ... 305
Note on the Roman Origin of a Mediaeval Charm 306
Prehistoric Chronology. By Professor Oscar Montelius 308
On the Judicial Oaths used on the Gold Coast ... ... ... ... ... 310
Notes on the Congress of the German and Viennese Anthropological Societies
held at Lindan from the 4th-7th of September, 1899 314
The Huxley Memorial Statue in the Natural History Museum 316
Science et Foi. 1* Anthropologic et la Science Sociale. Par Paul Topinard ... 317
Mission en Cappadoce 1893^1894. Par Ernest Chantre 320
Anthropometria. By Rudulpo Livi 324
Statistical Methods : With Special Reference to Biological Variation. By C.
B. Davenport, Ph.D 326
The Oneida Community. By Allan Estlake .. ,.. 327
Ancient Pagan Tombs and Christian Cemeteries in the Islands of Malta. By
Dr. A. A. Caruana. The Royal Public Library of Malta. By the same... 329
The Harmonic Structure of Indian Music. By John Comfort Fillmore ... 330
Text Book of Pal89ontology. By Karl A. von Zittel 331
The Cephalic Index. By Dr. Franz Boaz 332
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CONTENTS. V
PAGE
A Study of the Normal Tibia. By Ales Hrdlicka 332
On some Flint Implements, found in the Glacial deposits of Cheshire and North
Wales. By Joseph LoMAS, F.G.S 333
Explorations in Patagonia. By Dr. P. P. Moreno 334
Yinland and its Ruins. By Cornelia Horsfokd 334
Hawaii Nei. By Mabel C. Craft 335
A Dictionary of the Pathan Tribes of the North- West Frontier of India ... 335
On the Orientation of Temples. By P. C. Penrose, M.A , P.R.S 336
Reproductions of Nahua Manuscripts. By Francisco del Paso y Troncoso ... 337
Tangweera: Life and Adventures among Gentle Savages. By C. Napier Bell,
M.Inst.C.E 339
The Natural History of the Musical Bow. By Henry Balfour, M.A 340
International Congress of Prehistoric Archaeology and Anthropology ... ... 342
International Congress on the History of Religion ... ... ... ... 344
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PLATES. to face page
I to VII. Mitla: Ruins and Remains ... ... ... ... ... 29
YIII. Objects from the Collection of Sir John Smalman-Smith ... ... 51
IX. Objects from the Collection of the Comte de Cardi ... ... ... 51
X. Slave Driver and Slaves, Sherbro ... ... ... ... ... 64
XL The Bundu Devil Dress 64
XII. Yenketti Swinging Bridge, Sherbro ... ... ... ... ... 64
XIII. Native Musicians, Sherbro ... ... ... ... ... ... 64
XIV. 1 and 2, Ngi masks used in the Fang Secret Society ; 3, 4, Fang
Idols ; 5, Wooden dogbell ; 6, Ngi collar ; 7, Sacrifice Knife frontispiece
XV. Fang Men. Pang House 66
XVL Fang Women. Fang Youths 66
XVII Fang Dance. Abeng or Palaver House 66
XVIII to XXI. Illustrations of the Beginning of Currency ... ... ... 118
XXII and XXIII. Neolithic Implements found in the Neighbourhood of
the Kent and Surrey Border .. . ... ... ... ... ... 124
XXIV. A Skull from Syria 145
XXV and XXVI. Tree Carvings, New South Wales 152
XXVIL The Grave of a Native of Australia 152
XXVIIL Sources of the Alphabet 204
XXIX. 1
-xr^^ ^Maps illustrating the results of the Juba Expedition ... ... 226
XXXI. Types of Pottery, illustrating the System of Sequence Dating ... 295
XXXII. The Genealogies of some forms of Pottery, illustrating the System
of Sequence Dating 295
XXXIII. Flint Implements and Copper Tools, illustrating the System of
Sequence Dating ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 295
^XXIV. New Zealand Kotahas or Whip- Slings 304
XXXV / ^' Figure-head of a War Canoe, New Zealand ... ... ... 305
* 1 2. A Chiefs Implements of War (" Toki "), New Zealand 305
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VI
CONTENTS.
Mitla:—
Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3.
BLOCKS.
Plans, rains, etc.
to face page
Gronps Nob. 1 to 7
(After Dr. Seler)
Surface shapes of the Raised Stone
Figs. 4, 6, 6, 7. (After Mr. W. H. Holmes)
Pig. 8. The Lintel
Fig. 9. A combination of beams, rods, and light masonry
Fig. 10. The Fort, etc
Prehistoric Man in the neighbourhood of the Kent and Surrey border : —
Fig. 1. Plan and Section of Hut-Circle, Hayes Common, Kent ...
Fig. 2. Plan and Section of Hut-Circle, Hayes Common, Kent ...
Fig. B. Conjectural Restoration of Neolithic Hut with External Fire,
Hayes Common, Kent
Fig. 4. Section of Pit containing evidences of Fire, West Wickham
Common, Kent
The Roman Origin of a Mediflsval Charm
The Vatican Codex, 3773 (Nahna) ...
34
36
37
39
41
45
125
126
134
135
307
338
1. The Memorandum of Association
2. The Abticlbs
3. The List of Fellows
711
ix
XV
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( vu )
MtmaxEtxbxtm of |laa0riati0n.
1. The name of the Association is the " Anthropological Institute of Great
Britain and Ireland."
2. The registered office of the Association will be situate in England.
3. The objects for which the Association is established are : —
(1) The Promotion of the Study of the Science of Man.
(2) The doing of all such other lawful things as are incidental or con-
ducive to the attainment of the above object.
4. The income and property of the Association, whencesoever derived, shall be
applied solely towards the promotion of the objects of the Association as set forth
in this Memorandum of Association; and no portion thereof shall be paid or
transferred, directly or indirectly, by way of dividend, or bonus, or otherwise
howsoever, by way of profit, to the Members of the Association. Provided that
nothing herein shall prevent the payment in good faith of remuneration to any
officers or servants of the Association, or to any Member of the Association, or
other person, in return for any services axjtually rendered to the Association.
5. The fourth paragraph of this Memorandum is a condition on which a
licence is granted by the Board of Trade to the Association in pursuance of Section
23 of the Companies' Act, 1867.
6. If any member of the Association pays or receives any dividend, bonus, or
other profit, in contravention of the terms of the fourth paragraph of this Memo-
randum, his liability shall be unlimited.
7. Every Member of the Association undertakes to contribute to the assets of
the Association, in the event of the same being wound up during the time that he
is a member, or within one year afterwards, for the payment of the debts and
liabilities of the Association contracted before the time at which he ceases to be a
member^ and of the costs, charges, and expenses of winding up the same, and for
the adjustment of the rights of the contributories amongst themselves, such amoimt
as may be required, not exceeding twenty shillings, or, in case of his liability
becoming unlimited, such other amount as may be required in pursuance of the last
preceding paragraph of this Memorandum.
b
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viii Memorandum of Association,
8. If upon the winding up or dissolution of the Association there remains,
after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities, any property whatsoever, the
same shall not be paid to or distributed among the Members of the Association,
but shall be given or transferred to some other institution or institutions, having
objects similar to the objects of the Association, to be determined by the Members
of the Association at or before the time of dissolution, or in default thereof by such
Judge of the High Court of Justice as may have or acquire jurisdiction in the
matter.
9. True accounts shall be kept of the sums of money received and expended
by the Association, and the matter in respect of which such receipt and expenditure
takes place, and of the property, credits, and liabilities of the Association ; and,
subject to £uiy reasonable restrictions as to the time and manner of inspecting the
same that may be imposed in accordance with the regulations of the Association
for the time being, shall be open to the inspection of the Members. Once at least
in every year the accounts of the Association shall be examined, and the correct-
ness of the balance sheet ascertained by one or more properly qualified Auditor or
Auditors.
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( ix )
Jlrtirlea d ^aa0aatmn»
1. For the purpose of registration the number of the Members of the Institute
is declared not to exceed 600.
2. These Articles shall be construed with reference to the provisions of the
Companies' Acts, and terms used in these Articles shall be taken as having the
same respective meanings as they have when used in those Acts.
3. The Institute is established for the purposes expressed in the Memorandum
of Association.
QUALIFICATION OF MEMBEES.
4. Every person desirous of admission to the Institute as a Member shall be Nommationof
proposed and recommended agreeably to such Form as the Coimcil may appoint
from time to time ; which Form must be subscribed by at least two Members, one
of whom shall certify his personal knowledge of such Candidate.
5. The Council shall elect by a show of hands, or by ballot, if any Member Election of
demand it. The voting shall take place, unless the Council shall otherwise direct,
at the next Council meeting after that on which the Candidate is proposed, and no
person shall be considered as elected unless he have three-fourths of the votes in
his favour.
6. Every person so elected shall sign an undertaking to abide by the Kules of
the Institute, in such form as the Council may direct.
KETIEEMENT OF MEMBEKS.
7. Any Member may, on payment of all arrears of his Annual Contribution, 5?*^^ ®^
withdraw from the Institute by signifying his wish to do so by letter, addressed to
the Secretary, Such Member shall, however, be liable to the Contribution of the
year in which he signifies his wish to withdraw ; and shall also continue liable for
the Annual Contribution until he shall have returned all books, or other property,
borrowed by him of the Institute ; or shall have made full compensation for the
same, if lost, or not forthcoming.
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Articles of Associatiofi of
Privileges of
Members.
Contributions
of Members.
Expulsion of
Members.
Constitution.
Election of
Honorary
Members and
Correspond-
ing Members.
EIGHTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF MEMBEES.
8. The Members have the right to be present, to state their opinion, and to
vote at all General Meetings ; to propose Candidates for admission into the
Institute ; to have transmitted to them the Journal of the Institute ; and,
under such limitations as the Council may deem expedient, to have personal access
to the Library and all other public rooms in the occupation of the Institute,
and to borrow books, maps, plates, drawings, or specimens, belonging to the
Institute.
9. Any Member is eligible to be a Member of the Council or Officer of the
Institute.
10. Each Member shall pay an Annual Contribution of two guineas, which
may at any time be compounded for by a payment of £21.
11. The Annual Contributions shall become due upon election (unless such
election takes place in the month of November or December) and in advance on
the first day of January in each year afterwards.
12. If the annual contribution of a Member be moi*e than one year in arrear,
the Treasurer shall report such default to the Council, and the Council shall use its
discretion in erasing the name of the defaulter from the List of Members ; and in
the discretion of the Council he shall not be allowed to attend the Meetings of tlie
Institute, or to receive any of its publications, or to enjoy any of its privileges and
advantages, until his arrears be paid. At the expiration of six months the name of
the defaulter may be suspended in the Meeting Eoom.
13. Should there appear cause, in the opinion of the Council, for the expulsion
from the Institute of any Member, a Special General Meeting shall be called by
the Council for that purpose, notice of which shall be given to such Member ; and
if three- fourths of those voting agree, by ballot, that such Member be expelled,
the President, or other Member in the Chair, shall declare the same accordingly,
whereupon the name of the person expelled shall be erased from the list of
Members.
OFFICERS AND COUNCIL.
14. The Institute shall have a President, Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, and a
Treasurer.
15. Persons eminent in Anthropology, abroad and in the United Kingdom,
may be associated with the Institute under the titles of " Honorary Members "
and " Correspondmg Members " ; they shall be elected by the Council, under the
same conditions as laid down for Members, but shall not be liable to any annual
or other contribution, and shall not be deemed to be " Members " within the meaning
of the Memorandum of Association. Honorary Members shall have the same
rights as Members, with the exception of that of voting at General Meetings.
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the Anthropological IndUute. xi
16. The Government of the Institute shall be vested in the President, the Cbvemmont.
Vice-Presidents, Secretary, and Treasurer, who shall be ex-offido Members of
Council, and twenty ordinary Members of Council to be elected as hereinafter
directed. All past Presidents of the Anthropological Institute, and of the pre-
existing Ethnological and Anthropological Societies, while still Members of the
Institute, shall be Vice-Presidents ex officio ; and there shall be tliree other elected
Vice-Presidents.
17. The President, three Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, and ordinary Election of
Members of the Council shall be elected by ballot at the Annual General Meetmg ;
and three at least of the ordinary Councillors and one of the elected Vice-
Presidents shall retire from ofi&ce annually, and not be eligible for re-election
for the space of one year ; the retiring Members to be selected by the Council.
18. If, in the interval between two Annual Meetings, any vacancy in the
Council occur, the Council may appoint some Member of the Institute to fiU such
vacancy.
MANAGEMENT OF INSTITUTE AND POWER AND DUTIES OF
COUNCIL.
19. The Council shall meet on such days as they appoint, and a book shall Council
be kept in which the attendance of each Member shall be certified by his own
signature at the time of his entering the Council-room. The President, or any
three Members of the Council, may at any time call a special Meeting of the
Council, to which the whole Council shall be summoned.
20. In all Meetings of the Council five shall be a quorum ; all questions
shall be decided by vote, unless a ballot be demanded ; and a decision of the
majority shall be considered as the decision of the meeting ; the Chairman shall
have, in case of an equality, the casting vote.
21. The Council shall be empowered to remit or abate subscriptions in cases
of Members distinguished for their services to Anthropological Science, but the
total number of such non-contributing Members shall never exceed ten.
22. The Council shall present and cause to be read at the Annual General Duties of
Meeting a Report of the accounts and of the state of the affairs of the Institute
for the preceding year. The Council shall act for the Institute in any matter
which is not specified in these articles. The Council shall prepare the House-list
of retiring Members of Council, and also of Candidates to be recommended at the
Annual General Meeting to fill up the vacancies. The Council shall have
authority from time to time to make and alter by-laws for the management of
the Institute, and the regulation its officers, meetings, and proceedings ; but so that
no by-law is contrary to any of these articles.
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Xll
Articles of Association of
Annual
General
Meetings.
Special
General
Meetings.
Ordinaiy
General
Meetings.
Duties of
President.
Original
Papers.
MEETINGS.
23. A General Meeting shall be held annually in January, to receive the
Eeport of the Council on the state of the Institute, and to deliberate thereon ; and
to discuss and determine such matters as may be brought forward by the Council
relative to the affairs of the Institute. Also, to elect the Officers for the ensuing
year. The Chairman shall cause to be distributed a sufficient number of balloting-
lists, in such form as the Council may appoint ; and he shall appoint two or more
Scrutineers, from among the Members present, to superintend the ballot during
its progress, and to report the result to the Meeting ; the ballot shall close at the
expiration of one hour.
24 The Council shall call a Special General Meeting of the Institute
when it seems to them necessary, or when required by the requisition of any ten
Members so to do.
25. Every such requisition, duly signed by ten or more Members, must
specify, in the form of a resolution, the object intended to be submitted to the
Meeting.
26. The notice of the Special Meeting, or the requisition and the resolution,
as the case may be, shall be suspended in the Institute's rooms for two weeks,
and a copy sent to all Members resident in the United Kingdom, whose addresses
are known, one week previous to such Meeting ; and at the Meeting the discussion
shall be confined to the object specified in the resolution, or, in the absence of a
requisition, then in the notice convening such Meeting.
27. The Ordinary Meetings of the Institute shall be held on such days as
the Council shall appoint ; and a printed list of such Meetings shall be sent to
each Member.
28. The President, or in his absence one of the Vice-Presidents, and in
their absence a Member to be chosen by the Meeting, shall take the chair at every
Meeting of the Institute or of the Council.
29. Every Paper which may be presented to the Institute shall, in consequence
of such presentation, be considered as the property of the Institute, unless there
shall have been any previous engagement with its author to the contrary ; and the
Council may publish the same in any way and at any time that they may think
proper. But, should the Council refuse or neglect within one year to publish such
Paper, the author shall have a right to publish it upon his own responsibility. No
other person, however, shall publish any Paper belonging to the Institute without
the previous consent of the Council.
30. At an Ordinary Meeting no question relating to the Eules or Management
of the Institute shall be introduced.
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the ArUhropologiccd TnstUtUe, xiii
31. The accounts of the Institute shall be annually audited by two Members,
proposed by the President, and approved by the Ordinary Meeting held next before
the Annual General Meeting.
INTERPRETATION CLAUSE.
32. In these articles words importing the masculine gender shall include the
feminine, and words importing the singular number the plural, except where the
matter or context shall exclude such construction ; and when an office in the
Institute is held by more than one person either of such persons may do anything
appertaining to such office.
33. A notice may be served by the Institute upon any Member either
personally or by sending it through the post in a prepaid letter addressed to such
Member at his last known place of abode.
34. Any notice, if served by post, shall be deemed to have been served at the
time when the letter containing the same would be delivered in the ordinary
course of the post ; and in proving such service it shall be sufficient to prove that
the letter containing the notice was properly addressed and put into the
post-office.
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LIST OF THE FELLOWS
OP THE
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
OF
GEEAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
It is particularly requested that Fellows mill give notice to the Secretary of the
Society y 3, Hanover Square , W,, of any error in their addresses or descriptions, in
order thai it Tnay he immediately corrected in the hooks.
The names with * attached to them are those of Fellows who Jiave compounded
for the Annual Sahscriptions,
f These Fellows have contribtUed Papers to the Institute,
§ These Fellows are Members of Council.
HONORARY FELLOWS.
Anucbin, Professor. Imperial Univer-
sit J, Moscow.
Bastian, Professor Adolf. Director of
the Ethnological Museum, Berlin. (If)
Benedikt, Prof. Universitj, Vienna,
Austria.
Bertillon, Mons. Alphonse. Chef da
Service Anthropom^trique k la Pre-
fecture de Police, Paris.
Bonaparte, H. H. Prince Roland. 10
Ayenne d*Iena, Paris.
Cartailhac, M. Emile. Toulouse, France.
Ghantre, M. Ernest. Lyons, France.
Collignon, Dr. Ben6. 6 Rue de la
Marine, Cherbourg, Manche, France.
Dareste, Prof. Camille. 37 Rue de
Fleurus, Paris.
Dawson, Geo. Mercer, Esq., C.M.G.,
LL.D., F.R.S. Director of Geological
Survey, Ottawa, Canada.
Deniker, Dr. J. 2 Rue de Buffon,
Paris.
Dubois, PiK)f. Eugene. 45 Zijlweg,
Haarlem, Holland.
Dupont, Dr. E. 31 Rue Yautier,
Brussels.
Fison, Rev. Lorimer. Essenden, Mel-
bourne. (T)
Gerland, Prof. University, Strasburg,
Alsace.
Giglioli, Professor E. H. Zoological
Museum, Florence, Italy.
Hamy, Dr. E. T. Mus6um du Troca-
dero, Paris.
Heger, Dr. F. Royal Natural History
Museum, Vienna.
Holmes, Prof. W. H. Field Columbian
Museum, Chicago.
Jones, Professor T. Rupert, F.R.S.
17 Parsons Green, Fulbam, S.W.
Kollmann, Professor J. University,
Basle, Switzerland.
Lacassagne, Professor. Lyons, Prance.
Livi, Cavaliere Dr. Ridolfo. Capitano
medico Ispettorato militare, Rome
Lombroso, Prof. University, Turin, linly,
Manouvrier, Dr. L. L*Ecole d' Anthro-
pologic, Paris.
c
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XVI
List of the Fellows
HONORAHY FELLOWS— co7i«7iwed.
Mautegazza, Professor Paolo. Florence.
Marfcin, Prof. Badolf. University of
Zurich.
Mason, Professor Otis T. Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, U.S.A.
Meyer, Dr. A. B. Director of the
Hoyal Ethnographical Museum, Dres-
den. (1)
Montelius, Dr. Oscar. Museum of Anti-
quaries, Stockholm. (^)
Moreno, Dr. F. P. Buenos Ayres.
Miiller, Professor F. Max. Oxford.
Nadaillac, Marquis de. 18 Rue Dupliot,
Paris.
Nicolucci, Prof. Giustiniano. Isola di
Sora, Italy.
Powell, The Hon. J. W. Bureau of
Ethnology, Washington, U.S.A.
Putnam, Professor F. W. Harvard
University, Cambridge, Massachn-
setts, U.S.A.
Ranke, Professor J. Munich, Bavaria.
Schmeltz, Dr. J. D. E. 69 Rapenburg,
Leiden, Netherlands.
Sergi, Prof. G. Director of Royal Uni-
versity, Rome.
Spencer, Professor Baldwin. Uni-
versity, Melbourne.
Stirling, Dr. E. C, C.M.G., M.A.,
F.R.C.S. Director of South Aus-
tralian Museum.
Stolpe, Dr. K. H. Royal Historical
Museum, Stockholm.
Topinard, Dr. Paul. 105 Rue de
Rennes, Paris. (^)
Troncoso, Signer F. del Paao y. 61
Via Rica soli, Florence, Italy.
Virchow, Professor Rudolph. Berlin.
CORRESPONDING FELLOWS.
Appleyard, Rev. W. The Vicarage,
Batley CaiT, Dewsbury.
Bonsdorff, Professor E. J. Kokisgard,
Salo (Uskela), Finland.
Carr, Lncien, Esq. Peabody Museum,
Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.
Daa, Professor. Christiania, Nor -
\9ay.
Duhousset, Colonel Emile. 6 Rue de
Fiirstemberg, Paris.
His, Professor W. Leipzig.
Hoffman, Dr. W. J. Washington,
D.C., U.S.A.
Howitt, Alfred W., Esq. Secretary for
Mines, Department of Mines, Mel-
bourne, Victoria, Australia.
Let6urneau, Prof. L'lScole d'Anthro-
pologie, Paris.
Oliver, Captain S. P. Moray House,
Anglesey, Gosport, Hants. {%)
Ricarde-Seaver, Major F. I. AthensBum
Club, Pall Mall, S.W.
Rnge, Dr. Sophus. Circusstrasse, 20
Dresden.
Saunders, Trelawney W., Esq. 3 Elm-
field on the Knowles, Newton Abbot,
Devon.
Soherzer, Dr. Charles Chevalier de. 10
Via Roma, Genoa, Italy.
Steinhauer, Dr. Karl. Director Royal
Museum, Stockholm.
Weisbach, Dr. Augustin. Wahringer-
strasse, 25, Vienna.
Wilson, T., Esq. Curator of Prehis-
toric Anthropology, Smithsonian In-
stitution, Washington. {%)
N.B. — The name of any Honorary or CoiTesponding Fellow whose address, or
that of his agent, shall not be known for the space of two years shall be removed from
the List, but may be restored again by the Council.
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of the Anthropological Instiivie. xvii
Tear of ORDINAEY FELLOWS.
Election.
1883 Abercromby, The Hou. John, 62 Fcdmerston Place, Edinburgh (*)
1858 Adams, Wm., Esq., F.RC.S., 7 Lovdoun Road, SL John's Wood, If. W. (*)
1862 Amherst, of Hackney, The Eight Hon. Lord, F.S.A., 8 Grosvenor Square, W. ;
and IHdlington Hall, Brandon,
1865 Armstrong, The Right Hon. Lord, D.C.L., LL.D., F.RS., 8 Great George
Street, S. W. ; and Cragside, Rothlury, Northumberland, (*)
1874 Atkinson, G. M., Esq., 28 St. Oswald Road, West Brampton, S. W, (f §)
1894 Atkinson, J. J., Esq., Post Office, Thio, New Caledonia,
1863 Avebury, The Right Hon. Lord, F.R.S., 2 St Jame£ Square, SW.; High
Mms, Beekenham, Kent (!§*)
1895 Backhouse, W. A, Esq., St John's, Wolsingham, Darlington, (*)
1888 Balfour, Henry, Esq., M.A., Vice-President, Anthropological Department,
Museum, Oxford; 11 Norham Gardens, Oxford, (ir§)
1894 Barclay, Edwyn, Esq., Urie Lodge, Ridgway, Wimbledon,
1865 Barrett, Thomas Squire, Esq., F.Z.S., F.S.S., F.RB.S., F.RHistS., Rose
Cottage, Millfield Road, Appleton, Widnes. (*)
1876 Barron, E. J., Esq., F.S.A., 10 Bndsleigh Street, Tavistock Square, W,C. (*)
1866 Bartrum, J. Stothart, Esq., F.R.C.S., 13 Gay Street, Bath,
1882 Baye, Baron de, 58 Avenvs de la Grande ArmSe, Paris, (*)
1884 Beaufort, W. Morris, Esq., F.R.G.S., 18 Piccadilly, W. (*§)
1854 Beddoe, John, Esq., M.D., F.R.S., FRCP., Foreign Associate of the
Anthropological Society of Paris; Corresponding Member of the
Anthropological Society of Berlin ; Hon. Member of the Anthropological
Societies of Brussels and Washington; Vice-President, The Chantry,
Bradford'On-Avon, Wilts, (ir§)
1899 Bennett, Albert L., Esq., M.D., F.E.S., 34 Denison Buildings, Uth Street,
Denver, Colorado, U,S,A,
1899 Bennett, Mrs. G. Nevitt, 15 Hanover Terrace, Regent's Park, N,W,
1899 Berry, R. J. A, Esq., M.D., F.RC.S., F.RS., Edinburgh School of Medicine;
Royal College, Edinhtrgh ; 4 Howard Place, Edinburgh,
1896 Blackett, Spencer, Esq., Paternoster House, Charing Cross Road,
1896 BlundeU, Herbert Weld, Esq., Brooks's Club, S. W,
1869 Bonwick, James, Esq., F.RG.S., Yarra Yarra, Soxsih Vale, Upper Norwood,
SE. {%)
1872 Bowly, Christopher, Esq., Siddington House, Cirencester,
1864 Brabrook, E. W., Esq., C.B., F.S.A., F.RS.N.A. Copenhagen; Corr. Member
of the Anthropological Society of Paris ; Barrister-at-Law ; Vice-
President, 178 Bedford Hill, Balham, S, W. ; 28 Abingdon Street, S, W.
c 2 •
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xviii Lid of (he Felhws
Year of
Election.
1865 Braby, F., Esq., F.G.S., Bushetf Lodge, Tcddiiigion.
1900 Breton, Miss A. C, cjo Wilts and Dorset Bank, Bath.
1894 Breyer, Dr. H. G., Professor of Natural History, Oj/mnasium Box, Pretoria,
South Africa,
1892 Brice, Arthur Montefiore, Esq., F.R.G.S., Id Hyde Park Mannom, W, (T)
1894 Brook, R. C, Esq., Wolverhampton House, St. Helens.
1889 Brown, J. Allen, Esq., F.G.S., 7 Kent Gardens, Eating. (1)
1864 Bro\vn, James Roberts, Esq., F.R.G.S., F.RS.N.A. Copenhagen, 44 Treguntei'
Road, SoiUh Kensington, S. W. (*)
1895 Brown, William, Esq., J.P., President Fowler Phrenological Institute,
Hazclwood, Wellinglorough,
1885 Browne, John, Esq., Chertsey House, ParkhUl Rise, Croydon, Surrey.
1867 Bull, William, Esq., F.L.S., 536 Kincfs Road, Chelsea, S.W.
1895 Bumard, Robert, Esq., 3 Hillsborough, Mutley, PlymoiUh.
1894 Bushe, Col. Charles Kendal, F.G.S., 19 Cromwell Road, 8. Ken»iwjton.
1867 Busteed, W. J., Esq., M.D., Brigade-Surgeon, cjo Messrs. Grindlay 4' Co.,
55 Parliament Street, S. W. (*)
1891 Bute, The Most Hon. The Marquess of, K.T., Cardiff Castle.
1893 Caldecott, Percy, Esq., Constitutional Club, Northumberland Avenue, S. W.
1872 Cammiade, Gilbert Henry, Esq., Madras. (*)
1892 Campbell, C. W., Esq., H.B.M. Consular Service, Shanghai, China.
1865 Carey, Major-General W. D., RA., 22 Archers Road, Southampton. (*)
1865 Cavafy, J., Esq., M.D., 10 Fourth Avenue, Hove, Sussex. (*)
1899 Christian, F. W., Esq.
1874 Church,W.Selby, Esq., M.D., President R.C.P., 130 Harley Street, Cavendish
Square, TV.
1877 Clapham, Crochley, Esq., M.D., The Grange, Rotherham, Yorks. (*ir)
1885 Clarke, C. F., Esq., M.R.C.S., 24 Park Road, Plumstead.
1875 Claudet, Frederic, Esq., F.C.S., 10 Oak Hill, Frognal, Hampstead., N. W.
1864 Clerk, Major-General H., R.A., F.R.S., Mountfield, 5 Upper Maze Hill, St.
Leonard's, Sussex.
1895 Clodd, Edward, Esq., 19 Carleton Road., Tnfncll Park, N.
1898 Codrington, Rol)ert, Esq., F.RG.S., Cover mnent House, Fort Jameson,
Rhodesia.
1884 Coffin, Walter H., Esq., F.L.S., F.C.S., 94 Cornwall Gardens, South Kensington,
S. W. ; and Villa Passaic, Kew, Surrey.
1863 CoUingwood, J. Frederick, Esq., F.G.S., Foreign Associate of the Anthropo-
logical Society of Paris, 5 Irene Road, Parson's Green, S.W. (*f )
1888 CoUyer, Henry C, Esq., Breakhurst, Beddington, near Croydon.
1896 Connolly, R. M., Esq., B.A., LR.C.S. Edin., Taiping, State of Pei^ak. (1)
Digitized by
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of the Anthropological Institute, xix
Year of
Election.
1866 Cooper, Frederick, Esq. (*;
1895 Comer, Frank, Esq., M.RC.S., Manor House, Poplar, E. (f)
1861 Crawfurd, 0. J., Esq., C.M.G., OpoHo. (♦)
1900 Crowfoot, J. W., Esq., B.A., Mason University College , Birmingham.
189:> Crombie, James Edward, Esq., Inverdon, Aberdeen.
1892 Crooke, William, Esq., Langton House, Charlton Kings, Cheltenham, (ir§)
1883 Cunningham, Professor D. J., M.D., D.C.L, F.R.S. L. and E., 43 FitzWilliam
Place, Dublin, (IT)
1896 Cust, Miss M. E. V., F.RG.S., M.E.A.S., 127 Victoria Street, Westminster,
1863 Cuthbert, J. E., Rsq., Chapel Street, Liverpool. (*)
1860 Cutler, G., Esq. (*)
1875 Czai-nikow, C, Esq., 2^ Mincing Lane, E,G,
1892 Dallas, James, Esq., F.LS., Cantralecs, Lympstone, Devon. (T)
1895 Dalton, Ormonde Maddock, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., British Museum, Bloonisbury,
w.c. (§ir)
1885 Darwin, W. Erasmus, Esq., F.G.S., Ridgemoiint, Basset, North Stoneham,
Southampton.
1893 Davies, Eev. T. Witton, B.A. (Lond.), Ph.D. (Leipzig), Baptist College, Bangor,
North Wales. (*)
1869 Dawkins, W. Boyd, Esq., M.A., F.RS., F.S.A., F.G.S., Professor of Geology
and Paleontology in Victoria University, Owens College, Manchester
Woodhurst, Fallowfield, Maiwhester, (%)
1899 Duckworth, W. L. H., Esq., M.A., Jesus College, Cambridge,
1870 Duncan, Dr. David, Director of Public Instruction, Madras.
1885 Duncombe, Captain the Hon. Cecil, The Grange, Nawton, Yoi^lcs.
1862 Eastwood, J. W., Esq., M.D., Dinsdale Park, Darlington.
1893 Ebbels, Arthur, Esq., 6 Lavender Gardens, Clapham Common, S. W.
1890 Edwjirds, Stanley, Esq., F.Z.S., Kidbrooke Lodge, Blackhcath, S.E.
1896 Elliott, B., Esq., 161 Camberwell Boad, S.E.
1888 Ellis, H. Havelock, Esq., Carbis Water, Lelant, Cornwall.
1891 Evans, Arthur J., Esq., M.A., F.S.A., Vice-Pkesident, Keeper of the
Ashmolean Museum, Youlbury, Abingdon. (ir§)
1863 Evans, Sir John, K.C.B., D.C.L., LLD., F.E.S., V.P.S.A., F.LS., F.G.S.;
President of the Numismatic Society of London; Vice-Pbesident,
Nash Mills, Hemel Hempstead, Herts. (ir§)
1887 Evans, Sebastian, Esq., LLD., 15 Waterloo Crescent, Dover.
1896 Falconer, Thomas Wcntworth, Esq., FoaJiolcs, Christchnrch, Hants.
1900 Famell, Lewis E., Esq,, M.A., Exeter College, Oxford.
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XX List of the Fellows
Tear of
Election.
1880 Felkin, Robert William, Esq., M.D., F.RG.S., 6 Crouch Hall Bead, Croxvch
End, London, N, (§)
1897 Ffennell, Miss M. C, 172 The Grove, Hammersmith, W.
1883 Finzi, John, Esq., 53 Hamilton Terrace, N. W,
1866 Fischer, Robert, Esq., B.L., Madura, Madras, (*)
1883 Forbes, H. 0., Esq, LL.D., Dii-ector of Museums, The Museum, William
Browne Street, Liverpool. (§f )
1875 Forlong, Major-General J. G. R., F.R.G.S., F.RS.E., 11 Douglas Crescent,
Ediniurgh,
1889 Eraser, Professor A., M.B., 18 Northbrook Road, Dublin,
1885 Frazer, James G., Esq., M.A., Trinity College, Cambridge, (f )
1871 Fry, Danby P., Esq., 166 Haverstock HUl, K W.
1862 Galton, Francis, Esq., M.A., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.G.S., F.R.G.S. ; Vice-President,
42 Rutland Gate, S. W. {%%)
1861 Gardner, Professor E. V., Tremont, 59 Floi-cnce Road, New Cross, S.E.
1881 Garson, John George, Esq., M.D., Foreign Associate Anthropological Society
of Paris; Corresponding Member Society for Anthropology, Ethnolc^
and Primitive Hist, of Berlin ; Corresponding Member of Anthropological
Society of Moscow; CoiTesponding Member of Anthropological Society
of Rome ; Adviser and Instructor on the Metric System of Identification,
Home Office, 122 Harleij Street, W. (^§)
1880 Gladstone, J. Hall, Esq., Ph.D., F.R.S., F.C.S., 17 Pembridge Square, W. (f )
1896 Godden, Miss G. M., Ridgfield, Wimbledon. (^)
1879 Godman, F. Du Cane, Esq., F.R.S., South Lodge, Horsham. (*)
1895 Gomme, G. L., Esq., F.S.A., 24 Dorset Square, W. (§1f)
1885 Gosselin, Hellier R. H., Esq., Bengco Hall, Hertford,
1887 Gowland, W., Esq., F.S.A., F.C.S., 13 Russell Road, Kensington, W. {%•%)
1894 Gray, John, Esq., B.Sc, 351 Coldharhour Lane, Brixton, S.W. (f)
1888 Greatheed, William, Esq., 67 Chancery Lane, W.C.
1892 Green, Upfield, Esq, F.G.S., Tenier Street, Moorfields, E.C.
1899 Greg, Thos. Tylston, M.A., F.S.A., 7 Campden Hill Square, Kensington, W.
1899 Griffith, F. Llewellyn, Rivcrsvale, Ashton-uiider-Lyne.
1889 Haddon, Alfred Cort, Esq., M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S., M.R.I.A., F.Z.S., Professor of
Zoology in the Royal College of Science, Dublin, Invifail, Hills Road,
Cambridge. (ir§*)
1893 Hale, Charles George, Esq., Ivy Hatch, Sevenoaks.
1890 Hardy, Norman, Esq., 4 Albert Studios, Albert Bridge Road, S. W.
1884 Hargreaves, Miss H. M., 69 Alexandra Road, Sou^thport.
1897 Hartland, E. S., Esq., F.S.A., Highgarth, GlouQester. (*§) ..
1866 Haserick, F. Augustus, Esq., 35 Johann Georgen AlUe, Dresden, Germany. (*)
Digitized by
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of the Anthropological Institute, xxi
Year of
Election.
1893 Haswell, George Handel, Esq., Cornwall Works, Birmingham,
1889 Haverfield, F., Esq., M.A., Christ Church, Oxford, (*)
1864 Healey, Edward C, Esq., Wyphurst, Cranleigh, Guildford.
1885 Heape, C, Esq., Gld)e House, Rochdale,
1894 Helme, James, Esq., 8 Lower Church Street, Lancaster,
1886 Hervey, Hon. D. F. A., C.M.G., The Elms, Aldeburgh.
1863 Hewlett, Alfred, Esq., F.G.S., Ilaseley Manor, Warwick,
1895 Hickson, Prof. S. J., D.Sc, F.RS., Owens College, Manchester, (*)
1899 Hobson, Mrs. M. A., 5 Beaumont Crescent, West Kensington, W.
1899 Holdich, Col. Sir T. Hungerford, RE., K.C.I.E., C.B., 23 Lansdowne Crescent,
Notting Hill, W, {%%)
1887 Hollander, Bernard, Esq., M.D., M.RC.S., 61 Chancery Lane, W,C.
1881 Holmes, T. V., Esq., F.GS., 28 Croom's Hill, Greenwich, S.B, (f §)
1888 Holt, R B., Esq., 10 Bedford Place, Russell Square, W,C, (f )
1876 Horniman, Frederick John, Esq., M.R, F.L.S., F.R.G.S., F.Z.S., F.S.A. Scot,
20 Hyde Park Terrace, W, (*)
1894 Horsley, Victor, Esq., F.RS., F.K.C.S., 25 Cavendish Square, W.
1893 Hose, Charles, Esq., Resident of the Baram, Sarawak. (IT)
1891 Howarth, 0. H., Esq., 209 Gresham House, Old Broad Street, E,C. (1[)
1889 Howden, Eobert, Esq., M.A., M.B., F.RS.E., Prof, of Anatomy, Durham
University, 24 Burdon Terrace, Newcastle-on-Tyn^.
1887 Howes, G. B., Esq., LL.D., F.RS., F.LS., Royal College of Science, South
Kensington, S, W, (§)
1896 Howorth, Sir Henry H., K.C.I.E., M.P., F.RS., F.S.A., 30 Colling/iam Place,
EarVs Court, (f §)
1879 Htigel, Baron A. von, 53 Barton Road, Cambridge, (§)
1885 Hurst, Walter, Esq., The Grarige, Tadcaster, Yorks,
1898 Hutchinson, Eev. H. Neville, 37 Vincent Square, S. W,
1898 lies, George, Esq., Park Avenue Hotel, New York, (*)
1900 Japp, Alex. H., Esq., LL.D., F.RS.E., National Liberal Club, Whitehall Place,
S.W,
1863 Jackson, Henry, Esq., Litt.D., M.A., Trinity College, Cambridge, (*)
1872 Jeaffireson, W. J., Esq., M.A., Savage Club, Adelphi, (*)
1869 Jeffery, F. J., Esq. (*)
1898 Jevons, Frank Byron, M.A., LL.D., Principal of Hatfield Hall, Durham.
1885 Johnston, Sir H. H., K.C.B., H.M. Special Commissioner, Uganda, c/o
Foreign Office, S.W, {%)
1879 Keane, A. H., Esq., B.A., Corresponding Member of the. Italian Society of
Anthropology, 79 Broadhv/rst Gardens, South Uawf stead, N, W. (IT)
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xxii List of the tellows
Year of
Election.
1896 Keith, A., Esq., M.D., F.RC.S., 40 Leigh Road, Hiyhhary Park, N. (§f )
1891 Kennedy, George A., Esq., 76 Seedley Terrace, Pendleton, Manchester,
1894 Kennedy, James, Esq., 14 FrognaJ Lane, Finchley Road, N,W.
1865 Kincaid, Major-General W., Messrs, Alexander Fletclicr ^ Co., St. Helens
Place, Bishopsgate Street, B.C.
1891 Kitts, Eustace John, Esq., Goi^akhpur, KW.P. (*)
1895 Klein, Eev. L. De Beaumont, D.Sc, Montford House, Alexandra Drive,
Liverpool.
1881 Knowles, W. J., Esq., Floxton Place, Ballymena, Co. Antrim. (H)
1893 Ko, Taw Sein, Esq., 2 Latter Street, Rangoon, Burmah.
1894 Krauss, J. S., Esq., B.A., Smedlej/s Fstablishment, Matlock.
1863 La Barte, Eev. W. W., M.A., 9 Crejlcld Road, Colchester.
1895 Lancaster, G. G., Esq., Marion Hall, Baschurch, Shrewsbury. (*)
1899 Lang, Andrew, Esq., 1 Marsloes Road, Kensington, IF.
1888 Law, Walter W., Esq., Scarborough, New York, U.S.A. (*)
1885 Lawrence, E., Esq., 56 Blenheim Road, Blackhorse Road, WaUhainstov^,
Essex. (*)
1899 Lawrence, George Fabeau, Esq., 7 Wed Hill, Wandsworth, S.W.
1899 Lee, Mrs. Kate, 8 Victoria Road, Kensington, W.
1895 Leslie, Lt.-Col. F. S., E.E., Commanding Eoyal Engineers, Devon Sub-
District, Exeter, War Office, S. W.
1898 Levick, T. H. Carlton, Esq., 148 Palnurston Buildings, Bishopsgate Street
Within, B.C.
1866 Lewis, A. L, Esq., F.C.A., Treasurer, 54 Highbury Hill, N. (♦1l§)
1893 Longman, Charles James, Esq., M.A., 27 Norfolk Square, W. (*)
1891 Low, Sir Hugh, G.C.M.G., F.L.S., F.G.S., 23 De Vere Gardens, Kcnsi^igton,
1884 Macalister, Alexander, Escj., M.D., F.E.S., Professor of Anatomy in the
University of Cambridge, Vice-President, Torrisdale, Cambridge. (1[§)
1900 McDougall, William, Esq., St. John's College, Cambridge.
1899 Maclver, David, Esq., M.A., Wolverton House, Clifton, near Bristol, (f )
1899 Maclagan, E. C, Esq., M.D., 5 Coates Crescent, Bdiniurgh.
1885 MacEitchie, David, Esq., F.S.A. Scot., 4 Archibald Place, Edinburgh, (f )
1855 Malcolm, W. E., Esq., M.A., Burnfoot, Langholm, Dumfines. (*)
1881 Man, E. H., Esq., CLE., 2 Palace Road, Kingston-on-Thames, (f )
1892 March, H. Colley, Esq., M.D., Portesham, Dorchester, ('f )
1896 Marett, E. R, Esq., Exeter College, Oxford. (*)
1868 Martin, Eichard Biddulph, Esq., M.P., M.A., F.RG.S., 10 HUl Street, W.
1894 Maudslay, A. P., Esq., F.E.G.S., Vice-President, 32 Montpelier Square,
Knightsbridge, S. W. (§f )
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of (lit ArUhropological Listiiute, xxiii
Year of
Blectioii.
1881 Meldola, Eaphael, Esq., F.RS., F.RA.S., F.C.S., F.LC, Professor of Chemistiy
in the Finsbury Technical College, City and Guilds of London Institute,
6 Brunswick Square, W.C. (*%)
1877 Messer, A. B., Esq., M.D., Inspector-Geneml of Hospitals and Fleet, Kinglune,
Carlisle Road, Eastbowme, (*t)
1885 Mocatta, F. D., Esq., 9 ConnaugU Place, W. (*)
1883 Moloney, H.E. Sir C. Alfred, KC.M.G., F.RG.S., Governor of the Windward
Islands, Government House, St, Georges, Grenada, West Indies,
1870 Morrison, Walter, Esq., M.A., M.P., 77 Cromwell Road, S.W. (*)
1894 Mortimer, J. R, Esq., Driffield, Yorks,
1897 MiUlen, Ben H., Esq., M.A. (Dub.), F.RS.A.I., Roxjal Museum, Feel Park,
Salford,
1885 Munro, R, Esq., M.A., M.D., F.RS.K, 48 Manor Place, Ediiiburgh ('f )
1871 Murray, Adam, Esq., F.G.S. (*)
1875 Muspratt, Edmund K., Esq., F.C.S., Seaforth Hall, Seaforth, near Liverpool,
1896 Myere, C. S., Esq., 62 Holland Park, W. (T)
1893 Myres, J. L., Esq., M.A., F.S.A., F.RG.S., Secretary, Clii^ Church, Oxford,
(*1f§)
1898 Nazar, M. H., Esq., Representative of Indians in South Africa, P,0. Box 182,
Durban, Natal.
1898 Newton, Wm.M., Esq., 96 Wood Street, E,C.
1858 Nicholson, Sir Charles, Bart., D.C.L., LLD., F.RG.S., F.RA.S., The Grange,
Totteridge, Herts, (f )
1869 Oppert, Dr. G., Professor of Sanscrit, Buiowdrasse 55, Berlin, (IT)
1870 Parker, W. M., Esq. (*)
1898 Parkin, Wm., Esq., The Mount, Sheffield.
1897 Parkinson, R, Esq., Ralum, Bismarck Archipelago,
1891 Partington, J. Edge, Esq., Park Hcdl, Great Bardfield, Essex. {%%)
1891 Paterson, Professor A, M., Esq., M.D., Anatomy Department, University
College, Liverpool,
1899 Paul, John Dennis, Esq., F.G.S., Town End Close, Ratcliffe Road, Knighton,
Leicester.
1885 Peek, Sir Cuthbert E., Bart., M.A., F.S.A., 22 Belgrave Square, S.W.; and
Rousdon, Lyme Regis, (f §)
1891 Peek, The Hon. Lady, 22 Bdgrave Square, S, W,
1894 Pengelly, Miss Hester, Lavuyrna, Torquay, c/o Rev. Prof. Harley, F.RS., 15
Westbourne Road, Forest HUl, S.E.
1900 Petrie, W. M. Flinders, Esq., D.C.L., LL.D., Professor of Egyptology, Uhive^'-
sity College, Gawer Street, W,C,
1871 Phen6, J. S., Esq., LL.D., F.S.A., F.G.S., F.RG.S., 5 Carlton Terrace, Oakley
Street, S.W.
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xxiv List of the Fellows
Teurof
EleciioD.
1898 Plowden, Sir H. Meredyth, Leintwardine, Herefordshire.
1895 Portman, M. V., Esq., cjo King & Co,, 45 Pall Mall (T)
1896 Praetorius, C. J., Esq., Pomona House, Nexo King*s Road, Fvlham,
1868 Price, F. G. Hilton, Esq., F.S.A., F.G.S., F.R.G.S., 17 Collingham Gardens,
1863 Pusey, S. E. B. Bouverie, Esq., F.RG.S.. 18 Bryanston Street, Portman Square;
and Pusey Hovm, Faringdon, Perks,
1891 Pye, RandaU H., Esq., 155 Victona Street, S, W. (§)
1899 Quick, Arthur, Esq., 33 Brixton Hill, S, W.
1868 Eansom, Edwin, Esq., F.K.G.S., 24 AsKbumham Road, Bedford. (*)
1866 Bas, The Hon. Eajah Sir Goday Naraen Gajapati, Vizagapataniy India.
1883 Eavenstein, Ernest G., Esq., F.R.G.S., 2 York Mansion^, Battersea Part,
5.Jr.(§)
1890 Bay, Sidney H., Esq., 84 Gfrange Road, Hford, Essex ; and 81 Tredegar Road,
North Bow, K (f )
1875 Bead, Charles H., Esq., F.S.A., President, Keeper of British and MediaBval
Antiquities and Ethnography, British Museum, 22 Carlyle Square, Chelsea,
1886 Eeid, Robert William, Esq., M.D., Professor of Anatomy in the University of
Aberdeen, 37 Alhyn Place, Aberdeen.
1863 Renshaw, Charles J., Esq., M.D., AsMon-on-Mersey, Manchester, (*)
1893 Rigg, Herbert, Esq., 13 Queen*s Gate Place, S. W, ; and Walhurst Manor,
Horsham.
1850 Ripon, Tlie Most Hon. the Marquis of, K.G., G.C.S.I., CLE., D.C.L, F.RS.,
9 Chelsea Embankment, S, W, ; and Studley Royal, Ripon,
1889 Risley, H. H., Esq., C.I.E., M.A., Bengal Secretariat, Calcutta, (f)
1900 Rivers, W. H. R, Esq., M.D., St. John's College, Cambridge.
1899 Robertson, Sir G. Scott, K.C.S.I., Highfields Park, Withyham, Sussex,
1892 Robinson, Louis, Esq., M.D., 61 KUlieser Avenue, Streatham Hill, S. W.
1882 Roth, Henry Ling, Esq., 32 Prescott Street, Halifax, (f )
1882 Rothschild, Hon. Nathaniel C, Tring Park, Tring, Hei-ts. (*)
1899 Rucker, Miss S. C, 4 Vanbrugh Terrace, Blackheath, S,E.
1871 Rudler, F. W., Esq., F.G.S., Vice-President, Corresponding Member of the
Anthropological Society of Paris, 25 Momington CrescenJt, N, W. (1§)
1863 St Clair, Rev. George, F.G.S., 11 Vimrage Drive, Eastbourne.
1863 Salting, W. S., Esq., F.R.G.S., 40 Berkel&y Square, W, (*)
1864 Sanders, Alfred, Esq., F.LS., F.Z.S., The Hawthorns, Caterham Valley, Surrey.
(•f)
1886 Sarawak, H.H. the Ranee of, 12 Hans Place, S.TT.
1876 Sayce, Professor A. H. M.A., LL.D., Queen's College, Oxford. (MT )
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of the ArUhrapological InstUute. xxv
Year of
Election.
1899 Scanlan, William R, Esq., 36 Park Village East, Regent's Park, N.W.
1900 Seligmann, Charles G., Esq., 23 VinceTU Square, S. W.
1885 Seton-Karr, H. W., Esq., Athertm Cfrange, Wimbledon, (f )
1866 Shaw, Lieut-Colonel F. 6., Heathbum Hall, Carrigaline, Co, Cork, (*)
1898 Shrubsall, Frank Charles, Esq., M.A., 34 Lime Grove, Uxbridge Road. (*f §)
1866 Skues, F. M., Esq., M.D., Brigade Surgeon-Major, 51 Kingstead Road, Catford,
(*)
1898 Small, James Willoughby, Esq., Principal Victoria College, Jaffna, Ceylon,
1865 Smith, Worthington G., Esq., F.L.S., 121 High Street, Dunstable, (f )
1893 Somerville, Lieutenant Boyle T., Pv.N., HM.S. " THton;' Chatham, (f )
1867 Southby, Philip, Esq., F.Z.S., Barrister-at-Law, Bampton, Faringdon. (*)
1889 Southesk, The Eight Hon. the Earl of, K.T., Kinnaird Castle, Brechin, N.B.
1886 Stanley, W. F., Esq., F.G.S., Cumberlow, South Nonoood, &JS, (1)
1873 Stanmore, The Right Hon. Lord, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., D.C.L., Red House, Ascot.
1880 Stephens, Henry Charles, Jlsq., M.P., F.L.S., F.G.S., F.C.S., Avenue House,
Church End, Fijichley, N. (*)
1892 Stephenson, Miss Eose, The Hermitage, Duppas Hill, Croydon,
1881 Stopes, H., Esq., 11 Queen Victoria Street, E,C (*f )
1887 Straker, Joseph, Esq., Dipton House, Riding Mill, Northumberland,
1883 Streeter, E. W., Esq., F.R.G.S., F.Z.S., 2 Park Crescent, W. (*)
1871 Sutherland, P. C, Esq., M.D., F.RG.S., Surveyor-General, Natal, (f )
1865 Swinburne, Algernon Charles, Esq., The Pines, Putney Hill, S, W.
1899 Swynnerton, Fred., Esq., Oakwood Place, Simla, India.
1899 Tabor, Charles James, fVhite House, Knott*s Oreen, Leyton, Essex.
1892 Taylor, Frederick, Esq., 250 West lUh Street, New York City, U.S,A. (*)
1879 Temple, Lieut- Colonel E. C, CLE., Chief Commissioner Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, Government House, Port Blair, Andaman Island; c/o
H. S. King ^ Co. (f )
1881 Thane, George Dancer, Esq., Professor of Anatomy in University CoU^e,
London, University College, Gower Street, W,C, (*f)
1884 Thomas, Oldfield, Esq., F.Z.S., 9 St. Petersburg Place, Bayswat&r Hill, W.
(♦f)
1873 Thompson, J. Barclay, Esq., M.A., Lee's Eeader in Anatomy, 39 St, Margaret's
Road, Oxford. (*)
1890 Thomson, Arthur, Esq., M.A., M.B., Professor of Human Anatomy in the
University of Oxford, The Museicm, Oxford. (ir§)
1882 Thum, Everard F. im, Esq., 1 East India Avenue, E.C, (f )
1896 Tims, H. W. Marett, Esq., M.D., Fairseat Cottage, Warwick Road^ Ealing.
1899 Tocher, James F., Esq., F.I.C., Chapd Street, Peterhead, N.B. (f )
1895 ToUey, Eichard Mentz, Esq., F.H.S., cjo Darlaston Steel and Iron Works, South
Staffordshire.
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Txvi List of the Fellows of the Anthroj^ological Liditutc.
Year of
Election.
1885 Tregear, Edward, Esq., Secretary, Department of Labour, Tiivakon Hood,
Wellington, New Zealand, (f )
1879 Trotter, Coutts, Esq., RG.S., 10 Bandolf Crescent, Edinburgh,
1891 Tsuboi, S., Esq., Science College, Imperial Institute, Tokyo, Japan, (*)
1889 Turner, Sir William, M.B., LLD., D.C.L., F.E.S. Lond. and Edin., Professor
of Anatomy in the University of Edinburgh, 6 Eton Terrace, Edinburgh.
(If)
1867 Tylor, Edward Burnett, Esq., D.C.L., LLD., F.R.S., Professor of Anthropology,
Keeper of the University Museum, Oxford, Vice-President, The Museum
House, Oxford, (f §)
1891 Tylor, Mrs. E. B., The Museum House, Oxford.
1892 Tylor, Joseph John, Esq., Fir Toll, May field, Sussex.
1891 Waddell, Lt.-Col. L. A., LLD., 35 Dartmouth Park Eoad, Higligate Road,
N.W,{*\)
1863 Wake, C. S., Esq., Foreign Member of the Anthropological Institute of New
York, 411 East AZth Street, Chicago, Illinois, U,S.A,
1874 Walhouse, M. J., Esq., 28 Hamilton Terrace, St. John's Wood, N.W. (1)
1866 WaUace, A. R, Esq., D.C.L, F.RS., F.LS., F.RG.S., F.Z.S., Corfe View,
Parkeston, Dorset, (f )
1891 Ward, Herbert, Esq., 53 Chester Square, S. W. (IT)
1897 Webster, John Aplin, Esq., 3 Hanover Square, W.
1896 Weld, Miss A. G., Conal More, Norham Gardens, Oxford.
1895 Wells, Samuel, Esq., F.RG.S., Richmond, Yorks.
1897 White, Rashleigh Holt, Esq., M.A. Oxon, Warren Wood, Bexley Heath, Kent.
1900 Wilkin, Anthony, Esq., B.A., King's College, Cambridge; Lower Cousley Wood,
Wadhurst, Sussex, (IT)
1869 Winwood, Kev. H. H., M.A, F.G.S., 11 Cavendish CresceiU, Bath,
1868 Wolber, F. G. C, Esq., Gahoon, West Africa, (*)
1881 Wolfe, Miss E. S., High Broom, Croidboi-ough, Sussex, (*)
SUBSCBIBEBS TO THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE INSTITUTE.
The Library Committee of the Corporation of the City of London.
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( xxvii )
SOdETIES, Etc., EXCHANGING PUBIIOATIONS
WITH THE
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE,
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
Ashion-under-Lyne. . . Free Library.
BerunoA»AtV6...Natarali8t8' Glab Oldeam-
bas, Cockbnmspath.
DttMin... Royal Dublin Society.
— Royal Society of Antiqnaries of Ire-
land.
Ed%nburgh.,BojBl College of Physicians.
— Rojal Scottish Geographical Society.
— Rojal Society of Edinburgh.
— Society of Antiqnaries of Scotland.
Glasgow Philosoph ical Soci efcy .
6N(mce9^er... Cots wold Naturalists' Field
Club.
Leeds Philosophical Society.
Liverpool ...Philosophical Society.
Xromlon... British Medical Association.
— Egypt Exploration Fund.
— Folklore Society.
— Geologists' Association.
— Hellenic Society.
Lo7t(2on... India Office, Whitehall.
— Japan Society.
— Journal of Mental Science.
— Nature.
— Palestine Exploration Fund.
— Quatuor Coronati Lodge, No. 2076.
— Royal ArchsBological Institute.
— Royal Asiatic Society.
— Royal Colonial Institute.
— Royal Geographical Society.
— Royal Society.
— Royal Society of Literature.
— Royal Statistical Society.
— Royal United Service Institution.
— Society of Antiquaries.
— Society of Biblical Archaeology.
JlfancAes^er... Public Free Libraiy.
— The Owens College.
Southampton, . . Hartley Institution.
Trnro.,. Royal Institution of Cornwall.
EUROPE.
AuSTfiO-HuNGARY.
Agram,,, Eroatische Archaologisebe Ge*
sellschafb.
Budapest,,, Magyar Tndomanyos Aka-
demia.
Cracow.,, Akademija Umiejelnosci.
Vienna,,. Anthropologische Gesellschaft.
— K. Akademie der \Yissenschaften.
Belgium.
Brussels. , . Academie Royale des Sciences,
etc. de Belgique.
— Society d'Anthropologie de Bruxelles.
— Society d*Arch6ologie de Bruxelles.
Louvain,,, Revue N^o-Scolastique.
Denmark.
Copenhagen.,, Kongelige Museum for
Nordiske Oldskrifters.
— Society des Antiquaires du Nord.
France.
Dax,.. Societe de Borda.
Lyons.., Soci^t^ d'Anthropologie de
Lyon.
Paris. . . L' Anthropologic.
— ]3cole d'Anthropologie.
— Revue Scientifique.
— Revue de THistoire des Religions.
— Society d'Anthropologie.
Vannes,,. Society Polymathique da
Morbihan.
Germany.
Btrltn.,, Berliner Gesellschaft fiir An-
thropologie. Ethnologic, und Urges-
chicht«.
Breslau,., Centralblatt
pologie, etc.
Briinstnclc.., Globus.
fiir Anthro*
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XXVIU
Societies, etc., Exchanging PMieations
Oiessen,.. Oberliessisclie Oesellschaft fiir
Natnr- and Heilknnde.
HaUe-c^d' Sadie . . . Kaiserliche Leopol-
dina Carolina. Akademie der Dentschen
Naturforscher.
Konigsherg.., Koniglicbe Physikaliscb-
okonomisclie Geseliscbaft.
Leipzig.., Verein fiir Erdknnde.
Metz,., Verein fiir Erdkande.
Munich.., Deutscbe Gesellscbaft fur
Antbropologie, Etbnologie, nnd
Urgescbicbte.
Stuttgart... Zeitscbrift fur Morpbologie
nnd Antbropologie.
Gbeecb.
Athens.., Arcbaiologikd Hetairia.
— Britisb Scbool of ArcbsBologj.
Italy.
Florence... Society Italiana di Antropo-
logia, Etnologia, e Psicologia Gom-
parata.
Borne,., BuUettino di Paletnologia
Italiana.
Rome.., Accademia dei Lincei.
Turin... Arcbivio di Psicbiatria.
Netherlands.
Amsterdam... Koninklijke Akademie van
Wetenscbappen .
The Hague... Internationales Arcbiv fiir
Etbnograpbie.
— Koninklijk Institnnt voor de Taal-,
Land-, en Volkenkuude van Neder-
landscb Indie.
Russu.
Moscow... Imper. Obebcbestvo Lnbitelei
lestestvoznania, Antropologii, i Etno-
grafii.
St. Petersburg.,, Imper. Akademia Nank.
Sweden.
Academy of
Stockholm
National Museum
— Nordiska Musut.
Antiquities,
Switzerland.
Berne... Institut G^g^pbique Inter-
national.
AFRICA.
Cape Town,,. S. African Pbilosopbical Society.
AMERICA.
Brazil.
Bio de Janeiro... Museu Nacional.
Canada.
Toronto Canadian Institute.
United States.
Cambridge, Mass... Peabody Museum,
Science.
Chicago... American Antiquarian.
— Field Columbian Museum.
Philadelphia.,, Academy of Natural
Sciences.
San Francisco... Geograpbical Society of
tbe Pacific.
Washington... American Antbropologist.
— Bureau of Etbnology.
— Smitbsonian Institution.
— United States Geological Survey.
— United States National Museum.
Worcester, Mass... American Journal of
Psycbology.
ASIA.
China.
Shanghai.., Royal Asiatic Society
(Cbina brancb).
India.
Bombay... Antbropological Society.
— '■ Indian Antiquary.
Calcutta... Bengal Asiatic Society.
Colombo.., Royal Asiatic Society (Cey-
lon brancb).
Japan.
ToJcio... Asiatic Society of Japan.
— Tokio-Daigaku (Imperial Univer-
sity).
Java.
Batavia... Bataviaascbe Genootscbap van
Kunsten en Wetenscbappen^
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vnth the ArUhropological Institute.
XXIX
AUSTRALTA AND PACIFIC.
Honolulu.,, Berenice BisHop Masenin.
Melboume,..'RojeA Society of Victoria,
Montreal ...Boyal Society of Canada.
Sydney . . . Ans tralian Maseam .
— Australasian Association for the Ad-
Tancement of Science.
Sydney.,. Geological Sarvey Depart-
ment.
— Boyal Society of New South
Wales.
Wellington, N.Z.,, Polynesian Society.
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Notes and Queries on Anthropology.
>
THIRD EDITION.
Edited for the British Assotiation for the Advancement of Science,
by J. G. GARSON, M.D., and CHARLES H. READ, F.S.A. Published
by the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 3, Hanover
Square, London, W., price 5s. (to Members of the British Association,
and Fellows of the Anthropological Institute, on personal application at
the Institute, 3s. 6d.).
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Journal of the Anthropological Institute (N.S.), Vol. II, Plate XIV.
I and 2, Ngi masks used in the Fang Secret Society ; 3, 4, Fang idols ; 5, Wooden dogbell ;
(), Ngi collai' ; 7, Sacrifice knife.
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JOURNAL
,-#»»'■'-:;:?;•;,
OF THE *^-^ ^ ~ > ^
•'"'''■ :S (SCO 1
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
ORDINARY MEETING.
FEBEUARY 14th, 1899.
C. H. Read, Esq., F.S.A., President, in the Chair,
The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and signed.
The election of four new Fellows was announced, viz.: — Andrew Lang, Esq.,
W. L. H. Duckworth, Esq., T. T. Grkg, Esq., and Dr. A. L, Bennett.
It was stated that Mr. Edge-Partington had presented the Institute with a
copy of the Third Series of his work. Ethnographical Album of the Pa^fic Islands,
and a vote of thanks was carried.
Attention was called to a large collection of photographs which had heen
lent for an Evening Meeting by Mr. Guthrie Watson, and letters from that
gentleman, relating to them, were read by the Secretary. A vote of thanks was
passed to Mr. Watson for the exhibition.
The President introduced Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich, K.C.I.E., C.B., who
proceeded to read his paper on " The Arabs of the Indian Frontier."
The discussion that followed was carried on by Mr. Crooke, Dr. J. Beddoe
(who sent in a short paper), Mr. Kennedy, Mr. A. L. Lewis, and othei-s.
The President pointed out the great importance of such papers, and the
Meeting closed with a hearty vote of thanks to Sir Thos. Holdich.
Nxw SxRiBS, Vol. II, Nos. 1 and 2.
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( 2 )
SWATIS AND AFRIDIS.
By Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich, K.C.I.E., C.B.
Our recent campaigns in Northern India have been directed against tribespeople
who have from time immemorial occupied a mountainous borderland separating
the highlands of Afghanistan from the plains of the Punjab. Only recently has
this border strip of territory been formed into an independent province by the
demarcation of a boundary which, whilst it eflfectually shuts off Afghanistan, does
not include this strip within British territory. We still leave these people alone,
free to govern themselves after their own patriarchal system — a system which
leaves much to be desired as regards our future safeguards against periodic out-
breaks of fanatical hostility.
The original Paktun, or Pathdn, inhabitants of these western gates of India are
recognised in very early history, many of the tribes being mentioned by Herodotus,
and by the historians of Alexander. In medieval times the rough uncultivated
wilderness of mountains that they held was called Roh, and its inhabitants
RohiUas, and there can be little doubt that most of these early Eohilla, or Pathdn,
tribes were in their places long before the overlying Afghans were thought of.
All Afghans are now numbered amongst Pathdns, because they all speak the
Pathdn language, Pushtu, but they acknowledge no direct kinship with the Rohilla,
declaring themselves to be Ben-i-Israel, the descendants of those tribes who were
carried captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. All of them have howevei*
adopted the Pushtu tongue, and all recognise the same Pathdn code of common
civil observances called " Paktun-wali," which is, in many of its provisions,
curiously suggestive both of the old Mosaic dispensation, and of ancient rites and
observances of the Rajput races.
Thus the Pathdns with whom we have lately been so largely concerned may
be divided into two great communities, i.e., those tribes such as Waziris, Afridis,
Orakzais, etc., who are possibly of Indian origin, and those who are Afghans and
claim to be Semitic, who represent the dominant race throughout our frontier ;
and it seems at least to be possible that the Paktun wall, which is an unwritten
code, acknowledged by them all alike, may be of very mixed origin. We
may possibly find in it Mosaic ordinances grafted on to Rajput traditions, and
modified by Moslem custom. The Afghans, who have called themselves
Duranis, ever since the foundation of the Durani empire about a century and
a-half ago, say that they trace their descent from the Israelitish tribes through an
ancestor named Kish, to whom the prophet Mahomet gave the name Pahtan
(which is Syriac for a rudder) because he was to steer his people into the currents
of the Moslem pre^d, We h^ve already noted, however, that the Paktun or Pathdn
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Colonel Sm T. H. Holdich.— fibn^is aind Afridis. 3
nationality is very much older than Islam. It is difficult to account for the universal
prevalence of Israelitish names amongst Afghans without admitting some early
connection with the Israelitish nation. Still more difficult is it to account for
certain observances, such for instance as the keeping of the feast of the Passover
(which if not intelligently observed by the Yusufzai branch of the Afghan race, is
at least curiously well imitated), or for the persistence with which the best educated
Afghans maintain this tradition, without admitting some original basis of truth.
Bellew thinks that this Israelitish connection may be a real one ; but he points out
that one at least of the three great branches of the Afghan family traditionally
sprung from Kish, is called by the name Sarabaur, which is but the Pushtu form
of the ancient appellation of the solar race of Rajputs, colonies of whom are known
to have emigrated into Afghanistan after their defeat by the Chandrabans — the
lunar race — in the great contest (or Mahabharat) of early Indian records. So that
the Afghan may possibly be an Israelite absorbed into ancient Eajput tribes ; and
this has always appeared to me to be the most probable solution of this ethno-
logical problem.
The modem Afghan, at any rate, takes his stand on the grounds of
tradition to be one of the chosen race, a descendant of Abraham; and he only
recognises affinity with other Pathdns through the medium of a common language,
and a conamon code of tribal custom. His principal habitat is on the south-west
of Afghanistan, bordering Persia and Baluchistan. In the vicinity of Kabul, and
of the frontier south of the Khaibar, Afghans are much mixed with Ghilzais of
Turkish origin, and with Parsiwans, or Persian-speaking tribes of many origins, who
predominate in that part of Afghanistan. North of the Khaibar, however,
throughout the Mohmand country and the districts of Bajaor, Swat, and Bun^r,
we find the Afghan again predominating ; again the ruling race.
Our recent campaigning beyond Malakand and Peshawar took us through
the heart of this new Afghan province of Eoh, the province that has lately been
officially disconnected from Afghanistan and removed from Kabul influence by the
demarcation of a boundary. The Afghan inhabitants of this new independent
province did not understand the meaning of their severance from the Afghans of
Afghanistan, and regarded the demarcation of a boundary with much suspicion,
not feeling assured that the limitation of the Amir's responsibilities did not
mea^n an increase of our own. In short, they thought that they were to be
annexed to India, and this idea being sedulously fostered and encouraged by their
mullahs, the result was a sudden explosion of fanatical hostility as unexpected
by them as it was by us.
The nature of the connection existing beCween these different sections of
Afghans requires a few words of explanation. The head-quarters and original seat
of the Afghans may for present purposes be taken as Kandahar, where Ahmad Shah,
the founder of the Durani Empire, was crowned king. From Kandahar the great
Durani clan spread to the north-east and gave the Barakzai dynasty to Kabul,
which dynasty still survives. From Kandahar, too, another great clan, the
B 2
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4 Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich. — Swatis and Afridis.
Yusufzai, travelled eastward, and after many wanderings (of which the record is
historical) they established themselves in lower Swat and Buner, dispossessing a
tribe called Dilazaks about the middle of the fifteenth century. Who these Dilazaks
were is not quite certain. Afghans deny that they were Pathdns and call them
Indians. They may have been Buddhists, although the Buddhist faith, which has left
so many remarkable evidences of its existence in Swat and the Peshawar valley, had
declined long before we hear of the Dilazaks. Buddhism flourished from 530 B.c.
till the days of Skythic occupation of Swat, which succeeded the Bactrian rule in
the second century A.D. In the fifth century it is described by a Chinese pilgrim
as still the religion of the country, and it was then that its monasteries and stupas,
its magnificent buildings, roads, and bridges rendered the fame of the kingdom of
Udyana great and glorious from farthest east to the borders of Europe. Two
centuries later there is evidence of its decline; and when Mahmud of Ghazni,
as the apostle of Islam, burst on Swat in the early years of the eleventh
century, his ruthless soldiery so devastated and wasted the land that little was left
for Chenghiz Khan the destroyer, and Tiraur the Tatar, who followed in his
footsteps several centuries later, to destroy. For 500 or 600 years after
Mahmud's invasion the whole of Swat and of the Peshawar valley was a howling
wilderness, the home of the tiger and the rhinoceros which infested the Indus
swamps. When Babar (the founder of the great Moghul dynasty in India) came
in 1519, he found the Yusufzai in occupation of lower Swat and Buner, and the
Dilazaks still a fighting people ; for he had to defeat them before he could occupy
Bajaor. As we know from other sources that up to the middle of the sixteenth
century a large part of Swat was still in the hands of Kafirs, or infidels, and as the
Kafirs of Lower Kafirstan to this day claim to have been driven out of Swat, I
think it not impossible that we might find remnants of the Dilazaks amongst these
interesting, but remarkably mixed, people. However, that may be, all that remains
of the Buddhist element of the population are a few uncultured folk to be found
here and there (so Major Deane tells me) scattered in groups amongst the wildest
and most inaccessible of the Swat hills. The Yusufzai Afghan reigns supreme in
Swat, whilst the Laghmani (an Afghan race of the Laghmdn valley) has spread into
the Mohmand country and Bajaor.
The Swati as we know claims to be independent — but his independence
lacks historical support. At the end of the sixteenth century he was crushed
and almost annihilated by one Zain Khan, who was sent by the Government of
Kabul to collect taxes. In 1670, again, he was most severely handled by
Aurungzebe. In 1738 he gained a temporary success at Ambela against Nadir
Shah's forces ; but it was very temporary. Nadir Shah appeared in person before
Buner, and the Yusufzai collapsed, as he collapsed but a short time ago before Sir
Bindon Blood. The Yusufzais paid up revenue to Timur, son of Ahmad Shah,
founder of the Durani Empire, after assisting Ahmad himself in the capture of
Lahore. They even assisted Shah Zaman, son of Timur, and until they were defeated
by the Sikhs at Naoshera (on the same battlefield on which they themselves had
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Colonel Sir T. H. HoldiOh. — Swaiis and Afndxs. 5
attained the mastery of Peshawar), they acknowledged the Afghan supremacy of
Kabul. When we defeated the Sikhs in our turn, they should have admitted our
supremacy, but this they never have done, and their national status for the last
fifty years may be described as an independence, with a strong bias towards Kabul.
It must not be supposed that the Afghan Yusufzai is the only inhabitant of Swat.
There is a very large population of the original land-owners mixed with the Afghans,
but we have not time to deal with these secondary races who now rank as strangers
in the land that their fathers owned. The rub'ng population is, as I have said,
Afghan, but sectarian differences have arisen between the Yusufzai and the Afghan
Mohmands, or Mahmandzai, and they have held more or less aloof from each other
in consequence. Both tribes, however, look to the Amir of Kabul as their chief
spiritual head and temporal adviser.
The Yusufzai are by no means the degenerate race that they have sometimes
been represented to be. There are many remarkably fine men amongst them, and
they make excellent soldiers. But he is a home-loving individual. He will
serve abroad as his forefathers have done, but he ever looks forward to the final
return to his native village and his share in the family patrimony. Here he hopes
to spend his declining days, making up by extra devotion and attention to religious
observances, for the sins and omissions of his youth. This desire to end his days in
peace, and to rest finally in the village cemetery, is rather surprising, considering
that the system of land tenure in Swat is of a most complicated description, and
involves the complete change of ownership after a certain term of years ; that is to
say, that the whole population of a village walks out, and a new population walks
in. This system is fatal to land improvement, and does much to impoverish the
country, and one would have thought that it would have told strongly against that
love of home which is so marked a feature in the Yusufzai (and indeed in all
Afghan) character. The Yusufzai are a cheerful race, fond of music and much
addicted to what we might call amateur theatricals. In these village representations
it is said that the British local oificial does not always figure to advantage. Each
Yusufzai clan under its own chief forms an independent commonwealth, and owes
on allegiance to others ; so that when not bound together by the ties of common
interest, they are rivals, much as the Scottish clans of 300 years ago were rivals on
our English border. Eaids and counter raids are the excitements which vary
the round of religious observances and pilgrimages in times of peace, and these are
so much a part of Yusufzai national existence that every village owns its warning
drum, which assembles the men together for village defence the instant that scouts
bring in warning of attack ; and it is astonishing how soon the whole country-
side can be called to arms by this means. A curious instance of rapidity or
action, and of the blind way in which they will follow the leadership of any
mullah whose lying fanaticism is vigorous enough to rouse them into activity, was
evidenced by their remarkable proceedings immediately before the late attack
on Malakand. A week or two, even a day or two, before the attack, active
hostilities were no more anticipated by the Swatis themselves than by our own
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6 Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich. — Swatis and A/ridis,
political officers on the frontier. The mullah, as usual, was the motive power.
Who instigated the mullah and set him in the field on this crusade we will not
stop to inquire. But thus it happened that whilst there was distinctly " unrest "
amongst the Swati tribes-people for some months previous to the attack, there was
no sign whatever of active aggression until a certain Fakir arose, called the Sartor
Fakir or " bareheaded " one. He had travelled far, and seen men and cities. He
had been to Baghdad and to Turkestan, had visited the Amir at Kabul, and thence
moved on to Buner, where he became custodian of a well-known ziarat or shrine.
About the middle of July he set himself to work on the credulity of the Swatis,
but he was generally accounted mad, and his assertions that he could feed thousands
from a single pot of rice, and turn aside the bullets of the enemy were not generally
accepted. On the 26th July, he appeared at Thana, which is the Khan Khel, or
ruling village, of the Swat district in which Malakand and Chakdara are situated.
Here he had a following of but a few boys. He announced that he was about to
turn the Feringhi out of Malakand, but finding it still somewhat difficult to obtain
a following, he is said to have actually made a start on Malakand with his half
fledged supporters, asserting that if the men of Thana would not help him, the
intervention of heavenly hosts would complete the defeat of the enemy ; but he
pointed out that in the distribution of loot that would certainly follow, the Thana
people must be content to stand aside. This was too much for the cupidity of the
Swati. About a thousand men joined his standard at once, and the Khan of Thana
himself taking a comfortable view of the proceedings from a Tonga which was
driven after the rabble, a sudden rush was made — so sudden and so determined, that
the political officer (Major Deane) had barely time to issue his warning when the
tide broke against Malakand. Once the action commenced, tribes-people flocked in
from every quarter, and the fury of their fighting is attested by every officer who
witnessed it. General Meiklejohn, who commanded at Malakand, told me that
when the cavalry was able to act in the open against these half-armed people, he
saw them turn to meet the charge with sticks and stones. We need not think of
the Swatis as a degenerate and cowardly race. They fought like the Arab races
of the Sudan — like Zulus — like Afridis ; and we may be thankful that they were
not armed like Afridis.
But we must leave the Swatis and turn to a totally diflFerent people. The
Afridi is not an Afghan and admits of no connection with the Afghan. He is
more probably of Indian extraction, and has accepted the faith of Islam ; but he
is an indifferent Mahomedan, having adopted any sectarian doctrine that suits his
views. He lives in a country that differs in most important geographical
features from the land of the Swati. No high road to India runs through his
domains. His head-quarters at Maidan are a sort of cul de sac, possessing no
strategic importance whatever; but he believes in his country and he loves it
as a terrestrial Paradise. Like the Swati he boasts of an unconquered
independence, and with much more reason ; for his ancestral highlands, dovetailed
geographically between the Khaibar and the Kuram are so inaccessible, and so
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Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich. — SmUis and Afridis. 7
well adapted to defensive tactics, that they have been prudently left alone by
successive Kabul rulers, who saw nothing to be gained by the troublesome
conquest of a country which leads nowhere, whilst they were in easy
possession of all the surrounding districts. The independence of the Afridi has
been the independence of a bee's nest in the midst of cultivation, and he has been
so long undisturbed that like the Yusufzai of Buner, he had come to the conclusion
that a special providence would always intervene to turn aside the invader. He
has, at any rate, taken his own measures to turn aside the explorer ; for until the
late campaign in Tirah, no eflforts to bring those interesting highlands within
the pale of border topographical mapping has ever been successful.
The Afridi is said to owe his present laxity in religious discipline to an
Afghan adventurer named Bazid, who, finding his heresies repudiated by the
Yusufzais in the middle of the sixteenth century, betook himself to Tirah ; and
there discovered a people whom they exactly suited. It is worth noting that the
Chamkanni tribe, who live on the western bordera of Tirah, are supposed to be
degenerate Afghans who have fallen away from the true faith, and are now
classed, as infidels and heretics by Duranis and Yusufzais alike. Politically the
Afridi no more interests himself in the Swati than he does in the Laplander or
Esquimaux, and yet it would be incorrect to say that the Swat rising had no
disturbing influence in Tirah. Any rising on the border has a disturbing influence
throughout the adjoining districts ; and Saiad Akbar, the prophetic Mullah of Tirah,
probably used precisely the same arguments as an incentive to active hostilities
that the mad fakir in the first instance, and the Hada mullah, in the second, had
preached on the hills in Swat and Mohmand. Fortunately for us the Afridis were
comparatively slow in responding. Their government ia perhaps the most
decentralized government in the world, and its machinery works spasmodically.
They have neither a well recognised head of the whole tribe, nor a single village
which could boast of being a capital town either for purposes of trade or govern-
ment. On the top of an ill-constructed shed in Bigh (which is geographically
about the centre of the great Maidan plain) their councils are wont to meet,
and intertribal affairs are discussed with much acrimony, and no little danger
to the county representatives. A useful assistance to parliamentary argument is
said sometimes to be found in their weapons, one of which was triumphantly
pointed out to our officers. It was an antiquated old pistol with a deadly power
of scattering slugs and other missiles with impartial effect at short distances;
and it waa said to be a most useful support in jiigah controversy.
I have said that there is no recognised head of the great Afridi tribe;
I might almost say there is no recognised head even to the section, or clan, of
that tribe. Every chief of a family is practically a law unto himself and to his
family, if he is only strong enough to hold his own. Blood feuds and murderous
reprisals, carried out in deadly vengeance for a breach of the Afridi code of
honour (which is real enough, although crude and crooked) may be called common
domestic incidents, and this leads to a curious absence of that amalgamation for
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8 CoLONfcL Sitl T. H. UOLDICH.—Swatis and Afridis.
purposes of self-protection, which is indicated by walled and fortified villages such
as are common elsewhere on the frontier. Division of authority also leads to
peculiar difficulties in the matter of our political relations with these people.
I believe that one single clan (the Zakka Khel) were represented in the final
jirgah at Peshawar by about seventy chiefs. Although the various clans,
Malikdin Khel, Kambar Khel, Zakka Khel, etc., will combine against a common
invader, they live under ordinary circumstances in a state of deadly animosity
in their own country, and under quite different conditions of social existence.
For instance, we have so many Malikdin Khel and Kambar Khel in the ranks
of our native regiments, as to lead to a suspicion that nearly every fighting
man in those clans must have passed through our ranks. The Zakkas, on the
other hand, send us but few recruits. They are the great salt traders of the
community, and the advantage that they possess in holding lands which stretch
from the centre of Tirah to the plains of Peshawar on the one side, and to the
passes into Afghanistan on the other, gives them a peculiar advantage in
commercial pursuits.
With all his hereditary instinct towards treachery and cruelty, we must admit
that the Afridi has shown himself to be a right good soldier in the field, and he
is frequently in liimself a right good fellow in private life. His open-mindedness
towards his hereditary enemy is as marked as is his occasional vindictiveness
towards his fellow clansman. Family ties are nothing to him if they clash with
that code of morality which requires him to be true to his salt. I have heard of
an Afridi sepoy who, when urged to pick oflf the leader of a band of frontier
raiders with his rifle, certainly exhibited a good deal of bad marksmanship ; but
he left it to the end of the fight to explain that the leader whom he was requested
to shoot (and whom he so often missed) was his own father. But I really do
not believe that they would all of them be so particular.
When arrayed against us the Afridi has shown himself to be as brave a
soldier, as he is a capable marksman. His great natural intelligence has not only
taught him how to use his rifle, but how. to combine under able leadership. And
latterly, he has learnt some of the lessons taught by civilized warfare. It was
only towards the end of the campaign that we found out (too late unfortunately
to save us from much loss for want of this knowledge) that our wounded would be
cared for, and our dead respected. This is a gi^eat advance in the ethics of savage
frontier war ; and goes very far to make up for the difficulty we have experienced
(and may yet again experience) in meeting weU-trained soldiers in a field entirely
suited to their tactics, armed with the best of modem weapons.
And we may note that the Afridi is still well armed in spite of our efforts to
disarm him. With all the astuteness of the canny Scotch clansmen of three
centuries ago, he has been able to retain all his best weapons whilst making up
the tale of arms to be surrendered at the conclusion of the late campaign. An
old friend of mine who is almost as well acquainted with the highlander of our
Indian frontier as with his own Scottish tribes-people, recently unearthed at
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Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich. Swatis and Afridis, 9
Montrose some quaint records of English frontier lighting of the past; and he
found that the necessity for delivering up arms formerly led to quite a brisk
trade between Scotland and the Continent. Cheap weapons were imported in
large quantities for delivery to the English generals.
And now, whilst apologising for myself as a most inefficient anthropologist
(for I have not even a rudimentary acquaintance with that science) I may perhaps
be permitted to advocate the absolute necessity for a careful study of the people
with whom we have to deal, of their idiosyncrasies, and especially of their history,
as an assistance in reaching right conclusions as regards our future relations with
them. It seems to me that if you study the history of Afghanistan and its most
unstable government propped up from its earliest infancy by external assistance
from India ; if you read rightly the story of our own advance from the stage of
commercial pioneers to that of Empire in India, and note the struggles of the East
India Company against the greatness thmst upon it of territorial possession
and political sovereignty, you will require no political prophet to guide your
conclusions to an issue. Policy is, after all, only a retarding or a progressive
agency in those great movements which attend the development of nations;
and it can never lighten the burden of England's responsibility as the greatest
civilizing agent that the world has ever seen.
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( 10 )
THE ARAB TRIBES OF OUR INDIAN FRONTIER.
By Colonel Sir Thos. H. Holdich, K.C.I.E., C.B.
The long extended north-west frontier of India presents so many ethnographical
problems of the highest interest for scientific study that I need hardly apologise
for introducing a part of it to your notice this evening — a part which is very little
known, and has but lately fallen within the pale of geographical survey. It is not
so very long ago that the passenger by the North-Western Railway from Karachi
to Multan could look westward and, for a great part of his journey, see absolutely
to the utmost limit of our frontier mapping. A blank high wall of impassable
hills marked the line where the plains of Sind came to an end, and beyond
the face of those hills all was lost in conjecture. It is this borderland of
Baluchistan, including the maritime province of Makran^ which stretches west-
ward from India to the Persian Gulf, with which we have to deal at present, and
which oflfers so many ethnographical problems for solution as to have filled the
souls of explorers with despair. In the course of surveying the country we have
learned something of the ethnographic characteristics of the country generally, and
we have had opportunity for verifying the conclusions expressed by those few
scientific observers who have paid any attention to this wilderness previously ; but
surveyors are not anthropologists, and their time for inquiry in this particular
branch of science is short If therefore I express the views that I have adopted
from such cursory examination as I have been able to make, you will understand
that it is quite as much with the object of gaining information, as of giving it, that
I venture to address you.
Geographically this is a most important corner of Asia. It lies between
Persia and India ; the high roads from the west to the promised land of the east
run through it, either passing up its narrow valleys to Kalat and Quetta, or
following a more southerly coast route to the Indus delta. Sistan, once "the
granary of Asia," lies on the north-west of Makrdn ; Persia is to the west, and India
to the east. On the south is the Arabian Sea, and on the north a desolate expanse
of sandy desert which fills up the map between Makrin and the great Helmund
river. Through Makrdn a ceaseless tide of human emigration has set from the
very earliest periods of which there is traditional record, and it would certainly
appear that this tide has ever set eastward. We know that Alexander struggled
through from east to west, but his was a military expedition, not a national
movement. And there have been certain reflex waves from India which have
left their flotsam stranded in the Makrdn hills, but whether historically or
traditionally, all the great tides which have swept through the country, tides from
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Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich. — The Arab Tribes of our Indian Frontier. 11
Syria, from Mesopotamia, from Persia, from Arabia, have passed from west to
east, and, historically, have all been directly connected with the command of the
eastern seas.
Small wonder then that we find in Southern Baluchistan a most extraordinary
conglomeration of mixed Asiatic nationalities. Medes and Persians, ancient
Chaldeans, Arabs, Turks, Monguls, Skyths, Kajputs and aboriginals ; even Sikhs
and Ethiopians have left their mark on Makrdn, and the lost threads of many
an ancient history or national tradition might be picked up here, were scientific
anthropologists to turn their attention to the country. All this part of Baluchistan
separating India from the Persian province of Khorasan is a difficult and dangerous
country to pass through. It is for the most part a wilderness of hills, of jagged,
barren, dry, and unprofitable hills, but intersected by valleys which here and
there are not only fertile, but exceedingly beautiful. Taking them as a whole
these narrow intersecting valleys run east and west, and afford an excellent high-
way to those who know how to approach them at either end. Alexander did not
know how to make use of these natural highways of the country, and was soon
hopelessly entangled in the maze of difficult and rough hill country which
surrounds them. The Arabs did know how to use them, and for centuries
maintained a great trade high-road right through Makrdn to India. Not only so,
they possessed great cities and a cultured and wealthy population of merchants
in them, who were renowned through the world for their probity and fair dealing.
And yet it is difficult to conceive that, were it not for the value of the coast and
its harbours and of the rights and properties of that great trade highway, even those
wonderful people, the pre-Mahommedan Arabs, would have cared much for the
occupation of that sun-dried wilderness. It is true that the climate may have
been difierent in the early centuries of our era to what it is now. Now, but for
a few months of respite in the winter, the ceaseless blaze of furnace heat is such,
that in parts of Makran even flies find the burden of life intolerable, and the sim-
cracked earth refuses the boon of water, except at far distant intervals. The S.W.
monsoon hardly touches Makrdn, which partakes much more of the climate of
Eastern Persia than of that of Western India. Yet this is the country which
so teems with the evidences of occupation by so many successive waves of
oriental humanity, that I hardly know which section of it is most important or
most interesting. It may perhaps be best to sketch generally what we actually
find there, and leave scientific deductions to more advanced students of anthro-
pological science; for the science of ethnography and of anthropology is yet in
its infancy in India. With easier means of communication, and the advance of
direct and intimate relations between England and India which wiU arise therefrom,
we shall no doubt find European scientists selecting a field for research which is
left at present to the leisure opportunities of hard-worked Indian officials.
The very earliest occupants of this geographical link between Persia and India
of whom we read anywhere, appear to be those hairy, fish-eating savages whom the
Greeks encountered near Tomeros (which I have identified with the modem Hingol
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\i Colonel Sir 1l. H. tloLmcii,^^ The Arab THUs of our hidian Proniiert
river delta) who lived in huts huilt of fish-bones, used their long nails as fish knives,
and fought with wooden pikes haixiened in the fire. Tliere is nothing apocryphal
about this description. A people of that sort must have been there in primaeval
times, and evidences of their existence in the jungles of Western India until
quite recently are not wanting. They have, however, long since disappeared from
regions where there were no forests to shelter them, and they gave place in Makrdn
to a race of builders, erecters of stone dwellings that are found in immense numbers
clustered on the sides of certain hills, and which have long been a puzzle to local
investigators. Colonel Mockler, who was for some time politically employed on the
Makrdn coast, has gone farthest of anyone in unravelling the mystery which
surrounds them. These buildings are consti-ucted of slabs of limestone which
abounds in Southern Baluchistan, in the form of small rectangular con-
stnictions (the slope of a hill sometimes forming one side) with doors facing
westwards. They are locally known as Damb, and the hills on which they
cluster are called Damba Koh. No one yet has successfully unravelled the
riddle of the Damba Koh, although several theories have been advanced. I should
not be surprised if they are eventually traced to a connection with other buildings,
intermixed with strange stone circles, which are found along the western highlands
of India stretching down through north and south Arcot, and which are now
credited to the Pandomanagai — the race of little people — the pygmies of India,
communities of whom are still to be found in the south. If so, this is the earliest
record of that gradual and ceaseless migration southwards which has resulted
in filling up the ethnographic reservoirs of Southern India with innumerable
Dravidian tribes.
But as far as Southern Baluchistan is concerned the pygmies (if ever they
were there) have long since disappeared. Gone, too, are many of those Dravidian
peoples who once made Makrdn all their own; including those who followed the
Mesopotamian custom of burying their dead in pots, as well as some of those
who opposed Alexander's advance. They may have joined the great army of
lost tribes, or they may still be represented (as I believe them generally to be)
amongst the Dravidian people of Central and Southern India ; but their place in
Makran knows them no more. But if some have disappeared, many have
remained, and we can to this day identify most of the tribes mentioned by
Herodotus as occupying the 17th Satrapy of the Persian Empire, or by Arrian as
joining in the extermination of the Greek army. It is more than probable that
the great Brahui tribe (the only one that has made solid headway against the
Arabs) who occupy all Sarawdn and Jalawdn, the east and west highlands of
Ealat stretching down the frontier southwards from Quetta, is Dravidian,
mixed no doubt with non-Dravidian elements, amongst which there is an
affiliated Mongul people who form a very strong and important section of
this borderland community. It is only quite lately that it has been possible
to survey the wild wilderness of rugged highland territory that is occupied by
the Mingal or Mongul clans. It should be noted that the name Brahui (or
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Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich. — The Arab Tribes ofmr Indian Frontier, 13
Bar Bohi) carries with it the same signification as Bohilla, or Eohistani, or as the
Parikanoi of the Greeks, or the Accad of ancient Mesopotamia. It means simply
" mountaineer."
Fn>m the neighbourhood of Kalat southwards towards Karachi there is an
exceedingly rough tract of the Sind border. Here, in the narrow and constricted
valleys which intersect the rugged and pathless maze of the frontier barrier of
mountains (a barrier which is nowhere open to practicable routes and which is one
of the roughest and toughest areas ever brought under survey), we find nothing but
Brahuis and Mingals. In the extreme south the little triangular province of Las
Bela is peopled by Eajputs, one of those reflex waves from India of which I have
spoken. It is a comparatively recent wave. West of the Dravidian area we find
a colony of pure Persian extraction — the Naoshirwanis. They also are said to
be comparatively recent arrivals in the land. They are at any rate a finer race of
Persians than any I have met with in Eastern Persia, and many notable border
warriors have been numbered amongst the Naoshirwani chiefs of Ehardn.
Beyond these again, throughout Southern Baluchistan and Makrdn, are tribes
innumerable, many of which were known in the days of Herodotus, and some of
which have figured as the niling people of their time — chief amongst the great
confederation of tribes. Amongst such are the Boledi, spoken of by Ptolemy, who
are still locally recognised as a survival in the seats of the mighty, though they
have long been dispossessed of their country by a people of Sikh extraction called
Gichki. Their ancient royalty is now represented by one old lady whose name is
Miriam, and who is exceedingly cunning in needlework. Speaking in most general
terms, it may be said of Southern Baluchistan that lowest in the scale of all these
tribal communities and subdivisions are those people of ancient Persian stock who
spread all through Southern Asia in the days when Southern Asia was all Persian.
These Tajaks are the tillers of the soil, the slaves and husbandmen, hewers of wood
and drawers of water throughout the land, and may often be recognised by their
tribal designations, though they usually claim affinity with some tribe higher than
themselves in the social scale. Overlying and overspreading this once dominant
Persian brotherhood are those Semitic (Arab) races, who of all the conglomeration
of this mixed Baluch community are the most interesting and the most worthy of
careful study. For the story of the Arab occupation, first of Sistan, then of Makran,
and finally (having command of the sea), of all Western India, cannot fail to be
interesting to us from many points of view.
The complete history of that magnificent instrument of civilisation, the
Arab nation, has yet to be written, but it has always appeared to me that in
the construction of such outlines of it as we possess, the limits of space which
are drawn round the story, whether of time or of locality, are far too narrow.
We are accustomed to think of the Arabs as a great conquering people who
conmienced their national career by carrying the banners of Islam through the
world, and stamping their faith on its great civilised communities. But if
by Arabs, we njean the iuhabitf^nts of Arabia, history and tradition alike fail
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14 Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich. — The Arab Tribes ofmir Indian Frontier.
UB in unravelling the first beginnings of their civilising mission in the world.
History teaches us that they were a great fighting people. Tradition informs
us that they were a great mercantile people, long before they took to the
sword.
Who were those people who came up from the sea and taught the Turanian
inhabitants of Mesopotamia to build temples to the planets and to cast aside
their demonology ? Who were they who carried the first rudiments of the
science of navigation from the Eastern seas to the Mediterranean; whose ships
left no known shores unvisited in the gradual development of western commerce ?
Phoenicians you will say — but who were the Phoenicians? If we are to trust to
what we are now told about them, they started for the Mediterranean from the
Bahrein islands (where their tombs now stand) the ancient names of which, we are
told, are Tyros and Sidodona, and they were a well developed race of builders and
traders even when they left their original home on the Arabian coast. In
the eai-ly centuries of our era they were as completely masters of the eastern
seas as we are now. Wherever they spread in search of trade, through Africa,
or Western Europe, or Eastern Asia, there they carried the science of building,
irrigation, and road making with them, and there they established trade centres
and colonies.
Our own first beginnings in the science of ocean navigation were borrowed
from the Arabs. Our first great sailing ships were modelled on the Arab " buggalo w "
or " dhow." Their science has stood still whilst we have progressed till we have
arrived at an " Oceanic " and a " Majestic." Our naval terms are Arabic. What
else is " admiral," or the names of our smaller craft, " barge," " dinghy," and the
apparently good old English word " jolly-boat " ? The corresponding boat in
Arabic is " jalaba,"and as the other names are clearly Arabic I do not see why that
should not be. So that we need not be surprised if there are evidences of Arab
influences, and probably of Arab occupation, in Africa and India, and on the
Persian and Maki-dn coasts, long before the days of Islam. It is true that they did
not actually occupy Sistan and Makrdn till after the downfall of the Persian
monarchy; but they possessed widespread settlements there long before the
invasion of India by Mahomed Kassim in 705 a.d. It was their occupation of
Makrdn, combined with the command of the sea, that so signally assisted the
progress, not only of that most successful invasion, but of a simultaneous expedition
for the conquest of China. Sistan, Makrdn, and Southern Baluchistan, as well
as Sind, are all full of their records in brick and stone. In Sistan there are
to be found the remains of cities of brick-built houses, and tombs which are
of the structure of those which now stand in the cities of Southern Arabia,
In Baluchistan and Makrdn there are thousands of relics of splendidly
constructed "bunds" or dams to form water reservoirs for irrigation purposes
where water is scarce. I need not tell you of the remains of the great mediaeval
cities which formed a line through Makrdn to India almost from end to end ; of
the groups of decorated tombs sacred to the memory of the Khalmat chiefs ; of
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Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich. — The Arab Tribes o/ov/r Indian Frontier, 15
the stone sepulchres of the kings at Tatta, in Sind. All these things are written
of elsewhere. The point on which I wish to insist is that the Arabs are on the
frontier still. Ask any Baluchi whom you may meet, and he will almost certainly
say that he is an Arab of the prophet's own tribe, and that his tribe came from
Aleppo,
It is possible that there are few ptire Arabs in the border country. We
know that in the time of the great Arab invasion of India through Makrdn the
Arab troops, who were mostly drawn from Syria, never saw their country again,
and they brought no women with them. It is probable therefore that there was
originally much admixture in the ranks of the Baluch tribes of Arab extraction,
just as there is in the Tajak tribes of quasi Persian extraction, and it is not
improbable that more of the mixed races have stayed to make this their country
than of the pure bred Arabs who must have come over in thousands during the
centuries in which they held the dominant power in the Indus valley. However
that may be, it is certain that the Arab tongue has disappeared from the Indus
valley as completely as it has from Makrdn, and that the language of all tribes
alike is now that archaic form of Persian which we call Baluchi.
According to Sir H. Elliot (who quotes Ferishta), the Arabs never really
colonized Sind, and their occupation of the Indus valley terminated with Al Kadir
in 1031. Yet they occupied Makran, and a great part of the Persian coast, long
after the last of the KaUfs had been starved in his treasury at Bagdad, for we have
the evidence of Marco Polo in 1290 that " the most part of the people in Kez
Macoran are Saracens. They live by merchandise and industry, for they are
professed traders and carry on much traffic by sea and land."
The most prominent of the Arab tribes are'now included in the great Confedera-
tion of Kinds. Hinds are to be found under that designation in two groups, one
to the north-east of Kalat, which includes the Marris, Bugtis, Bozdars, etc., and one
in Makran massed about the lower Kej valley near Mand. These latter are usually
known as the Binds of Mand. But the desert bred Bekis, the Sinjaranis of the
Helmund, and many other tribes all call themselves Bind, and all subscribe to
the same old tradition that their progenitors were Khoreish Arabs who were driven
from Syria by the persecution of the Kaliph Yejid at the end of the seventh
century. But there have been tribes in Sind in comparatively recent times who
claim direct connection with Arabia. Such were the Khalmatis who are tradition-
ally supposed to come from Oman, who took their name from Khalmat on the
Makran coast, where they settled ere they finally migrated to Sind, and became
a powerful and dominant people in the lower Indus valley and the plains of Las
Bela.
It is long since every vestige of the mediaeval Arab cities of Makr&n and Bdla
has disappeared, so far as buildings are concerned, but the tombs of the Khalmats
are still there, grouped in clusters on rising ground, overlooking the rivers and
plains, wherever a fairer prospect than usual greets the eye, and commends itself
to a sense of natural beauty. There are many of them within reach of Karachi,
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16 Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich. — The Arab Tribes of our Indian Frmtier.
and in simplicity of design and construction, allied to an equally simple grace of
geometric ornamentation, I know of nothing to equal them elsewhem I believe
the Khalmatis have disappeared altogether, but of this I am not quite certain.
The carvings on these tombs are as fresh and clean cut as if they had been
fashioned yesterday, but in that exceptionally dry climate they may be many
centuries old all the same. To put it broadly, all the best of the Baluchis are
Arabs by descent, and the best of the Baluchis are the best of our frontier tribes-
men. We do not see many of them in our ranks as sepoys. They do not care
about the discipline of regular service, and our so-called Baluch regiments, like
some of our so-called Highland regiments, are not distinguished for the number
of recruits who answer exactly to the regimental designation. But as border
robbers and raiders, as light horsemen of the heroic type, they have probably been
unequalled since the days of the Parthians.
The true Baluch chief is a gentleman by nature and heredity, a gentleman
such as one may meet in Arabia, self-possessed, courteous, free, yet graceful in his
bearing, an accomplished horseman, a man of the world, who is not to be discon-
certed by such trifles as a want of linguistic knowledge or the surroundings
of civilised existence to which he is unaccustomed. I have seen an Arab chief
sit down to breakfast in a company of officers on board ship. He " came from
the country/' and had probably never seen a knife and fork before. Possibly he
had never sat in a chair. Certainly he did not know a word of English, nor his
entertainers a word of Arabic, yet he retained not only his dignity but his ease,
and in half-an-hour he was complete master of the situation. There is much of
this savoirfaire in the Baluch, who is as distinct from the Pathdn who jostles
him on the frontier border as a Circassian chief is from a Levantine.
I have often been asked why it is that our control of the southern boixierland
is so much more effective than that of the north. It is very much due to our
strategical position there. We are not merely facing the Baluch independent
tribes ; we are at 'the back of them, and their country is more easily approached
from the back. Quetta is not merely a block in the way of an advance into
India ; it is the metropolis of Baluchistan, occupying a central dominant position
from the control of which there is no escape. But there is also to be considered
the diflFerence in the national characteristics of the two races. Both are subject to
tribal organisation, but the Pathdn is individually more independent, acknowledging
no authority but the tribal jirgah, and surrendering his freedom of action only at
the voice of the mullah. The head of every Pathdn household considers himself
a chief in his own right, as good as any other chief in his clan. The Baluch, on
the other hand, is loyal and true to the acknowledged head of his tribe, and as
much of a patriot as any highlander of the Scottish border. This much simplifies
the political dealings of government with him. His method, too, of meeting an
enemy in the field is different from that of the Pathan. When a Baluch warrior
goes into action he goes to stay. He will picket his mare under the nearest tree,
and rush into the thick of the fray with sword and shield, scorning to take
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Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich. — 7%c Arab Ti^ibes of our Indian Frontier. 17
advantage of cover, fighting with the traditional courage of the Arab in the
open field, whether that field is in the valleys of Baluchistan, or in the Suddn.
And the result is the same in either case.
We all know what happened at Omdurman ; but perhaps few followed the course
of the brilliant little campaign lately conducted by Col. Mayne in the far rougher
field of Makrdn. The Baluchis thought to overwhelm his little force in the open,
just as the Khalifa thought to overwhelm Kitchener. And when that notorious
old freebooter and robber, well named Baluch Khan, found that individual courage
was of no avail against better discipline and better arms, he put himself at the
head of a gallant remnant of his force and went straight for the guns. He died
like an Arab.
I need not refer to the very diflFerent tactics adopted by the Afridi, who does
not lack courage either, but much prefers stout cover and a long range rifle
whether engaged in a national fight or a private vendetta. He will only fight like
a Sikh or an Arab when he finds there is no other way of fighting.
The varied characteristics of the two races are well summed up by Oliver in
his charming book. Across the Border, The Baluch, be says, is "essentially a
nomad, good-looking, frank, with well cut features, black and well oiled flowing
hair and beard, attired in a smock frock that is theoretically white, but never is
washed save on the rare occasions when he goes to a durbar ; and he is a general
favourite. He is a bit of a buck, and when he finds himself passing into the sere
and yellow he dyes his hair. It is not uncommon to find an old gentleman with
eyebrows of deep black, and the tip of his beard gradually shading off through
purple to red, to roots of pure white. His wife makes quite a toilet, and arranges
her hair in many effective plaits, but any connection with soap and water would
be voted by either as a mark of the worst eflfeminacy. He shares with the Pathdn
many of the virtues and vices peculiar to a wild and semi-civilised people, but in
many respects he presents the most agreeable contrast Both are given to
hospitality, both ready to exact .an eye for an eye, a life for a life, but the
Baluch prefers to kill his enemy from the front and the Pathan from behind."
To both " Allah is great and Mahomed is his prophet," but the Pathan is often
a dangerous fanatic whilst the Baluch is perfectly willing to have his prayers said
for him. As Ibbetson pithily puts it — " he has less of Gk)d in his head and less
of the devil in his nature." There is a story of a Baluch who, asked why he did
not keep the feast of the Eamzan, replied that he was excused, as his chief was
keeping it for him. "What are you doing ?" said another to a pious Mahomedan
who was saying his prayers in the plains. " Praying in the fear of God," said the
plainsman. " Come along to my hills," rejoined the Baluch, " where we don't fear
anybody." Both have but dim perceptions of the difference between meum and
tmLvi, preferring " the good old rule, the simple plan, that he should take who has
the power, and he should keep who can."
The love of a Baluch for his horse has passed into a proverb aU over the world.
This again is an Arab instinct. If a Baluch cannot own a whole horse he will
New Sbries, Vol. II, Nos. 1 and 2. C
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18 Colonel Sib T. H. Holdich. — The Arab Tribes of mr Indian Frmtier,
become the proprietor of one leg or more, as the case may be, and claims an
equivalent share in the use of the animal. Baluchis still prefer mares for their
long rides over rough hills, although the original reason for this choice (the fact
that mares are less inclined to lift up their voices and scream to their companions
when it is desirable to preserve strict silence) has passed away with their oppor-
tunities for raiding; but I understand that this prejudice is fast disappearing.
An Afghan would consider it beneath his dignity to ride a mare at all. His
prejudices are in favour of the other sex.
Taking him for all in all our frontier Arab has much to recommend him.
I have sat in durbar with Sir Eobert Sandeman and watched with admiration
the magnificent forms of the Mari and Bugti chiefs clothed in clean white, bearing
themselves as princes in the land; and the contrast with the gaily clad and
much bejewelled Brahui royalties of Kalat has been almost too striking. Courage
and loyalty are what one would naturally expect in such splendid human
setting — and courage and loyalty is exactly what Sandeman found, and what he,
of all men, knew best how to appreciate.
Discussion.
Dr. John Beddoe. — I should like to make a few remarks, from the point of
view of a physical anthropologist, on the paper of the evening. It is interesting to
learn that the author can give plentiful historical gi-ounds for the presence of
Arabs in Baluchistan, and that he finds in the moral character of some at least of
the Baluchis indications of an Arab leaven. But I should much like to know
whether he thinks that the physical aspect of these people is at all suggestive of
Arab or Semitic descent. Their language, we know, is a Persian dialect, i.e., it is
Aryan, not Semitic. I am not one of those who attach very great importance to
language as an evidence of blood and descent ; but it does afford some prinid
facie evidence. Now the Arab settlers in Makran had certain advantages which
might have availed to enable even a minority to perpetuate their language. They
were conquerors and rulers ; and their tongue was that of a proselytizing religion.
With this last advantage, even a subject minority may succeed in imposing its
language on its rulers; this the Slavs did on the Bulgarians, though, to judge from the
physical type, the Bulgarian or Ugrian element was the more numerous. But the
Arabs in Makr&n failed. I suspect, therefore, that there is not much Arab blood
there. The few photographs I have seen from Baluchistan have not given me the
impression of belonging to Semites. They were those of soldiers, and the author
tells us that the Kirds do not often enlist. If he could procure a few photographs
of Kirds, or pure Baluchis, and of Brahuis, I think they would have considerable
interest.
Mr. J. Kennedy remarked that Sir T. Holdich's knowledge of Makrtln is so
extensive that any theory he may express with regard to the origin of the Baluchis
will necessarily carry weight. Moreover, lie is not alone in his belief that the
Baluchi tribes have a large proportion of Arab blood. That theory appears to be
mainly based in part upon the traditions of the clans, and in part upon physical
resemblances. But I am not sure that it is borne out by history ; and before
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Colonel Sir T. H. Holdich.— TA^ Arab Tribes ofmir Indian Frantic. 19
attacking an ethnological problem, it is always well to clear the ground if possible
by a historical review. Now the general outlines of the ancient and mediaeval
history of Makr9,n are perfectly clear, however obscure the details. There are
three distinct stages. The earliest stage is one of utter savagery. Nearchus found
the coast inhabited by the Ichthyophagi, a race of men who lived on fish, built
their houses of fish-bones, had little corn, few sheep or goats, and scooped shallow
wells in the shingle for fresh water. The inland tribes knew something of agri-
culture, but lived chiefly on dates, used poisoned arrows, and fortified their villages.
Commerce between India and Persia by way of Makran appears to have been
utterly unknown. Alexander the Great had local guides, and was accompanied by
a number of the aborigines ; but he completely lost his way, and took 60 days to
cross the desert — a thing which could not have happened if caravan routes had
been in existence. Nor does there appear to have been nny commerce down to
the first century B.C. ; for finds of Grseco-Bactrian coins in Makran are extremely
rare.
The advent of the Indo-Scythians in the first century B.C. marks the next
stage in the history of the country, and the introduction of a higher civilisation.
These Indo-Scythians are known as Sakas. They gave their name to Sakastene or
Sejistan, and occupied the whole of MakrS-u and Sindh, forming a multitude of
petty clans and kingdoms which were occasionally united under a single over-lord.
These Sakas are supposed to have been of the same stock as the Parthians. Their
names, Azes, Vonones, Spalirises, Pacores, etc., are similar to or identical with the
Parthian ; their head-dress is similar ; their coin-types alike ; and they use Pehlvi
for their inscriptions. The Arsacid kings cultivated their friendship, and often
obtained their assistance. The Sakas, on the other hand, must be carefully distin-
guished from the other great Indo-Scythic horde — the confederacy of the Yue-chi,
in which the Kushans were supreme. The Kushans expelled the Sakas from
Afghanistan and the Northern Punjab ; and the ancestral enmity of Afghans and
Baluchis was anticipated by the feuds of these Indo-Scythians nineteen centuries
ago.
The Sakas were the first to open up regular communications between India
and Persia by way of Mekran, and more than one Sagsanian monarch, Parvez the
last among them, invaded India by this route. When the Arabs turned their
attention to the conquest of India, their armies merely repeated what Persian
armies had done before ; and they had little difl&culty in overrunning the country.
But the country was uninviting ; " water was scarce, the fruits were poor, and the
robbers bold." The Arabs pressed forward to the conquest of Sindh — ^a much
more difficult and protracted task. Arab chiefs of the purest blood led the invaders,
and Hajjaj on one occasion despatched 6,000 Syrians from Aleppo. But the great
mass of the invaders settled in Sindh. Mansura and half a dozen other great
towns were founded by Arabs, while the bulk of the Syrians settled in Al Mahfuza.
On the other hand, we do not read of any Arab settlements in Makrdn or its
neighbourhood, except at Kandahar. The diSerence is strikingly brought out by
Ibu Haukal, who remarks that Arabic and Sindhian were spoken in Sindh, while
in Makran they used Persian and Mekranik. It is clear, I think, that while the
Arab conquest made a profound impression upon Sindh, its eflect on Makr&n was
comparatively slight. These facts have a considerable bearing on the origin of the
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20 Meeting of March Uth, 1899.
Baliichis. They are admittedly not aborigines like the Brahuis. The presumption,
therefore, is that they are connected either with the Sakas or the Arabs. Their
political constitution and their speech — a form of ancient Persian — connect them
with the former. Moreover, if we do not regard them as representatives of the
Sakas, the Sakas must have disappeared. The early Arab writers talk of Turks or
Turcomans, by whom apparently Sakas are meant ; and some modem travellers
discover a resemblance between the Turcoman and the Baluchi clansman. The
Arab settlements in Makrdn were not extensive, nor was the country inviting.
It is very probable that the Baluchi chiefs have a considerable amount of Arab
blood in their veins, and they may often bear a striking resemblance to the
Bedawin, although their traditions point to Syria. But how far can we judge of
the clan by the chiefs? It seems to me more probable that the rank and file
have preserved an unmixed strain, and it is among them that we must seek the
solution of the problem.
Mr. W. Crooke in the main agreed with the conclusions of Mr. J. Kennedy
as to the origin of the Biluchis. He remarked that there can be little doubt that
their name is of Sanskrit origin — a corruption of the term Mlechhha, applied to
outcasts or offenders against Aryan customs. A small outlying colony of the
tribe is found in the Muzaffarnagar district of the North-western Provinces, where
they have an evil reputation as cattle thieves and swindlers. They are a turbulent,
ill-conditioned class, who give much trouble to our police.
ORDINARY MEETING.
MARCH 14th, 1899.
C. H. Read, Esq., F.S.A., President, in the Chair,
The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and signed.
The election of three Fellows was announced, viz.: — J. D. Paul, Esq.,
F. L. Griffith, Esq., and Mrs. M. A. Hobson.
The President introduced Mr. FitzGerald Marriott, who proceeded to
read his paper on " Secret Tribal Societies in West Africa."
This was replied to by the Count de Cardi, who questioned some of
Mr. Marriott's views; and a discussion was carried on by Miss Kingsley, Mr.
T. J. Alldridge, Sir John Smalman Smith, and Mr. J. M. Harris.
Mr. Marriott briefly replied, and the President congratulated the Meeting
on having heard such a carefully prepared paper and such an instructive dis-
cussion.
A vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Marriott.
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( 21 )
THE SECRET SOCIETIES OF WEST AFRICA.
By H. p. Fitzgerald Marriott.
[Abstract]
Most of the so-called secret societies of West Africa are tribal and with them are
bound up the traditions and customs of the people, so that their total extinction
would be almost impossible, though modification appears in some cases to be
desirable. They are in their origin merely developments of the tribe to which they
belong.
Apart from the law-giving and mystically religious societies, there are two
others which are not exactly tribal — one of which is the temporary or Poro
association of Sierra Leone. The other comprises the murder or Leopard and
Alligator Societies — which extend from Sierra Leone to the Niger, and possibly
farther, and are found in many parts of West Africa. They are much feared and
detested bj^ respectable natives. The religious Poro Societies of Sierra Leone
have been discussed in works by C. W. Heckethorn and the Poro and many others
by Rev. J. A. Abayomi Cole.
The societies of the Gold Coast are harmless, secret religious fraternities and
tribal institutions. Katahwiri (for men) in which the ceremony of clothing at a
certain age plays an important part. It includes circumcision (Jceteofo) and the
teaching of mystic folklore and dancing. Katahwiriba is a similar society for
women. Nanam, " our ancestors," is another men's society, more mystic and kept
more secret than the Katahwiri.
In. the Niger territory the partly religious societies are known as Egbo or
Igbp, deriving their title from the country of that name, of which the original
meaning is " tiger " or " leopard," implying that this part of the country was once
infested by these animals, or it may refer to a family whose name was derived
from that animal. The most important Egbo Society is that of Old Kalabar,
where the native government is founded on it and the king and chiefs are
members. Its head is the Abaw-Efik, a sort of high priest who receives his
authority from the Egbo chiefs, and while he retains it no one is safe from his
power unless he can pay him well. There are eleven grades, the entrance fee of
which varies from seventy-five iron bars to four hundred brass rods. Miss
Kingsley in a note informs the writer that " the Abaw-Efik is keeper of the
'Nd^m Efik (the great (I)d^m of Kalabar) ; but in the execution of his office he is
subjected to so many restrictions, the violation of which the 'Nd^m Efik punishes
with death, that his office is not desired and is frequently vacant."
At Old Kalabar, on " Brass " I^bo day, a yellow flag is raised on the king's
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22 H. P. Fitzgerald Mauriott.— 5%« Secret Societies of West Africa.
house, and none but the privileged are allowed to walk abroad. A piece of yellow
cotton nailed on any one's door implies the protection of " Brass " Egbo. When
a man meets the 'Nd^m of a higher grade of Egbo than that to which he belongs,
he limps by humbly as if the sight had deprived him of strength. Every ninth
day during an Egbo meeting, a man goes about the town disguised as a spirit,
with leave to flog anyone he meets who is of a lower grade or who does not belong
to the society. This is the 'Nddm who carries in his left hand a bunch of green
leaves and in his right a great cow-hide whip. He wears a black vizard and his
whole body is covered with bamboo matting. He always has a bell fastened to
his side to announce his arrival. A chief with a similar bell is depicted in one of
the Benin plaques.^ In New Kalabar the Juju King is held in higher reverence
than the Civil Chieftain.
Among the Ibibeo tribe we find various societies. The Uluga, " pig's nose,"
watch farms, act as councillors in palavers, execute people sentenced to death by
impalement at cross-roads. If a wife runs away from her husband the society will
restore her, and if she dares to abscond again her parents' house will be sacked or
destroyed. They kill with a stone anyone caught stealing yams. They sacrifice
animals over bodies of dead chieftains and bury chief and slaves with him. They
do not permit girls to wear clothes till they are pregnant and have gone to live
with their husbands.
The Ayaka summons the society to meet in the bush, when all who are not
members have to close their houses and put out their fires. They have a form of
trial by ordeal. Five women are brought from different villages to a king's house.
Sasswood and the salamander lizard are beaten up with a little water in a mortar.
The priest first drinks from the ordeal cup and then passes it to the accused, who
all drink. They are then shut up, those who are innocent vomit ; the guilty die
and their bodies are cast into the bush. They protect children of dead witches
and collect the debts of their parents by intimidating the debtors at night They
listen to what people are saying and threaten exposure if they do not pay a bribe.
They drive herds of cattle through the town at night, blowing horns and making
hideous noises. They are said to have the power of talking to a cocoanut tree,
when all the fruit falls down, and they eat the contents without injuring the nuts.
They are able to smell out anyone who watches their proceedings, when they duck
him in streams and leave him up to his neck in mud. A man who underwent this
punishment was unable to speak for a fortnight. No woman knows anything of
these people. No one dares to give information on pain of impalement or
providing a slave as a substitute. They are supposed to live in the sacred groves,
where twins are thrown away, and lepers, those dying of small-pox, the deformed,
and children dying before they cut their teeth are buried. No woman dares to cut
firewood in the forests they occupy.
The Onyckolum compel a woman to marry, saying that if she refuses she will
wed the great snake, Ak4 In the last resort they force the parents to carry her
> Joum, Anthrop, InsU^ xxvii, Plate XX, Fig. 2.
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H. P. Fitzgerald Marriott. — 7^e Secret Societies of West Africa, 23
to another town to find a husband. They act as jesters, and mock at all deformed
people or ridicule thieves and gluttons in public. They are accompanied in their
nightly parades by a dog with bells.
The 'Mbuike come out dressed in grass, led by a man dancing like a bear.
They carry a bag filled with short hard- wood sticks and stones, with which they
pelt anyone they meet.
Each Egbo Society has its own special idols, horned wooden masks, grass,
bamboo or cocoanut matting, dresses, bells, and other strange objects, among which
are black wooden rattles, shaped like hour glasses, open at both ends, and
containing several wooden clappers. Some of the idols, when properly invoked,
are supposed to be able to answer questions regarding stolen property and
similar matters. In some the lower jaw is worked by a concealed cord. The lower
jaws of some of the masks also move. The small brown masks and the coloured
masks, on the authority of Mr. Eveleigh Smith, are worn during Egbo plays.
Children can belong- to it and wear masks. Women and outsiders cannot wear
them. The white masks appear to be worn only by members of the first grade,
and those black and horned by those fully initiated. Women, on pain of death,
are not allowed to see the black masks. The meaning of the tattoo marks on the
masks is not clear. Possibly they may be some tribal sign. According to Mr.
Eveleigh Smith the Ibibio Egbo Society has only two grades, the lowest, as usual,
being the initiatory stage. Their dress is a simple garment with sleeves and legs,
into which the wearer enters through a hole in the chest. Round the ankles is
a fringe made of fibres of the Raffia paltn knotted together. The higher grade has
dresses covered with palm-leaf which are very elaborate.
Higher again than the Egbo is the Idiong or Idion, which none but a member
of the Egbo can join. According to Mr. Eveleigh Smith this fraternity is open to
all, either slaves or freemen ; but probably a slave could not attain the higher
positions. The first stage is merely probationary and the fee is about 800 or 1,000
Manillas or circlet composed chiefly of iron and worth from Id, to l\d. After
payment of the fee the candidate goes through a rite, namely, consisting of
feasting and dancing and is given a ring or circlet of palm fibre which he wears
on his head until he can afford to pay the fee for initiation into the higher grade.
On attaining this he wears a larger ring covered with goat-skin. Various points
projecting from the circlet indicate the rank of the officials of the society. If the
ring is wantonly destroyed the member loses his rights and has to pay again for
their restoration. There are society secrets which no member dare to divulge.
The rules forbid lying, theft, adultery, and are faithfully observed. Women can
join the order and then are raised to an equality with men ; if they commit adultery
no one will punish or reproach them.
All members of the society can travel without danger. It is said they
have an inner sanctuary into which only the high priest is admitted. They also
profess to be rain-makers, and offer fowls and goats before idols for this purpose.
A European if accompanied by a friendly Idion man can travel anywhere in safety.
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24 H. P. Fitzgerald Markiott. — The Secret Societies of West Africa.
Human sacrifices are sometimes practised among the Ibibios at the funeral
rites of their kings, when a new market is opened or the trade of a market needs
improving. It is also done at the performance of a religious play called Aikon.
The victim, who is a slave, may be of either sex, but a boy or girl is preferred to
an adult. The victim is held down while the executioner beheads him with a
sharp matchet, not with one but with several blows. Each person present is
supposed to tap the head with a small knife. The skull is finally put in the King's
Ju-ju house. This play is performed yearly at the yam digging season. The
people wear red cotton caps which they dip in the blood of the victim.
At another play a large bamboo table is brought out, over which hangs a long
cloth reaching the ground. On the table are placed little figures representing men
and women. These are made to move about and dance like marionettes. The
operator is a man concealed under the table. Figures are also placed in the
house erected for the spirits of the dead. These houses are regarded as sacred,
but they are allowed to decay under the influence of time and weather.
In a place far up the Kivo-Ibo river, close to Aru, is supposed to be a holy
woman who knows everything and can utter oracles. Only two persons, generally
litigants, can visit the place at the same time. The mysterious voice calls to one
or the other to confess judgment. It has been said that the defeated party is
supposed to be slain by the spirit ; anyhow he never returns home, for if he did his
friends would not recognise him and would treat him as an evil spirit. Attached
to this place is said to be a sort of priesthood, called " Long Ju-ju men."
At Little Popo in Togoland is a secret society known as Af d, considered to
be higher than Egbo. They pretend to a knowledge of some sort of occult
science.
Nearly all these tribal societies oblige their initiates to undergo circumcision.
This may be one of the reasons why Muhammadans often obtain membership.
They have perhaps some connexion with the society known in Egypt as Siri, of
which there are various developments in the Sudan and Senegambia, devoted to
the study of occult science.
The writer ends by su^esting that the Colonial Governments might utilise
some of these societies in the cause of law and order.
Discussion.
The President, in proposing a vote of thanks to Mr. Marriott for his paper,
said that he thought the information that had been laid before them was of great
interest. It had not pretended to be more than, in the main, a compilation, and
students were grateful to any one who would save their time in this way, by
gathering into a compact form all the scattered papers in rare or out-of-the-way
journals. Such work did not in any way interfere with original research, but
rather helped it. Some of the criticisms they had heard were thus scarcely called
for by anything that Mr. Marriott had stated. The verdict of the majority of the
speakers, all of whom had considerable experience of West Africa, was in approval
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H. P. Fitzgerald Marriott. — The Secret SocUties of West Africa. 25
of the paper they had listened to, and he himself thought that Mr. Marriott was
entitled to their thanks for the exhaustive and laborious paper he had prepared.
Mr. EvELEiGH Smith. — I have lived only six years on the West Coast of
Africa, but during that period have gone a great deal amongst the natives of the
Hibio tribe, and have studied carefully their two great secret societies, Egbo and
Idien. I have very little to add beyond what Mr. Marriott has already stated in
his paper, save that I can vouch for the accuracy of his remarks concerning those
two societies. The masks and idols on the platform were carefully collected by the
late Mr. Van de Poel and myself, and they are genuine ones. With regard to
the large black masks belonging to the higher grade of Egbo, no woman is allowed
so much as a glimpse at them, death being the penalty if any woman should look
at them. There is a great deal to be found out about these societies, and it does
not follow because a man has lived for many years on the coast that he knows
everything concerning them, as one may live all his life amongst a savage tribe
where great secret societies exist, and yet know nothing. It is only by going
amongst the natives, and gathering details bit by bit, that any really valuable
information can be obtained.
Sir John Smalman Smith said that the statements in Mr. Marriott's paper
were gathered from many and various sources, but none apparently were the result of
that personal experience and observation which were indispensable if conclusions of
any value were to be based upon them. It was impossible to deal with such a
paper in a short speech, but he took exception to the constant use of such words as
''fetiche " and " Ju-Ju" which were of European origin and did not represent the
native idea.
In the Yoruba country the word " Oricha" meaning " an object of religious
worship, ceremony or usage," was always used by the native, and " Olorum " repre-
sented the supreme god, the all-powerful the glorious one, the source of life and
of the souls of men. It is, however, only the inferior gods who concern themselves
with the affairs of the earth and its inhabitants, and these include a vast number
both good and evil in their influences.
The powerful secret societies which existed all over the Yoruba country were
termed among the Egbos " Ogboni" and amongst the Jebu people " Oshogbo" Their
chief objects were to conserve the Oricha, but actually they controlled the kings of
the country, and decided trade disputes and family differences in the manner
prescribed by native custom. The members used signs and symbols, the meaning
of which was known only to the initiated.
These societies were powerful, but their methods were not of a character to
commend themselves to civilised peoples, nor would it be decent, even if it were
possible, to utilise them as a means of government. Such an idea could scarcely
have emanated from any one acquainted with the principles and practices which
prevailed among them.
The town of IfS, or lllS If 4^ as it is termed, is the most sacred place in the
Yoruba country. It is regarded as the cradle of the human race. From here Ifa,
one of the greatest of the gods, set forth to teach the rest of the world wisdom
and the knowledge of the future. Many most interesting beliefs were attached to
Ifa, who was a beneficent Oricha, and was invariably consulted as to the future, both
in great undertAkings and in the every-day affairs of life.
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26 H. P. FiTZGEKALD MARRIOTT. — The Secret Societies of West Africa.
It was much to be regretted that so few ethnologists had devoted any attention
to this most interesting country.
Mr. T. J. Alldridge, F.RG.S. — I was not aware that I should be called upon
to take part in this discussion. I came this evening to listen to what I anticipated
would be an interesting paper upon a somewhat abstruse subject, and I think we
shall all agree that the lecturer has presented to us an instructive communication ;
and although Mr. Marriott has been unable from personal knowledge to give any
lengthened practical experience upon the secret societies of West Africa, I venture
to consider that by quoting from some of the best authorities he has done the next
best thing to furnish us with information. My only reason for rising -upon this
occasion is that Mr. Marriott has referred to a part of the coast with which I have
been associated for very many years — the Sherbro, the seat of the once notorious
Human Leopard Society ; and as possibly there may be some persons here to-night
who may like to know something of that society's workings, I will briefly state
some details in connection with it, although happily the remedial measures adopted
by the Government about four years ago had been the means of practically putting
a stop to these atrocious barbaric practices, and the recent native rebellion, foUowed
by the naval and military punitive expeditions in the Imperri country with its
water-ways, has, I hope and believe, thoroughly eradicated their organization and
rendered this savagery a thing of the past. The Imperri was the great centre for
this society. It does not appear that as an institution it was of any great
age, possibly only some forty years or so, and I remember some twenty years back
being told that it was then merely a family arrangement, the members working
only amongst their own relatives, and that at the committee meetings of the
society a relative of some member was selected and told off to be the next victim,
and was subsequently waylaid and killed by some person in the guise of a leopard,
who rushed upon the unfortunate and unsuspecting victim from behind, and
planting a four-pronged knife of special make in the neck, separated the vertebra,
causing in most instances instantaneous death. The body was then opened, and some
of the internal parts were removed for the purpose of obtaining the fat which was
considered to be necessary to preserve the magical powers of the country medicine,
known as Borfima, with which members had to be anointed periodically. This
Borfima was a highly prized fetich, and believed to be a panacea against all evil
and to produce all good. The society after a time becoming too extensive to
remain a family concern, it appears to have been changed into a public
institution, that is, any victim could be taken from the general community, and
we know, without a doubt, that the lives of many innocent persons were sacrificed
in this manner. The ttwcLus operandi seemed to be that when a visitor appeared
at any village, he was invited to partake of food, in which was mixed a small
quantity of human flesh. The guest all unsuspectingly partook of the repast
and afterwards was told that human flesh formed one of the component parts
of the preparation, and that it was then necessary that he should join the
society, which was invariably done. The initiation fee being the providing of
a victim, it did not necessarily follow that the newly joined member should himself
slaughter the victim ; he need only furnish the victim, and there were persons who,
upon payment, would carry out the murder. But happily, as I have stated,
the persistent and effective measures adopted by the Government have been so
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H. P. Fitzgerald Marriott. — The Secret Societies of West Africa. 27
successful that I quite believe the Human Leopard Society is now simply a matter
of history.
The Poro and Bundu and Bundu Devil are organisations of the utmost
importance, and extend throughout the Mendi country, Sherbro, some 150 miles or
more inland. They are institutions amongst the male and female communities
respectively, but at this late hour I do not propose to enter into particulars
respecting them, but for those interested I would remind them that in my paper
to the Eoyal Geographical Society, in their Journal for August, 1894, these curious
ceremonies are described.
Le ^Q^te de Cardi, — I drew attention to the fact that Mr. Marriott's paper
was maim^Mwie up of copious extracts from the published accounts of others, and
pointed out that, though he gave us several names of his authorities, the major
part of the extracts that he read he most certainly dAd not thumi-mark, thus
leaving the general public to suppose that they were from his ovm investigation.
Knowing that Mr. Marriott had only been a few weeks in Western Africa and
that he had never been in the district of the two secret societies of which he spoke
the most, I pointed out that any well-wisher of the Anthropological Journal should
jealously guard against anything being published in the Joum/il of the Anthropo-
logical Institvie of which a part could be pointed to and denominated the work
of a plagiarist. The only parts of the paper of Mr. Marriott that I could trace to
Mr. Marriott's own labours were his deductions as to what use the secret tribal
societies of West Africa might be to the British Government and his belief of
what they taught. I said I disagreed with Mr. Marriott when he said " that the
British Government could make use of these societies to assist in ruling the
natives," my reason being that before any civilised government such as the
British Government could make use of these societies they would have to be
cleansed from their disgusting rites and terrible fetish oaths and practices. Once
take away from them the fetish oaths and evil ceremonies, then the fear which the
secret society engenders in the native mind would vanish and with it all respect
for the laws of the secret society. Further, Mr. Marriott said, " Fetishism must
not be confused with these societies. Spirit worship perhaps might be associated
with them ; but a mystic religion and belief in one God, a Creator from whom
springs all life, and to whom death was but in some sort a return, was, he believed,
the very inner secret of secrets; more they did nA)t teach" This assertion of
Mr. Marriott's would lead any ordinary hearer to believe he, Mr. Marriott, knew
all they did teach, for he says very distinctly, " More they did n^t teach" (This
and his former deductions were distinctly given out as his own — no authority
hdng quoted.) This statement of his led me to think the study he had made of his
subject was very superficial, because the veriest tyro in scientific research would
have discovered that the teaching pointed to a species of Phallic worship, more
than anything else.
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28 Meeting of March 28th, 1899.
ORDINARY MEETING.
MARCH 28Tn, 1899.
C. H. Read, Esq., F.S.A, President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and passed.
The election of Mrs. G. Nevitt Bennett as Fellow of the Institute was
announced.
The President introduced Mr. Wm. Corner, who proceeded to read his paper
on "Mitla (State of Oaxaca, Mexico): A Study of its Ancient Ruins and
Remains." This was illustrated by a good collection of lantern slides, maps,
plans, drawings, and numerous antiquities that he had brought home.
He also exhibited a number of recent photographs of North American
Indians, taken by Rineharb, Omaha, Neb., U.S.A
The discussion that followed was contributed to by the President, Mr. A. P
Maudslay, Colonel G. E. Church, Mr. Lennard, Mr. A. L. Lewis, and others, and
a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Comer for his interesting paper.
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Journal of the Anfhropohqtoal Tftniifuie (X.S), Vol. 7/, Plaie I.
Fig. 11.
Fig. 12.
Fig. 13.
Fig. 14.
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Journal of ihe Anthropological Inatitute (N.S.), Vol. If, Plate IT.
Fio. 15.
Fio. 17.
Fig. H
3
Fig. 18.
ruj. 20.
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Journal of the Anthropological InstHute {K,S.)^ Vol. IT, Plate III.
IRooffd or Covered Ways, and
Poitala.
Modern Work and liepairj. |
3 Walls. I
; Hound Work. |
' I
J Scale in Feet. |
I
Fig. 21.
stCTioM cf rut Hau of PuiAfii Cf\our N* 2
MOD^O, SCMlMi Of Cowauti en
1 7: q^.
:oo« «,o. -
»
.>iiSb
Fig. 22.
X j^
Fig. 23.
Fig. 24.
w
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Fig. 25.
=Qe:
^-^-r'\~^-^.'. ^^j..r:ri.._:.,.s.::r£sriA^3?^c^
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^
Fig. 26.
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Journal of the Anthropological Institute {N.S.), Vol, II, Plate IV,
Fig. 27.
Fio. 28.
.Fio. 29.
Fig.
30.
Fig.
31.
Fig. 32.
Fig. 3.3.
Fig. 35.
Fig. 34.
Fig. 3G.
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Journal of the Anthropological Institute (A'..^.), Vol. IT, Plate 1'.
FlO. 37.
Fio. 38.
(Di-. Edward Seler.)
Fig. 3Ii.
-^i^
>^^-
->««pit.
*«-^-- . iC-'^-
lllllHIll
Fig. 40.
Fig. 41.
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Journal of the Anthropological Institute (X.K), Vd. II, Plate VI.
I • ■
»C
# # ^ ##^
«««
T T
Fia. 42.
Fio. 44.
0Af4 l/>ICH
Fig. 43.
Fig. 45.
Fig. 46.
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s:
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1
I I
e
Journal of the Anthropological Institute (N.S,), Vol. 11, Plate VII.
Itit
Fjo. 47.
Fig. 48.
Fig. 49.
t^i
Fig. 50.
Fig. F(g. Yio
^'^' [52. 53.'
#«l#
Fig. 55. Fig. 56.
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( 29 )
MITLA: AN ARCH^OLOGICAL STUDY OF THE ANCIENT
RUINS AND REMAINS IN THAT PUEBLO.
By William Corner.
[with plates I TO VII.]
My communication deals almost exclusively with a description of the Tzapoteco
remains and ruins at Mitla,^ in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Upon the subject of
the Tzapoteco race, tlie acknowledged builders of ancient Mitla, their origin,
language, customs or beliefs, I scarcely touch. I attempt to explain neither the
bearing these remains may have upon the questions of the art and culture of other
aboriginal peoples of Mexico and Central America nor the general significance and
relations of ancient Mitla. I feel that that is better left to those who have given
a larger study to American Archaeology. I am here to oflfer a fragment of
evidence, derived from my own investigations, in regard to a branch of the art of
the ancient Tzapoteco people. This must be borne in mind in considering the
8oope of the communication.
I exhibit maps, plans, and drawings, to which I ask your attention. An
examination of them will enable you to understand better my exposition of the
ruins, and that notation of the different groups and classes of them which I have
adopted, and to which I shall constantly refer.
Most of us have a notion, not altogether a correct one, it is to be feared, of
what is called the " Ancient Civilisation of Mexico or of the Aztecs." A glorified
idea has been acquired, principally from Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, a work
which, perhaps, is as much the creation of a mind of poetic and imaginative
» The name " Mitla " is syncopated from Miguitlan or Mictlan, probably by the Spaniard,
with that indolent characteristic of his tongue which tends to soften all that seems harsh or to
savour of trouble in pronunciation. The original ^*g" is an aspirate in Spanish. The word is not,
of course, Spanish, but is presumably Nahuatl, and its meaning has doubtless something to say
about the grave or death. By the Tzapoteco inhabitants the pueblo does not seem to be called
Mitla, but Lyo-baa. " Mictlanteuctli (Lord of the land of the dead), the god of hell, which was
a place of utter and eternal darkness " {Aiiahuac^ by Dr. Tylor, p. 223). " Teoyaomiqui, god
(or goddess) of war and death " {Tour in Mexico^ by Mr. A. F. Bandelier). " Mictlan, signifying
hell in this language " (Motoliula, also see Bandelier). It would be interesting to discover if
" Mitla " or " Mictlan " is in any degree synonymous with the Tzapoteco Lyo-baa, or if it is a
rough translation of it. Lyo-baa is variously interpreted, " Entrance to the grave " (Bandelier),
" Place of woe " (Hnmboldt), " Place of sadness," and ** House of the dead." It requires a
knowledge of the two idioms, which the writer has not, to say. In accordance with such
traditions as these names would seem to indicate, an ill-timed season or passing moods have
caused more than one writer to describe the site of Mitla, in sympathy with its names, in
gloomy language. The writer visited the paeblo in quite a different frame of mind, and found
his way fall in not unpleasant places. It is true that the valley or basin of it is hemmed in by
mountains on almost every hand, but he can bear witness that it is not always the abiding
place of gloom.
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30 W. Corker. — Mitla: An ArcJuwlogicaJ Study of the
temperament as the result of the knowledge, investigations, and researches of the
trained historian. The romancje of the subject colours this historian's whole theme.
Since the publication of Dr. E. B. Tylor's admirable work, Anakuac, or Mexico a7id
the Mexicans Ancient and Modern, in 1861, it has become more and more the
fashion to regard the cultures of the native races as having important differences in
degree, but that " the highest grade reached anywhere was a barbarism without
iron or the alphabet, but in some respects simulating civilisation."^ This attitude
has so gi'own on later investigators and speculators that perhaps another extreme
has been reached, and we find that a recent American author, who, being set the
task of writing a popular account of the Mexican story, enters at the outset a
gentle protest against this severe tendency in these terms : — ** Empires and
palaces, luxury and splendour, fill the accounts of the Spaniards, and imagination
loves to adorn the halls of the Montezumas with the glories of an Oriental tale.
Later explorers, with the fatal penetration of our time, destroy the splendid vision,
reducing the emperor to a chieftain, the glittering retinue to a horde of savages,
the magnificent capital of palaces to a pueblo of adobe. The discouraged
enthusiast sees his magnificent civilisation, devoted to art, literature, and luxury,
reduced to a few handfuls of pitiful Indians quarrelling with one another for
supremacy, and sighs to think his sympathies may have been wasted on the
suflferings of an Aztec sovereign dethroned by the invading Spaniard. Yet
perseverance, after brushing away the sparkling cobwebs of exaggerated report,
finds enough fact left to build up a i^espectable case for the early races of Mexico."'
What we are asked to accept as the inevitable conclusions of scientific
research is one matter, and romance is another, and between the method of those who
would severely discard all imagination in the work of research and reconstructign
from material evidence, and those who have *•' allowed imagination to usurp the place
of research and have written in the spirit of the novelist,"^ there is, assuredly, a safe
middle course. Within this particular circle of knowledge there are abandoned
inevitable conclusions as well as proscribed romance. American archaeology on
the whole can hardly be approached without a little of imagination. Without at
least a rushlight of it, prehistoric times of America are a ground for groping in.
The difficulties that confront the student can scarcely be overestimated. He is not
without picture writings, codices and glyphic records, yet he is without deciphered
manuscript of any sort, unless the identification of a few carved symbols may be
so classed. Even if he deciphered the most elaborate of the glyphs of which he
has knowledge, they appear to be of so rudimentary a character as to give little
hope that their record would cast much historic light on tlie riddles of Central
America. He has to discount the exaggerated romance of conquerors and early
pioneers and their points of view to establish. He has to deal with complications
which contact with various European nations has produced, and persistent and
1 Mr. John Fiske's introduction to Miss E. D. Proctor's Song of the Ancient People.
» Mexico^ by Susan Hale.
» Sir John Lubbock's Prehistoric Times, 5th edition, p. 1.
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AncterU Ruins arid Remains in that Pueblo. 31
inappropriate analogies to combat and discard. Monuments have been obliterated,
remains and ruins have been rifled and despoiled, not only by relic and treasure
hunters, but by ill equipped explorers. Many of the best primitive specimens and
relics have been removed from their homes without adequate or authentic
geographical and historic certificates. There has been extermination of innumer-
able tribes and removal of others. In the face of these and similar difficulties, an
enormous amount of the best kind of modern work has recently been done, collec-
tions made and data and facts assembled, by trained men and expeditions under the
Governments of the United States and Mexico, under United States Universities
and Institutions, not to mention valuable European help. In spite of these labours
American archaeology is, as a science, unformed and unsystematised.
The interpretation of all that surrounds the ancient civilisations or cultures
of America is vague and unprecise, of the meaning of its architecture, of the origin
and development of the religion, ritual, customs, usages, early tradition, and modes
of life. It is all so shrouded in mystery and the riddles are so fascinating that the
most critically disposed explorers have been allured to theorise and guess. The
glamour has far from disappeared, and we return with pleasure to Prescott's
valuation. Popularly, indeed, all the old civilisations of the native Mexican races
are generalised " Aztec," and the term " Aztec " is inclusive in the minds of most
of us.
But the Aztecs, although holding the most important political position at the
time of the Spanish Conquest, were not the only race which had reached the
borders of civilisation.
The beautiful remains at Mitla,^ in the Tzapoteco territory, are one of the
notable proofs of the prevalence of an almost level advance amongst the other
Mexican races. A journey of about 300 miles from the city of Mexico, which,
» Mr. A. F. Bandelier writes and quotes as follows, in regard to Mitla : " . . . In his
relation of the flight of Quetzalcohuatl, Sahagun makes the singular remark that, after leaving
Tecamachalco, Quetzalcohuatl 'made and built some houses underground, which are called
31 ientlancalco.' It is easy to recognise here a misprint for Mictlaucalco, and the subterranean
iDuildings agree very well with the architecture of Mitla, or Mictlan." Again, " It is singular
that, while the Nahuatl language is useless in these places, the local names are all in that idiom.
This territory was, at one time, invaded by the Mexicans and their confederates, and the latter
thereafter gave their own appellatives to the places, communicating them to the Spaniards,
through whom they became permanent." This remark refers more particularly to territory
farther north than Oaxaca, but would seem to apply with equal force to some parts of the
valley of Oaxaca. Again, " Mitla is an old pueblo. Fray Martin de Valencia visited it about
1533. There are notices of it in 1565 and 1574, at the Archivo General. It then had a
Gobemador of its own, which shows that it was an autonomous community." Again, "The
earliest mention of Mitla known to me is from the pen of Motolinia, who writes that when
Tray Martin de Valencia went to Tehuan tepee (about 1533) with some companions, *they
passed through a pueblo which is called Mictlan, signifying hell in this language, where they
found some edifices more worth seeing than in any other parts of New Spaiii Among them
was a temple of the demon, and dwelling of its servants (ministros)^ very slightly, particularly
one hall, made of something like lattice- work. The fabric was of stone, with many figures and
shapes ; it had many doorways, each one of three great stones, two at the sides and one at the
top, all very thick and wide. In these quarters there was another hall containing round pillars,
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32
W. Corner.— 3////rt : An Archavlwjival Stu^y nf the
it will be remembered, is the site of the ancient Aztec capital, in a south-easterly
direction, brings us to Mitla. The small village, or pueblo, of St. Paul of Mitla is
situated at a point about 35 or 40 miles south-east of the city of Oaxaca, in the
state of Oaxaca, just 17° north latitude. The ancient remains known as the ruins
of Mitla are in the northern precincts of the village.
QM9V^ Mm^t,
fytaY^, W./rom. J/:Z Corn.*r of Qr^x^p N» S & iX«
qnci/^Ni
^
QMOi/P Nc /f-
^IfQt/^ /V0.6.
^.
1 INCH « 200 YARDS.
TU»*a*
Fio. 1.
Group No. 1. — Palacio type, church or north group of ruins. Group No. 2. — Palacio type
containing plaza, rooms, hall of pillars, and inclosed square or patio. Group No. 3.—
Palacio type, containing? plaza, rooms, small cross basement under its north room, with
what is locally called " pillar of death," and contiguous with the south-west comer of
Group No. 2. Group No. 4. — Palacio type, irregular group of squares liaving plazas and
rooms. Group No. 5. — Teocalli type, including large teocalli and smaller truncated
pyramidal mounda Group No. 6.— Southern teocalli group, similar to Group No. 5.
Group No. 7. — Fort on a hill a mile west of Group No. 5.
each one of a sin<^le piece, and so thick that two men could Imrely embrace one of them ; their
lieiglit might be 5 fathoms. Fniy Martin said that on this coast people would be found
handsomer and of greater ability than those of New Spain.' This statement has been copied
since, with slight alterations, by the Franciscans Mendieta and Torquemada.
" We easily recognise in the above description the cluster B (Group No. 2) at Mitla, with
the Hall of Cbhimns." See report of ^n Archceological Tour in Mexico^ in 1881, by A. F,
Bandelier, pp. 263 and 264, 267, 277, 323.
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Ancient Ruins and Remains in that Pueblo. 33
Mitla, then, is, in a manner of speaking, a half-way house between Nahuat
and Maya tenitories.
A traveller from the north arrives at Mitla by the Tlacolula road, and his
entrance to the village is made at its south-western end. From the plaza of the
modem settlement, where some very fine mountain fig trees spread wide branches,
all the ruins, with the exception of the western fort on the hill, lie in a direction
north and easterly of north. The site of Mitla is broken and irregidar, and the
general dip is from north to south. A small rugged watercourse, from east to
west, divides the settlement, and one of the Teocalli groups, with groups of lesser
mounds, are on the south side.
There are two very distinct classes of ruins in the immediate precincts of the
pueblo of Mitla, the " Palacio," and the " Teocalli " or pyramidal mound of worship.
There is one other class, a mile from the pueblo, which is merely a wall or fortification
crowning a prominent and isolated acropolis-like hill just west of the settlement.
The remains for which Mitla is rightly famous are those called by the natives " Los
Palacios,"* or the Palaces. The most striking of these are Groups Nos. 2 and 3,
situated rather centrally a little south of Group No. 1 and the pueblo church of
St Paul The church* and its attached buildings are built into the gouth portion
of Group No. 1 (Fig. 13, Plate I). The Padre, whose house is one of the attached
buildings, was absent when I was in Mitla, and I failed to obtain a thorough
examination of this group. The best I could do was to survey its outlines and
those of the church and to climb over barriers and take such measurements as
were accessible. These remains have been much cut up. The group on the whole
more closely resembles in plan No. 4 than any other, and seemed to consist of a
sequence of squares or small patios, probably three, surrounded by rooms of similar
construction to those in other groups and connected by short passage-ways. The
northern and eastern walls were in the best preservation, and they possess panels
of interesting grecques, mostly similar to those in Groups Nos. 2 and 3, yet to be
described. The construction of walls was also similar, but they were not on
mounds. The lintel picture paintings, which are fragmentary, T was unable to
obtain a sight of. 1 obtained, however, a photograph in Oaxaca of some of the
Mitla paintings. (Tliey occur only in Groups Nos. 1 and 4 ; for those in Group
No. 4 see Figs. 37 and 38, Plate V.) The restorations (Fig. 2 and Fig. 38, Plate
V) are by Dr. Edward Seler ; I am indebted to Mr. Maudslay for kindly calling
my attention to them. It will be noted that these paintings bear a marked
resemblance to other ancient picture writings and paintings of the races of Mexico
* This is in a way a misnomer, for they are probably palaces in no sense except that they
are very handsome structures — that is to say, they are not likely to have been merely
residences for either a priesthood or for chieftains.
» In the church tower is hung a fine pure copper bell, dedicated and dated : —
"SANCTE PAVLB AP06T0LE ORA PRO NOBIS MAID 26 DEL AOlf 1781."
This inscription is around the rim of the bell. There is an error in the transposition of the
letters of the word " Ano.**
New Seuies, Vol. II, Noe. 1 and 9, P
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M W. Corner. — MUIa : An Archceological Study of the
— the calendar circle, the grotesque, stunted and marked figures of humans, the
mysterious signs, symbols, circles, dots, lines, and quarterings, all of which are more
easily illustrated than described.
There are two cylindrical
monolithic pillars supporting the
Padre's porch, but if they rightly
l>elong to this group or have been
removed from Group No. 2 is a
question. That they are not in
their original position is certain.
In other respects than these men-
tioned it will suffice to describe in
detail Groups Nos. 2 and 3, which
are by far the best preserved remains, and the class of structure has its chief
characteristics in common in all the groups.
Group No. 2 lies a little to the south of the church group, and No. 3 is contiguous
with the south-west corner of No. 2. No. 2 is the most famous, the most beautiful,
and the best preserved of all the Mitla remains, and it will, for that reason, be
more specifically described, and because it is a type of the others of the class. Its
outline or shape is as follows :— A very beautiful and elaborately designed square
building (Fig. 11, Plate I ; Fig. 21, Plate III), 62^ feet square, encloses four rooms
a passage-way and a small central patio or plaza. The south wall of this square is
the north wall of an oblong room, which may be appropriately called the " Hall of
Pillars " (Fig. 12, Plate I, and Figs. 17 and 18, Plate II, and Figs. 21 and 22, Plate
III), because it possesses, still erect, six huge monolithic pillars. This hall or
room projects east and west of the south side of the square. The square and hall
form one compact unit (Fig. 16, Plate II) of Group No. 2, and entrance can be only
made through the three separate portals or entrances, side by side, centrally
situated in the south wall of the hall (Fig. 12, Plate I). This south side is con-
fronted by an open plaza, which is apparently depressed below the level of the hall
floor some 7 or 8 feet, the actual fact being that the buildings enclosing it are
erected on mounds or terraces, which will be described. The plaza is 49 or 50
yards wide east and west, and about 41 yards north and south, the latter measure-
ment cannot be given exactly, because the opposite (south) room is so entirely in
ruins that only what seem to be the foundations of the outer or most southerly
wall of this group can be traced, and to that outer point the measurement is 49
yards, and of course the unknown width of the south room must be deducted.
Various opinions are held as to the existence of this south room, but I consider
the evidence in favour of it. The east, west (and south) sides of the open plaza
were bomided by solitary rooms resembling in shape and general design the Hall
of Pillars, but of rather smaller dimensions. The west and south rooms are
entirely in ruins, only some of the foundations being traceable ; the east room
bad three central entrances or portals, and while the structure is ruined, there
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Ancient Rmns and Bemnins in that Puehlo. 85
are sufficient remains to show that its general design was similar to that of the
Hall of Pillars, and it had pillars itself, two of them only remaining in place. It
is not unreasonable to suppose that a certain symmetry in the group was observed,
that the west and south rooms were of similar design.
Foundations :— No excavations seem to have l)een made for foundations. Tlie
ground is rocky, hard and solid, and the design of the architects seems rather to
have been to raise low mounds of rough stone and adobe for fimndations above
ground (Fig. 22, Plate III), the floors of the rooms being from 6 to 8 feet
above the plaza level. That these mounds were faced on the outside by fine
friction-dressed stone there is no doubt, but the regular manner in which the
foundations of the north square of this group have been stripped (Fig. 28,
Plate III) indicates that it must have made a rare quarry for succeeding genera-
tions. For the filling in these mounds the buildei's used about an equal amount of
adobe and rough stone.
Walls :— The filling of the walls was much the same as that of the founda-
tion mounds. The stones seem rather more r^ular, and courses were perhaps
better defined (Fig. 22, Plate III). Some explorers recognise the mud of the filling
as mortar. I should say that it is simply a limey mud of the locality. It is not
made mortar as we understand it. It is for the most part friable. No mud was
used between the joints of dressed stones, which indicates that the builders did not
regard it so much as a cementing power as an interstitial filler. Wherever the
dressed stone for facing, moulding, or decoration is used, the dressing of stones
whose surfaces are exposed is so accurate and fine that joints are barely per-
ceptible. This, indeed, is one of the remarkable features of construction. How-
ever large or however small the stone, its dressing is done with equal care,
precision, and nicety, and some of Mitla's stones are very large and heavy, and
some, as in the grecques, are small.
Beginning at the north square, which is in a high state of preservation :—
Its comers (Fig. 11, Plate I, and Fig. 23, Plate III) are protected by three
massive corner-stones built up of courses of exquisitely jointed and adjusted
dressed stone. The exterior angles, formed by the walls of the square meeting
the north wall of the Hall of Pillars, are similarly protected by angle-stones. The
exterior face of each of the walls of the square has a slight overhang or outward
batter, which is accentuated by the inward batter of the mound facing (Fig. 23,
Plate III), and it is divided into nine oblong spaces (Fig. 11, Plate I) or rectangular
parallelograms (about 2 feet by about 20 feet, upwards). These spaces are
decorated by very beautiful grecques, framed, so to speak, by the successive
continuous superincumbent courses of heavy dressed stone, which keep the small
individual portions of the mosaics or grecques in place. The plain framework
projects (and recedes) slightly, in coui-ses over the elongated spaces of grecques.
One course — the one nearest the grecque plate or space — ^passes in a continuous crank-
like meander, not only alternately over and under tlie greccjue spaces, but is so
arranged that this meandering course passes underneath the slightly protruding
I) 2
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36
W. CORNIR. — Mitla : An Archeeologieal Study of the
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comer and angle blocks, which intensifies the outward batter of the walls at the
comer.
The grecques are only mosaics in the sense that patterns are produced by a
combination or arrangement of separate pieces of stone. The patterns are not
produced by tint or colour on a flat surface,
but by the raising in a relief of 1 or 1 J inch
of a pattern in pieces of stone above a
groundwork of depressed similar pieces.
In Fig. 3 are indicated some of the
surface shapes of the raised stone.
Sometimes, but not frequently, the sur-
face shape is not the same as a section
of the root of the stone, and very oc-
casionally an intricate form or a rudi-
mentary curve is carved in a block and
so inserted among the mosaic pieces.
The vastly preponderating portion, how-
ever, is made up of the comparatively
small individual stones. Sometimes,
again, a huge lintel interrupts the course
of the grecque spaces, and then the lintel
is carved to imitate the mosaic pattern.
The patterns (Figs. 27 to 36, Plate
IV) are always rhythmical, and they are
designed with artistic skill. In each separate oblong space the same unit pattern
is repeated to fill it, but seldom exactly the same patterned space is repeated on the
same wall. The three horizontal courses of mosaic spaces encircle the walls of the
whole buildings outside, and are only partially interrupted by the central portals,
which overlook the plaza (Fig. 12, Plate I). The effect is very beautiful and
very wonderful, and these decorations and the monolithic pillars and lintels are the
distinctive characteristics of the Mitla remains. Without cement, without a true
mortar, mostly by fitting and a heavy superincumbent weight, assisted by the
imbedding of the ends in the filling of mud, these grecques have yet lasted for
centuries. They are the more astonishing when it is considered with- what crude
tools the work was performed and apparently without previous models,^ certainly
without a knowledge of iron or a perception of exact measurements. The
horizontal length or depth of the mosaic stones from their front surface to their
imbedded ends varied from 3 or 4 inches to a foot or more. There are few loose
* There are at PaJenque, Uzmal and elsewhere some moral ornaments resembling in form
and somewhat in the manner of construction Figs. 34 and 35, Plate lY. These might, perhaps,
be regarded as rudimentaJ prototypes, but they are nowhere worked out with the predsion and
elaboration that distinguish the Mitla mosaics. Some of these may be noted in the beautiful
illustrations of Mr. A. P. Maudslay's ** Arch»ology," in the Biologia CerUrali Americana, Part V,
Plate III ; Part VI, Plate XV ; Part VII, Plate H,
Fig. 3.
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Ancient Ruins and Bemaim in that Pueblo,
•if
stones to verify variations. Some were evidently pointed as if to facilitate driving
in adjustment Their material is a finely grained quartz trachyte. A specimen of
it is on the table.
As may be seen in Plate IV, their designs or patterns are more easily
illustrated than described. The Greek key in many variations, the diamond, the
crank and the steps are largely used. There are few curves, and they are nowhere
conspicuous. I remember only one rudimentary one in all this building, a solitary
and simple form of ram's horn ornament in a pattern otherwise made up of
graduated lengths of horizontal parallelograms of stone, Fig. 27, Plate IV, whose
measurements are about IJ inches wide by from 4 inches or 5 inches to 2 feet or
3 feet long. The predominating surface shape is a narrow parallelogram of varying
lengths, from 1| inches to 2 feet, mostly lengths of from 3 inches to 8 inches.
There are also notched and stepped parallelograms and triangles, etc. (Fig. 3).
Mr. Maudslay recently called my attention to three other curves (Fig. 4)
which are illustrated by Mr. W. H. Holmes in the very careful survey and
examination of the remains which he made for the Field Columbian Museum,
Chicago. Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7 are reprints from his drawings illustrating some
characteristics of the grecque work which he noticed. Figs. 5 and 6 indicate what
the writer himself noted, that in rare instances certain central curves and angle
pattern joints are carved instead of being worked out mosaic-fashion. This
elementaiy carving is also occasionally found in the simpler forms of stones
(Fig. 7).
Fio. 5. (After Mr. W. H. Holmes.)
FiQ. 6. (After Mr. W. H. Hohnes,)
Fig. 4
(After Mr. W. H. Holmes.)
Fig. 7. (After Mr. W. H. Holmes.)
It is important to note the carving mentioned, in the lintels and in the few
stones of the mosaic patterns, because it constitutes the only carving now existing
at Mitla to indicate that the builders had any knowledge of the art. Of other
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38 W. Corner. — MitUi : An Ardueological SUuly of tite
ornament than these geometric mosaics there is little, unless the chaste and
sustained effect of the clean bandlike courses of di-essed stone around the walls
may be classed as ornament. It is in perfect taste, and is very fine. As to other
ornament it is within possibility that some parts of the walls, perhaps as a dado in
some of the rooms, were plastered and coated with a thin shell of hard plaster with
a smooth, almost polished, surface. A specimen of such plaster, of a dark red
colour, taken from the covered passage-way leading from the Hall of Pillars to the
patio, lies on the table. The wall had here been protected from the seasons. It
is reasonable to conjecture that some of the stripped walls were similarly
embellished. The Hall of Pillars, for instance — its interior walls could not have
been in the stripped state they now are (Fig. 18, Plate II). There is not a vestige
of mosaic work or other ornamentation in it, althougli the other rooms in its
neighbourhood are rendered very beautiful.
There is no trace of sculpture of any form of life whatsoever. The builders of
Mitla could scarcely have been ignorant of this art, for most ancient graves in and
a]x>ut this valley and tlie valley of Oaxaca, on being opened, reveal carvings (Fig. 46,
Plate VI) and engravings (Fig. 43,* Plate VI) in jadite and other stone and
modelled clay efhgies (Figs. 51, 52, 53,* 54, and 55,* photographed from the
collection of Dr. Sologuren, of Oaxaca, and some of the pieces and fragments, of
Figs. 48 and 49, from my own collections, see mask fragment of Fig. 48, and central
stone effigies of Fig. 49, all on Plate VII).
Howm. — There was no doubt a total of eight rooms, and a covered passage-way
in Group No. 2 (Fig. 21, Plate III and Fig. 1).
In regard to size, the Hall of Pillars is the most imposing. It is (central
measurement) 126^ feet long by 28 feet wide.* It has, running east and west, a
middle line of six monolithic pillars (Fig. 17, Plate II). The cylindrical pillara
have neither base, plinth, nor capital. They are of quartz trachyte weighing
1 This Fig. 43 illustrates, by a drawing from the paper impressed copy of Fig. 42, an ancient
Tzapoteco, polished, engraved, stone ornament, found in the valley of Oaxaca. The material is
one of the varieties of hard, light, green stones, or jadites, which are known to the natives under
the general term '^ chalchihuite " or " chalchihuitl.'' The slab is perforated or drilled at its
e )ges for use as a neck ornament. . Tlie whole surface of the stone is polished or burnished, and
the summit of the relief has been rendered flat, apparently by being ground on a very smooth
flat stone. Size 4 inches by 3 inches and ^ inch thick. It is in the collection of Dr. Sologuren,
of the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. The green stone faces and deities or cliarms of Fig. 46, the
writer's collection, are all drilled as for neck wear ; they ai^e here illustrated about one-lialf
natural size.
' An article in La Nature^ of the issue of August 19th, 1S99, from the pen of M. le Mis. de
Nadaillac, pleasantly but rather imaginatively describes some similar figures, some ancient
earthen piping' and other relics unearthed in Oaxaca mounds by Mr. M. H. Saville, of the
American Museum of Natural History, New York.
> Fig. 56 is a pliotograph of a Tehuantepec Tzapoteco girl, and is here placed in juxta-
position to Fig. 55, as there seems to the writer to be a survival of the ancient type of head-
dress.
^ It must be noted tliat this is the middle measurement. The north side of the hall is
something longer and the south side shorter, which seems to throw the western end of the
room out of true.
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Ancient Ruins and Remains in that Pueblo, 39
146 lbs. to the cubic foot. Their weight, therefore, is about 4^ tons each, or one-
third more if that proportion of the pillar is in the ground (Fig. 22, Plate III). As
exposed they are 10 feet 10 inches high, but are suspected by the natives to have
3 or 4 feet buried in the floor. Their girth is 9 feet 2 inches, a yard from
the floor ; they are, very slightly, less at the top. They are all, as far as the eye
allows, of equal proportions. The floor of this hall is laid down in irregular patches
of cement (Fig. 18, Plate II), which have the decided appearance of being modern
work.^ It could not be ascertained, but it
is highly probable that some government in ;.| /^")-'L / '" <'\ ; ' - - ^,
the present century ordered the ruins to be -^ -"'^' _ ' ^^- -
cleared and kept in repair.^ The passage-
way entrance, which is just opposite the
portals (Fig. 12, Plate I), is only 5 feet
7 inches at the lintel (Fig. 8), but in the
passage-way the height is 18 inches more,
but at its exit to the patio it is again much
^ ^ Fig. 8.
less.
There is nothing particular, besides, to remark in this room except a niche or
receptacle built midmost in the face of its north wall, westward of the passage-
way entrance and opposite (about) the central portal. The bottom edge of tliis
receptacle is 5 feet from the floor, its measurements are 2 feet 1\ inches long,
19i inches high, and nearly 2 feet deep in the waU; its sides and top and
lK)ttom are formed of heavy square dressed stones. I am careful to mention this
niche because there is one exactly similar to it, and in exactly similar position,
relatively,- in the north side of the north room of Group No. 3 (Fig. 26, Plate III).
It would seem as though these receptacles served some peculiar and specific
purpose, but what that purpose was it is impossible to say. In the jambs of the
triple portals of the Hall of Pillars, on a line about level with the top of the
portals, are found four shallow receptacles or niches (Fig. 12, Plate I) about the
size of a man's skull. It is believed that these holes may have received the ends
of some kind of poles or beams for portal awnings. Similar niches are found in
similar positions on the jambs of the portals of the north room of Group 3 (Fig. 20,
Plate II, and Fig. 26, Plate III).
There are no window's in these structures. Indeed the outer walls were
pierced by no opening, embrasure, window, or door,* only the triple central
1 There are traces here and there, in this group, of modem plastering, brickwork, and
cement patching. There are also in one room to be found, on the tops of the walls, decayed
traces or remnants of wooden beams, with every indication that they are the remains of a
comparatively modem roof ; a roof made, perhaps, within the last sixty years.
* Such an order seems now to be perpetual, for the remains are zealously watched by the
local government, as well as it is possible to do without having regular watchmen.
* The window breach in the south face of the Hall of Pillai-s, east end, is modem vandal
work ; a poor attempt at retaining the sides of the breach has been made ; at some time or
another some native perhaps constructed a jacal in this corner of the hall. (Fig. 12, Plate I,
and Fig. 21, Plate III.)
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40 W. Corner. — Mitla: An Archccological SUtdij of the
portals towards the plaza. The Hall of Pillars has three such portals in its south
front, side by side centrally situated (Fig. 12, Plate I). They are rectangular.
Their position and size well illustrate that iiTegularity of dimension which may
be noted throughout the structures. The builders seem to have had no method of
or correct perception of measurement. Even each of the tens of thousands of pieces
of stone used in the mosaics seem to have been adjusted by trial or rule of thumb.
To continue with the rooms of this group — the patio or the inclosed square
(Fig. 15, Plate II, and Fig. 21, Plate III) is 30 feet 4 inches east and west by
31 feet 9^ inches south and north. The four inner rooms of the square all front
on the patio with rectangular entrances of sliglitly varying widths, the widest
being 8 feet 10 inches, the height a little over 5 feet. The west room (Fig. 19,
Plate II) runs the full length noi-th and south of the west side of the square
it is long and narrow, 57 feet 6 inches by 7 feet. It is the most strikingly
beautiful of all the rooms at Mitla. It has three bands of grecques running
horizontally without break around the room ; the middle band is about 3 feet wide,
and the upper and lower are somewhat narrower; each pattern is different, and
they are divided on the walls by narrow courses of dressed stone. The upper
portion of the walls are therefore covered with harmonious patterns of grecques in
stone. The lower part of the wall is completely stripped of something, perhaps
plaster of some kind, or it may be a dado of painted ornamentation.
And here a very curious and puzzling reflection arises. In this long room
there is only one entrance, 5 feet high by 8 feet 10 inches wide ; it is low down in
a patio inclosed by high walls (Figs. 15 and 19, Plate II) ; it could not have
admitted much light to this chamber — there is nothing very certain known about
the roof of the room, but it is highly probable that it was completely roofed. To .
us, therefore, the futility of all this tremendous labour, expended on ornamentation
that could be barely seen, seems great. We know that these builders did delight
in ornamenting dark chambers.
The north and south rooms are much shorter ; the north is curtailed at each
end by the east and west rooms. The south is curtailed by the passage-way on its
east end, and by the long west room on its west end. The east room is also
curtailed by the passage-way (Fig. 8) on its south end. All these rooms and the
patio sides of the walls were decorated in the same beautiful manner as the long
west room, but they are not so well preserved (Figs. 15 and 19, Plate II).
As to the remaining large rooms of Group No. 2, they are in. ruins and have
no especial interest. The east is the least ruined — ^some of its larger stones are
strewn around, and it still has two pillars as has been said.
Of roofs I have little to say, most that can be said must be purely conjectural.
None of the rooms has a roof remaining* and it is a question, even, if the few beam
* There are no debris of roofs. The arch is entirely unknown, even the Maya, or false
arch, was not used. A basement, yet to be described, has a roof of stone beams ; and the
passage-way of this group has a roof of similar construction. These, however, throw but little
light on what the construction of the roofs was in the lai'ger rooms.
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Ancient Ituins and Remains in that PueUo. 41
sockets found at the top of the wall of the long room of the square are ancient, or if
they were added at the instance of a protective order of a comparatively recent date.
These have been recognized by some explorers as original work, and Mr. Holmes
goes so far as to give a suggestion as to a probable construction of the roofs
(Fig. 9), a combination of beams, rods, and light masoniy.
The original heights of the walls may have been from 15 feet to 16 feet, the
best preserved now stand, about, from 12 feet to 14 feet. For the thickness of the
walls refer to Figs. 21 and 22, Plate III.
Other monoliths than those already described, the cylindrical piUars, are the
huge lintels over the triple entrance portals, and their jambs. These lintels ai-e
easily seen, because they are of about equal tliickness with the walls, in the stripped
walls of the interior of the Hall of
Pillars (Fig. 18, Plate II), and in
the rooms of other groups (Fig. 20,
Plate II, and Fig. 26, Plate III).
Those of Group 3, east room, are
the largest. One I measured was
19 feet 6 inches long by 4 feet
11 inches by 3 feet 9i inches, and
must weigh about twenty-three
tons,^ as its material has a specific
gravity of 2-334 (Fig. 24, Plate III).
There are others not much smaller. Fio. 9. (After Mr. W. H. Hohnes.)
Group No. 3. Leaving Group
No. 2 by the south-west comer of its main plaza Group No. 3 is close at hand,
within a few yards, and is approached at its north-east comer. The general
outline much resembles, in form, the outline of Group No. 2, except that it
lacks an annex such as the north square, and consequently it also lacks an
outlet similar to the passage-way of the Hall of Pillars of that group. Mounds,
walls, rooms, and omamentation too have the same constmction. There is
the same receptacle midmost in the north wall of its north room (Fig. 26,
Plate III). The same triple rectangular portals (Fig. 20, Plate II, and Fig. 26,
Plate III). Its east and west rooms were the more important in point of size.
Its north room, for instance, was only one quarter the area of the Hall of
Pillars, the north room of Group 2 ; its south room is a counterpart of the north,
but the east room falls little short of the Hall of Pillars, and is in fair preservation.
It has no pillars, but it has the largest monoliths in its portals that are found at
Mitla. It was finely ornamented with panels of mosaics. Its corresponding
flanking west room is in total ruina
This Group No. 3 possesses, however, one especial point of interest peculiar to
itself — the semi-subterranean chamber or basement (Fig. 20, Plate II, and Figs 25
and 26, Plate III) in the mound foundation, and imdemeath the portals of the
That is to aay, 363 cubic feet at HoJ lbs. = 23 toiia, 16 cwt.
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42 W. CoUKER. — Mitla: An Archccological Study of the
north room of the group. The chamber itself is in good preser>'atioD, but evidence
as to the original entrance is obscure. Entrance is iww made to it immediately
underneath the central portal. It is a question if this was the original entrance.
The present entrance seems to be a continuation on a higher level of a subterranean
approach from the south, perhaps the centre of the plaza. There is a parallelepiped
lintel over the present entrance, but there is also one about 2 feet lower in the
foreground, and over the ruins of the approach. Upon entering, one is confronted
by a cylindrical pillar 6 feet high, an assistance to the support of part of the roof.
The chamber is in the fonn of a cross (Fig. 25, Plate III), and this pillar stands at
the intersection of the galleries or recesses. Passing the pillar, there is a recess
alx)ut 13| feet, north and east and west there is a similar recess or gallery for
19 feet each way. These recesses vary in width somewhat, a little over 5 feet is
the general measurement. Their height is 6 feet. The walls are decorated by
oblong spaces of grecques of the same general character as those in the rooms
above-ground, yet there must have always been total darkness in this chamber.
The roof is formed of massive beams of stone. Among some ruins at the Hacienda
Zaaxds about 2^ miles south-east from Mitla, a very similar chamber has been
discovered.^ It also is cruciform, but its panels of grecques are carved and
coated, and not mosaics as those of Mitla.
The portals above this chamber entrance are fine specimens of the architecture
> Tlie Mitla groups are, of course, the most important ancient remains of this part of the
country or of the 3tate of Oaxaca, but there are other minor groups and individual remains
scattered in the neighbourhood of Mitla not to speak of the rather extensive groups resembling
the Mitla remains — Gui-y-baa near the town of Tlacolula where the old trail south branches
to Mitla. Mitla, it will be remembered, is Lyo-baa. The following are extracts from the lettei^
of an American civil engineer, Mr. A. M. Steger, who was aware that the present writer had been
interested in Mitla. They will help to illustrate the fact that the neighbouring country was
once the home of a race of some culture, at least, a race far removed from the lower stratum of
barbarism.
" About two miles and a half south-east of the ruins of Mitla is the Hacienda Zaax^
(mentioned as *Saga' by Ober and others). Some twenty years ago there waa discovered
there a subterranean chamber in the form of a cross." (Probably a semi-subterranean basement
in a mound as in Group No. 3.) " The house of the Hacienda had been built over the chamber,
the builders not suspecting the presence of the latter. The walls of this cruciform chamber are
made of huge stones profusely carved with grecques resembling those at Mitla, but they are not
composed of small stones as at Mitla. One peculiarity of this carving is that it has on it a thin
stucco or finish, similar to that we put on our own ceilings and walls. It is white and smooth,
even burnished and shiny to-day, after hundreds of years of exposure to dampness naturally
found in such a place. The tomb, for tomb it was, was very narrow, about 3 feet wide. It is
6 feet high and the arms about 15 to 20 feet each. Thi-ee skeletons, it is said, were found there
when the room was discovered. It was found by a servant who saw phosphorescent light
coming up through a crack.
"At another place in the mountains, about five miles east of Mitla, are found other
similar subterranean structures and some remains, not extensive, but similar to other Mitla
remains, all carved as grecques but no mosaics, that is no small stones.
" On the top of one of the mountauis aie found an unfinished structure and a quarry near
by having unfinished dressed stones in it, evidently intended for the structure a few feet
from it."
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Aficient Buim ami Rcmaim in that Pueblo, 43
of Mitla. The huge lintels are uncarved and there is reason to believe they were
decorated with paintings at one time. The jambs are very massive and the whole
is certainly imposing in appearance. (Fig. 26, Plate III.)
Group No. 4 About 200 yards to the south-east of No. 3, the last of the
palacio groups is reached. It is not necessary to enter into a detailed description
of this group. It is much ruined. It resembles in scheme the church group,
(No. 1), in that it was built upon the level ground with no mounds, and that it
consisted of a sequence of squares. The squares in this group, though, did not
pursue a noith and south line as in Group 1, but the south square was placed to
the westward of the other two (Fig. 1, Group 4). This group seems to have been
used systematically as a quarry and only the weight of some of the lintels, in some
parts, has prevented a further spoliation.
Group No. 5. Teocalli. (Fig. 1, Group 5.) Passing from Group 4, north about
125 yards, the south-east corner of the main pyramid, called Calvario, is reached.
This group is of an entirely different type of erection to those just considered.
On circling the group, a first casual view shows a large trimcated pyramidal
mound about 35 feet high and with a rectangular base and smaller rectangular
summit, whose ends and sides are parallel with the ends and sides of Palacio
Groups Nos. 2 and 3, which are now 225 yards to our eastward ; that at the
western side of this pyramid there is a level court, space or plaza bounded on the
remaining three sides, west, north, and south, by oblong, low, truncated, pyramidal
mounds. Upon more particular examination, although the lines are disintegrated
by the weather and age and the slopes overgrown with brush, the observer is
struck by the fact that no two faces of the pyramid are alike or have the same
angles of inclination. The western side, which fronts the court, immediately shows
to be an almost vertical two step descent from the top, the lower step being an
almost perpendicular 15 feet. 41 feet from the centre of the base of this western
face (west) out in the space or plaza is a large irregular shaped boulder 4 feet high
and 6 to 8 feet through, with a fairly flat top ; 135 feet further is the smaller
mound of the western limit of the court and still further beyond (west of this),
65 feet, there is found another heavy boulder partly buried in the groimd ; its top
is, roughly, an inclined plane about 9 feet by 6 J feet. Its weight would be at least
15 tons. These boulders have every appearance of being placed there to serve
some use as table, platform, or altai*. The smaller mounds are being fast
obliterated. They were of adobe. Returning to the main pyramid; the mid
portion of its eastern slope is occupied (30 feet at the base but lessening as ascent
is made) by two flights of stairs or stone steps, 37 steps in all, 20 steps reach a
wide step or platform 9 feet wide, and then 17 steps reach the door of the
" Calvario " chapel on its summit ; this is all modem. In spite of this rough usage
and of the disintegration of this Teocalli there are evidences that it Imd a well
conceived design and that it must have been at one time a really handsomely
finished structure, doing credit to the other erections and not a mere shapeless
mound. In the upper part, courses of oblong adobe bricks ai'e seen, otherwise a
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44 \V. CORNEB. — Mitla : An Archocologicai Study of t)ie
filling of adobe rubble and stone was used in its construction. How it was faced
and finished or what occupied its summit is a question.
Group No. 6 (Fig. 1, Group 6). About 500 yards to the south-east of the
pyramid group just described is another similar pyramid group. Group No. 6
resembles Group No. 5, in so far as it has a large main eastern pyramid with three
smaller truncated pyi-amidal mounds inclosing a space or plaza beyond its western
face ; it is also similar in its material and manner of construction. Adobe bricks are
not well defined in courses, and the design or outline seems to have been diflferent
and more complex. The base of the main pyramid is quadrilateral but not
rectangular, measuring on its western side, which was, perhaps, its more important
side, 152 feet, its north side but 92 feet, its east side 111 feet, its south 131 feet.
Its summit seems to have been of peculiar shape, having small quadrilaterals at its
own corners ; its own comers being cut ofiF by them. The mean measurements of
its summit would be about 60 feet by 80 feet. The summit and different levels in
this pyramid were paved with a very hard and durable cement finished with a
smooth plaster painted red ; a sample of the plaster is on the table. Only vestiges
of these cement platforms remain, but large masses of it are lying here and there,
and some of it in aitu. The form of this pyramid must have been quite complex
for it is apparent that these platforms were on diflferent levels on each face of the
pyramid, and each face had a difiTerent angle of ascent. I cannot think it was
a symmetrical structure. The height of this pyramid is 30 feet, and ascent
seems to have been made in one, two and three steps on different sides or faces.
It is now much overgrown with scrub and brush. On its summit there remain
evidences of some small structure, I believe of some comparatively modem
building.
Of the three truncated pyramidal mounds the south and west are merely
irregular heaps of debris or rubble covered with brush and prickly scmb. The
exact size of the plaza cannot, therefore, be given. East and west it was a little
over 100 feet. North and south it was perhaps 130 feet. Somewhat north-east of
the centre of the plaza are square-sided remains of adobe in large slabs. Whether
this is a modem building of mound remains or a ruined ancient stmcture is
doubtful. The north mound is in better preservation, and seems to have been much
the larger of the side mounds ; it Ls 86^ feet east and west, and 42^ feet north and
south. It has on its summit, which is 39 feet long east and west, and rather
narrow, some badly ruined remains of oblong adobe rooms which are pjurtitioned
but seem to have been windowless and doorless. This completes the description of
Mitla proper.
Group No. 7 (Fig. lOy There is, however, one other interesting remain that
must be examined, the rough fortifications crowning the top of the acropolis-like
hill west of the main Mitla ruins. If we return to the western pyramid Group
» The outlines aiid coutours of Fig. 10 are not scientifically exact) as the writer lacked
suitable instruments for this class of survey. They are as nearly accurate as careful drawing
and many measurements could make them.
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Ancient Ruins and Remains in that Pueblo, 45
No. 5, and measure from the north-east comer of the Teocalli, in line with the
north side of the Teocalli, to a point at the base of the hill just below the north
extremity of the double walled entrance, the distance is 1,722 yards, 38 yards less
than a mile. The slope of the hill at this point is about 35^ and up to the wall is
approximately 330 yards. The cii-cumference of the base of the hill, which is
ovoid, is about 1\ miles, but this was not measured. The crown of the hill is
at its north end. On the south side especially and on the south-east side the
slope is comparatively gradual. On the south side the only obstacles to an easy
ascent are the very numerous large boulders. Aroimd towards the north it begins
to be precipitous, and on the north-west and west the hill is a formidable-looking
fortress ; the perpendicular cliflf which rises out of the plain below is fully 600
or 700 feet high.
Around the south and south-east sides only, therefore, did the ancient
fortifiers deem it pregnable to such a degree as to require a double wall to defend
the crown.
Here, too
the wall is
built mudi
higher.
The double
•- *^ ' \ portion is
.,jm74MJj^J^J corner efClt^;YoS\ f ,, -
of an L>
an enclosing angle, and the entrance at
the outer wall is at a difiTerent point
to the entrance at the inner wall. The
height and strength of the wall is made
proix)rtionate to the danger it was esti-
mated it might be exposed to. Where
the hill is precipitous and high the wall
is low and insignificant, not more than
5 feet or 6 feet thick. At vulnerable
points the wall is higher, up to nearly
20 feet high, and stronger, with massive
and big stones, and its thickness fully
10 feet. Tlie course of the wall takes
advantage of all natural helps towards
strength, such as gullies, notches in the
cliflfs, or juttings out of the crown, so
YiQ, 10. that the wall zigzags and turns with
many meanderings.
The enclosure is very rough and uneven, and by reason of its irregularity of
outline only an approximate idea of the size of the enclosure can be given. It is
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46 W. CORNEB.— -Vt'^/^ ; An Arnhaological Stvdy of the
about 12 acres. The double walled L shape enclosure is about 110 yards long and
about 30 feet wide, varying. This includes both legs of the L
The adobe structures in this enclosure were probably shelters. The principal
one is just \vithin and to the north-west of the double w^alled portion. It is on some
of the liigher ground and can \y% plainly seen from the main Mitla groups. Some
scraps of old poltery and clay casts are to be found for the seeking. One at least
of the great boulders within walls has, scooped out on its top, a well formed bowl
about 2 feet in diameter. Fig. 39, Plate V, is a reproduction of a rough pencil
sketch of this hill and fort from a point easterly of them.
It remains but to speak of those relics not already mentioned in my communi-
cation. Fig. 40, Plate V, is a collection of arrow-heads and coi'es, mostly of
obsidian, from Mitla and the Valley of Oaxaca. Fig. 41, Plate V, represents stone
lance-heads in Dr. Sologuren's collection, Oaxaca. The scale shows them to be of
large size. Fig. 42, Plate VI, besides the paper impressed copy, already described,
shows the various forms of green and grey stone beads found and obtained at
Mitla. Fig. J 4, Plate VI, shows one copper chisel, and, besides, drawings of
flanged copper axe currency of various sizes in Dr. Sologuren's collection. Fig. 45,
Plate VI, shows two specimens of the same currency that I found and obtained in
Mitla pueblo. Descriptions of this peculiar kind of currency and of its development
from an article of i^eal value to a symbol of value may be found in Professor
William Ridgeway's recent edition of his (h'igin of Metallic Currency. The first
article on this Fig. 45 is probably a grinder of some kind ; the second a grey clay
plate typical of the ancient pottery ; the third probably a bark beater ; the last
a light copper chisel of peculiar, almost modern 'tj'pe, yet of copper. This figure
is about one-seventh natural size. Fig. 47, Plate VII, are Mitla and Oaxaca Valley
implements and two small axe-shaped ornaments, all of green stones. The first is
an axe-head of a type rather foreign, I should say, to this district ; the next a dark
green stone hammer; the next a dark green stone chisel; the two next well
formed green stone axes ; the next a light axe and hammer ; the next the broken
tip of a chisel or axe ; all these are about one-fifth natural size. Fig. 50, Plate
VII, illustrates a little baked clay bowl. I do not know for what purpose they
were used. It has been suggested that they were for holding small dabs of paint.
I found them in the rooms of the niins and around the buildings at Mitla.
Most of them are rudely ornamented, some with triple points and others with a
meandering snake. They are illustrated at about one-fourth the natural size.
My visit to Mitla was in the autumn of 1891.
Discussion.
After congratulating Mr. Corner on his interesting paper, Mr. Maudslay said
that the peculiar mosaic ornament of Mitla appeared to be confined to Oaxaca, and
was not, so far as he knew, ever met with in the northern part of Mexico, nor in
the buildings in the neighbourhood of the Eio Usumaciuta, Imt it again made its
appearance in the ruins found in the north of Yucatan.
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Aneient Ruins and Remains in that Pueblo. 47
After noticing the comfortable old method of classing everything in Mexico
not easily intelligible as the work of the Toltecs, Mr. Maudslay compared Dr.
Brinton's depreciation of that people with Mr. Payne's statement that the Toltecs
were the originators of Maya culture. Both writers, he suggested, may have
placed too much reliance on arguments based on language and tradition, and an
actual examination of the ancient remains must decide the difference between
them.
Mr. Maudslay then discussed the position of the Mexican and Maya races at
the time of the Spanish invasion, and taking the Isthmus of Tehuantepec as a
dividing line, noted the overlapping of the Nalma races on the Pacific side as far
as Nicaragua, and the existence of a Maya people, the Huastecas of the Rio Panuco,
on the western side of the line. After referring to the Spanish descriptions of
Mexican buildings and noting the uncertain origin of such buildings as those at
Cholula and Teotihuacan, he described some of the ruins found to the east of
Tehuantepec, contrasting the remains of the Maya-Quich6 towns, such as Utatlan,
Iximch^, and Chacujal, which were living towns at the time of the Spanish invasion,
with the great ruins in the valleys of the Usumacinta and Motagua rivers, such
as Copan, Palenque, and Mench^, which he believed to have been abandoned and
lost to sight long before the Spaniards arrived on the scene. Turning to the north
of Yucatan, it was, he said, much more difficult to ascertain which of the great
groups of ruins had been definitely abandoned before the Spanish invasion, but
with regard to Chich^n Itza, which was the only ruin in Yucatan which he had
personally examined with much care, he placed very little reliance in the story
that the Spaniards had found it a living city, and was driven to the conclusion
that it had been deserted by its inhabitants some time before their arrival, although
its ancient shrines were still held in reverence and probably served as places of
pilgrimage.
Although in no way competent to speak on the difficult subject of American
traditions, the frequent assertion of the tendency of migration from north to south
and the Toltec origin of American culture could not fail to impress him. If there
were formerly a race of cultured people in Mexico twsociated with the name Toltec
(= builders), who were driven out of the country by the incursion of Nahuatl
hordes, he could well believe not only that they very considerably modified the
rude culture and arts of their conquerors in Mexico, but also that in their new
homes to the east of Tehuantepec they became the founders of Palenque and
Copan, but in this case the Toltecs must have been a Maya and not a Nahuatl race,
and this would bring us into conflict with the early Spanish writers, who assert
that the Toltecs spoke a Nahuatl languc^e.
On the other hand, if the Toltec theory were abandoned, and Cholula and
Teotihuacan were admitted to be the work of Nahuatl tribes, then we seem to be
driven to credit a spontaneous origin of Maya culture in the land where the
great Maya remains are now found. For his own part he would gladly welcome
evidence that the Toltecs and the Mayas were the same people — a peaceful race
who, after spreading over Mexico, were driven by the invading Nahuatls from that
coimtry to Central America, where they made still further progress in civilisation,
marked by the development of the peculiar script with which their monuments
and the walls of their temples are covered ; that later on they suffered defeat at
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48 W. Corner. — MUIa : An Archceological Stuffy of the
tlie hauds of their enemies, and were forced to abandon the great cities on the
Motagua and Usumacinta, and .seek safety in the north of Yucatan.
At Copan and Palenque no weapons of war are to be seen depicted on the
carved stone. At Chich^n Itza every man is drawn as a warrior with atlatl and
spears in his hands. Defeat and migration not only forced the Mayas to become
a warlike people, but it had a marked effect on their art. The buildings of Yucatan
were larger and more pretentious than those to the south, but the delicacy of the
carving had vanished, and over all is an indefinable Nalma flavour. It is, however,
in these buildings of Northern Yucatan that the stone mosaic work of which Mr.
Corner had given such an excellent account was again conspicuous, but it had
lost the simplicity of form which characterised the designs at Mitla. It seemed
to him worth consideration whether tlie same cause which had effected the
abandonment of Palenque and Copan had not acted also at Mitla, and that
Northern Yucatan had l)ecome the refuge of more than one defeated i-ace. Indeed,
at Chich^n Itza there were evidences which could not l)e ignored of a third race,
but one of the Maya stock.
It is generally admitted that the Huastecas, a people inhabiting the valley of
the Rio Panuco (a river which flows into the Gulf of Mexico at Tonupico), belong to
the Maya stock. Dr. Brinton, although he will not admit the word Toltec to be
a tribal designation, says of the Huastecas that they may be I'egurded as one of the
tribes left behind in the general migration southwards. The term Toltec, he says,
was probably applied to the small town of Tula, north of the Valley of Mexico.
Mr. Maudslay pointed out that this town of Tula was situated on the head waters
of the Kio Panuco, and that the ruins which had been found there confirmed the
correctness of the account given by Padre Sahagun of the temple at Tula dedicated
to Quetzalcoatl, which was supported by columns in the form of rattlesnakes, with
the head of the snake at the base and the rattle at the summit. Mr. Maudslay
then showed some photographs of similar columns from buildings at Chich^n Itzli,
and suggested that the peculiar form of column may have been carried by the
Huastecas and their neighbours from the mouth of the Rio Panuco across the gulf to
the north of Yucatan, and that this would account for the form not occurring any-
where in Mexico to the south of Tula. Such a migration, or some close commercial
connection between Yucatan and the Rio Panuco, might partly account for the
Nahuatl flavour of the sculptures in Chich^n Itzd, for the Huastecas who were left
behind in Mexico for so many years must have been greatly influenced by their
powerful Nalma neighbours by the time they again came into connection with the
other branch of their raca It also seems possible that a migration across the gulf
from the Rio Panuco to Yucatan, carrying with it the art of Tula, may have
revived and become mixed with the earlier traditions of that great exodus which
originally carried the building race from their old homes in Mexico to the east of
the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Colonel George Earl Church. — Unexpectedly called upon, at this late hour
to conuneut on Mr. Corner's interesting and very instructive paper, I scarcely
know how to crowd into a few words the numberless thoughts which arise
regarding the people who left to our wonderment the ruins of Mitla. Un-
fortunately, the student of tribal and racial development in the New World,
prior to its discovery, always has to grope in a darkened field for historic fact ;
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AiicierU Buins and Eeinains in Ihat Pueblo. 49
and even what little truth he can fish from the turbid wave of Spanish conquest
and domination is not always satisfactory. That several similar phases of so-
called indigenous civilisation sprang up in Mexico and Central America long
prior to the Spanish conquest we have evidences in the numerous groups of vast
and imposing ruins, the hieroglyphic riddles of which we hope are being solved by
our friend Mr. Maudslay, whose valuable remarks on the paper we have been
listening to have preceded mine. One of his observations was, " Tliere is evidence
that Mexico was always open to invasions from the north." I make no doubt
that such invasions were numerous and at times irresistible.
Failing in quest of historic fact or substantial tradition, one is thrown back
upon the general knowledge which has been garnered from other fields regarding
the rise of man from the savage to the barbaric status, and then his upward
struggle to civilisation ; and if to this we add what we have learned of the
traces which he has left behind him in Mexico and Central America, we may
form some idea of the habits, customs and government of the people who,
perhaps for a long period of centuries prior to the Spanish invasion, were evolving
that growth towards civilisation which their European conquerors so mercilessly
obliterated. The food supplies indigenous to Mexico, notably maize, caused the
formation of agricultural communities, the most powerful of which had its
habitat in Anahuac, and ultimately, by its growth, wealth and power, dominated
all the outlying, poorer and weaker tribes. The result was the constitution of a
kind of feudal system which readily lent itself to extension southward, until it
included a greater part of all the present Central American states and the
establishment therein of petty princes or of feudal lords, who enslaved all the
weak tribes and forced them to build the gigantic defensive and religious edifices
the ruins of which are now so attractive to explorers. A land so filled with
wealth, comparative comfort and abundant food supplies offered the same induce-
ments to the hunting hordes of nomad, savage Athapascans and Sioux, who
occupied the country to the west and north-west of the Mississippi river, as the
smiling fields of Lombardy presented to the migrating masses of hungry
barbarians who looked down upon them through the passes of the Alps in the
early centuries of our era. The result in Mexico was similar ; invasion followed
invasion, pressed on by still hungrier hordes from the rear, giving the land no
rest. It is a curious fact that these conditions have ruled even until our day.
When Cortez invaded Mexico the Ilaxcaltecs made common cause with him
against their exacting masters the Aztecs, for which service the Spaniards conceded
to them special fueros or privileges. Towards the end of the sixteenth century,
a large part of the tribe were entrusted with the defence of the northern frontier
of Mexico, the main body being stationed near San Luis Potosi with outposts in
Coabuila, against the ceaseless savage inroads from the north. Their chief told
me, in 1867, that their fueros had been respected by the Mexican Government
since the independence of the country from Spain. Throughout the Spanish rule
the tribes from the north still raided southward, especially the Comanches and
Apaches, and desolated province after province. In 1866 I was in Mexico, and
while riding, with two companions and four servants, from Monterey to Chihuahua,
we happened to strike the line of march of a powerful body of Apache savages
who were laying waste north-eastern Durango. We had a three-Jays' running
Nbw SkrieSj Vol. II, Nos. 1 and 2. E
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50 Meeting of April 25th, 1899.
fight, during which period of time the Apaches killed 126 peaceable Mexicans
along our route.
If, even during the whole period of Spanish rule in Mexico, the country was
considered a land of promise and plunder for the more northern races, how much
more so it must have been in Toltec, Maya and Aztec days, and how certainly
these people in turn, under pressure from the north, must have had their racial
expansion towards the south, and have overrun, conquered and feudalised the
weaker, disjointed Central American tribes and forced them into servitude, to
create wealth and comfort for their barbarous taskmasters and build ttiose edifices,
examples of which have been shown us this evening, and which are the silent and
deserted symbols of serfdom.
OEDINAET MEETING.
APBIL 25th, 1899.
Wm. Gowland, F.C.S., Esq., in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and passed.
The Chairman introduced Le Comtb C. db Cardi, who proceeded to read his
paper on " Ju- Ju Laws and Customs of the Niger Delta." This was illustrated
by lantern slides and a collection of objects from West Africa.
Mr. T. J. Alldridge also exhibited a series of lantern slides of views in the
colony of Sierra Leone and the Protectorate.
The Chairman invited discussion on the excellent paper of Comte de Cardi
and the very interesting description of his slides given by Mr. Alldridge.
Miss KiNGSLEY handed in her notes on some portions of the Count's paper,
and Mrs. French Sheldon, Mr. R. B. Holt, Colonel R C. Temple, Eev. H. N.
Hutchinson, Dr. Bennett, and others continued the discussion.
The Lecturer replied to many of the questions asked, and the Chairman
closed the proceedings with a vote of thanks to Comte de Cardi and to Mr.
Alldridge for their valuable contributions to the study of West African life.
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Jounml of the Anthropological Institute (N.S.), Vol IT, PUte VIII.
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,Journnl of the Anthropotogical In^tifufc {S.S.)^ Vol. 11^ Plate IX.
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( 51 ) K
JU-JU LAWS AND CUSTOMS IN THE NIGER DELTA.
By Le Comtb C. K db Cardi.^
[with plates VIII AND IX.]
Before I commence my paper I would like to impress upon my audience that I am
neither an anthropologist nor an ethnologist in the scientific meaning of those
terms. I am simply a man who has visited Western Africa on many occasions and
resided there a considerable length of time. During my visits I have collected a
number of facts about the negro people of Western Africa, and I willingly describe
them to the best of my ability, so that real anthropologists and ethnologists can
make use of my notes for the better understanding of the human race in general,
and the negro race in particular.
Ju^uism. — I use this term in preference to Fetishism when speaking of the
religion of the inhabitants of the Niger Delta, because the word Ju-Jn is usually
made use of by the people of the Delta who are most in touch with Europeans.
During my many years' residence in Western Africa, principally in the Niger
Delta, I have had many long and to me very interesting conversations with the
Ju-Ju priests, many of whom I have found to be most intelligent men, though
other travellers and writers have generally described these men in a very dififerent
manner ; in most cases describing them as hideous looking and degraded monsters
in human form.
One of the most intelligent Ju-Ju men I ever met with was a very old man
named Qudkery the Ju-Ju King of New Calabar, who ranked above the King in
all purely native palavers, religious or civil, his opinion always carrying great
weight. This man went farther in his explanations of native customs to me than
any others with whom I came in contact, pointing out to me the great assistance
Ju-Ju was in ruling the country. " For example," said he, " suppose your house
was broken into and robbed, and you went to the King of my country and
complained, he could not find out who had robbed you if the thieves had not been
seen by some of the townspeople who were willing to give information to him.
The King would do his best to find them out by sending messengers round to all
his chiefs that you had been robbed, and that they must see if any of their people
were the culprits ; but that order would have little effect with the bad characters
of the town, because it emanated from the King, who is a man like themselves, and
from whom they would steed if they got the chance. But if I sent round a notice
that, if the thieves did not immediately bring me the stolen articles my Ju-Ju
> Some portions of this paper were read before the British Association for the Advance*
meut of Science at Bristol, September 7-14th, 18^
£ 2
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52 Le Comte C. N. ve Cardi. — Ju-Ju Laws and Ciistoms in the Niger Delia.
would cause them (the thieves) to swell up and burst, you would see how quickly
they would come to me and deliver up the stolen goods."
To further illustrate the good uses of Ju-Ju, my friend QuSkery continued by*
saying, "During the many years you have been in my country have you ever seen
a native woman put her foot on board a white man's ship ? " I replied that as a
matter of fact I never had. He then went on to' tell me that "many, many years ago
when the white men first came to his country native women had been allowed to go
on board the white traders' ships, but that this custom had led to many serious
troubles, and it had been decided by the former kings and chiefs that the Ju-Ju
should make a solemn law to the effect that in future no native woman should be
allowed to go on board a white trader's ship," and this law was never broken up to
my last visit to New Calabar so far as I know, though advanced ideas were
banning to undermine the power of the Ju-Ju King. The above law concerning
women I only met with in New Calabeu:.
Having described some of the uses of ju-juism I will now describe some of
the abuses. In the hinterland of the Niger Delta is to be found the Ibo or Eboe
tribe, whose country extends from the Yoruba borderland on the west, to the Ibibio
country on the east. The Ibo or Eboe people have almost identical forms and
customs of ju-juism with the coast tribes ; this is not to be wondered at as the
latter are mostly offshoots from the great Ibo or Eboe family.
In the Ibo country is found Long Ju-Ju, the abode of the most powerful Ju-Ju
in this part of the country. In ly96 Major A. C. Leonard of the Niger Coast
Protectorate Service, succeeded in getting to the town of Bend^, a town supposed
to be situated within about thirty miles of the Great Fetish or the Long Ju-Ju of
the coast tribes. I mention this fact as I consider Major Leonard's journey to be
a great achievement, and that it will eventually lead to immense results
commercially ; also it will be the means at no distant date of giving to the world
some very interesting and curious information about the practices of the Ju-Ju
priests of this mysterious stronghold of native religion.
This is the great oracle of all the tribes dwelling in the Niger Delta ; to it all
family disputes are referred, and its decision is recognised as final; it is also
appealed to, to decide the guilt or innocence in cases where a man of position has
been accused of murder, witchcraft or poisoning.
The Long Ju-Ju was appealed to in olden days by tribes dwelling as far away
as Lagos, and even some distance to the westward of that place ; at the present
day natives dwelling in the neighbourhood of Lagos still consult this oracle.
Human sacrifices are not made to this Ju-Ju after the manner of the
sacrificial rights practised in Ashanti, Dahomey, and Benin. Still a certain
amount of slaughtering of human beings goes on at the Long Ju-Ju to this
day, for i^^hen two men go to Long Ju-Ju for the settlement of any dispute
between them, it is customary for the losing party to be destroyed by its
power; but in many cases to my certain knowledge the priests have found it
much more remunerative to sell the losing litigant into slavery, for I have met with
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Le Comtk C. N. be Cardi. — Ju-Ju Laws and CvMonis in the Niger Delta, 53
and conversed with men whom I have known to have visited the Long JuJu, and
who were supposed to have been killed by it. Whenever I have spoken to these
men they never expressed a desii-e to return to their own countiy, with one
exception; all the others being satisfied that their own people would never
acknowledge they were anything else but spirits. The one exception was a man
that I picked up in Old Calabar, having known him well in his own country before
he went to Long Ju-Ju. I tried all I could to get his people to receive him back
amongst them, but when I told them that I had actually got him on board my ship,
then lying a few miles from their town, the whole populace seemed to rise as one
man, and I was soon surrounded by a howling mob of infuriated savages, who were
only appeased by my promising to take the man away from their river the next
morning. On my return I found that none of the natives would come on board
my ship, and on inquiry from the head Ju-Ju man of the town, I found that they
considered the ship defiled by my having had the spirit of a man from Long Ju^Ju on
board. As this took place long before the advent of the British Protectorate there
was only one thing to be done, and that was to make a suitable present to the Ju-Ju
King and get him to come on board my ship and make ju-ju : this he did^ and then
declared my ship free from all the evil effects of the malignant spirit I had had
on board. But the King of the country was not going without bis share of the
plunder, so I had to make him a suitable present also, and invite him to breakfast
on board, so that by his presence his people might see that all fear of evil
consequences was at an end, as both the spiritual and temporaj rulers of the
country had visited my vessel.
This case of defilement reminds me that amongst these people, 8uid especially
amongst the Ibos and the Ibibios, anyone touching a corpse is defiled, and must go
through a purification. The earth from a grave also defiles.
Many of the funeml customs of the Delta natives are curious and interesting;
for instance, the wives and female mourners for a person of distinction must sit ou
the floor of the room where the person died, no seat being allowed them. They are
not permitted to wash until the allotted time of mourning is over, which in some
tribes continues for upwards of two weeks, nor are they allowed to change their
apparel during this time. They nmst also, especially the wives, shave theii' heads.
Another curious custom observed by many of the Delta tribes is that of
preparing a monster feast to be eaten after the interment of a chief or man of any
distinction. To this feast are invited all the principal men of the town, and in the
case of a coast town any white traders who may be in the country. At these
feasts all the best crockery and glassware of the defunct is ostentatiously displayed
and crowded on to the dinner table at the commencement of the repast ; but an
observant guest would notice that the attendants, once the guests are seated,
commence as opportunity offers to replace every plate, dish, and glass, by the most
common article of the same kind they can find in the house. The reason for this
is that custom decrees that every article used at one of these dinners must be
broken up and destroyed.
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54 Lb Comtb C. N. db Cardi. — Ju-Ju Laws and Customs in the Niger Delta,
The yearly festival of father-making, practised more or less by all the pf^an
tribes of Western Africa, is very strictly observed by the natives of the Niger
Delta. It is to this worship of ancestors that the West African mostly owes his
bad character for human sacrifices, for this custom and the funeral custom of
despatching a number of dead chiefs wives and slaves with the defunct to wait
upon him in the next world are the chief occasions when human sacrifices are made.
The custom of annually sacrificing a number of slaves at a chiefs father-
making to take messages from the living to the dead would mean in a town of
5,000 to 6,000 inhabitants a yearly sacrifice of at least sixty souls, but this
estimate would be largely exceeded in a city like Benin. Incorrigible thieves,
murderers, and other malefactors were generally reserved for this purpose, but when
the supply of these ran short, slaves would be purchased for the occasion, or a special
raid on some neighbouring people would be organised.
There are certain other sacrifices such as the Bonnymen's sacrifice to the
protecting spirit of the river, to whom a sacrifice was at one time annually made
of a very light copper-coloured slave girl. These girls were always procured from
a tribe of Ibos or Eboes inhabiting a country away in the hinterland of New
Calabar. Some writers have reported these as Albinos ; this is not the case. This
custom of propitiating the river deity by the sacrifice of a copper-coloured girl, in
some rivers an Albino, was common to all the river-side tribes of the Niger
Delta, and I am afraid is still practised in the British Protectorate. Also from
what I was able to learn, all of the different river gods in the Delta could only be
appealed to through the medium of one of these tawny coloured Ibo girls (from
this one tribe), or as I have before stated in some cases by an Albino girl, but
these latter were never sacrificed by the Bonnymen to my knowledge.
I have seen it stated that a slave bought for sacrificial purposes by the
Bonnymen would not be sacrificed if he or she managed to eat any food, even so
little as a few grains of corn belonging to the Bonnymen, in the interval between
purchase and sacrifice. I am afraid this statement is not true, or the inquirer did
not get a very lucid explanation of the rule which govewis this native custom, or
it may be right in so far that when the victim is bought the seller is bound to
supply a week's provisions, for I have known one of these unfortunate girls to be
kept in a native town a full week before being sacrificed.
Knowing a little of her language, and assisted by a native boy who spoke
both her language and English fluently, I interrogated this girl, and found she
knew perfectly well what was going to be done with her, and she displayed no
fear of her fate but rather seemed to glory in it A peculiar custom in connection
with this rite was that this girl was allowed to claim any piece of cloth or any
ornament she set her eyes upon, and the native to whom it belonged was obliged
to present it to her. At the time I saw her and conversed with her, she must have
had at least £200 worth of coral beads hung round her neck, besides which she
was clothed, or rather, I should say, nearly smothered, in many yards of costly
silk damask. I cannot say whether all this finery and the coral beads are still on
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Le Comte C. N. de Cakdi. — Jiu-Ju Laws artd Cvstoms in the Niger Delta. 55
her when she is plunged into the sea at the mouth of the river, or whether the
Ju-Ju man has at least the coral beads so arranged around her neck, that at the
supreme moment he can surreptitiously convey them to some secret wallet
concealed about his person ; I have a very strong opinion that the Ju-Ju man sees
that so much good coral is not wasted. I have mentioned my suspicions to some
of the most intelligent natives who have invariably answered me in the following
words : " No, no, I beg you don't say that, our Ju-Ju priest no fit to do all same
you say."
I did my utmost to save this girl from her cruel fate, but to no avail, though
I offered to ransom her at five times the price that had been paid for her, the
Ju-Ju man would not agree to part with her, cynically observing that there was
not time to get another as the sacrifice must be made at the big water then due,
id est, the equinoctial (September) tide.
This complete disregard for death I have frequently noticed in natives who
knew they were to be sacrificed, in fact, they seemed anxious for the event I
have closely questioned many of these poor victims to see if there was any
religious idea in their minds of a future state more happy than their lot on this
earth, or if they expected some great reward in their future state by the mere
fact of their being sacrificed to the gods ; but I was never able to get any reply
to my questions to indicate that their state of indifference was brought about by
any religious sentiment I therefore put it down to some kind of frenzy that
takes possession of them, and renders them almost if not quite oblivious to all
passing events, once they know they are to be sacrificed.
This state of frenzy and total disregard of life I have noticed to often take
possession of both male and female natives of Western Africa ; on many occasions
I have especially noticed it amongst the women. On the deportation of a king or
a chief by the British or other European government for some offence I have seen
the wives of the deported man throw themselves into the river and fight like mad
women with the people who went to their rescue ; I have also seen some of the
male retainers both free and slaves of a deported king or chief attempt their own
lives at the moment when the vessel carrying away their chief disappeared from
their sight. Another instance I remember was during the war between the
Bonnymen and Opobomen in 1870. A Bonny youth was brought a prisoner to
Opobo by some of Bling Ja Ja's people. Eecognising the youth as one who had
been my servant in Bonny, I went to Ja Ja, the then King of Opobo, and asked
him to give me the boy. Upon my explaining my reasons, he very kindly said
I could take him and do what I liked with him, sending one of his chiefs with me
to order his people to give up the prisoner to me. When the boy heard what
I had done for him, instead of being grateful, he went off into a paroxysm of abuse
against me, acted like one demented, and finally began to curse King Ja Ja, saying
all kinds of abusive things about the King's wives, and finishing up by accusing
himself of being the murderer of one of them after having outraged her.
This was more than the crowd of Ja Ja's people could stand, and before
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56 Le Comte C. N. de CaRDI. — Ju-Jn Laws and Customs in the Niger DdCa.
I knew what was happening this youth was knocked senseless and his head
severed from his body.
As a further example • of the callous condition of natives intended for
sacrificial purposes, I must here cite another case. In all native communities of
the Niger Delta a man cannot be a full chief and entitled to all the prerogatives
of chieftainship without having taken off the head of at least one enemy in war,
or decapitated a prisoner in cold blood. Failing either of these actions, he must
on the occasion of his being made a chief, purchase a slave for the express purpose,
and woe betide him if by any chance he should bungle in his task and not take
the victim's head off in a workmanlike manner; for cases have come to my
knowledge where the aspirant chief has failed to take the victim's head off at one
stroke, so that the half decapitated wretch has had strength enough to turn his
head round and curse his executioner. This unfortunate clumsiness on the part
of the chief is noted by his fellow-chiefs, his wives, though not present, hear of it,
and henceforth when his wives or fellow-chiefs desire to annoy him they remind
him of this episode. Cases have occurred in the Niger Delta of powerful chiefs
making their young sons perform this horrible head-cutting rite before they were
in their teens. These children can always be recognised by their being allowed to
wear a large feather in their hats, this mark of distinction being strictly the sole
right of a chief. Of course all these horrible practices are now being put down by
the officials of the Niger Coast Protectorate, and in Nigeria by the Eoyal Niger
Company's officials, who are constantly engaged in stamping out these inhuman
practices. In fairness to many chiefs that I have met with in the Niger Delta, I must
bear witness to their wish not to carry out this disgusting and cruel ceremony ; but
as these practices have been handed down from time immemorial and carry with
them certain emoluments for the Ju-Ju priests, as well as the occasion being
seized upon by the lower orders as an excuse for feasting and dancing at the
expense of the newly initiated chief, the more enlightened natives have hitherto
been unable to do much towards the abolition of these horrible ritea
Circumcision is practised by many of the inhabitants of the Niger Delta, but
not with any idea of its being a religious ceremony as some travellers in this part
of Western Africa have reported. Amongst some of the tribes it is the sign of
freedom, so that a slave who becomes a rich and influential man in a tribe where
this rite is thus looked upon, must undergo the operation or stand the taunts and
reproaches hurled at him by the female poition of his establishment on any slight
provocation. When a freeborn chief of the same tribe wishes to be particularly
severe on his parvenu fellow-chief, he hurls the word "pell^d'* at him, with a
strong emphasis on the last syllable, sls being his final swear-word and the
expression of his utter contempt for him.
The peculiar fact that the rite means one thing in one tribe and just the
opposite in another is singularly well demonstrated by the case of the New Calabar
and Bonnymen, the distance between the chief towns of these two tribes not
exceeding fifteen miles as the crow flies ; yet in the former not to be circumcised is
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Lb COMTIC C. N. DE CardI. — Jii-Jw Laws and Customs in the Niger Delta. 57
the sign of slavery, whilst in the latter the opposite rule holds good and the word
of reproach is pellum. These two words pelUgd (uncircumcised) and pellum
(circumcised) being the same in both the Bonny and New Calabar dialects are very
favourite curse-words of all classes and ages of both tribea
Native Curse- Words and Sticks.
Whilst speaking of native curse-words, of which the Niger Delta natives
possess a very large and diabolical assortment, I think it will not be uninteresting
to give you one more example of native vituperation. This example one might call
silent abuse, for it is not at all necessary to open your mouth in order to give due
effect to this most terrible curse to a native woman. You have only to raise your
right arm, and closing your list allow your index and middle finger to spring up
and form a V, and the thing is done. I have very often seen two women quarrel-
ling in a very mild " go as you please " kind of way, but still showing signs of an
increased pressure of steam accumulating, when suddenly one would put on a very
disdainful look, and raising her right arm, would make the sign as described.
Sometimes the other would simply make a motion with her right hand as if
drawing a circle round her head, and with a snap of her fingers intimate that she
casts the vile curse back on her opponent ; or, if she was of a very susceptible
nature, she would run away as fast as her legs would carry her, crying out at the
top of her voice the curse that had been cast upon her. In some cases I have
known this curse to have such an effect on a woman that she would lose her reason
completely for some hours after. This curse of holding up the two fingers as
described means " May you become the mother of twins," a truly frightful curse
when one remembers that the almost general rule in the Niger Delta is that the
mother of twins must be put to death and her children also. I say almost general,
because in some places the mother is allowed to live; but her life is little better
than a living death, for she becomes an outcast and must live the remainder of her
days in the forest. If she by force of hunger ventures near a village or town she
must do so only at night time, and must be very careful to guard against being seen
by any other natives, for the Ju-Ju laws lay it down that if such a woman passes
along any of the paths leading to the town or village, those paths would be defiled
and unfit for the rest of the inhabitants to use. She must not drink from the same
spring or water supply of her own people ; she must not touch anything belonging
to them. The consequence is that the mothers of twins simply die from hunger
and exposure, or they take their own lives.
In all towns and villages of the Niger Delta there is always some old hag of a
slave woman whose prerogative it is to kill the twin children ; in the larger towns
there are several of these killers of twin children ; immediately on the birth of
twins one of these old women are sent for and upon her arrival she takes each
^hild by the feet and the back of the neck and breaks its back across her knees.
The bodies are then placed in an earthen pot and taken into a dense part of the
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58 Le Comte C. N. de Cardi. — JvrJu Laws and Customs in the Niger Delta.
busH and then left to be devoured by wild animals and insects. In some parts of
this district the children are not killed but simply thrown into the bush to be
devoured. In the few cases where missionaries have been successful in getting
these children delivered up to them, their lives have been saved ; but so far I have
never known of any of these children so saved being allowed to take his or her
place amongst the rest of the community. As a matter of fact, up to now I doubt
whether one of them would be safe if it strayed outside the mission compound, and
cases have occurred where twin children have been stolen from the missionaries and
murdered by their relatives.
Another cruel custom in this part of the world is that of killing the child of a
woman who dies in giving it birth, and burying it with its mother ; this is not done
absolutely from any superstition, but simply because the mother being dead there
is no milk for the child, and these people do not yet know the uses of a feeding
bottle or condensed milk. A foster mother is almost unknown in the country.
I say almost unknown because cases have occurred where a foster mother has been
found; but the child must be an exceptionally strong and healthy one, besides
which the position or power of the father of the child, or relatives of the mother,
would have to be such as would enable him or them to compel some woman to
become the foster mother.
The cases when this is done are so very rare that I do not remember any
successful one ; but Miss Kingsley assures me she has known of such, and her
opportunities of getting correct information on this subject were greater than mine
There is a ceremony, however, to be performed to insure the dead mother's spirit
from returning to claim the child, which I think should be recorded.
A suitable sized piece of plaintain stem (that portion which has the fruit
clustered round it) is procured and forced into the womb of the dead mother.
This according to native ideas prevents her spirit coming back to fetch the child,
and the mother thinks she has the child with her. This account has been confirmed
by an English lady who was present on two occasions when this ceremony was
being performed and succeeded in restoring, in one case, the mother to life, as she
found the mother was not really dead but only in a state of coma from excessive
loss of blood.
Another form of dumb cursing is that of which the cursing stick is the example.
In some parts of the Delta close to Lagos and the Yoruba country the thumb held
in this particular manner is a curse of awful import to a native. This curse may
be surreptitiously made use of, by a piisoner on trial, before a British Court of
Justice ; in this manner (showing how it is done), by hiding it up his sleeve and
pointing at the witness, who seeing the head of the curse stick in the hand of the
prisoner, stops as if shot. As a matter of fact this stick was taken in open Court
from a prisoner by the orders of Sir John Smalman-Smith, late Chief Justice of the
Colony of Lagos.^
^ My authority for the above is Sir John Smahnan-Smith, late Chief Justice of the Colony
of Lagos. Miss Kingsley is ihoweyer inclined not to agree with him.
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Le Comte C. N. dk Cardi. — Jw-Ju Laws and Customs in the Niger Delta. 59
Clitoridectomi/.
The custom of excision of the clitoris is very much practised amongst the tribes
dwelling on the banks of the Cross Eiver and in the Old Calabar district as also in
many other parts of Western Africa. I have questioned both native men and
women to try and get the native's reason for this rite, but the almost universal
answer to my queries was " it is our country fashion," a most exasperating answer,
but the only one returned to a very large percentage of questions, in all parts of
Africa. In some few instances I was fortunate enough to get more definite answers
to my queries. One old man explained to me that the rite was practised amongst
his people because it was found favourable to continence. Several old women told
me that in days gone by, long, long ago (these people have no idea of dates) many
women suffered from a peculiar form of madness, and it was found that this rite
had the effect of reducing this in a marked degree, so ever since that time it has
been the custom of their country.
The mode in which the operation is performed varies in different tribes ; in
the Old Calabar district it is done in the following manner : that part of the top of
a cocoanut shell, which has the three eyes in it is carefully cut off and scraped
quite smooth and thin ; then the eye that lets out the milk is carefully bored and
the edges scraped quite smooth ; the glans clitoridis is then drawn through this hole
and cut off with a razor, knife, or in some places by a piece of bottle-glass which
does duty for a razor or knife. This manner of performing this operation was
confirmed by Thomas Forshaw, Esq., of Liverpool, whose connection with the West
Coast of Africa dates from some time in the fifties.
There seems to be no particular age at which the native law enjoins the
performance of this rite, though it is generally carried out when the girls are young,
except in the case of a woman bought or raided from some tribe which does not
practise clitoridectomy.
Some of the customs the people of Western Africa have for securing the
chastity of their young girls are worthy of being mentioned. Previous to 1860 it
was the custom in Lagos for young girls to wear only a loin cloth of a hand's
breadth, which they had to take off on meeting a Ju-Ju man to intimate to him
that they were chaste ; the law being that if the Ju-Ju man caught a young girl
parading the streets with the outward signs of virginity on her, which she had lost
the right to wear, she became his property until she was redeemed by her friends
paying a fine varying in amount according to the status of her family. In the case
of a free girl the fine would be much greater than for a slave girL This practice
of exposure was also customary on meeting a white man, as in those days a white
man was looked upon as Ju-Ju. This custom I saw carried out myself as late as
1864 in the native parts of the Island of Lagos, though at this time Lagos was
already a British colony.
The people dwelling in the immediate hinterland of the EkrUca country have
also a very curious and somewhat cruel custom for the safeguarding of the chastity
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60 Le Comte C. N. de Cabdi. — Ju-Ju Laws and Customs in the Niger Delta,
of their young girls. The particulars of this custom were given to me by a chief
of Opobo on the occasion of his having received in payment of a debt a young girl
belonging to these people. . The custom consists of scraping the labia pudendi
exterrui until a raw surface is formed ; then the two parts are brought together
and kept in that position until the labia grow together, thus completely closing up
the opening into the vagina. When the female thus operated upon draws near
the age of puberty, she is taken into a part of the forest sacred to the female portion
of the tribe, and there undergoes a second operation which consists of this false
hymen being perforated by one of the old women of the tribe by the insertion of
an ivory probe about the thickness of a lead pencil, this being done to allow of the
free passage of the menses. This curious custom was brought imder my notice, as
I have already stated, by a native chief who had received a young female slave in
payment of a debt. In this case the false hymen had not been punctured previous
to the girl's leaving her own people ; the consequence was that on her arrival at
puberty her sufferings were very severe, and her new owner applied to me to get
an English medical man to see her. Luckily the chief had already related to me
the curious custom of this girl's tribe so I was able to explain matters to the doctor,
who successfully operated and informed me afterwards that from the appearance of
the parts he was inclined to think the chiefs information was quite correct, though
if it had not been explained to him he most certainly would not have thought the
growing together of the labia was anything other than an ordinary freak of nature.
Since writing the above I have learnt that this custom prevails amongst the
Arabs, and is not unknown to anthropologists.
With regard to the photographs illustrating this paper, I think it would not be
out of place to mention a curious fact about the ways of an uneducated native
when he is shown a photograph or picture of anything for the first time. He
generally turns it upside down or endways to look at it ; even after having been
shown a picture several times and having had it explained, a fiiirly intelligent
native would be almost sure to get hold of it the wrong way up if he wished to
explain it to his friends afterwards.
But if he could not find the original picture shown him and attempted to
describe one that had not been explained to him he would be certain to hold the
picture any way but the right way.
Photographs of single figures of people they knew they could generally see
the likeness and recognise the person ; but not always from the face, oftener than
not it was some peculiarity of dress, the hat, the man's stick, his bandy legs, or
some peculiarity in the cut of his clothes, that they recognised.
Description of Plates VIII and IX.
Plate VIIL
No. l.--Viper*8 tooth. Fetish,
j^ 2.— Native made toilette bottle for holding antimony, used by the native women to darken
the skin under their eyes.
„ 3.— Yoniba cursing stick.
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Le Comte C. N. de Cardi. — Ju-Ju Laws arid Ctcstoins in the Niger Delta, 61
No. 4. — ^Symbols of Yoruba Secret Society.
„ 5. — Fetish neck charm.
" K J Native sjmbols connected with Fetish worship.
„ 8. — Musical instrument (made from a gourd) used at Fetish ceremonies.
„ 9. — ^The voice of Oro (a Yoruba god), exactly similar to the Bull Koarer of the Australian
natives and used in almost identical ceremonies.
„ 10. — ^A number of brass ankle rings.
n 11. — ^A curious article worn by the women in the sacred bush after undergoing certain native
rights,
„ 12. — Two native made knives used by the celebrated native conjurer and witch doctor
Adeoshun in murdering women. This man was executed at Lagos on the
9th August, 1884.
), 13. — Native war horn, made from a gourd.
„ 14 — ^Three glass ankle rings worn by the Niger women. Native made from soda-water.
bottles.
„ 16. — Three anklets (wood), ta<& spe^.nmens of native doisonn^ work.
}, 16. — Two brass anklets.
All these were borrowed by the Comte C. de Cardi from the collection of Sir John Smalman-
Smith.
PlcUe IX.
No. 1. — The Yoruba goddess *^ Odudua/' the mother of the gods. Fi-om the collection of Sir
John Smalman-Smith.
Noft. 2 and 3. — ^Two ivory anklets worn by Niger women. The weight of these two pieces of
ivory is about five pounds. From the collection of the Comte de Cardi.
„ 4 aud 6.-- Specimens of ivory carving from the South-west coast of Africa. From the
collection of the Comte de Cardi.
Discussion.
Miss KiNGSLBT. — There are only a few things which I should like to say
regarding Count de Cardi's paper. I need not say they are not criticisms on it,
for it is not for me to criticise one who has had so unique an opportunity as Count
de Cardi of knowing the natives of the Niger Delta ; his experience, moreover, was
not merely a long residence among them, but a long friendship with them in the
bargain. Without this factor of friendship long residence can count for very little
in the acquisition of knowledge regarding these crafty and nervous peopla
The first point I would like to draw your attention to is the mention M. le
Comte de Caidi makes of the fetish king, the Ju-Ju king, and the civil king
ruling together in one district. This is a subject on which I have long been
working, but have not published anything because I know my information, in
many parts, is incomplete. There are, however, a few points regarding it which I
think I may speak safely on ; one is that in all undisturbed true Negro cultures
you will find these two kings, or in some places two aristocracies, one religious,
and one . civil. When a true negro culture is disturbed you have a tendency to
consolidate those kings in one man, as in the case of Dahomey and Ashantee, but
when outside pressure is absent they are separate. The regions where external
pressure is absent, the most valuable regions for a student, are the Oil river and
the Kru coast. M. le Comte de Cardi I leave in possession of the Oil rivers, and
retiring to the Kru coast beg to draw your attention to the very similar form of
social and religious organisation to be found there. The body politic among the
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62 Le Comtk C. N. dk Cardi. — Ju-Ju Laws and Customs in the Niger Ddta,
Kru people and their neighbours the Qua Quas is an elaborately organised
democracy divided into three classes, or rather into three ages, of free men. The
most powerful class are the Qne1d)ade, or old men. The senate, the Ondcbade, have
two presidents, the Bodio and the Worabanh. The Bodio is the thing called the
fetish king. He has charge of the spiritual politics of the nation. His position
is one full of honour and inconveniences. Among other inconveniences his house
is a sanctuary. A sanctuary, as I have frequently stated, is a sort of rookery of bad
characters. A Kru friend of mine resigned office as Bodio, because of the sort of
people who quartered themselves on him and the expense of feeding them and the
rows they had amongst each other. He stood it for three years and did his best*
and then came a man with homicidal mania, accompanied by epileptic fits, but
legally innocent, and my friend resigned Bodioship after losing an ear and receiving
other bodily damage. Moreover, apart from the worry of presiding over a sanctuary,
the Bodio is held responsible for the crops, for the fishing, for epidemics, such as
small-pox raiding his people, things that will happen and go wrong, and so in fact
it is hardly worth having to be a Bodio. There was a fetish king in Calabar up to
some twenty years ago ; now the office, which was very similar to the Kru Bodio,
has expired on account of its responsibilities and expenses. The only advantages
the office of Bodio really offers is a small toll paid to the holder and the light to
wear an iron ring round your ankle and be feared and reverenced as long as things
go well with your community in the main ; when they don't you can be deposed ;
when you are deposed you are looked down on terribly.
The other president of the Gfnekbade is the Worabanh. He has little
influence in times of peace, but in times of war he is absolute ruler. I believe
him to be the forerunner of the civil king.
Next in grade to the Gnekbade among the Kru comes the military, the Sedibo
class, the middle-aged men. Seemingly they are the rulers of the Kru people,
but they are under the power really of the Onekbadey only the Chtekbade are not so
showy and easilyV)bserved. The Sedibo also have two presidents, the Ibadio and
the Tibawah. These are equivalent in function to the Bodio and Worabanh ; the
one sees after the spiritual side of war, the other after military organisation.
The next in grade to the Sedibo is the Kedibo class, the young men. These
Kedibo of Kru are the men all Europeans know in their generation as the back-
bone of white efifort in West Africa, the men who act as seamen, servants,
labourers, stewards, helpers in all hard work, ways to England in West Africa.
When they have made enough money, and are old enough, they go back to their
country and rise to the rank of Sedtho, and if wise enough pass on into the senate,
the Onekbade ; if particularly eminent they become officers in their grades. This
Kru system I believe to be the typical West African form of the state. In the
Oil rivers you have the additional factor imported into it by local conditions of
domestic slavery, the Krus being a non-slave-holding tribe ; but you will, I think,
see from M. le Comte de Cardi's published description of the natives of the Niger
Delta in West African studies, that the Negroes have extended this democratic
system to their domestic slaves there, so that the lowest slave that paddles an Oil
canoe may rise to the rank of a king.
With regard to those places where you have a fetish, a religious and a civil
aristocracy ruling, you have much the same course of events and development
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Lb Comte C. N. de Cabdi. — eTtWw Laws and Customs in (he Niger Delta. 63
I think we have most information from the Ga r^ion. The neighbouring people,
the Tshi, have a different form of state organisation — a military dne — ^but among
the 6a or Accras the history we have shows that the early form of government
was a fetishocracy, the power being entirely in the hands of the vmtrtsimi, whom
Eeindorp calls the " foretelling priests or prophets." The headman of these prophets
was called Liimo, and he was supposed to be a nominee of the national fetish,
Legbh, but I think we may assume he was elected by the local college of
cardinals. His oflBce did not go by hereditary succession. The government was
carried on by officers of the Lumo, called Wulomo — ^fetish priests or servants — and
the Wulomo had a headman, and that headman was rather like a civil king, but
too priest-ridden to be satisfactory, being only the officer of the Lumo. Now and
again it happened that the chief of the Wulomo was identical with the Lumo, both
offices being held by the same man, as was the case with Osai Eoi, but this proved
inconvenient, and the law stands now that the acting king can never be a Lumo.
Even if a prince becomes a Lumo he forfeits all right of succession to the stool or
throne, for the headmanship of the Wulomo is now hereditary in a certain d^ee ;
in fact, the Accras have disestablished the Church.
I should much like to know whether the President has observed anything like
a similar course of events in Benin, another fetishocracy region, one with which
he is far better acquainted than I am.
I do not wish to detain you further than to say I completely endorse what
M. le Comte de Cardi has said in favour of the operation of Ju-Ju. I believe more
than he does that it is a power for good. It works evil, but so do some of our own
Ju-Jus. With regard to the Long Ju-Ju in a pool M. le Comte de Cardi speaks of,
I beg to say its local name is Abasi Inokun. It was instituted by a goddess who
lived in that place, and who had some pet fish in a pond. I am not at liberty to
say more. There are three other Long Ju-Jus in that same Oil river region, one of
which I visited, but €igain I am not at liberty to say more. I merely wish to ask a
question in conclusion. What is the connection between Long Ju-Ju places and
sanctuaries, if there is one, for they are not identical anywhere ? As to what
sanctuaries are, I have had my answer, I believe a full and complete answer, from
that great student thinker, Dr. Fraser, of the Golden Bough, in his last paper on
Totemism, published this month. I beg to say if any one is interested in the Negro
State-form, he will find what I have said concerning the Kru people supported,
I do not say entirely, but with many further details than I can give without
quoting from them, by Leighton Wilson and Labat and Barbot. I picked my
information up from the many Keddbi Krumen I have met, and the ex-Bodio
attached to the (Jerman Grovernment at Victoria, Ambas Bay Cameroon.
Colonel R C. Templb, CLE., remarked that he had been much struck with the
close similarity between the character of the scenery depicted on the slides exhibited
by the authors of these papers and that prevailing in the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands and parts of Burma and the Indian PeninsulsL The Comte de Cardi
describes the difficulty that the people of Western Africa have in understanding
the meaning of pictures, a difficulty experienced in those parts of the Indian
Empire with which he was familiar. His account of the oil-palm is very dosely
applicable to the cocoanut of the Nicobar Islands and Ceylon. Every part of the
tree is in daily economic use, and its milk is u^ed as drinking water. The mode of
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64 IjE Comte C. N. dk Cardi.— t7i^-t7w Laws and Customs in the Niger Delta,
climbing the oil-palm is practically identical with that of climbing the cccoanut in
many parts of the East.
He also noticed various analogies of custom — the habit in the Nicobars of
destroying the property of the deceased, chiefly by placing it on the grave,
the result of which is to render the accumulation of tribal or family property
impossible ; the human sacrifice at the death of a chief, which is analogous to the
Hindu rite of Sati and the Meriah sacrifices of the Eh^dhs ; the head- hunting in
West Africa, which closely resembles the rule prevailing among the NSga tribes on
the Assam frontier ; the gesture of the homed hand, which is found in many parts
of Europe, particularly Southern Italy. In Burma the habit of women stripping
themselves in the presence of those whom they wish to direly insult is a survival
of some form of symbolical cursing which exists only in this attenuated form. So
the difiiculty which more enlightened priests and people find in getting rid of
old-established customs owing to the vested interests of the priestly class prevails
in many parts of the world, and particularly in India.
Count db Cakdi, in reply to the question, " Was there any custom called
blood brotherhood on the west coast of Africa?" said that there was, but to
fully describe the custom would take up too much time that evening ; he hoped,
however, to embody a full description in some future paper.
Eeplying to the question, "Were the human sacrifices placed under the
influence of any drug, which would account for their apparent disregard of death ? "
he Wbnt on to say that, in some cases, he had seen the male victims under the
influence of strong drink, but in others the victims refused to touch spirits of any
kind ; in the case of the girl sacrifices, he felt sure they were not
In reply to Miss Kingsley's question re the existence of sanctuaries in
connection with the powerful secret societies and Ju-Ju centres, he said he
had often heard of them, but had never succeeded in getting what he considered
reliable information, or at any rate such facts about them as would justify him in
giving them to the Anthropological Institute as being absolutely reliable. He was
afraid we should have to wait until a real head priest of one of the very secret
societies could be prevailed upon to enlighten us. Continuing, he would like to say
that by nature the negro is secretive ; but a Ju-Ju man of the higher grade or a
secret society man of the upper class or degree is reticence itself on the inner
secrets of his craft.
Exhibition of Lantern Slides.
(plates X TO XIII.)
Mr. T. J. Alldridge, F.R.G.S., of Sherbro, West Coast of Africa, showed a large
number of interesting lantern slides depicting different phases of scenery and of
the natives in the Colony of Sierra Leone and the Hinterland. The value of the
views was greatly enhanced from the fact of their having all been actually
photographed by Mr. Alldridge personally and developed in the country, very
frequently in spite of almost insuperable diflSculties. Many of the pictures
represented subjects which had never been previously shown in London. The
native customs of Poro and Bundu and the Bundu Devil, also the Tasso men, wei^
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Journal of the Anthropological Inttitute (iV.5'.), Vol. II, Piute J^.
CO
w
>
<
CO
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Journal of the Anthropological Institute (iV.5.), Vol. IF, Plate XI,
THE BUNDU DEVIL DRESS.
I
! !
I I
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Journal of the Anthropological Institute (i\r,i9.), Vol. II y Plate XII,
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Journal of the Anthropological Institute {N.S.)^ Vol. Ify Plate XIII.
:4
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Meeting of May 9th, 1899. 65
extremely peculiar, the costumes being beyond imagination. A realistic scene of a
slave dealer conveying his purchases consisting of a man and woman — of no
relationship — ^tied together by a rope around their necks, the woman carrying a
suckling infant, was most touching, and presented to the sympathetic audience a
clear idea of this iniquitous traffic in human beings, which happily by the energetic
measures of the Government has now become practically obsolete in this part of
Western Africa. When the capture was effected the wretched people were being
transported overland to the Susu Country, there to be exchanged for cattle, which
in their turn would again be bartered for another lot of slaves, and in this manner
the traffic would be continued had it not been for the timely interposition of the
Government in safeguarding the interests and security of the interior people. The
view of the cemetery at Waima in the Konno Country where the collision between
the French and the British occurred in December, 1893, and which was photographed
by Mr. Alldridge in April, 1894, brought out melancholy recollections of a r^retful
episode. The beautiful view of a Yenketti, or hammock suspension bridge, over
the Sehli River in the Kuranko Country was received with much ^appreciation, as
were also the exquisite views of tropical foliage, particularly a cluster of bamboos
of great height, standing out with such distinctness and beauty as to lead one to
imagine that this typical scene was actually present. A short description was
given as each view was exhibited on the screen, and the audience had an
opportunity upon this occasion of hearing the remarks of the Pioneer (Mr.
Alldridge) in the opening up of the very little known Mendi Country, which were
not only of much interest but of considerable importance in delineating the
curious customs of these semi-savage tribes who by the recent rebellion have
become somewhat notorious.
ORDINAEY MEETING.
MAY 9th, 1899.
C. H. Read, Esq., F.S.A., President, in the Chair.
Tlie Minutes of the last Meeting were read and passed.
The President introduced Dr. A. L. Bennett, who had lately returned from
the French Congo, and who proceeded to read his paper, " Ethnographical Notes
on the Fang," which was well illustrated by lantern slides, and a collection of
masks and other objects, from West Africa,
Discussion was carried on by Mr. F. G. Makriott, F. C. Shrubsall, G. L.
GoMMB, Wm. Crooke, and Dr. Garson.
The President and Dr. Garson expressed their pleasure at the appreciation of
their book Notes and Queries expressed by Dr. Bennett, and in closing the evening
with a vote of thanks to Dr. Bennett, the President hoped that he would in
future favour the Institute with more of such useful papers.
N*w Series, Vol. II, Noa 1 and 2. F
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C 66 )
ETHNOGRAPHICAL NOTES ON THE FANG.
By Albert L Bennett, M.D., F.E.S.
[with PLATE8 XIV TO XVII.]
CONTENTS.
I. Introduction.
II. Phyaical and Moral Characteristics.
HE. Clothing, Ornaments, Painting and
Tattooing.
IV. Habitations.
V. Navigation, Hooks, Nets, Fishing,
Traps.
VI. Metallurgy, Fire, Machinery.
VII. Customs.
VIII. Invention, Natural Forms, Conserva-
tism.
IX. Ornamentation.
X. Food, Cooking.
XI. Anthropophagy.
XII. Religion, Fetish or Biang (medi>
cine).
XIII. Witchcraft, Cursing Dead Relations.
XIV. The Ngi (a Fang Secret Society).
XV. War, Hostages.
XVI. Hunting Traps.
XVII. Burials.
XVIII. Ak6m.
XIX. Abnormalities (Natural Deformi-
ties), Albinism, Erythrism, Her-
maphrodites, Deformations (Arti-
ficial Deformities), A. Facial ; B.
Dental.
XX. Fang Proverbs and Sayings.
I HAVE the honour to come before you this evening, for the purpose of making
known to you the result of my observations while dwelling and labouring
among that great and powerful tribe of the Bantu family, known as Fang. In
presenting this paper, I do so fully aware of its deficiency ; but the information
obtained from natives was never accepted nor recorded as authentic, until it had
been frequently confirmed by others. I also desire to acknowledge my indebted-
ness to the Council of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland,
for sending me a copy of Notes and Queries on Anthropology, a book which ever
proved an invaluable guide and help to me while living among the Fang, and
studying their customs.
I. — Litrodtcction,
The large tribe of people known as Fang inhabiting a considerable portion of
the French Congo was first described by Du Chaillu.
Records show that in 1867 the French naval officer Admiral Fleuriot de
Langle placed the number of Fang within French territory at nearly sixty
thousand. Since that time this powerful tribe has rapidly increased in numbers.
Between the Ogowe River and the Gaboon, the Fang may be counted by thousands,
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(c^-l
Journal of the Anthropoloffical Institute (N.S.)^ Vol, ITy Tlate XV,
FANG MKN.
FANG HOUSE.
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Journal of the Anthropological Institute (N.S.)^ Vol. 11^ Plate XVI.
FANG WOMAN.
FANG YOUTHS.
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. U 'vJ
Journal of ihft Anfhrovoloqical Irutifute (N.S.), Vol. TT, PI ale XVTI.
FANG DANCE.
ABENG OR PALAVER HOUSE.
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A. L. Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang. 67
and like a resistless army they are steadily approaching the coast, building towns
and displacing weaker tribes. That fine race of people, the Mpongwes, often
spoken of as the " aristocratic tribe," and ranking first in the scale of civilisation
above all other tribes in the French Congo, is rapidly dying out, and they are
already being supplanted even at Gaboon by the migratory Fang.
The Bulu people inhabiting a portion of the German sphere of influence in
West Africa are without doubt very closely related to, if not a direct offshoot from,
the Fang ; their customs are identical and their language so markedly similar that
a person who is able to speak Bulu is readily understood by the Fang. The first
day of my arrival among the Fang, after residing in Bululand, I was able to make
known the reason for my coming and to ask and answer ordinary questions.
While visiting on a small island called Nenge-nenge in the Nkomo Eiver, a vety
old Fang man told me as follows : When a lad his grandfather had told him that,
a long time ago, many of his tribe "changed their towns." These people first
travelled far in canoes, and then after journeying for very many days through
the forest, they " stopped walking and made new towns," and they did not return.
My informant's father had told him later more about these people ; they had been
heard from, and their long absence from the original tribe had so changed them
that " they spoke new words " (a new language).
Examples could be given almost without limit of the great similarity in the
language as spoken by the Bulu and Fang. A few will suffice ; and I will select
from the proverbs of the people which are also identical. Tell a Bulu man to
hurry with his work, he will often reply, '' Alu da dayi boF nzokV (Will one day
rot an elephant ?). The Fang speak the same proverb thus : " Alu avoii hoV nzok ? "
Again, the Bulu use the words Melu myiis (the days that are past), Melu om (the
days that are to come), Mdu mesese (all the days).- These sayings and numerous
similar ones are in daily use among the Fang, the words used and the idiom being
almost identically the same as in Bulu. I have wondered if the account given
me by the old Fang man at Nenge-nenge about the people who years ago " changed
their towns," might not be of more than passing interest as touching the genesis
of the Bulu.
The Fang people are spread over an immense area of country, and when
questioned regarding their numbers they usually reply, " There are Fang and Fang ;
if you walk and sleep in towns and towns for many mooiis (months) you will find
Fang." In the future it will be found that in the ethnography of equatorial Africa
the Fang will hold a very important place. As before stated they are unquestion-
ably closely related to the Bulu, and Compi^gne recognised a marked similarity
between them and the Osyeba, Monbutta and Nyamnyam people. There are
several scattered tribes of dwarfs among the Fang. Five of these pigmies live
within two miles of my station, and they tell me that more of their people will
soon "move their towns" and come to live on the banks of the Nkomo river. The
Fang people look on the pigmies as a very clever and superior people, and not
yrithout good reason. An old headman told me that the mon nqui (dwarfs) first
72
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68 A. L. T\KS}^Kn.—Eth7iof/raphicnl Notes on (he Fang.
discovered bow to work eki (iron) and then taught others. They ai*e ako skilful
hunters, and frequently succeed in killing game when others fail In trade, it is
almost impossible to cheat a dwarf, hence the Fang saying, " Mon mei meduk mehe,
mon nqiii aduk avoHy (You can cheat a Fang twice, a dwarf once.) In this proverb
the word ''vieV* equals Fang (see photographs and measurements of Fang dwarfs).
The Fang are cannibals and only fear of the authorities keeps them in check. In
the autumn of 1898 a man was killed and eaten within ten miles of our mission
station on tbe Nkomo river. I heard of the affair two days after the man had
been killed, and taking a boat hurried down to the place accompanied by one of
the sons of King " Kelun " from Nenge-nenge, as guide. In the palaver house of
the town was a captive boy in chains. The people of this town would not admit
having eaten a man, yet did not deny it ; they said that the human bonas in a hole
behind the palaver house were those of a man who had " died two days before."
I afterward learnt that the captive boy had been killed and eaten a few days after
my visit. Several Fang have admitted to me that " some Fang eat man meat,"
and they have been told that it is far more enjoyable to eat than goat My
informants always added that they would not do such a thing — " only bad Fang
did so." What I have learned from othei*s and my own observations lead me to
believe that an immense tract of country in West Africa from a trifle north of
the equatorial line extending even as far northward as to include a portion of the
Grerman sphere of influence in the Cameroons, is occupied by numerous anthro-
pophagous tribes all more or less closely related.
II. — Physical a)id Moved Characteristics,
Physically the Fang are a' fine people. They may be classed as of medium
size. Some of the males are exceptionally large and well built. At Foulabifong,
the Fang village on the Nkomo river, >vhere I reside, there is a man belonging to
the Esisis tribe who is the largest and finest specimen of humanity I have ever
seen in Africa (photo shown on screen).
The skin colour of the Fang is sooty-black or dark reddish-brown, chocolate :
(numbers 2 and 3 Topinard's scale) ; coal-black skins (number 1, Topinard's scale),
are in the minority. The skin is smooth and when well cared for, as it very often
is, it feels soft and velvety. In the adult the skin is lighter in the axilla ; the
palm of the hand and sole of foot are permanently yellow. The average Fang eye
has a dark iris (class 1, Topinard's scale), and the eye-balls are placed with their
long axes nearly in one horizontal plane. I have occasionally noticed a compression
of the outer angle of the opening, mostly in females, strongly suggestive of the
" almond eye." The hair may be classed as black and woolly. It is uniformly
scattered over the hairy scalp ; the hairs are coarse in texture. The males seem to
have an aversion to hair on the face and frequently pluck if out ; only a small
percentage grow beards.
In adult males hair is often (juite abundant on the chest and forearms.
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A. L Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang. 69
The face is oval in form.* The average nose is of the negroid type (short,
broad, nearly straight). Fig. 7, Topinard ; or the Australoid or Papuan (broad, with
the lower part forming a flattened and depressed hook), Fig. 8, Topinard's scala
The skull is thick and strong. Very often the brows are depressed deeply, the
cheek bones are prominent, and at the angle of the inferior maxillary bone there is
an inclination to bulging outward. The alse nasi are broad and thick, and the
nasal bridge often much depressed giving the typical, flat, turned up nose of the
negro. Yet I have observed among the Fang some handsome aquiline noses, and
quite frequently the Australoid or Papuan type. T have frequently noticed that
the possessors of the aquiline, or Australoid type of nose, showed a higher degree
of intelligence and a more genuine desire to learn " the white man's ways."
The ears are large and well developed, inclined to spread outward and having
broad thick lobes. The teeth are good and symmetrical ; Fang men and women
file the upper and lower incisors to a fine point and give as their reason for so
doing, that it is mhung (beautiful). The head of an average Fang male sits well
on the shoulders, the neck is strong and muscular, the " Adam's apple " is not
highly developed. Very little attention is given to the cultivation of hair on the
upper lip.
The breasts of Fang women are very pendulous after bearing children ; and
in some cases the breasts in males are very highly developed (photo on screen).
The muscles of the arms, back, buttocks and thighs are often splendidly
developed, far more so than in the Mpflngwe, Mabeya and many other West
African tribes. The Mpdngwes are rapidly degenerating. In the male Fang the
gluteal muscles are not highly developed. The gluteal muscles in the female are
often developed to a very high degree, measuring round from 36^ inches to 39^
inches.
Fifteen Fang males were measured and averaged as follows :
Height 5 feet 9 inches.
Chin to pubes 21\ inches.
Pubes to inner malleolus 32^ inches.
Inner malleolus to tip of great toe 8 J inches.
Shoulder to wrist 24^ inches.
Wrist to point of index finger 8^ inches.
In males the thumb is long and broad in the terminal phalanx ; the nails of
the hand are broad and flat. I have often seen a man use his great toe to pick up
an object off the ground, and flexing the leg bring the object to his hand. When
journeying through the bush with a caravan it is very interesting to notice how
the native uses the great toe to aid him in climbing a steep hill. The sexual
apparatus is very highly developed, especially in the males. The women are the
> It has not been possible for me to devote the time needed for a detailed study of Fang
crania. The few Bala and Fang skalls I have had opportunity for examimng presented very
little, if any, diflferent characteristics. The skulls I examined were decidedly prognathous, but
not large.
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iO A. L Bennett. — JSthnographicat Jtfbtes on the ^ang.
bread-winners and some are strong and muscular, while many more are weak and
worn out from ceaseless toil.
The Fang make good carriers, and will do a splendid day's journey even in the
wet season with bad forest trails, if not overloaded. A carrier's load should never
exceed 25 kilogi-ammes ; and 20 would pay better on a long journey. The first
day out with a caravan the men usually drag along slowly, until their loads settle
well down in the Jdngi and fit their backs. The kingi is a very ingenious
contrivance for carrying a load in ; it is usually made from a forest vine with a
plaited head strap. To hurry carriers the first day is a bad mistake; poorly
adjusted loads chafe and cause sore backs, and before night the whole caravan is
tired out and sulky. It is a wise traveller in Africa as elsewhere who knows how
to save his men.
A very noticeable fact among the Fang is the scarcity of old men. I
attribute this largely to the ravages of syphilis ; the same terrible disease
that has done so much towards the degeneration of numerous coast tribes,
and which is already playing fearful havoc among the Fang. Indolent,
untrustworthy and warlike, they are nevertheless a most companionable people.
The slightest piece of drollery or a joke immediately causes laughter. It has
been my privilege to visit many foreign lands including Cliina, Japan and
Korea, yet never in my life have I met such an absolutely good-natured, fun-
loving people as the Fang.
The men are not fond of work. They frequently ask me for something to do
to " earn a cloth." If I tell them to cut fence poles or good clean bark in the
forest, they decline. A male Fang's idea of work is to sit in the Abeng (=s
palaver house) and make fish lines by rolling pineapple fibre along the upper
portion of his thigh, or to manufacture Abi (roof thatch). At these occupations he
can converse with all comers, hear the news and take his part in talking a palaver.
They are a revengeful people and will keep up a palaver over a woman for many
years. If they do not succeed in shooting a man during a palaver they do not
hesitate to fire at and kill a woman, while captives held as hostages are often
treated with great cruelty.
The women regard virtue very lightly. Before marriage a girl can do nearly
as she pleases. It is absolutely safe to state that it would be almost impossible
to find a maiden in a Fang village over sixteen years of age. Adultery is common,
and one of the chief causes of " women palavers." Women rank first in value as
goods for trade, next in value are goats, then gims and cloth. The greed for goods
has a strong hold on the people. They learn quickly but have very little originality.
They have no obscene rites. Their habits are very dirty ; they will wash in a
small pool of water and, while bathing, fill the gourds or imported jugs with the
water in which they are washing and use it for domestic purposes. In many other
ways they are absolutely filthy, and descend to the level of brute creation. They
are not over-burdened with modesty, both sexes frequently bathe together in a
perfectly nude condition. A male Fang passes a large percentage of his time in
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A. L Bennett.— JS^AnograpAico/ Notes on the Fang. 71
the palaver house, where he loves to sit and gossip around the log fire, or lounge
on the JEnong (a native bed of poles).
Dancing is a favourite pastime, especially at the time of new moon, when the
dance seems to have some religious significance. A Fang dance is a sight worth
seeing; arrayed in long streaming armlets of dried grass, and large bunches of
forest beans and moUusca shells tied around the ankles for castanets, they go
through a series of rapid and graceful movements, some of which are not entirely
free from obscenity. Flaming torches made of resin wrapped in plantain
leaves are stuck in the ground and the drums keep up a perfect fusillade;
the whole making a weird and extremely interesting spectacle. With short
intervals of rest the dance usually continues throughout the night until daybreak
(photo of dance shown on screen).
III. — Clothing, Orna^nentSy Painting and Tattooing.
Fang men and women usually go about bareheaded ; some obtain imported
straw and felt hats from the traders and are very proud of them. A red worsted
night-cap sold at the factories is very popular and much worn. These head
coverings are chiefly worn for ornament and not to afford protection from the sun
or weather. Until the opening up of trade among the Fang people their clothing
amounted to almost nothing. The men wore a waist cloth made of bark from
certain trees, a strong, tough, fibrous material, and the women wore a girdle
stripped from the plantain stem, with some leaves from the bush or a piece of the
plantain leaf tucked through the girdle in front and passed downward, backward
and upward between the limbs and fastened to the girdle behind. Very often the
women wore a kind of bustle made of dried grass dyed black, or red. In sitting
down the women are very careful to first arrange the bustle. The native bark
cloth, the girdle and bustle, are still worn in the bush towns ; the women of ben
make the girdle of imported glass beads stnmg on string made from pineapple
fibre, but people living in towns along the river banks wear imported cloths
obtained in trade. As a general rule boys and girls run about without clothing
until five or six years of age. Imported cloth is worn by both sexes and is often
sewn together very skilfully and decorated with pieces of different colours. There
are no recognised peculiarities of dress restricted to the subdivision of tribes. The
cloth is cut out and sewed by each individual owner unless it is a trade cloth
previously sewn. Cloth is usually hemmed and worn as a simple wrapper around
the waist, and held in place by rolling in and tucking the upper border on itself.
The upper portion of the body is not much covered by the cloth although some
men and women wear it tied high up around the neck. Tliere is no difference
between the indoor and outdoor clothing. When imported needles and thread can
be obtained they are used, but I have seen very skilful sewing done with a sharp
piece of bamboo for a needle and thread made of pineapple fibre. Upon the
death of parents, clothes descend to the children. In saluting a visitor it is not
customary to remove a hat or cap, if one is being worn, or any other article of
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72 A. L Sennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Pang,
clothing. The Fang do not use any coverings to protect the feet Bank is not
distinguished by the dress, very often the brightest and cleanest wrappers are worn
by the young men while the kuma (headman) is often clothed in a du'ty old rag.
Very often the kuma wears an imported straw or felt hat obtained in trade,
and this alone distinguishes him as headman of the town. Next to the
possession of women and guns, a Fang man's great desire is to own "much
cloth."
Personal Omainents,
Head, — ^The Fang dress their hair in the same manner as the Bulu, and the
way they build it up on the head over wooden shapes is often very remarkable
and shows considerable skill. Very often the hair is built up over these shapes
in ridges, the upper edge of the ridge having white shirt buttons fastened along
it or brass headed tacks driven in. Wigs are used and very skilfully made.
Very often the term wig would be a misnomer, for the ingenious contrivance
made to fit over the bald head is often entirely devoid of hair, being simply a
close-fitting skull cap knitted with string made from the pmeapple fibre. The
wigs are usually decorated with shirt buttons or imported glass beads. The hair
is frequently plaited and twisted into ringlets by both sexes ; dyeing the hair is
not practised. Beads and white shirt buttons are worn on the hair in. large
quantities, also large cowrie shells dyed with red wood powder. The beads and
buttons are often sewed on pieces of goat or deer skin, a separate portion
decorating each side of the head, connected by a string of beads passing across the
forehead.
Moustaches are seldom cultivated, beards when worn are allowed to grow
naturally; but both are frequently removed by depilation; shaving is not
practised. Ornaments are frequently worn in the ears, and are usually suspended
by a small cord passed through a hole in the lobe. Women and young girls when
returning from work in the forest or gardens frequently cluster grasses, leaves of
vines and fragrant herbs around their ears ; it is a rather pretty custom. Certain
fetish charms are worn suspended from the ear ; women frequently use for an ear
fetish the small quills from a porcupine's tail, and they say it will bring them
children. Brass and iron ear-rings are also worn.
Males do not seem to feel inclined to ornament the nose, but many Fang
women delight to do so. They pierce the triangular cartilage with a long slender
bamboo pin : the pins sometimes project out three inches on either side of the
nose. Very often a medium-sized porcupine quill is used as the ornament, in
place of bamboo ; it certainly looks better. Some women thus decorated look veiy
repulsive. A female who is credited with considerable power as a medicine
woman will almost invariably have the nose pierced and decorated. Ornaments
are not worn on the lips or cheeks.
Body, — Men, women, and children wear necklaces of glass beads, the hoofs of
very small antelope, and certain forest beans, are strung and worn around the
neck. Bristles from the tail of an elephant are used for the same purpose. When
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A. L Bennett. — Mhnographicat Notes on the Pang, V3
in mourning, a necklace is made from bleached grass plaited ; it is worn by both
sexes. A very favourite fetish chaim to suspend from a necklace is a leopard
tooth. I have frequently seen the two tusks of a wild boar or " Wart hog " worn
around the neck as an ornament and have succeeded in bringing specimens worn
mostly by the women. Imported thick brass wire wound around the forearm
from wrist to elbow is a very favourite armlet ; it is kept highly polished. Brass
wire is often wound so tightly around the biceps as to seriously interfere with
circulation. Broad pieces of beaten brass are worn on the arms, and ivory
bracelets are much valued. Sometimes six or more rings of ivory are cut from a
tusk, and all worn on one arm. Finger and thumb rings are mostly worn by
the women ; they are made of brass, copper, or iron, and are usually very thick and
heavy.
Eings are no indication of rank or marriage. It is not uncommon to see a
woman with three heavy brass rings on one thumb, and eight or ten similar rings
on the fingers. Narrow girdles of leopard, goat or deer skins are worn across the
chest to support the native fighting knife and bunch of fetish charms. I have
been visited by a bushman wearing no less than twenty-three charms.
Legs and fed, — Leglets and anklets of brass are much worn and sought after
by women. Brass leg rings imported by traders are in great demand. There does
not appear to be any special time set for commencing to wear anklets ; mere
infants are frequently decorated with them. Some of the leglets are very heavy,
and many women wear ten or more on one leg. These rings often fit very tightly
and impede circulation, or chafe and cause nasty indolent ulcers. The ankles and
feet often swell and become very painful as a result of insuflBcient blood supply.
Toe-rings are of iron and brass largely worn, and fit so tightly that the ring
is often deeply imbedded in the flesh. Usually only one ring is worn on a single
toe.
PaifUing and Tattooing.
PaiTUing. — ^The method of painting the body by smearing on redwood powder
mixed with palnuoU, so largely practised by the Bulu, is followed in the same
manner but to a much less extent by the Fang. Soft portions of the redwood tree
are pulverised and mixed with oil into a thick paste, and the preparation smeared
over the entire body. Occasionally a red band is painted across the forehead.
When in mourning, dust, mud, or white clay is frequently rubbed over the entire
body. Much more frequent is the practice of painting arrow heads, bands, or dots.
The pigment used is a dark blue colour, obtained I am told from a tree fungus.
The Ngi or witch doctor, when at work, in addition to his other paraphernalia
smears his body with white chalk. Except in the case of the Ngi, the only object
in decorating the body by painting is to appear rribung (beautiful), and with the
Bulu when asked the reason for smearing the body with red paint, they usually
reply it is dbung (handsome). Imported pigments are not used for body
decoration.
Tattooing. — The custom of tattooing is much in vogue. I have not been able
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74 A. L Bennett. — Mhnoffraphicat Notes on the Pang,
to obtain any accounts touching on its introduction, beyond the fact " we leamt
it from our fathers." No ceremonies are connected with it. There are no
professional tattooers, but the natives frequently employ a man known to be
skilful to ornament them. It is practised by both sexes ; young lads are anxious
to be tattooed because it makes them feel " real men," but the practice is not
indispensable as a sign of manhood. The same blue pigment obtained from a tree
fungus used in painting is mixed with ashes and employed for tattooing. The
instrument used is a sharp piece of bamboo, a piece of sharp iron or a knife. The
pi^actice does not appear to be in any way connected with pagan worship. Social
or family rank does not affect the designs employed. Fang tattooing is not always
symmetrical, it usually commences with the face, and a favourite design on the
cheeks somewhat resembles the bowl and stem of a straight pipe. Only one
colour is employed. Tattoo marks and designs are mostly found on the face, chest,
shoulders, arms and abdomen. Women frequently have the pipe pattern or a band
across the cheeks, and occasionally upon the breasts.
Cicatrization is largely practised. Small incisions are made in the skin with
a sharp instrument, frequently a steel nail from an imported packing case
obtained from the ti*ade house, the nail being flattened out into a small knife
blade ; or a sharp piece of bamboo is used. The juice of a certain herb is rubbed
into the incised wounds.
IV. — HaUtcUions,
The houses are built mostly of bark ; beams and rafters are made from the
strong branches of forest trees and bamboo ; they are secured by bush rope. The
entire structure rests on the ground. It is very rare to find a Fang house on
poles, except ne.ar the coast. There is no regularity in size of houses, but the form
and material used is common to all the tribe. The average Fang house or hut is
a low dark building, 15 feet long by 10 wide, and with walls about 6 feet high ;
the roof angle increases the height inside. Each family has a house; it is
used, day and night, by all members of the family. Travellers usually occupy
the aheng (palaver house), and the headman finds them sleeping quarters at
night When the owner dies he is usually buried close to the house, and the
grave levelled off and soon obliterated. The houses comprising a town are built
together, end to end. Towns consist of two rows of houses, with the main road
passing between them. The dbeng (palaver house) is built across one end of the
main road. A large place is often composed of several towns or villages in line,
the limits of each village being marked by its palaver house, and having its own
headman. The Fang method of conveying information regarding the size of a
place is by stating the number of palaver houses it contains. Stockades are
frequently used at the entrance to a town, especially if the people have a palaver
(tribal war) with a neighbouring tribe. The palaver houses and dwellings are also
frequently stockaded. The natives often show considerable foresight and
shrewdness by making use of the natural advantages of a position in selecting a
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A. L SenneIt. — Mhnographicat Notes on the Fang, 75
site for their villages. The houses can be readily taken down and erected
elsewhere. The e8u:th floor is often beaten very hard, no covering is used. The
beds are made of bamboo poles resting upon end pieces, supported by four forked
corner stakes. The bed is raised about one foot from the ground. In most houses
are four beds, two at each end on opposite sides, having a log fire burning between,
the smoke escaping through the thatch roof. The furniture is all movable, and
consists of stools, cassava bowls and boards, drinking gourds, fish nets, water
gourds, various baskets and hanging bamboo shelves for drying fish and corn over
the fire. Food, guns and powder horns are hung up on wooden hooks suspended
by bush rope ; these hooks are made by cutting a suitable branch from a young
tree, having a strong crutch. No separate portion of the dwelling is set apart for
sleeping or eating. There are no windows to a Fang house ; at night one or more
pieces of bark are used for a door. All the domestic arrangements are excessively
filthy. Eef use from meals is unknown, everything is eaten, including entrails and
skin of animals and fish. Before occupying a new house the witch doctor (ngangan)
is usually called to perform the ceremony of propitiating the evil spirits (local
spirits), and the biang JEkuri (fetish) is hung up and becomes the protecting fetish
of the household. This fetish is hung up over the doorway outside. The houses
are built entirely above ground, the roofs are made of split bamboo and covered
with thatch made from the long tough blade of a swamp reed, or rush. This
thatch makes a most excellent roof, and when well put on, it is able to with-
stand three years of the terrible rains which fall during the long wet season,
V. — Navigation, Hooks, Nets, Fishing, Traps.
The Fang use bug narrow canoes. A suitable tree having been found is
felled and trimmed, then hollowed out with the small native wedge. All the boats
are open and both sides of the canoe alike. The women use the same canoes as
the men and paddle them very skilfully. War canoes are made large and strong,
but are otherwise similar in construction to the canoes in daily use. A kind of
lu^er sail is used and the natives sail a thin canvas very close to the wind. The
baler used is made of wood ; it much resembles a large flat sugar scoop and is
common among tribes along the west coast. This baler is used most skilfully and
with great rapidity by both men and women. In paddling, no fulcrum wJmtever
is used. The men and women either sit or kneel, grasping the paddle handle in
its upper and lower thirds they plunge the blade deeply into the water, and force
the canoe ahead with great rapidity. One man, woman, or a child steers, using an
ordinary paddle ; the time kept while paddling is excellent, and is usually kept by
one man chanting a Fang song, not unlike a white sailor's shanty, the paddling
taking on renewed vigour during the chorus. The sails are usually made now
of imported trade cloth, but I have seen them made from the native bark
cloth. Only one sail is used and the canoes are able to beat up well against the
wind.
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76 A. L. Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang,
The mariner's compass is entirely unknown, and when I have shown one, it
was always spoken of as "the white man's hiang biai" (canoe fetish). The Fan*.'
shapes his course by his knowledge of the river banks ; he never ventures more
than three days' journey from his own town, and much dislikes the idea of losing
sight of land ; therefore he seldom, if ever, attempts it. Certain canoes belong to
the headman of the village, others to individuals. The canoes do not have houses ;
charms are frequently tied to the bow, to appease the water spirit, and frequently
a traveller in a canoe will throw into the river at certain places he passes portions
of his food to appease the local spirit which he believes dwells there. The place
where this spirit dwells may be in some large tree or rock on the river bank. At
night the canoes are hauled up on the river bank and usually left unprotected.
Large war canoes, if painted, are occasionally covered with a few mats. No special
portion of a canoe is set apart for a chief, he is usually seated near the bow.
Watertight compartments for provisions are not provided, food and articles of
trade being carried in high baskets. Upon arrival of a canoe from a neighbouring
town, the visitors are frequently welcomed with shouts of joy ; guns are fired and
a dance given in the evening. I have seen canoes repaired by placing pieces of
bark over the leaks inside and outside, the bark being secured with small hard
wood plugs. No arrangement is made to prevent leaking.
Hooks for fishing are skilfully made of bamboo, the barb is long, very sharp
and notched on both sides. The hook is secured to the fishing-line with string
made of pineapple fibre. Foreign-made fish-hooks are now largely used ; these
are much coveted, and considered a very staple article of trade.
Casting nets are used weighed with stones, iron, or lead, obtained in trade.
The meshes are very fine and show much skilful and patient workmanship. A
Fang will work well at anything which he can do while sitting in the palaver
house. He can then work, smoke and talk ; any work requiring much bodily
exertion on his part or elsewhere is relegated to his wives. Fish traps are made
of split bamboo and much resemble the lobster baskets used by our own fishermen.
Small streams are often dammed at high water, the dam being made of split
bamboo, fastened together with bush rope until a very large screen is made, 10 or
12 feet in height; this screen is staked across the stream at high water, when the
tide falls the water passes readily through, leaving the fish in the river. The most
disgusting sight among the Fang, is to see the women and children at low water
walking in the mud, breast high, feeling for " mud fish." The large casting net is
called evjot ; a small round net used for dipping in pools and along the river bank
at low water is called tan.
VI. — Metallv/rgy, Fire, Machinery,
Metallurgy among the Fang is limited to the working of iron. The native word
for iron is Eki. The Fang among whom I lived did not possess the knowledge of
smelting, but I was told that " other Fang far away in the bush, especially the
Nqui dwarfs), dug the minkok eki (stones of iron) out of the earth, melted it, and
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A, L Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang. 77
traded with the eJd (iron)/' Iron is put to various uses. I-ong bladed knives of
various shapes and patterns are made, also spear heads, armlets, anklets, finger
and toe rings. Small pieces of iron are used for bullets in flint-lock muskets. One
of the most important uses of money among the Fang is the making of lehi.
Beki is made up in bunches ten beki in each bunch ; a bunch of beki is called
n^et The amount of dowry paid in beki is usually counted in hundreds, Jculiki hi
kei, ntet awom (bring me one hundred beki).
A bundle of ten arrow heads is frequently used as an ntet,
A peculiar shaped adze is made of iron ; it is used for working wood, especially
hollowing trees intended for canoes.
Pieces of iron are forged into axe blades {ovon).
The mfak is a short handled spade made of iron, used for digging in the
gardens.
The art of casting seems to be unknown.
The bellows (nkum) used by Fang smitlis are very ingenious (lipedmen on table).
The feet are used to steady the bellows, whilst both hands work the goat skin
covers and force air into the fire.
A block of iron is used for an anvil. Some of the natives are quite skilful
at working iron. A Fang living near my residence often begged from me a round
steel nail from a packing case. In a short time he would return with the nail
transformed into a thin delicate knife or dagger, only the nailhead remaining
intact. Very large fighting knife blades are made and beautifully fashioned, and
ornamented with various punch marks.
I have never seen any native made wire. Imported brass wire is in great
demand and mostly used as a continuous armlet. The coil usually reaches from
wrist to elbow, and is considered extremely mbuiuf (handsome), and kept highly
polished.
Imported brass is obtained in trade and made into armlets, anklets, finger
and toe rings. It is also used for ornamentation of guns.
Many of the natives are skilled workers of iron and fully aware of its value.
I have never seen welding practised, but in working hot iron it is frequently
plunged into cold water to make it aiert (hard).
Mre, — In the far interior, fire is produced by friction, the simplest form of a
drill being used, which is twisted rapidly between the hands. Along the rivers
matches are obtained from the native traders, who bring up large quantities from
the coast. The natives are always ready to trade for matches, which are again
traded to interior tribes. Flints are only used on the hammer of the old flintlock
musket imported for trade. Fires are almost constantly burning in the palaver
houses. Two dry logs are kept constantly burning, they are placed end to end,
when one log is nearly consumed it is replaced by another.
It is interesting to notice how the natives carry fire about. When on a
journey in 1897 from Gross Batanga with a caravan to the Bulu country in the
German sphere of influence, one of the men usually obtained a piece of burning
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78 A. L. Benneit. — Mhnoffraphioal Notes oil the Fang.
log from the last town where the caravan rested. This man kept the piece of wood
burning by gently swinging it backward and forward, while maxching along the
path with his load. On one occasion I timed a native, and when we reached the
next stopping place, after a three hours' tramp in the rain, the brand was still
burning brightly, and it had been frequently passed from one end of the caravan
to the other so that all who desired could light their pipes from it.
The Fang use fire in the ceremony of going out of irwuming. I witnessed this
ceremony once at Foulabifong. The widows of an old headman had put in the
regular time of mourning and were now to be released. There were seven widows
in all, three of middle age, and four young girls A small fire of leaves had been
lighted in the centre of the street, and on each side of the fire stood several young
men armed with switches. The widows wore a very slender loin cloth. At a
given signal the widows rushed toward the fire and bounded through it, the
young men switching them as they passed, but the switches were not used severely.
Immediately after the switching, eaxjh widow seated herself on the ground holding
a bunch of burning leaves under her feet, while a young man shaved their heads
with a sharp trade knife. On inquiry regarding this ceremony, I obtained the
following information: Passing the fire cleaiis them after mourning (evidently
considered a means of purification). Switching reminds the widows of their duty
to the man who inherits them as his wives. Burning has two meanings : firstly,
the pain caused is endured as a last act of mourning for the departed ; second, it
signifies that henceforth the widows walk a new path (enter upon a new life).
Fire has a place in Fang religion or belief. The sun is considered the tcUa
(father) of all heat, and the original maker of all fire, whether by friction, matches,
powder, or lightning. When a severe thunderstorm is at its height, the natives
say of the lightning, " that the sun has hid his face and is shooting fire, because he
is angry." The native word for sun is/o. Although the palaver house fire is kept
burning, still, no special effort is made to keep it alight ; should it go out, any
person present is at liberty to rekindle it from newly produced fire.
VIL — Customs.
The Fang have no system of law, no judge or tribunal for punishment of
crime. Theft, murder, ofiFences against the person are all settled according to
native custom.
Example : A Fang of the Esisis clan steals goods or a woman from a Fang of
the Nge clan. The Nge who has been wronged does not go to the offender for
settlement, he goes to another near town and shoots the first goat he sees in the
street, or if very angry, he may shoot a woman. The owner of the goat or woman
demands of the Nge his reason for doing so. The Nge replies, " An Esisis " (giving
the man's name) " has wronged me ; I put the palaver (his offence) on you." The
third party then goe^ to the Esisis and says, " An Nge " (giving the man's name)
" has shot my goat (or woman) because you have made trouble with him ; he has
put your palaver (trouble) on me. You must pay me | " The original offender is
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A. L. Bknnett. — JEthnop'aphical Notes on the Fang. 79
now responsible and liable to two parties ; if he is reasonable they all meet and talk
the palaver. If the palaver is serious, each party appoints his niol (ambassador).
The palaver is usually talked in the main street of the town, before all the
representatives of the interested clans, and before all strangers in town. The
Fang are bom orators, and remarkable gestures and orations are made while
talking the palaver. The speaker usually walks backwards and forwards grasping
and leaning upon a " palaver stick." He commences with : Mzona (I say thus) ;
when speaking for another he says Azona (he says thus) ; when speaking for the
people of his town, Ba zoTia (they say thus). Sometimes the ntdls (ambassadors) sit
in a canoe in the middle of a river or a stream, and talk the palaver, the injured
parties being on either side of the stream. The case is talked, the goods demanded
in payment stated, and an effort made to kik nsang (cut or end the palaver). If
they succeed, then the palaver is <yiU (ended), and a dance follows; if no
agreement is come to^ the meeting breaks up and a tribal war exists between these
clans.
ScdxUations.
There are three salutations common to all. Two friends meet, they each grasp
the arm of the other, high up on the biceps ; a slight pause is made, then the hand
is slipped down to clasp the wrist. This is also the customary salutation used by
the Buhl.
Two friends meeting salute by embracing.
A traveller entering the dbeng (palaver house) walks over to the headman and
sits on his knee a moment, at the same time placing one arm around the headman's
neck.
Hospitality demands that all strangers be served food by the town women to
strangers in the dbeng.
Wives are loaned to guests.
Coarse conversation is indulged in by old and young of both sexes.
Considerable license prevails among the unmarried; less so among the
married.
VIII. — Invention, Natural FormSy Conservatism.
Invention. — The arts in use are common to all the diflferent clans of the great
Fang tribe. Any new discovery as the working of iron is credited to the dwarfs or
nqui. The natives are always ready to admit that the nq^ii are very clever ; they
have a saying " no person knows like a mon nqiii (dwarf) what is inside the forest."
When obtainable the natives use an imported saw, or file, and admit its superiority
over their own cmde tools. A Fang may be impressed at the knowledge and power
of the white man, but is not greatly surprised ; the reason for this is that many
white men are credited with possessing supernatural powers.
Some of the clubs, tools and weapons approximate to the natural forms of the
branches or roots of trees, Axe handles and the handle of a certain kind of adze ha\ e
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80 A. L. Bknnktt. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang.
the natural curve of the branches. Stones are employed for rolling food, especially
for crushing and rolling the Tigon seed. Shells of large land moUusca are cut in half
and used for spoons, small gourds being used for the same purpose. Large gourds
are used for water dippers and bottles. Very many uses are found for the forest
gourds, not the least ingenious being the use of a hollow stemmed gourd for
administering a rectal injection. Gourds are used for the sounding boards of the
musical instrument called mvuk. The people find many uses for bamboo. It is
used in construction of houses, fish baskets and traps are made from it, fences to
protect paths during tribal wars are made of sharp pointed bamboo poles ; and
small sharpened pieces of bamboo with poisoned tips are buried in the forest paths,
point upward, to wound and poison the naked feet of an unsuspecting enemy. The
teeth and claws of leopards and bush cats, elephant tail, antelope feet, horns and
forest beans are used in their natural form as personal ornaments. Leopard teeth
are always 'considered valuable as hiaTig (fetish) and are much sought after; they
are frequently imitated in ivory. I have not seen the defences of animals employed
as artificial defences, except as fetish. Long tough forest thorns are often used as awls
and needles for piercing and sewing skins. I once saw an ngangan (witch doctor)
perform a post-mortem examination on a woman. After he had discovered the cause
of death, which he announced to the expectant crowd as being due to " six witches
eating her liver," he first pierced the abdominal walls with a long hard thorn, and
then sewed up the body with a bamboo needle threaded with pineapple fibre. I
have seen only one cave dwelling ; it was used by an isolated sufferer of the dread
disease called by the natives mabata (a kind of sloughing phagedina). When
proper reed material for making thatch is scarce, large forest leaves are used, but
they make very poor roofs, especially during the tornado season.
Conservatism. — The Fang are not quick to adopt reforms or to introduce new
methods ; they are more or less the slaves of custom, and have a superstitious dread
of departing from ancestral habits. This refers to all the proceedings of life. Fang
living in towns near Gaboon are almost daily coming in contact with white settlers,
and to some extent, at least, appear to be changing their mode of living. It never
appeared to me that a Fang had the same longing to be "just like a white man"
as possesses the young Mpdngwe and Benga men.
IX. — Ornamentation,
The patterns mostly seen in Fang ornamentation consist of bands, incised
lines, elliptical punch marks, herring bone, lozenge pattern and cross lines. The
natives do not possess a natural aptitude for drawing, and seldom attempt it. The
few drawings I have seen on the bark walls of houses, supposed to represent men
and women, were very crude and exaggerated in proportion. They have no idea
whatever of perspective. They seem to interpret foreign drawings very readily.
The Fang show considerable skill in plain wood carving, using an ordinary native
knife. I have noticed that their carving improves very considerably when an
imported pocket knife is the instrument employed.
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A. L Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on thj Fang. 81
X. — Food, Cooking.
Food used by the Fang is precisely similar to that of all other tribes
inhabiting the great zone of palms and bananas as described by Humboldt. Added
to these ordinary foods of the Fang is their liking for human flesh, indulged in to
this day in spite of the law, which is often powerless to reach and punish the
offenders. Cassava, mb6e, plantains, Wiow, crushed gourd seeds, ngongon, com;
mekobe, a most nutritive tuber, sweet potatoes, yams, palm oil, bananas, snails and
various moUusca. Fish is wrapped in plantain leaves and boiled, or set on hot
ashes and fire piled on top of the bundle of food. All kinds of meat is eaten, from
deer down to the smallest bush rat ; snakes are considered very good meat. No
portion is wasted, every morsel of skin and intestines are eaten. Goats and
chickens are raised for food and trade. Com or other cereals are not used for
the purpose of making bread. Milk is not used. Preparations of milk such as
butter and cheese are not made. There is a marked preference for meats. When
an animal is slaughtered, women bring wooden bowls to collect the blood in. The
blood is often cooked mixed with palm oil. A Fang will eat almost any kind of
known food and at any time, providing it is not his Fki or taboo, given him during
infancy, prohibiting the eating of a certain kind of food, unless partaken of under
certain conditions. Except for the Fki men, women and children partake of the
same food. The Fang are improvident. When on long journeys they often chew
a piece of Kola nut, but more commonly chew pieces of a certain root; it has
several different names. Palm oil is extensively used in cooking. Salt (nku) is
much enjoyed and sought after in trade. Sugar is only used in the form of sugar
cane and eaten uncooked. The chiefs, or rather headmen, have no special form of
food. Eating earth is not indulged in. So far as I am aware, all fish, flesh and
fowl is cooked before being eaten. Flesh is often extremely high, at times
positively bad, before it is eaten, but not one morsel is ever wasted.
Fish, fowl, bush rats, snakes and all kinds of meats are smoked or sun-dried ;
food prepared thus is carried on journeys in the bush wrapped in leaves and eaten
with mboa (cassava) without any further preparation. Permanent ovens for baking
are not in use. Meat is roasted on small spits over the log fire or wrapped up
in leaves and hot ashes banked around and on top of it. Native vegetables are
frequently cooked with meats, plantains are usually boiled separately or roasted
close to the fire. Most cooking utensils used by the Fang near the coast are iron
or brass pots, imported by white traders ; but farther inland the native pots are
much more in vogue. These native pots are made of grey clay and sun-dried ; they
become harder and stronger by use, and vary in size and capacity from a pint to
about three gallons.
Cooking vessels are not kept very clean, being simply rinsed out with a little
water ; but if the vessel is a brass trade pot or kettle, it is usually taken to the
river or a near stream, and scoured bright ; but I fear the chief reason for doing
New Sbrixs, Vol. II, Nos. 1 and 2. O
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82 A. L Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang.
this is, because, to a Fang eye, polished brass looks mbung (handsome) and is
attractive for trade. Vessels are usually placed on top of the fire and not
suspended over it ; vegetables are frequently placed in stew^. No separate dwelling
house exists for cooking, it is carried on in the dwelling house. The water used to
wash a dirty pot with is often thrown out on the earth floor of the dwelling,
children playing in the wet dirt. In all domestic matters the Fang are very filthy.
I have on more than one occasion when inside a native hut seen children micturate
and defecate on the earth floor close to where the mother was cooking, the women
and men present taking very little notice, and only occasionally placing the child
outside the door. Cooking is exclusively the duty of women, a real man will not
cook. Food is often highly seasoned with hot native red and green peppers, and
food thus prepared is much appreciated. The food is usually well cooked through,
with the exception of plantains which are often only half boiled and served quite
hard. Large round stones are used for rubbing and reducing to powder gourd
seeds and various tubers. Smoking and salting are the only methods practised
for preserving food, and on account of the value of salt and the difficulty of
transporting it inland, it is seldom thus employed.
Drinks. — Rum has been carried from the coast by white traders and natives
far inland and is used whenever obtainable, but the chief drink is cold water.
Palm wine is made called meyak. Except in places where a trade factory existed
I have seen very few cases of intoxication among the Fang, but when they can
obtain rum it seems to completely demorahze them. Tea and coffee are known to
people living near white settlers. When a party of headmen and others have
taken a meal at the mission house, tea and coffee were greatly enjoyed and cups
frequently re-filled. The first meal is usually about eight or nine o'clock ; the
natives think the white man eats very early ; a mid-day meal is served and the
evening repast is usually about sunset.
Food is frequently brought to the men inside the abeyig (palaver house) ; at other
times an entire family eats together inside the dwelling house. No ceremonies
whatever precede the commencement of meals. When a son is bom, or on the
occasion of a wedding, and after some large palaver has been settled, a feast is
usually given. Invited guests and strangers partake together with the town folk
of the food prepared ; it is usually served on the earth floor of the palaver house,
on plantain leaves, and in cooking pots, each person helping himself. The women
do not eat with the men inside the palaver house.
Mode of preparing Mhoa,
Ba du mbda osui, e vdm a ne nddtdl : a haga homa melu iriela, he keli tds : he sdli
ne nye : he ndu mhuk : he kezi nye mhuk iti he nou ntum : hefla tyak : hdnga vul: he
kaga mana vul : he kezi nye e mve : vekoha ji : ve tele mvi mhoa : wena mhoa abea.
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A. L. Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes oil th-e Fang, 83
Translation,
They put cassava to soak in the river, in a place where there is (plenty of)
mud. When it has lain there tliree days, they go and rub off the rind. They bring
it (to the house). They take a trough, and put the cassava in it. They take the
mashing stick. They mash the cassava. They wrap it up (in leaves). When they
have finished that, they put it in the pot. Then they light the fire. They put the
pot of iguma (on the fire). Then the iguma is hoiled,
Azo Mfini : (Plantation).
Betata basa lexia ho dia inifini (our fathers did not make plantain villages),
n'afan eto bd (because their land was near at hand, i.e., near the regular village).
Fan Vanyege infini ne bo bidji binne (Fan likes plantain \nLllage to make good food, i.e.,
because thus they get good food). Bikon e djel ine, betok (Plantains in town have
(one) small). Infini nc djal moe afan bihh (Plantain village is a good town
(because) land {i.e., good land) near). Nson ane afan betata benga to bibd (Like the
land where the fathers were near). Bangiye infini, ne dzi bidji binni, Mo'mbok a
gouevi bstyit : bevok benga s6m (They hke the plantain village (because) there they
eat good food. One person kills game (meat) others buy). Menda infini me vie bo
dbd (Houses of plantain villages soon q)oil).* Fan, Badji asas mboa kidiccse (Fan
they eat a meal of cassava in the morning).
Eegarding the Fki tabooing certain foods or performance of certain actions a^
in vogue among the Fang, I learned from a friend and confrere, Eev, R H.
Nassau, D.D., M.D., of Gaboon, that the Fki of the Fang is precisely similar to the
Orunda of the Mpongwe. Dr. Nassau is a veteran missionary of thirty-seven
years' African experience, and he is always ready to help others who are sufficiently
interested in the natives to inquire about them. I know of no one on the West
Coast more willing or eminently able than he for imparting information regarding
the people among whom he has laboured.
XI. — Anthropophagy.
Cannibalism prevails among the Fang beyond question, and only fear of
the law keeps him somewhat in check. I am able to speak of the Fang as
anthropophagi ; not alone from information gathered, but from having once had
the opportunity of visiting a town two days after a victim had been killed and
eaten.
This town, named Olunda, is on the right bank of the Nkomo river, about
60 miles from the seat of government in tlie Congo Fran^ais. Whilst visiting the
town Nenge-nenge (the island of islands) in the autumn of 1898, a native trader
named Arkendengi, employed by a British trading house at Gaboon, informed me
* It is very true that houses having plantains growing near, soon rot ; this is due to the
dampness caused by loss of sunlight and heat
G 2
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84 A. L. Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang,
that a man had been killed and eaten only two days before at the town of Olunda
two miles below Nenge-nenge. Old king Kelun at Nenge-nenge confirmed the
report, and in compliance with my request, loaned me an interpreter to accompany
me to the place.
The tide being favourable, I decided to start without telling my boat boys the
reason for my hasty departure. Olunda is quite close to the^river bank, but
upon our arrival the water had fallen so low that the only way to reach the town
was by wading knee deep in mud up the bank. The people eyed our boat and
myself in particular with marked suspicion, and much talking was indulged in
during our landing. The headman was the most villainous looking specimen of a
Fang I have ever met ; he was well built and very muscular, but his face was
extremely ugly and brute-like : he had only one eye, and an evil-looking one it
was. He wore on his head an old red worsted trade cap, and smoked a dirty
native clay pipe.
The object of my visit was well hidden, and we chatted on various matters
in the palaver house. When I expressed a desire to walk through the town and
treat any of his sick people, the headman said, " No sick here, people all away,
let us talk in the aieng " (palaver house). However, without giving him any
notice I presently left the palaver house and walked out into the main road, and
the crowd followed. The headman repeatedly assured me that the town was not
worth seeing; but I strolled leisurely along. Half-way through the town I
noticed a quantity of intestines strung out to dry on sticks, and to the great
annoyance of the headman and people, I made an examination of them which
convinced me that they had been removed quite recently from a human body.
I was assured that thay were entrails from a deer and were being dried for
the purpose of covering gourds to hold gunpowder. I then told the people the
reports I had heard, also that I knew the intestines then drying were human, and
accused them of cannibalism. They were very indignant, and declared, as all
Fangs do, that their tribe never eat men. " Oh no, people in the far bush did,
only bad Fang did so." A few moments later I picked up a human clavicle in
the palaver house and took it away with me, threatening to report the matter to
the Government.
In the palaver house of this same town was a boy of about sixteen years, in
chains, held as a hostage. I arranged to return in a few days and try to bring
the lad to our mission station, but upon my return I again stopped at Nengi-
Nengi, and then heard that the boy had been killed and eaten shortly after my
departure.
I am inclined to believe that the reason for eating human flesh by the Fang
is the result of a craving for animal food. The victims are generally males
captured either in war, or members of other tribes waylaid and killed while
journeying in the bush.
A Fang man told me that once he ate " some man " because he was persuaded
to, and that it " passed goat far " (much superior to goat). He added, " I never do
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A. L. Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang, 85
so now because I known it's wrong." His latter statement I gave very little
credit to.
Fang who admitted to me that " bad Fang eat men, but not the people of
their town or tribe," asserted that all parts of the body are eaten; that the
victims are not considered as sacrifices to any gods, but that the bones are used
for hiang (medicine).
Human flesh does not form part of the regular food of the people, and to a
certain extent the natives seem ashamed to admit that " other Fang eat men " ; they
never admitted to me that any of their tribe did so.
XIL — Beligion, Fetish or Biang (medicine).
These anthropophagi have some idea of God, a superior being, their Tata
(father) a bo mam Tnesese (he made all things). Anyarribi is their tata and ranks
above aU other Fang gods, because a'ru y6p (he is above, lit, lives in heaven). The
Fang have other or minor gods, the greatest of whom was Sekdme, and many Fang
say Sekdme and Anyambi are one and the same god ; hence the saying " Sekdme anga
kdm mam mesese " (Sekome he made (arranged) all things). The following is a list
of Fang minor gods :
Nzame.
Mabeka.
Nkwa.
Sekome (reported as being Anyambi).
Ube.
Nzame begat Mabeka.
Mabeka begat Nkwa.
Nkwa begat Sekome.
Sekfime begat Ube.
The Fang have no religion in the generally accepted meaning of the word,
for it is mostly made up of an unlimited and disconnected chain of superstitious
beliefs.
The key-note of the superstitious beliefs of the Fang is that the Present and
Future is filled with innumerable numbers of spiritual beings. The great spirit
Tata (father) Anyambi or Sekdme is considered indifferent to the wants and
suflferings of men, women and children. I do not believe that worship is directed
in any way whatever to the spirits of Present and Future, the natives seeming
rather to consider propitiation, exhortation and supplication as the three things
most essential and necessary. The spirits of Present and Future possess to a large
degree the better human passions, and also the baser ones. The origin of these
innumerable spirits of Present and Future is extremely vague : Anyambi or Sekdme
is credited with having created many ; others are the souls of dead relatives, still
retaining after death human sensations and desires. The Fang have the same
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86 A. L. Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang,
idea as the Bulu regarding two great gods. The Zambe of the Bulii is the Anyambi
or Sekdme of the Fang, the tata or father of all things ; and another god of less
power than Anyambi or Sekdmt, who lives in the forests and is so tall that he
gathers fruit from the highest trees. Some of the old men and women profess to
have seen this god of the forests.
Fang superstition includes transmigration ; a departed human soul may enter
any animal dwelling on top of the earth or in it. There are spirits of health and
disease, also a protecting spirit belonging to a clan or tribe, in whose honour a
small basket is hung in the palaver house, containing portions of the skull of an
albino, whenever obtainable, also portions of the skulls of a relative and a
chimpanzee, human hair, nails and bones. This fetish or hiang is called the
Biang Akaniayon^, Most Fang have a cabalistic word assigned to them by the
ngangan (w^itch doctor), and this word is used as a prayer. During the new
moon, dances are nearly always indulged in, and the songs usually addressed
to the spirits of Present and Future. Local spirits need constant propitiation ;
a native passing in his canoe a spot where a local spirit dwells, as a large rock,
will pay his respects by casting a piece of his food into the river, or when in the
forest a few stones or a piece of mbda (cassava) is laid at the root of some great
tree.
Wooden idols are not plentiful among the Fang tribes living along the rivers ;
they are seen more in the palaver houses of the bush towns.
Charms. — These may be only cabalistic words, and under this head of vocal
charms must be included the incantations of the ngangan (witch doctor).
Material charms. — These are by far the most common; the belief in
material charms, fetish, occupies the most prominent place in Fang religious
contemplation.
Among the Fang, the English word Fetish, from the Portuguese word Feticio,
is Biang (medicine). A Fang fetish is any material object which the ngangan
(doctor) has consecrated and made a fit abiding place for a spirit. What may be
consecrated ? Anything, absolutely anything ; a shell, rag, stone, twig of a tree,
horns, nails, etc. The horns of small antelope and large deer are filled with resins,
nails, human hair, faeces, etc. To bewitch a person it is necessary to give the
ngangan a piece of the hair, nail, a portion of the food or a drop of blood of the
person to be bewitched. A Fang is most careful if he cuts himself to see that only
friends and relations approach him until the bleeding has ceased, and hair
when cut is usually burnt without delay. As mentioned in the section of this
paper on food, every child during infancy is subjected to certain rites which
constitute his or her Eki, prohibiting the child from eating a certain kind of food
or performing a certain act. Thus far, the superstitious beliefs of the Fang and
Bulu are precisely similar, and I gathered from Dr. Nassau at Gaboon many
facts connected with the people among whom he laboured, the Mpongwe, which
showed that they also held supei*stitious beliefs very nearly, and in some cases
precisely similar to those of the Bulu and Fang, the only difference being in the
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A. L. Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang. 87
name, the EH of the Fang being the Orunda of the Mpongwe. One day when ou
a journey among the people, I asked an old headman to share with me a chicken
my boy had prepared for supper ; the old man seemed pleased at my invitation,
but asked the boy if it was a hen or cock fowl. Upon being informed that it was
a cock, he declined to eat any of it ; that was his EkL As previously stated, I do
not believe the natives worship the spirits of Present and Future, but to a certain
degree ancestral worship does exist. A Fang places the skull of his father in a
curious receptacle of bark, worshipping it, killing fowls and making blood oflFerings
to it, and in many ways the whole matter somewhat resembles the worshipping
at graves and before ancestral tablets as practised in China. The natives often
pray to their father's skull before talking a large war palaver, or the purchase of a
new woman. As worshipping departed ancestors is the chief duty of a faithful
Chinaman, so making oflFerings and prayers to the departed father's spirit before
the skull constitutes the great Fang fetish, or hieti. Wooden idols, hiycmc, of men
and women are made in a manner which makes the sex extremely apparent ; yet
whenever I have seen these figures in towns, the people did not seem to regard
them as obscene, but as truthful representations of the sexes. I feel sure that to
some extent, at least, phallic worship is practised among the Fang. Spirits are
everywhere ; in rocks, trees, forests, and streams ; in fact, for the Fang, this life is
one continual fight against spirits corporal and spiritual.
A peculiar belief regarding dreams is that when a person sleeps the soul often
wanders away, and its experiences on these journeys are made known to the sleeper
by dreams. After death the soul may inhabit any kind of animal.
Fetish Biang (medicine). — Fetish means anything; leopard teeth, human
finger nails, hair, wood, iron, herbs. The article used as Hang or fetish, has no
intrinsic value, it is only valued because of connecting its owner with a spirit
which can aid him. The leopard tooth fetish is supposed to impart the bravery of
the leopard to its owner. Fetish is a spirit or combination of spirits manifested
in material things.
Dili Mkuk, — To murder a person and save his skull as a fetish, or use the
skull as medicine to bring women, guns, goats or goods. The people will make
ofiTerings to the skulls calling them by the names of persons killed. It is said that
these prayers are always answered as desired.
Biang e Soli (hiding medicine). — A man goes and takes leaves of trees, and cuts
them up. He says, " I have cut up leaves of trees " (or high grass, bushes). The
women shell gourd seeds and mash them. They catch a fowl, kill it, and put it in
the pot. They also put in the pot the medicine leaves, and the mashed gourd
kernels. They put the pot on the fire, and boil (its contents). When they have
boiled it, the medicine is cooked. They take the medicine pot off (the fire). They
go and put it by the side of (afua) the back of the hieti. The man who has put
it there says to the bieti, other people want to kill me. He takes away the
medicine pot. He opens the bieti basket. He takes a small piece of the bono
(instead of this say to the woman and children he takes the excrement of the
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88 A. L. Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang,
hieti). He brings it. He eats the fowl. When finished, he takes a bone of
the fowl and the excrement of the Ueti. He cuts his nails and his hair. He ties
(all these things) up in a bundle or packs them inside the horn of a small deer
and keeps it.
When a man goes on a journey he carries this medicine with him. Another
person cannot see him as he journeys.
This is the Bian^ e Soli,
Bian^-nkama, — ^The people get up and take machetes and cut a clearing.
When they have finished the clearing is open and bright. If a man has died and
been long in the grave, they take his bones, and lay them out on the ground. They
cover them over with earth. They take other bones, and cut them up into small
pieces. They put (these pieces) in a basket : they put in also red dye, and scrapings
from the bark of trees. They close up the basket. If they go to war, they carry
the basket (suspended by a cord from) the shoulder They take the red dye which
is in the basket and smear the body with it. If an enemy (literally, a person)
fires a gun (at them), they will not be pierced (by the pieces of iron pot used as
bullets).
This is the Biang-nkama, Do not tell it to women or children ; only to
grown real men — for it is tabooed.
iVarfo Bukun, — Fang make it thus. If a man makes witch medicine, he kills
his brother and other people. They say, let us make naaJce bukun. They take a
corpse, and go with it to the bush. They cut bush. The bush is clear and open.
They sweep clear the place which they have cut. They lay down the corpse in the
place which they have swept. They dig plenty of dirt, and make it in the shape
of an elephant (over the corpse). They make the trunk, the tusks, the eyes, the
legs, the tail, the ears. They finish and return to the town. They say, we have
made nzake buJcun (n^zaJce means elephant). They say if a man goes out to kill by
witchcraft, he will die. If a man wishes to kill another with poison, he will die.
If a man lies with a woman in the daytime he will die. Let not a woman eat a
pig. And so they say, they have made this fetish, the nzake-bukun, . When they
have done so, if a man lies with a woman in the daytime he gets sick. They go
and scrape trees in the bush ; they bring water from the river, and put the
scrapings in the water. They catch a fowl outside and put it in the medicine-
water. They touch the man's body over with the fowl. And so that man, they
heal him from his fetish-sickness. Then he is well.
This is NzaJce bvhin,
Biang-abatioTig. — If a man has married two or three women, and loves one, but
dislikes the others, the latter feel badly. They make biang abaiiong. When they
go to pass their faeces, they take a very small piece of their faeces. They rub off
the grease from their skin, and mix this grease with the small piece of dung.
They put it (the mixture) on the drying-shelf (over the fire). When it is dry they
mash it to powder, and put it in the neck of a gourd. They take also a shrub
called abatofl (known only by women) and put it in a small gourd (not the neck of
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A, L. Bennett, — Mhiiogmphical Notes on the Fang, 89
gourd mentioned above). They put oil in it. They keep it hidden. No one else
is allowed to see it.
When the woman cooks food for her husband, she takes the medicine, which
she puts in the neck of the gourd, and puts it in her husband's food, then his heart
is changed. In the evening the woman smears herself with the abatong, which she
had put in the small gourd. When she and her husband lie down, if she touches
her husband, the medicine which she has eaten makes his heart change. Though
he liked her before, now he loves her on account of the IdaTtg-abationg.
This is the Biang-abationg,
Biang-mikal (adultery medicine). — People go and scrape medicine in the bush.
If they come with the medicine, they put it in the pot. They put water in the pot.
They go and catch a fowl. They cut the fowl's neck ; they put the blood in the
medicine with the scrapings from trees. They take medicine that is in the water,
they pour it on the person's head. They also take a certain medicine called ngwcia
and rub it on the face of the sick person. They again rub it on his belly. Then
they have cured the person of the minkaL Tlie fowl used is not to be eaten by the
sick person, others may do so. Then he is healed.
This is the same medicine used to detect adultery. If a person commits
adultery with another man's wife, and then speaks a lie denying the affair, the
person accused must drink the biang-viikal to show the people he is innocent. If
he is guilty the medicine makes him sick, and he dies or trouble comes to his
people. If guilty, medicine is made to call the curse back.
This is the Biaivg-mikal,
Biang-ndona (medicine for young men, eloping medicine). — If a person goes on
a journey and sees a virgin, he courts or loves her. Then the virgin accepts him.
He and she go and lie down. The young man says, " Let us go in my town." If the
\drgin does not accept, then the young man tries to persuade her. The virgin says,
" I go later." The young man says, " If you go later, give me hair for a souvenir."
Then the virgin scratches over her heart. She takes the hair of her head and the
blood from the scratch over her heart and gives it to the young man. He goes to
his town, he says, " I'll first make medicine." He takes the hair and the blood. He
takes a small piece of witch medicine. He also takes plenty of leaves. He puts the
small piece of witch medicine with the leaves. The hair and the blood he also puts
in the leaves. He mixes all in the leaves. He hangs them in the hieti basket. He
says, " Bieti, I want to marry a woman. Take her for me." This eloping medicine
hangs one day. In the morning he cuts medicine and puts it on top of a tree.
He leaves the medicine on top of the tree. He goes again to the young virgin. He
says, " I have come, I come to take you." The young virgin says, " I will go
to-morrow." He sleeps. The young man when day breaks says, " Let us go." The
young virgin says, " I will surely go." Then the young man elopes with the young
virgin ; he comes with her to his town. Father of the young virgin he comes
vexed. The young man kills a goat for the father of the young virgin. They finish
eating the goat. He (the father) sleeps one day. Next morning the young man
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90 A. L. Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang,
gives him (the father) the beki (dowry). The father of the young virgin takes the
goods to his town ; the young man remains in possession of the woman.
They marry with Uang-ndoma, eloping medicine thus.
This is Biang-ndoma,
Biang-akong (war medicine). — Told me by Fara-deu, a Fang, Esisis clan, at
Foulabifong, Nkomo river, April 19tfc, 1898. This biang was illustrated to me ; a
leopard tooth is the Biang-akong.
Make a bowl of war medicine, of leaves, roots, and bark. Call all people of
the town. Drop the leopard tooth into the medicine. If the point of the tooth
looks toward the people we have a palaver (trouble) with, then we must go and
fight and we will vNin. If the root of the tooth points toward the people we have
a palaver with, then we must tahe si (sit down) or our enemies will win if we go to
fight them.
This is the Biang-akong.
Biang-akamayong, — This biayig is the protector of the tribe or nation (aydng,
tribe).
Told me by Es8ya-6vum, the headman of Foulabifong on the Nkomo river,
who sold me the complete set of the Biaiig-akamayoTig belonging to the dead head-
man *' Commisan." I present this Hang for your inspection this evening. The tin
canister was obtained from a white man and is used in place of the usual basket
to carry bones in. It contains portions of the skull of an albino (male), portions
of the skull of a mon nguri, young chimpanzee, red powder and a variety of native
medicine.
This hiang-akamayong is always carried by the headman of a town during war.
A bell hangs from the bottom of the canister containing the bones ; it rings
when the headman walks.
Nko, — The small horn belonging to the biang-akajnayong has ngom (porcupine
tail) in it, also native medicine. It is used to cure people having witches. A bowl
of medicine is made. The ngom is dipped in the medicine bowl and the sick person
sprinkled with the medicine. Then the witch departs.
At this point the headman Esoya stopped talking. He said, " The children who
have gathered around your house must go away ; no real man dare talk about the
biang-akainayong before women and children." I told the children to go and Es8ya
continued.
Tlie whistle. — This is part of the biang-akamayong ; it has been cooked (boiled)
in the medicine bowl and has great power when used by the headman in calling
the men together after a fight.
MouL — This is the large horn with a piece of looking glass on top. This hom
contains much medicine, and next to the bones is the most important part of the
bian^-akamayong.
The two small antelope horns, and the small bundles of medicine, are biang e
soli (hiding medicine) ; it makes the person carrying the biang-akaTnayong invisible
to the enemy.
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A. L. Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang, 91
The skin of a bush cat is part of the Uang-akamayoTig called " Nsin."
The Mvang. — A triangular piece of iron filled with medicine, used to keep
away witches, is also part of the biang-akamaydng.
Biang-akong or biang-abal (war medicine). — This is also part of the Hang-
akamayong, and the shots from the guns of an enemy are of no avail.
One other important fetish hangs with the Mang-akamayong,
A piece of very hard wood. Only a certain kind of woman is selected to find
this wood; she is called a special or selected woman on account of certain
peculiarities connected with her, e.g., she always fails to catch fish, she may try all
day but will not succeed in catching fish. The husband of such a woman, after
intercourse with her, fails to catch fish the next day, he also fails to work. This
is the kind of woman always selected to find this wood ; it is hard wood, she is a
hard woman, and she is called Emunega ane alert (the woman who is hard). This
medicine is also called biang-akong, and shot from the guns of an enemy will not
barm.
This is the Biang-akamayong.
XIIL— Witchcraft. Evus. (Witch.)
If a person goes out to make witch (witch medicine, or play witch to harm
others) he dies. The people take him to the backyard. Other people say, " We
want to take the witch." If the corpse is a female, they open the beUy. If the
corpse is a male, they open the heart. They see the witch, they take it. If they
bring the witch, they lay it on the smoke shelf. It dries. When finished diying
they say, " We will use it as medicine."
This is Evics (witch).
Cursing dead Relations. — Written at Foulabifong, Nkomo river, April 13th,
1898. Told me by 6v6n ; fully confirmed by Ogandaga and Interpreter Koby.
Ekanesong (to curse dead relations). — This is a Fang custom, A man has a
palaver with another, or goods stolen. He desires to get even with the thief. He
calls a friend and curses his friend's dead relations, saying,
" Go and kill that person for me, or go and make him pay me goods ; if you
do so, I will then pay you for having cursed your dead relations." It is a serious
matter to have dead relations cursed, and the friend feels very bad. He must do
as bid, or he is branded as a coward, and after he has completed his task he then
makes claim for payment.
Nge me bd jam dili, nge vie ta miiibin (If I do it, may I see the corpses [of my
people]). A Fang way of swearing an oath.
Ami ye mimbim mia, yinga me bat (My friend, by the corpses of your
relations, kill those people for me).
Notes on EbSmeda (a curse).
IloTig z'ayoge (a curse that kills).
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92 A. L. Bennett. — Ethnographiccd Notes on the Fang.
Vazege me Hong ovga I6m Trie (Take away the curse you have [sent] put
upon me).
Vazege me bibomeda (Take away the curse).
Vazege me hiyoge (Take away the curse).
B6t bene mbdmcda cb Anyambe edjam e mam mebe mda (People are cursed of
God on account of their sins).
Xl\,—The Ngl {A Fang Secret Society,)
To members (Bemvon) the following things or bityi are forbidden : —
Bityi : —
1. To go and make or play at witch (make evus).
2. A male fowl is not to be eaten (shared) by two men of different clans.
3. Fish called ngole must not be partaken of with a woman.
4. Only the initiated are permitted to eat the fish called ngoTie.
5. Only the initiated may witness the Ngi dances. A woman who
attempts to witness an Ngi dance will sicken and die.
6. Only the initiated must know about the bones used by Ngi.
7. A member of the Ngi society is not permitted to sleep on his back.
8. Food refuse must not be destroyed by fire.
9. To spit in the fire is against the law of Ngi (not permitted).
10. An uninitiated person will die if embraced by an Ngi.
11. To kick over rotten wood, logs, or forest stumps, is forbidden.
12. To cut a stick half through in the bush, and then bring it to town and
break it, is forbidden. It must be cut through and the two pieces
carried.
13. To kick the feet together after getting in bed, for the purpose of
removing dust, is forbidden.
The violation of any of these mentioned bityi will bring misfortime and
death on the bemvon (member).
Ngi means gorilla among the Fang ; Nji means gorilla among the Bulu. The
Bulu have the Nji secret society, which is reported as being precisely similar to
the Fang Ngi ; it came to the Bulu from the Fang.
XV,— War.
During a tribal war all adults act as warriors. There is no regular organisation
of fighting men. It is a typical guerilla warfare. Parties of young men go forth
at night to attack towns ; othera watch the forest paths to shoot men passing and
women going to work in the gardens. The Fang are noted for their love of war ; they
are the most warlike people in all West Africa. When a tribal war is on, a headman
frequently goes out with a raiding party to attack the town ; he carries with him
the biang-akamayong (protecting medicine of the tribe). The usual mode of attack
is as follows : Having decided to attack a town, the party of men (usually ten or
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A. I* Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang. 93
fifteen) take their flint-lock muskets, heavily loaded with trade powder and a
handful of broken iron pot (iron trade pots) or small stones, and creep up close to
the town after dark. Two men try to enter the town unobserved ; if they succeed,
then they knock at the door of a hut and say, " We are strangers travelling ; give
us fire and food." Directly a person inside the house opens the door, both men
discharge their guns into the house, and immediately run for the bush toward
their comrades. The whole town is soon in pursuit, and unless careful they run
into an ambuscade prepared for them. A fight may occur, but more often the
attackiug party return to their town in triumph, shouting : " We are real men, we
are real men, we have been to town, we have shot a man (or woman), we are men
— ^real men." There is gi-eat rejoicing in their town, and a dance follows. If the
palaver is a serious one, the town is often stockaded with split logs placed vertically
in the ground ; huts are likewise stockaded. Poisoned bamboo spikes are buried in
the forest paths to wound the feet of an enemy. The weapons used and relied on
to-day are flint-lock muskets. Spears are rapidly falling into disuse. The cross-
bow is only used for shooting birds and small bush cats. It is a mistaken idea that
the arrows used with the cross-bow are poisoned. Shields are not used. The chief
causes of war are disputes over women, hence called " women palavers," and these
feuds may last for years. Prisoners are often permitted to starve to death, and
are occasionally killed and eaten. Owing to a bitter feud it is often impossible
for the women to work in the gardens or fish on the river, the consequence being
a great scarcity of food. In Foulabifong, where I resided, a woman palaver lasted
over ten months, and the three adjoining towns were in a state of famine. A prisoner
was nearly starved to death, and I had to repeatedly plead for him. During these
feuds many women are shot while walking the paths. The Fang think it quite
correct to shoot a woman ; they say, " It is always safe to shoot a woman because
she cannot shoot back." Prisoners are frequently exchanged, others are held as
hostages.
Ahal (ivar). Tratislation.
If people are going to war they go in crowds. If they approach near the
town (of the enemy) they hold a council. An old man (one) he says tims : We
will go to fire when ? Then the others say, We will go in the night. Then they
stay (sit) there until night. Darkness comes, and they light a torch. Then two
or three people go to the town, and the other people remain in the bush. If the
people who went to the town find people sleeping, then they point their guns inside
a house and fire. Then people die. Then they go back running to meet the
other people. Then they all gather in one place and return singing to their own
town. Then they beat the drum and rejoice. Then the people who remained in
the town say : Tell us the news as you went. Then they tell the news. Then the
headman sits down and tells all the people in town that a person must not go
anywhere alone. Then all the people hear, and all sit down (remain around their
town to await events).
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Ngang {Doctor). Translation.
The Ngang (witch doctor) prophesies war. If the war comes and is in the
bush, then the doctor takes medicine wrapped in bush cat skin called mebup, and
medicine in horns. He holds the horns in his hands. He counts the horns ; he
hangs the mebup. He says to the mchup, I say thus : No person must go to the
forest. If a person goes anywhere the enemy will kill him. If a person says,
I will not listen to the doctors' talk, I will go and do my work ; then if he goes,
the enemy kill him. If they kill a person, they take the heart and put it in
the aiup. They take an old witch and put it in the dbup. Then if the doctor
prophesies, the witch speaks from inside the medicine. The heart of the peraon,
it talks.
XVI. — Hunting Traps,
The Fang are skilful hunters, but they justly give the credit of the chase to
the Nqui (dwarfs). I have been told that a dwarf will go hunting in the bush and
return with meat after a hunting party has returned unsuccessful from the same
locality ; the dwarfs have great patience. If while hunting in the forest a man
sees a deer, he shouts for assistance : others come and help hunt. If the deer is
killed, all claim a share, after one-third has been given to the man who first sighted
the game. This is the custom when a man walking unarmed in the forest sights
meat, and calls for aid. Meat killed by a regular hunting party is carried to their
town and divided. Dogs are used to hunt game, the dogs wear wooden bells around
the neck, sometimes the bells are made of iron. Flint-lock guns are used when
hunting. Before a hunting party starts out it is the custom to make hian^ nzali
(gun medicine), and to place the guns in it ; this makes them shoot straight The
natives imitate very cleverly the calls of certain animals and birds for the purpose
of decoy. Occasionally they drive game into an enclosure called olam. Spears
are seldom used in the chase. The crossbow is used for shooting birds and small
bush cats.
Poisoned arrows are not used with the crossbow. Pitfalls for game are dug and
covered with small branches and leaves ; pigs and small deer frequently fall into them.
A Fang never attempts to hit a bird on the wing. In firing the flint-locks the gun
is not carried to the shoulder, but held by the stock in front of the body, the butt
being on a level with the waist. Game laws are unknown.
After a successful hunting expedition the whole town indulges in a feast, men,
women, and children eat until gorged ; after a period of rest dancing commences
and is kept up throughout the night.
Olam {Trap). Translation.
They take smaU trees and bamboo leaves and bush rope, and make a long
fence. They leave holes for the traps and holes for the pitfalls {i.e.y opposite the
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A. L. Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang. 95
places where they are going to build these respectively), large bush rat, porcupine,
squirrels, die in the traps ; deer, gazelle, antelope, large deer and pigs die in the
pitfalls. The animals which die in the olam are these. This is the olam,
XYIL— Burials.
Death is never considered as due to natural causes. Disease followed by death
is due to evus (witch). It is not considered unlucky to attend a dying person.
The body is usually left in the house until burial. Embalming is not practised.
Mourners smear white clay on their bodies and wear necklaces of pineapple fibre
for one moon (month). A coflBn is not used and the body is buried in the sitting
posture. After burial the grave is levelled off as is the case almost throughout
West Africa ; the only difference between the burial of a headman and a common
man is in the amount of visitors and mourning, and the quarrelling over his goods.
Wives of a dead headman remain in mourning from one to three moons (months).
The witch doctor, ngan^an, usually performs a post mortem to find the witch.
I attended a post mortem on an old woman. The witch doctor ripped open the
abdomen with an old rusty knife, grasped and cut away the uterus and holding it
up to the crowd declared " Six witches ! " The crowd passed the word " six witches,"
and spoke the praises of the witch doctor. Eelations usually continue to mourn or
wail for one moon while inside the house or at work in the gardens. The most
common wail is 6 nan 6 ! tat 6 ! (Oh mother ! Oh father !).
XYlll.—Ak6m.
This is a dance. It is not hiang (medicine)- nor is it eki. It is, however,
practised by men only. The women must not see it. The latter stay within doors,
and only hear the words which the men speak outside. The men speak with artificial
voices, so that the women cannot recognise who it is that is speaking. {Fam a
kobo ne kUt zie nkSt.) To make the artificial sounds they use a membrane (ten)
which encloses the young of the spider (ndenhda). This they spread over a hole
(about I inch diameter) near the small end of an elephant tusk {rribang nzok) from
1 to 2^ feet in length, attaching it with beeswax {ahe) or a liquid which is obtained
from a plantain stalk fresh cut. This juice is called akirL It possesses an
adhesive property. The man blows on the large end of the ivory. A curious
sound then issues through the membrane so that the man's voice cannot be
recognised. This instrument is called mhang akdm. The act of playing on the
instrument is called e kobe akdm {e kohe, talk). The performer sings songs ; the
words are distinctly heard. He sings and all others sing responsively (a ye
bo'besegese Vaka).
Many songs are used in ak6m. Here are three specimens of them : —
(1) Benza Vahste kobo ? Beso benga wog mvL Wlio speaks any more ?
(t.e., Be silent, let no one speak.) Others are listening with pleasure
(i.e., to the performance).
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96 A. L Bennett. — Ethnographical Notes on the Fang.
Response by the audience : Nangekobe. This word seems to have
no meaning but to be simply used as a responsive utterance.
(2) Ak6m he yeye zazam. Let not the akSm sing my song. This
supposes that another similar performance {ak6m) is going on in the
neighbourhood, and the performers in it are urged not to make use
of the song used by those in the first (akdni),
liesponse : Ziazw, akdm ,ke yeye zazam. The word ziazia, like
nangekohe, appears to have no meaning, and to be simply used as a
responsive utterance.
(3) Ke hele me nzok zam ne mabata. Do not catch hold of my instrument
(tusk of elephant) with maiata, i.e., because you have the sickness
mabata (a kind of sloughing phagedina).
Eesponse : Ziazia ; ke bele me nzok zam ne mahata,
XIX. — Abnormalities {Natural Dtformities\ Albinism, Erythi*ism.
During my residence among the Fang I saw five albinoes (shown on lantern
slide). The natives say of these albinoes : " They are white, but not real white
people." They are treated fairly well ; their ever restless eyes cause them much
ridicule and annoyance. I know of only one being married. They are not long
lived. After death the skull of an albino is greatly valued for medicine, especially
for placing with the biang-aJcamayeng (protector of the tribe).
Erythrism is occasionally met with. A red-haired Fang lived in the town of
Jam-anen (large affair) ; his skin was chocolate colour, but his eyes had a pale
pinkish colour. The first sight of a red-headed black man surprised me very
much.
Hare lip is very rarely seen.
One case of hermaphrodism came under my notice, a Fang male ; he was looked
on as an ngangan (witch doctor) of great power, and was much reverenced.
Deformations {Artificial Deformities),
A. Facial. — The triangular nasal cartilage is frequently pierced. This
practice is mostly indulged in by women. Bars of bamboo are
inserted or porcupine quills. It is considered mbicng (handsome).
The lips are not pierced or deformed in any way.
The ears are pierced and ear-rings worn.
Fetish is also suspended from the ears.
B. Dental, — Males file the upper and lower incisors to a sharp point.
The only reason given is, " it is mbung " (handsome).
XX. — Fang Proverbs and Sayings.
Ma k&m warn nlem, I think in my heart.
Me ka, I am gone, said in taking leave.
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A. L. Bennett. — Ethrwgraphical Notes on the Fang. 97
A skiihut nlem, he has a foolish heart.
A nyegl nydle zie, he likes his own body (is conceited).
Azd dill tyineha mvus, this matter (palaver or quarrel) is pushed back (i.e., is to
be forgotten).
Wyen njil, w*yen nde, mdt ekdge yen owaban, you see your grandson and your
great-grandson, but you cannot see the next generation.
Kunge esoale we enseki, go ; your father calls you down the street (a hint to leave).
Asong avoti da hdl ami, one rotten tooth spoils all (a person once caught lying
cannot be trusted).
Me si nione kal meyong mese, I am not sister's son to all tribes (i.e., I am not
everybody's servant).
Ejd avoge ane ejima, another day is beautiful (like our gaying " Every dog has
his day").
Moil kon a'ycn avoti, mon mdt mnjen m*bei, you can see a ghost once but a
person twice.
Mon mie meduk m'bei, mmi n^ui aduk avorti, you can cheat a Fang twice, a
dwarf once (here the word mie is used for Fang),
J6 side avotiy there is more than one day (my turn will come).
M'sidie monge, I am not a child.
Discussion.
Mr. Crooke, after acknowledging the value of Dr. Bennett's researches among a
most interesting people, called attention to the attribution of the art of metallurgy
to the dwarf race, which corresponded with European folk-belief. He dwelt on the
respect paid to the Palaver House; he gathered that a fire was kept there
perpetually burning, though the cult of the sacred fire seemed to have been
forgotten. It would thus correspond to the early Ar}'^an institution of the house
where the sacred fire was tended, which survived in the Greek Prytaneum. The
author of the paper seemed to have failed to appreciate the motive of the rites of
passing widows through fire and flagellating them. Judging from the analogy of
similar rites in India and elsewhere, the object was to free the woman from the
ghost of her late husband, which was supposed to cling to and possess her.
Mr. FitzGbrald Marriott asked whether the witch-doctor who wore the
white mask was a Ngi, since in certain parts of West Africa the witch-doctor was
independent of the tribal society, while in others he was a member. He also
asked whether the dance, in which Dr. Bennett says is played the "Emban-
kong"(?) musical instrument made from an elephant's tusk, is in reality a species
of secret society ; for women and children are not allowed to see it, and it takes place
by torch-light after dark. Thus it might answer to the Zan-gbe-to of the Slave
Coast, which is a species of police society for seeing that every one is in his house
after 9 o'clock at night, or like the Ayaka society of a district near the Kwa Ibo
river, which sees that all the fires are out by a certain time. These societies also
dance, sing and shout; therefore, as there is usually something beneath West
African dances, it is probable that tlie players and dancers are a secret society or
that there is some explanation for the existence of the dance. He also remarked
New Skribs, Vol. II, Nos. 1 and 2. H
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98 Meeting of May 30th, 1899.
that the rules of the Ngi society, which Dr. Bennett had read them, were a great
step to obtaining the secret ritual of the society. Dr. Bennett had mentioned
various ibets or taboos peculiar to this society ; Mr. Marriott said that these were
to be found in most secret societies. For instance, in the Kof6n(g) of the little-
known Limba tribe of Sierra Leone, one of the taboos was that of sitting on an
axe, or other sharp instrument ; another prohibition was that of allowing any one to
hold a glowing firebrand to their face. These actions were tabooed because they
were included in the ceremony of initiation. He knew other instances, and
therefore he concluded that the taboos mentioned by Dr. Bennett were probably
actions that formed part of the ritual of initiation or progression in the secret
grades.
ORDINAEY MEETING.
MAY 30th, 1899.
C. H. Read, Esq., F.S.A., President^ in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and passed.
List of books lately presented to the Institute was read, and the thanks of the
Meeting was expressed. Mr. Ling Eoth's Aborigines of Tasmania was mentioned
more especially.
Elections of Richard J. A. Berry, Esq., and F. Swynnerton, Esq., as Fellows
of the Institute, were announced.
The President then introduced Colonel R. C. Temple, who proceeded to read
his paper, " On the Beginnings of Currency," which was well illustrated by lantern
slides. He also exhibited a valuable collection of Agri beads.
Discussion was carried on by the President, Professor Ridgway, and
Mr. Gowland, the latter exhibiting a collection of Japanese currency in support of
Colonel Temple's views.
After a short reply from Colonel Temple, the evening closed with a vote of
thanks to the lecturer.
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( 99 )
BEGINNINGS OF CUEEENCY.
By Colonel E. C. Temple.
[with plates XVIII TO XXI.]
In a lecture lately delivered before the East India Association on the
"Development of Currency in the Far East,'* I purposely passed over the
discussion of the commencement of the subject, and considered only, in view of the
time at my disposal then, that part of which relafes to the development of the
forms of currency in the Far East, existing at the present day and bearing an
established relation to coined money or to bullion, in the sense of a metal used for
money. On this occasion, however, I had purposed to take in hand the part that
I then omitted, but the vastness of the general subject has again obliged me to
confine myself within very narrow limits. I can really only now discuss the three
points of barter, currency and money in their earliest and simplest forms, confining
my evidence in this discourse chiefly to that from the Far East, and on the screen
to some leading objects on the subject to be found in the British and Oxford
Museums.
The special points I am obliged to leave to some future opportunity are the
rise of bullion weights out of measures of capacity, the development of exchange
in its modern commercial sense, the rise of coin out of bullion currency and of
legal tender out of coin, and the extreme value to mankind of legal tender, to my
mind one of the finest achievements of human reasoning powers.
With this much preface, let me commence with what we ought always to
settle upon, when about to discuss a subject like that now before us, clear
definitions of the main technicalities we shall have to use. If we are to arrive at
any definite ideas to-night we must be sure of the meanings of such terms as barter,
currency and money. Barter is exchange of possessions pure and simple. I
exchange to-day my grain for your fruit and to-morrow my adze for your knife ;
that is barter. But when our daily transactions become so far complicated as to
require some other article in common domestic use to be interposed between the
grain and the fruit and between the adze and the knife, ix., a medium between the
articles bartered, we have set up a currency and a medium of exchange. Thus :
you and I and the rest of our tribe have all got cocoanuts in varying quantities and
can find a use for them every day. I want fruit and you want grain, but instead of
exchanging my grain for your fruit I give you six pairs of cocoanuts for the fruit I
want, and later on you come to me and give me five pairs of cocoanuts for the
com you want. In the same way I give you my adze for cocoanuts and you give
me your knife for cocoanuts. Here we are bartering through a medium and
cocoanuts are our currency. When we become a little more civilised and
proceed to make purely conventional articles, usable only as a medium of exchange,
H 2
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100 Colonel R C. Temple. — Beginnings of CurreTwij,
we have set up a system of money. For currency consists of articles, real or
imaginary, used for account, i.e., for measuring the relative values of dififerent articles
of use. So many cocoanuts make one adze ; so many cocoanuts make one knife.
Whereas money consists of tokens convertible into property. So many imitation
iron spear-heads can buy an adze ; so many can buy an axe. Exchange has, it is true,
come to have in modern civilisation a secondary sense, but this belongs to quite a
different part of the subject.
Now, I hope I have made my meaning clear to you. For our present purpose,
barter is the exchange of one article for another; currency implies exchange
through a medium; money that the medium is a token. And I wish you to
observe particularly that neither currency nor money involve necessarily the use of
metals, much less of gold and silver. In fact gold and silver have come to be used
for money, and currency has come to l)e expressed in terms of gold and silver
money, merely because civilised man has long found out that these metals are the
most convenient materials to be found on the earth as media of exchange, and
that the most convenient way of measuring relative values is to express them in
terms of the media of exchange. I emphasise this point, because we shall have to
deal to-day almost entirely with money and currency that are non-bullion, i.e., not
of gold and silver.
Barter, pure and simple, does not require much explanation, and I shall
confine myself now to one plain illustration thereof from an old book, perhaps
not very well known, Davies's Translation of Olearius, Voyages and Travels of
the Ainbassadors to Moscovy, Tartary and Persia about 1635. The writer
apologises for the digression from which I am about to quote, and well he might,
for he proceeds to talk about Greenland. However, we may be glad of this, as he
tells us not only what is quaint, but exactly to the present purpose. He says : —
"There is no money in the Countrey, being so happy as not to know the
value of Gold and Silver. Iron and Steel they most esteem, and prefer a Sword or
a Hatchet before a Golden Cup, a Nail before a Crown piece, and a pair of Cisers,
or a Knife, before a Jacobus. Their trucking is thus : they put all they have to
sell together, and having picked out among the Commodities that are brought to
them, what they like best, they put them also together and suffer those they deal
with to add or diminish till such time as they are content with the bargain."
The points for our consideration in the above narration are two. Firstly, the
writer talks of " the Countrey being so happy as not to know the value of Gold and
Silver." I cannot deal with this point to-day, but I am in a position to produce
evidence, which I think would convince you of the fallacy of this popular error.
Had Ovid been possessed of a deeper insight into the springs of action he would
have written : — " EflFodiuntur opes irritamenta bonorum," and not have misled for
ages a world of unthinking followers by some truly unhappy lines. Secondly, you
will perceive that the trucking was perfectly to the content of each party to the
bargain, i.e., both to the civilised European and the savage. Each side, mark you,
viewing the bargain according to his own interest. I want to draw your particular
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Colonel H. C. Temple. — Beginnings of Onrrency, 101
attention to this fact ; because so many imperfectly informed travellers, non-trading
residents, missionaries and others have so very often unjustly vilified European
traders in their truck with savages. No doubt the civilised trader has come away
with for him a magnificent bargain, out of which elsewhere — but elsewhere please
remember it must be — ^he is going to make a fine thing. On the other hand the
savage, too, has come away more than satisfied, because with what he has got from the
trader he can procure from among his own tribe something he very much covets,
which the articles he parted with could not have procured for him. Both sides
have profited by the bargain from their respective points of view, and the trader
has not taken an undue advantage of the savage, as he is so often said to do.
I will explain this by an instance or so. In the Mergui Archipelago off the
coast of Burma, there lives in a very poor way a group of wild Malay families,
known as the Selungs, which is systematically exploited in mercantile directions by
certain Chinamen, whose proceedings have been characterised by one eminent
writer thus : —
" These poor creatures p.g., the Selungs] gather ' black coral,' eaglewood and so
on, which they exchange for a little cloth, paddy, tobacco, and perhaps * the smell
of opium ' now and then, valued at not a fifth of what they give in exchange."
By a much earlier observer we are told that " they scarcely know the value
of money, and are therefore the losers in the bartering trade with the Chinese and
others who visit them. Perhaps, they think themselves the greater gainers, since
they give products of no use to them for others of vital importance, and are thereby
enabled to maintain a wild independence."
Now, I ask you to contrast these two statements. We are told first that what
the Selungs give in exchange to the Chinamen is valued at not a fifth of what they get;
valued, that is, elsewhere in the civilised world. But the savages' point of view is
correctly put forward in the earlier statement. What they get by barter is of value
to themselves; what they give is of none. As between civilised man and the
savage the bargaining is so far fair and reasonable. It becomes unfair, when, as we
know from other sources, the traders take advantage of this people's delight in
strong liquors and make them drunk, and then conclude unconscionable bargains, by
which the savages part with their produce for an insufficient quantity of articles
of use to them.
A distinct apprehension of this point seems to me to be essential and to be so
often wanting that I feel impelled to give another clear instance. My late friend
and genial brother officer. Gen. Woodthorpe, in his account of the Lushai
Expedition of 1871-2, wrote thus : —
" A large number of Lushais had accompanied us as far as Tipai Mukh and
were busily employed in driving a few last bargains. They brought down large
quantities of india-rubber, which they eagerly exchanged for salt, equal weights,
and as the Yalue of the rubber was more than four times that of the salt, any
individuals who could command a large supply of the latter liad an excellent
opportunity for a little profitable business."
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102 Colonel E. C. Temple. — Beginnings of Currency.
Now, please observe that the profit was not altogether that of the civilised man
on this occasion, if the matter be looked at from the savages* point of view. For
Mr. Burland, an experienced civil officer with the Expedition, made in the
blue-book of the day an observation on this veiy transaction, which has been
independently confirmed by Mr. Soppitt, another friend now departed. Mr.
Burland wrote : —
" In former times these tribes made all the salt they required for their own
consumption from salt springs, and they say that to make enough salt for the
requirements of an ordinary family, a man's labour was required for three months.
A man can now collect sufficient india-rubber in one mouth to exchange with
Bengalee traders for more than enough salt to last him and his family for a year.
So that a man who chooses to occupy himself three months in collecting india-
rubber will, by bartering the same for salt, have a large surplus of that article, with
which to trade with the southern tribes, who, they say, are willing to give one
maund of rubl)er for a quarter maund of salt." The point could not be put more
clearly.
For evidence in the same direction I must allude to several cases, recorded
when military and other expeditions along the frontiers of Assam and Burma have
found that British coins could only be treated as articles of barter. During the
Lushai Expedition of 1871-2 a rupee having been given for a fowl on one occasion
the savages would only thereafter exchange fowls for rupees, though the rupees
could be got back again for the base metal coin of a neighbouring semi-civilised
State. In 1893 amongst some of the Shan Tribes along the Chinese border rupees
could not buy a pony, though small silver coins of the same number, and of course
of much less value to us, could. Amongst other Shans, copper coins alone could
purchase anything, any kind of silver failing to be attractive, and there being no
diflference in the value placed upon a rupee and its eighth part
The reason in each of the above cases is the same and clear. The savages in
question had a use respectively for the base metal, the small silver and the copper,
but none for the rupee, which to us was of very greatly the highest value.
The adherence of the Lushais to a rupee as the exchange equivalent of a fowl was
due to an accident. Having got into their heads by a chance that to us a rupee
was the proper exchange for a fowl, they stuck to it from an unreasoning suspicion
that, unless they did so, we were in some unascertainable way cheating them ; and
their subsequent exchange of the rupees so acquired for what was to us base metal
rubbish was from their point of view to their advantage.
Of course every one knows that trade will accommodate itself to any circum-
stances and evolve a modus vivendi between any two apparently irreconcilable
parties. I could give from notes, if I had the time, many quaint and instructive
instances of the working of barter as a mode of trade between savages and
civilised man, but I will content myself with one only from my own experience. I
once had to acquire for Government about 8^ acres of cocoanut- covered land in the
Island of Car Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal, I first carefully and litei-ally walked
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Colonel E. C. Temple. — Beginnivigs of Currency, 103
the boundaries, fixing them approximately with a prismatic compass to the great
awe of the sellers, and then gave them without hesitation what they considered as
much as they could dare to ask, namely, 12 suits of black cloth, 1 piece of red
cloth, 6 bags of rice, 20 packets of China tobacco, 12 bottles of Commissariat rum.
But a far more instructive instance of evolution is to be observed in our
dealings with the less civilised peoples inhabiting Burma and neighbourhood. The
Government has to preserve order by means of fines and some sort of pecuniary
penalties or enforced compensations, and it has to collect revenue in some shape
or other, and for these purposes it must have perforce some means of apportioning
values. But the people only understand barter and the notion of relative values is
entirely rudimentary. In these circumstances, in Assam, among the Kacharis, the
British Courts have drawn up for their own use a regular scale of fines and revenue
in terms of the domesticated animals kept by the people, — e.g,y a man's revenue
would be assessed, not at Es. 10 but at a big buffalo ; a fine would not be fixed at
a quarter of a rupee but at a cock and two small hens. So amongst tlie Chins
in Burma a customary present woidd not be Es. 10 but a full-grown hog, and a
fine or a compensation for injury would not be Es. 5 but a silk jacket. Even
the old native government of Burma had to adopt a system akin to this, for at the
time of the First Burmah War of 1824 it levied fines, as a variant of the very
ancient Eastern notion of slavery for debt and partly also as a kind of blood-money,
on the value of the human body, on the following scale in terms of British
money : —
Es
A new-born male child 10
A new-bom female child
A boy
Agirl
A young man
A young woman
7i
25
m
75
83i
I ask you to bear this point in mind, as it is actually the very commencement
of that product of human reason we have been calling " currency " ; the necessities
of civilised governments obliging them to set up, and educate populations up to,
the idea of a currency,, where none before existed. For when once the savages we
have been considering have become accustomed to domestic animals and articles
being given fixed relative values, a cuiTency in the most elemental form thereof
has been started. I also ask you to remember this point, because this particular
development, being natural and necessary, is inevitable and not confined to wild
peoples, and for this reason I shall have to revert to it again later on.
It will be fresh in your minds that I have instanced the use of cocoanuts just
now in generally explaining currency as distinguished from barter and money :
currency being the use of an article commonly required as the medium for
exchanging actual property between buyer and seller. I did so because of cir-
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104 COLONFX R C. Templk — Begimihigs of Cunrnn/,
cumstances within my own experience. In the Nicobar Islands, wliich ai-e still in
my oflBcial charge, from all time — ^and we have definite knowledge of the Nicobars
from the days of I-Tsing in the seventh century to those of Marco Polo in the
thirteenth, and through all those of the earlier European travellers to the present
day — cocoanuts have been and still are the currency of the people. They and the
trees that produce them are the staple products of the country ani the most
valuable possession of the inhabitants They play a great part in finding them in
food, drink and materials for housing, clothing, and furniture. They are thus in
constant and daily use and they are employed for currency, i.e., for measuring the
values of other articles and as the medium in exchanging them. I will give you a
strong instance of this from what I have myself seen.
On the 5th April, 1896, the people of Mfls in Car Nicobar had occasion to
buy a large racing canoe from the people of Chowra Island, and this is what they
did. They proceeded to value the canoe at 35,000 cocoanuts, but they are a lazy
people and had no intention of fetching such a large (|uantity down from the trees
in their possession. So they paid for the canoe in a great number of articles, each
valued in cocoanuts, nearly all of which were in their possession as the result of
trading in cocoanuts with such foreigners as Burmans, Chinese, Malays, and natives
of India. The list of these articles is interesting and goes to prove my point, but 1
have no time to read it now. It included domestic animals, utensils and imple-
ments, cloth, beads, silver articles and even British money.
This transaction induced me to set the local government agent to try and
ascertain tlie approximate value in cocoanuts of such trade articles as the
Nicobarese require for domestic and other uses, and his inquiries produced a long
list, from needles at 12 coc. a dozen and matches at 24 coc. per dozen boxes to red
Turkey cloth at 1,600 coc. the piece. Now, in this list a two-anna bit, which is
the eighth of a rupee, was valued at 16 coc and the rupee itself at 100 ; but you
will perceive that eight times sixteen is 128. Now, the reason for the discrepancy
is that the little piece of silver is used for one sort of ornament and the big piece
for another sort, and their value in cocoanuts to these pe6ple depends on their
relative value as ornaments, and not on their relative weight combined with
fineness, or, as we should say, their intrinsic value. I need hardly say that the
Nicobarese do not recognise coins as a medium of exchange.
How these primitive tribes manage to count and tally cocoanuts in large
quantities is an extremely interesting anthropological study, which of course
I cannot follow up now, but I hope I have succeeded in making plain to you
the first beginnings of currency and the mental attitude of man in a primitive
stage of civilisation towards this question.
There is in existence a mass of evidence from all parts of the world showing
how savages, semi-savages and some civilised peoples employ natural articles of
use as currency, though, as already stated, I confine myself now chiefly to the
far East for the instances I have to adduce.
Thus, rice has been used up till quite recent times as currency in daily
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Colonel E. C. Temple. — Beginnings of Cttrrency, 105
transactions in many outlying places about Burma and the neighbourhood ; and
in some parts of Chiijia this is the case no doubt still, and it was so in Kashmir in
the sixteenth century. Cloves were currency in the Moluccas at the same time,
and fish in some other parts of the Malay Archipelago, at any rate in 1820. Salt
is another article that has been used, as noticed by even the earliest travellers,
in China, Burma and the hills all round and in many parts of India. Up to the
time of the first Burmese War in 1824, at any rate, cotton was the currency
between Arakan and Burma. Of livestock I need hardly say much, as the use
of these for measuring values is a very widely spread instance to the point. But
chickens were currency in the Maldives off the south-west coast of India in the
fourteenth century, and pigs in Tibet and .oxen in Central Asia in much later days.
The Lushais of the Assam-Burma borders reckon values in buffaloes, and from the
Khonds of Eastern India — the people of the Meriah human sacrifices — we have
a fine bit of evidence in the middle of the present century; for Macpherson,
a name that will never be forgotten among Anglo-Indians for his efforts in putting
a stop to the Meriah abominations, tells us in 1845, that "the value of all
property is estimated by the Maliah Khonds in ' lives,* a measure which requires
some adjustment eveiy time it is applied ; a buffalo, a bullock, a goat, a pig or
a fowl, a bag of grain, or a set of brass pots, being each, with anything that may
be agreed upon, a * life.' A hundred lives on an average may be taken to consist
of 10 bullocks, 10 bufifaloes, 10 sacks of com, 10 sets of brass pots, 20 sheep,
10 pigs, and 30 fowls.''
But my tit-bit of evidence from the East is from Turkestan in the present
day, where mulberries are the currency, just as till quite lately bitter almonds
were currency for small values in many parts of civilised India. I have kept
it to the last, because the story thereof carries me on to my next point ; and
you will perceive at the same time the parallel it afibrds to what I have said
of the Nicobars. Quoting from a recent Eussian Report we are told of Darwaz,
which is in Bokhara, that " the inhabitants of Darwaz plant mulberry trees, and
the mulberry is their sole means of subsistence. In summer they eat it raw and
in the winter in a dried state, in the form of flour, out of which they make a kind
of flat cake. Their dress they obtain by bartering the mulberry for rough matting
and sheepskins, and even their taxes are paid with the mulberry. In fact the
mulberry is the measure tubeteika, the currency of Darwaz, and many Darwazis
never know the taste of bread all their lives long . . . The grain measure is
the hatmdn = 45 tubeteikas"
But observe, when the dried mulberries are made up into tvheteikas or
measures, the currency begins to cross over the Eubicon, on its way to becoming
a token and hence money. It is in this act of passing over from currency to money
that our subject presents its chief difficulty.
Before parting with the consideration of this particular aspect of the subject,
I would like to remind you that non-bullion currency has not by any means been
confined to savage, imcivilised or semi-civilised communities. In the early history
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106 Colonel E. C. Temple. — Beginnings of Currency.
of our Colonies we find that the civilised communities set up by the English in
remote localities often began, and sometimes long continued, their trade dealings
in a currency of local staple produce, and that too by express law ; just as
Prof. Eidgeway has explained in his Origin of Currency was the case in Iceland
about 1420 in the matter of stockfish or dried cod, and as we have already seen
is also the case with the British Courts established in the wilds of Assam and
Burma. The great well of evidence on this head is Chalmers' History of Currericy
in the BHtish Colonies, and it is a flowing one, though I have not time to extract
more than is just sufficient to illustrate my present contention.
The non-bullion currency of the early colonists all through the seventeenth
century covered a great variety of articles : tobacco, com, wampum, sugar, rum,
cotton- wool, mahogany, molasses, ginger, indigo, skins and so on. In 1643 in
Massachusetts wampum strings were made a legal tender, and tobacco was rated
under penalties at 3s. per lb. in Virginia in 1618. So sugar, tobacco and other
things were made into monetary standards in the West Indies in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries. Dried codfish was a circulating medium in Newfound-
land till much later. Even as late as 1708, tobacco, to quote an old Report, was
"the Meat, Drink, Cloathing, and Money" of Marj'land; and of tobacco as a
currency there is a good story told about Virginia in 1620-21. In that year
150 "young and uncorrupt girls" were imported as wives for the colonists and
were rated originally at 100 lbs. of tobacco or £15, but subsequently at the
increased price of 150 lbs. of tobacco or £22 IQs, And we are told " that it would
have done a man's heart good to see the gallant young Virginians hastening to
the waterside when a vessel arrived from London, each carrying a bundle of the
best tobacco imder his arm, and taking back with him a beautiful and virtuous
young wife."
In Barbados the colonists commenced with a currency chiefly in cotton and
tobacco, but also in indigo and " fustick-wood." About 1640 sugar became the
currency and was legal tender from 1667 onwards, coined money being established
in 1715. In the Leeward Islands, books and accounts were kept in terms of sugar,
and even as late as 1740 it was officially stated that " the value which is put on
sugar, rum, cotton, and other commodities, the growth of the Leeward Islands,
is called currency there." The variety of "the other commodities" was con-
siderable from time to time ; tobacco, cotton-wool, indigo, ginger, molasses, and so
on ; and their rating was fixed by the government, just as we saw the Indian and
liurman officials rating livestock and so on for the wild Lushais and Chins. Tliis
went on more or less till 1784. In British Honduras, one of the most unwieldy
currencies yet invented, mahogany in the form of logwood, lasted till 1785. In
the Bermudas, which was the first of the colonies to start a coined currency,
tobacco was the currency until 1658.
Now, it is from the collation of such facts as those above given that we
perceive first, that in similar conditions the mind of civilised and uncivilised
man works in much the same directions and produces much the same results;
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Colonel R. C. Temple. — Beginnings of Currency, 107
and that, though, if I had the time, I have evidence to produce that mankind
is really much better off with gold and silver coin of the realm as his currency,
it is not at all necessary in a condition of comparative isolation, such as that of
savages or a semi-civilised people must always be in practice, for currency to consist
of metal.
I now propose to tackle our difficulty — to plunge into the Rubicon and see
if we cannot find a clear way across. The cause of all our trouble — of the eddies,
whirlpools, currents and other dangers in our path, is the fact that every section of
mankind in every place and at every period, being a product of nature, has never
developed along a single line. He has always been subjected to and afl'ected by
outside influences. He has picked up a little here, snatched a little there, and
engrafted what he has caught up on to the tree of his own ideas, with the result
that its subsequent growth has become complicated or even diverted from its
original tendency. A strong example of this is the Hindustani language; its
basis, genius if you like, is Hindi, the superstructure is chiefly Persian and partly
Arabic, with giafts all over it of scraps of very many other tongues. Our own
tongue is in much the same case. Anglo-Saxon, a term implying a growth, mark
you, at base with a ten per cent, infusion of Latin and Greek, another appreciable
infusion of Norman and modern French, and sprinklings of every other language
under the sun: It is just the same with currency, in that common wide sense of
the term which covers both barter and money.
No semi-civilised group of men has been at any time entirely isolated, and in
tracing the development of currency anywhere, the influences of contact with the
outside world are everywhere and always more or less plainly apparent. Barter is the
natural basis of all dealings between man and man, and the setting up of a common
useful article as a medium of exchange — of a currency in the restricted feense
of this discourse — is a natural development. But somehow a community under
our observation has learnt to count after a fashion. Somebody has taught it how
to measure, or in some forgotten way it has been led on to a distinct point further
in upward development and has acquired the art of measuring by weighment.
Whenever this has happened, and one or more or all of these things have happened
nearly always to any community we can now study, complications have ensued.
The result being, of course, that in any given concrete instance of barter, it is not
by any means to be clearly separated from currency, and vice versd. Some of you
must have already perceived this in the course of my remarks this evening. It
must have occurred to you that some of my illustrations of barter are perilously
near currency, and that the aptness of some of my cases of currency is jeopardised
by their close approach to barter. Just so. In my view, in illustrating by
examples a natural development, this is inevitable. It is a phenomenon of nature,
of which the explanation I offer is that just given.
However, the passage from barter to currency does not present any great
difficulties pi-actically, but between currency and money, between the employment
of a domestically usable article and the employment of a domestically non-usable
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108 Colonel R. C. Temple. — Beginnings oj Currency,
token as the medium of exchange, there are many difficult currents, eddies and
whirlpools, and the proper channel is by no means always clearly to be seen.
Let me hope that I shall now in your judgment take you over as safely as 1 have in
my own judgment taken myself.
Let us commence our passages by following the safe current of roughly
measured articles in every-day use as the medium of exchange. In the fourteenth
century Friar Odoric tells us of a rich man's revenue in China being stated in
sacks, i.f., " heavy ass-loads " of rice, revenues there being, until quite lately, and
perhaps still, estimated in sacks of rice. In Burma, under the native Government,
they were always estimated in baskets of rice, just as they were in Kashmir in the
sixteenth century in the days of Akbar the Great. All this is on the same
principle as the use of the rolls of tobacco, with which, as you have just heard,
the young Virginian paid for his bride's passage out from England, though the
measuring is not, owing to the comparative civilisation of the parties concerned,
so accurate or regular. I think also that the currency in skins so well known in
Ancient Russia, North America and China may be safely placed in the category of
roughly measured currency, though the measurement is eflTected in a manner, and
is based on principles, difiFering from those on which the measurement of the rice
and tobacco was effected and based.
Out of the current of roughly measured currency we may glide almost
imperceptibly into the equally safe current of carefully measured, and, so far as
regards measurement, regulated currency. Of this the tobacco rolls of Old
Virginia are equally as much an example as they are of roughly measured
currency, giving us an instance of the difficulty in some cases of arriving at a
distinct attribution to class. The tubeteika is, however, a clear instance;
45 tubeteikas or mulberry cakes make by local law or custom a batmdn or standard
measure. And when we come to study our old friend Marco Polo's sayings about
" Tebet " in the thirteenth century we find the same thing : — " The small change
again is made in this way. They have salt which they boil and set in a mould,
flat below and round above, and every piece from the mould weighs about half a
pound. Now 80 moulds of this salt are worth one saggio (say a sixth of an ounce) of
fine gold, which is a weight so called." In other words 80 moulds of salt of a definite
size made a lidng or Chinese tael of the period. The experience of the Dutch in
the Malay Archipelago in 1596 was much the same in the matter of cakes of sago.
In 1710 Alex. Hamilton, the traveller, procured evidence to precisely the
same effect from Borneo, which he thus quaintly states : — " Beeswax is the current
Cash in that Country. It is melted but not refined, and cast in moulds of an
oblong Square, the Breadth about Two-thirds of the Length, and the Thickness Half
the Breadth, and a Ratten Witby to lift them by, cast in the Wax. A Piece weighs
a quarter of a Pecul which comes to in English Weight, 34 Pound, and a Pecul is
valued in Payments at 10 Masscies or 40 Shillings Sterling. They have also for
smaller Payments Pieces of Eight to a Pecul and Sixteenths and for smaller Money
they have Couries" In the above pregnant passage the term "pecul " is of great
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Colonel E. C. Temple. — Beginnings oj Currency. 109
interest in another phase of the development of currency, for it means fundamentally
a man's load ; the masscie or mace, properly mdsy was a small fixed weight of gold.
But the point just now is that moulds of beeswax of certain defined sizes equalled
certain defined weights expressible actually in money.
Tea, in bricks and cakes, is another similar form of currency in natural
produce, which has been widely noticed by travellers and others, and has what
naturalists call a wide distribution, for it is found from Shanland and China to
Eussia. The use of tea bricks and their apparent close approach to money is well
put by Baber, the celebrated traveller, writing in 1882 : — " A brick of tea is not
only worth a rupee, but in a certain sense is a rupee." Some 20 years earlier
Clement Williams, a name once well known in Burma, wrote : — " The only kinds
apparently known in the market at Bamo are the flat discs of China tea and the
balls of Shan tea. The discs weigh 20 tickals each ; seven piled together make a
packet, which used to sell at IJ to 2 tickals [of silver, say 5 shillings]." This
is a very neat bit of evidence for our present purpose.
Passing from natural produce in conventional cakes, bricks, balls, discs and
what not to articles that are entirely manufactured, there is for the present discus-
sion a valuable reference to a currency in cloth in a letter from John Jesse, dated
20th July, 1775, to the East India Directors. This old Oriental worthy writes: —
" I M'as informed the quantity [of pepper] that year [1774, in Borneo Proper] was
4,000 peculs, cultivated solely by a colony of Chinese settled here, and sold to the
junks, at the rate of 17'2 Spanish dollars per pecul, in China cloth called congongs
which, for want of any other specie, are become the standard for regulating the
prices of all commercial commodities at this Port." And then he proceeds to
relate a little hankey-pankey by which the contractor cheated the workmen of
about half the produce of their labour ; a proceeding I would like to remind you
that is very much easier with a non-bullion currency or money than with a legal
standard gold and silver coinage, which is in reality, so far from being a curse, one
of the greatest blessings man's ingenuity ever brought about for the benefit of his
kind. But, however that may be, the congong must have been a piece of cloth of
an average length and size, and therefore it belonged to the category of carefully
measured articles, domestically usable and employed as a medium of exchange,
and that is enough for us just now.
An instance of an odd taste in currency, for which there is much evidence in
the Far East from Burma, Yunnan, Shanland, Siam, Malay Archipelago and
Borneo, among other places, is the use for that purpose of glass jars and bottles.
The Chinese noticed this of the Burmans 1,000 years ago, and in 1870 and 1874,
during expeditions in Upper Burma, one writer notes that " what money could
not secure empty pint hock bottles did. For four of these I got eleven eggs and
a brood of jungle fowl chickens." Another noticed that the Shans placed "an
inordinate value upon empty bottles." Any kind of liquor bottle was good, soda-
water bottles were better, red hock bottles best of all. In the very last Consular
Report from Yunnan, for 1898, we are told that in the hills these " bottles are
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110 CoLOXEL B. C. Temple. — Beginnings of Cun^ency.
accepted in preference to silver." The bottles being " good quart bottles of clear
glass." Here we have, you will perceive, a ready-made careful measurement,
which the users of the currency are unable to effect for themselves, though they
are thoroughly alive to the value of the constancy in the size respectively of the
hock, soda-water and other liquor bottles.
The pleasant and safe currents of roughly and carefully measured articles
have carried us pretty far on our way, with just a little roughness over the matter
of the Virginian tobacco rolls, but our further journey is through rougher waters,
though I do not think we need apprehend any fear of coming to grief. De Morga,
the famous and exceedingly intelligent Governor of tlie Philippines early in the
sixteenth century, after explaining that the usual way of trade was in general
barter, says : — " Sometimes a price intervened, which was paid in gold, according to
the agreement made ; also in metal bells brought from China, which they value as
precious ornaments. They are like large pans and are very sonorous, and they
strike upon them at their feasts and carry them in the vessels to the wars instead
of drums or other instruments." We are here still in the region of a currency of
the same sort precisely as the glass bottles of the Shans, but when we come to
look into the story of the big drums of the Karens of Burma, of which two fine
specimens are in the British Museum, the conditions are much less clear. Of
these Gen. Macmahon, a slovenly and discursive but withal most experienced writer
on the Karens, has said ; — " Among the most valued possessions of the Hill Karens
is the kyee-zee, consisting of a copper or spelter cylinder of about a quarter of an
inch in thickness, averaging about 2 feet in length and of somewhat greater
diameter at one end, which is closed with the same kind of metal, the smaller end.
being left open. They are ornamented in a rude style with figures of animals,
birds and fish, and according to size and volume of sound are valued at from £5 to
£50. On the outer circle are four frogs. They have distinctive names for ten
different kinds, which they pretend to distinguish by the sound. In the settlement
of their quarrels and in the redemption of the captives, the indemnification always
takes the shape of a kyee-zee or more with perhaps a few buffaloes or pigs as
make-weights. To such an extent does the passion for the possession of these
instruments predominate among the more secluded tribes, that it is said instances
are by no means rare of their having bartered their children and relations for
them. The possession of kyee-zees is what constitutes a rich Karen. No one is
considered rich without them, whatever may be his other possessions. Everyone
who has money endeavours to turn it into kyee-zees, and a village that has many
of them is the envy of other villages, and is often the cause of wars to obtain
their possession." These Karen drums, then, are of varying size, are used in making
large payments, and represent wealth. If they are put to domestic use, as for feasts
and what not, they must be classed as currency ; if they are to be looked on merely
as tokens of a certain value, and kept only for making large payments when due or
only as representatives of wealth, then they are money. They are in fact just on
the line between currency and money.
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Colonel R G. Temple. — Beginnings of Currency. Ill
It is a far cry from the Burmese border to Angola, but I must take you there
for a parallel, from the remarks of Pyrard de Laval in 1601, who tells us : —
" As for the small money of Angola, it consists only of little shells, somewhat like
those of the Maldives [i.e,, cowries] and little jiieces of cloth made of a certain herb.
These pieces are an ell in length, more or less, according to the price. And when
they go to market to buy their goods they carry no other money." Now, if these
ells of cloth were for personal wear, they were thus used for currency ; if they were
as I understand, never worn, they were made for money. You will perceive what
a very short distance there can be between currency and money, and how nearly
these two articles take us through difficulties to the opposite shore. But I can show
you that it is possible to get nearer still without actually landing thereon.
Referring to the salt moulds of Marco Polo, Yule, in his invaluable edition, tells
us that Eamusio has stated that on these moulds " the Prince's mark is printed and no
one is allowed to make it except the royal officers." Later on I will show you on
the screen a tea brick from Russia stamped with something like a Government or
official mark. Currency cannot get nearer to money than this, for if we define a
coin as a lump of metal money stamped to indicate its exchange value, and coin of
the realm as such a lump stamped to show that it is a legal medium of exchange,
we have reached in the salt moulds something very like a coin of the realm in salt.
But remember that as both the salt mould and the tea brick can be put to an
ordinary domestic use they are still currency and not money.
Having brought you I hope in safety so far, I am going to take you a little
step further in smooth water, so that you may at least touch the opposite shore.
The clearest instance I have yet come across of the exact point where currency ends
and money begins — of the very last act in crossing the Rubicon — ^is the use of
rice in Burma as a medium of exchange, as it has come under my personal
observation, supported by that of the British Resident at the now defunct Court of
Ava in 1797. Eice is still used, or was at any rate ten years ago used, in this way
in Upper Burma in village transactions, but such rice was neither food-rice nor
seed-rice, but useless broken rice. In other words it is a non-bullion token and so
money, just as much as the imitation hoes, hatchets, knives and so on of the
Chinese and other peoples in various parts of the world are tokens of cun^ency and
so money.
Another almost universal instance of a non-metallic money proper is the cowry,
for these sea-shells, where chiefly used in the East, are not of any domestic use
whatever to the people who pass them from hand to hand, and are expressly
imported in very large quantities, often from great distances, only for the purpose
of a medium of exchange. They afford a clear example of an untouched natural
product being converted into money as distinguished from currency.
All these things, broken rice, imitation iron instruments and cowries, properly
fulfil the conditions of material for money. They have to be produced, and though
fairly common the production is, in the conditions in which the producers live,
nevertheless limited, and therefore they can have a token value. To take the least
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112 Colonel K C. Temple. — Beginnings of Cm^rency,
likely instance. Eice has to be cultivated ; the amount of cultivation depends on
the capacities and numbers of the cultivators ; of what is thus produced a fixed
quantity must go for food and another fixed quantity for seed ; only what is spoiled
in handling and what is over can be used for money. The production of broken
rice is therefore distinctly limited and at the same time sufficiently abundant. This
is why to isolated half-civilised villagers living in certain places broken rice is
money. The reasoning that makes it money for them is precisely that which makes
gold, silver and copper tokens money for us.
We are now fairly landed in the region of money, and I would point out that
what has kept our course straight is holding on to the definition we started with,
viz., that currency implies that the medium of exchange is a domestically usable
article, and money that it is a token not domestically usable. It is just this
definition that is the test by which we can separate metal articles, when used as a
medium of exchange, into those that are currency and those that are money. When
the iron-smelting Shans of Zimmfe pay their i-evenue in the elephant chains,
spear-heads, cooking-pots and other ironware which they make, they are using
currency ; but when similar Shans along the Mekhong use lozenges of ingot iron
for making payments, they are using a real money. By the way it may interest
some here to know that the only proper description of this often mentioned money
that I know of is to be found in Aymonier*s Voyages dans les Laos. So also the
usable iron hatchets or handbills of the Nassau Islanders, found in use in 1792,
were currency, while the thin, i.e., imitation and useless, as I will presently show by
examples, iron knives of the Kachins and Shans of the Assam-Burma border of
about the same period were money. Thus, too, the gold and silver boxes, bowls
and necklaces, and the quainter and prettier gold and silver leaves, flowers and even
trees of the former Shan, Malay and Burmese tribute formed a sort of currency and
not of money.
Such are the arguments by which I would seek to prove my points out of the
books and my verbal evidence, but before closing my remarks I would note just
one more point as to which confusion and mistakes may easily arise. In 1241 the
Emperor Frederick II, son of Barbarossa, and perhaps the grandest historic figure
of all in the Middle Ages, issued a temporary and honest leather currency. In the
present century among other places, for local reasons, parchment and paper
currencies have temporarily been established respectively in the Cocos-Keeling
Islands and in the Andamans. From the ninth to the fifteenth centuries a most
remarkable paper currency was very widely established in China. For a long time
past there has been, and probably there still is, a noticeable currency in porcelain
gambling tokens in Siam. Now, not one of these has any connection with the
beginnings of currency, and they arise out of a state of things far beyond the scope
of our present subject, for their existence is dependent on conditions only possible
in a high state of civilisation, as they are each and all based upon commercial credit,
an idea not possible to mankind when placed in the surroundings we have been
assuming. While on this point, it may be as well to remind some here that the
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Colonel R. C. Temple. — Be/jinnimjs of Currency, 113
early Chinese writers on paper currency understood the true commercial nature
thereof as clearly and distinctly as would the Governors of the Bank of England
at the present day.
Having thus talked to you out of my own experience and the books I have
been studying chiefly about the Far East, I will show you some slides, exhibiting
however articles and objects from many parts of the world, by way of clinching
the arguments I have adduced. I am here indebted to the kindness and knowledge
of four friends, and the resources of two Museums. It is due to Mr. C. H. Read
and Mr. Edge-Partington of the British Museum and to Professor Tylor and
Mr. Balfour of the Oxford Museum that I am able thus to try and convince
you through the eyes as well as through the ears. I am also indebted to
Mr. Levin for his kindness and courtesy in explaining and lending for to-night
samples of his unrivalled collection of African trade and other beads. And now
let me remind you that I have not to-night made any kind of attempt to explain
either currency, money or exchange as we modem Europeans understand and use
those terms, for they are very far removed from the beginnings we have been
talking about. Also in this lecture I make no sort of pretence to exhaust the
points I have taken up, and I have done no more than give such examples as seem
to me to properly illustrate them, confining myself to definitions and beginnings
and taking no count of developments.
Description of the Plates.
Plate XVIIl.
Fig. 1 is the feather money of Santa Cruz, South Pacific. It consists of two bands of vegetable
fibre covered with parrot feathers. There are two boards which are placed in the
middle of the bands above and below. The whole sti-ucture is carried in a bag and
is indivisible- It is real money, t.e., it is used for no other purpose than as a
medium of exchange. It is, however, only used for expensive purchases, as it is
difficult and slow of manufacture, and therefore of great intrinsic value in itself.
This should be bprne in mind, as the Fig. 2 probably records a mistake made on
" high authority."
Fig. 2 is a photograph of feather money taken by Bishop Montgomery at Nelua, Santa Cruz
Islands, in front of the house of a trader, and said to be the price of a girl bought as
the teacher's wife ; but it is nevertheless much more likely to be the trader's capital,
as there is very far too much of it to be primd facie the price bf a girl for a bride.
There is a great number of the feather bands suppoi*ted on the bamboo or cane and
many more on the heads of the natives standing around ; and it is doubtful if a girl
would be thought to be worth even so much as one pair of the bands.
Fig. 3 is a necklace of red feathers used as currency in Santa Maria, Banks Group, South
Pacific, where shell money is not used. In the Torres Islands, where sheUs for
money are not found, their beautiful little arrows are used as currency (Codrington,
MelanenanSy p. 327) Both of these are real currency because they have a domestic
as well as a pecuniary use.
Figs. 4 and 6 are strings made from the hair of the ears of the flying fox in short lengths, from
New Caledonia, and Fig. 6 is a spear thrower, or becket, with flying fox hair wound
round it in parts, from New Caledonia. Now, whether this flying fox hair is money
or currency all depends on whether these strings of it are used domestically as
ornaments or not. Our information is not complete on this point, though we can
guess that it is money from what we know of the Figs, that immediately follow.
New Sbries, Vol. II, Nos. 1 and 2. I
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114 Colonel R C. Templb. — Beginnings of Cuirency,
Fig. 10 is a feather ornament from the New Hebrides, worn by men after making the proper
number of feasts and then used as money. This is a fine specimen of the
borderland between currency and money, and shows how an article which has been
domestically usable passes into the class of articles domestically non-usable on
becoming money. Edge-Partington, Ser, II, p. 86.
Fig. 11 shows flying fox fur in strings from the Loyalty Islands. This was formerly money, as
being an article not used for any other purpose.
Fig. 9 shows honey-sucker feathers from Hawaii, stuck in bundles on strips of cocoanut fibre,
just as they are collected. This is currency because in this state the feathers are
used as a medium of exchange, but are also used for ornaments, clothing and other
domestic purposes. They well indicate the origin of the use of natural products
as money, being plentiful and yet limited in production. The limitation
was due to the fact that feather hunting was a vocation. The feathers, too, had a
relative value according to rarity or diflSculty in production. Thus five yellow
feathers of the "royal bird," which were all that the bird could produce, were
accounted equal in value to a piece of nankeen, which was sold for one and a-haJf
dollars ; this would probably represent to the natives at least a pound of our
money. (Codrington, Windsor Magazine^ May, 1899.)
Fig. 8 is a purse and string of shells from New Caledonia. The string consists of very fine shell
discs divided by knots on a fine cord. The purse is trimmed with flying fox fur as
ornament. The whole is money.
Fig. 7 shows a string of fine shell beads, fifty-four to the inch, characteristic of the Banks
Group, South Pacific. It is the highest form of their money, because of the labour
involved in producing it, and therefore of its intrinsic value. Edge-Partington,
Ser, I, p. 151.
Fig. 12 exhibits the tuskshell money of British Columbia. In this case the shell ends have
been clipped off and the shells, dentalium, have been strung in eight sections divided
by bars of goat leather. They have a pendant made of mother-o'-pearl, from the
haliotiSf or Venus's ear. The two specimens in the British Museum are exactly
alike. Ridgeway, Origin of Currenciff p. 10; Smithsonian Report^ 1887, Part II,
p. 315ff.
The authority on this point is Mr. R. E. C. Steam (Ethno-Coneholog^, a Study
of Primitive Money ^ pp. 296-334, ^./2., 1887), whose remarks on this particular
money so exactly show how a shell can be used as money, because while abundant
it is yet limited in production, that I pause to give them here. " The tusk-sheUs
are collected in the following manner : — An Indian when shell-fishing, arms
himself with a long spear, the haft of which is of light deal ; to the end is fastened
a strip of wood, placed transversely, but driven full of teeth made of bone. The
whole affair resembles a long comb affixed to the end of a stick with the teeth very
wide apart. A squaw sits in the stem of the canoe and paddles it slowly along,
whilst the Indian with the spear stands in the bow. He stabs this comb-like affair
into the sand at the bottom of the water, and after giving two or three prods draws
it up to look at it If he has been successful perhaps four or five money -shells have
been impaled on the teeth of the spear. It is a very ingenious mode of procuring
them, for it would be quite impracticable either to dredge or net them out, and they
are never, as far as I kuow, found between tide-marks."
It will then be perceived that these dentalium strings of fixed form and
number are monev for precisely the same reason as the bags of broken rice in
Burma. I may add that this article of Mr. Steam's is generally well worth study
in the present connection.
Fig. 13 shows a string of purple wampum beads from North America tagged with British green
silk and a mixed string of purple and white wampum beads. The purple beads are
double the white beads in relative value as will be explained later on. These are
money.
P^ mone^ is not by any means unknown in the South Pacific. The brack or
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Colonel "R. C. Templf. — Beginnings of Currmcy. 115
harak of the Pelew Islands was made of terracotta in bent prisms, hollow-sided,
fine-grained, hard and of an almost glassy lastre. It was very valuable. In the
Pelew Islands they had also hwngan or pangungariy a red stone, perhaps jasper,
polished like hracky and kalUmibut of agate and sometimes of a hard enamel ;
both valuable. Common beads of white or green glass were current in four sorts
among the populace, while tlie Kluk clan used beads of polished enameL Beads of
pearl and other sea-shells, red and other stones, nutshells, tortoiseshell, cocoanut
and 80 on are current in various parts of the South Seas.
Figs. 14, 15, and 16 are shell money from Florida in the Solomon Islands, South Pacific.
Fig. 14 shows two indivisible fathoms of rough red shell discs in a double row,
separated by white discs and tagged at the ends with white discs and mother-o'-
pearl and nut shells, which last two are probably charms.
Fig. 15 represents six indivisible fathom strings of white shell discs, interspersed at fixed
intervals with dark ones. The white and dark discs have a relative value com-
parable with our sUver and gold. In the Pelew seven sorts of currency are said to
be thus distinguished.
Fig. 16 represents four indivisible strings of shell discs of various colours in standard fathoms,
forming the regulai* circulating medium. They are tagged with blue native hair
clotii and nutshells, perhaps as charms.
Fig. 17 is a string of shell discs, dark and white alternately, used both for ornament and
currency in the Gilbert Islands, South Pacific. The string is tagged at one end with
a fringe of similai* shell discs. Tliis is currency. This Pacific Islands' disc-money
closely resembled the haioock money of the Califoi*nian Indians, which consisted of
clam-shell discs strung together and usually rated by the foot or yard. There is a
specimen in the British Museum.
Figs. 18 to 21 show shell money in strings of discs from the Solomon Islands and New Britain,
South Pacific This is made in great lengths and divided up as required. Fig. 18 is
a string of fine discs of purple shells, t.6., of the higher value from New Britain, in the
British Museum ; this is shown as coming from Mioko, Duke of York Group.
Fig. 19 is a string of fine discs of white shells threaded on cane strips. This is money of
the lower value from New Britain. The standard length of these strings is a fathom.
Fig. 20. — This is a specimen of the dewarra of New Britain, made of small cowries threaded on
cane strips in large or small coils. It is the common circulating medium.
Fig. 21 is a divisible string of small discs of white shells, roughly clipped, from the Solomon
Islands.
Plate XIX.
Fig. 1 is another specimen of the New 6i*itain detcdrra, a string of small cowries strung on leaf
ribs in large coils and used as money.
Fig. 4 is a string of shell discs manufactured for money only in Susa village in New Ireland,
South Pacific. It has a pig's tail at each end and an oyster mother- o'-pearl charm.
Fig. 5 shows fathoms of shell discs, regularly cut, and coloured at stated intervals, indivisible,
made for money in the Solomon Islands.
Fig. 6 shows long strings of irregular shell discs from the New Hebrides, South Pacific,
interspersed with trade beads : about 2^ fathoms in length and used as money.
Fig. 2 is a string of cowries, called tidang^ used in Borneo ; but the shells are not found in
Borneo. This is money.
Fig. 3 shows specimens of Borneo plaited fibre armlets, called xmua^ worn by the men and worth,
as money, 3 cents of trade dollar money per bundle of fifteen armlets.
Fig. 7 shows a piece of cloth from Formosa ornamented with shell discs and used as an
ornament for clothing, but also as currency, passing for the high local value of about
five Mexican dollars.
Fig. 8 is a tridacna shell armlet from Malanta in the Solomon Islands, said to be used as
currency for purchases of high value, but in reality it is more likely to be an article
of trade or barter. Oxford Museum ; presented by Edge-Partington. See Guppy,
Solomon Islands, p. 132.
I 2
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116 Colonel E. C. T'R}JiVLK.Seginning8 of Cif/rrenci/.
Figs. 14, 16 and 16 show cowries of sizes. The point here is that cowries are bought by local
dealers wholesale by weight in sacks and retailed by tale, so that the smaller the
cowries which the retail dealer can manage to pass, the greater his profit In
India the cowries of currency are large, on the West Coast of Africa they are
medium, in the South Pacific they are very small.
Figs. 10 and 11 show the silver shell currency of the Shan native States of Burma, and Fig. 9 the
piece of silver known as Shan-haw, The form of the snail-shell is, I am informed,
partly artificial, thus : silver refined by the ordinary process in a rough crucible
will, when very nearly pure, or what the natives call quite pure, effloresce, and if
the efflorescence is checked by cold water at the right moment it will assume the
shell form. So silver in that form is loo)ced upon as pure and the silver sheUs pass
as currency by weight Figs. 10 and 11, the shells : Fig. 9 shows the process of
manufacture. The specimens are valuable to show the development of thought and
manufactured form.
Figs. 12 and 13 are a tamarind seed {majisA) and its silver imitation, lately used in Burma,
under the same name, as a royal plaything in a popular pitch and toss game, but^
because of its constant weight and fineness, also as currency.
Fig. 17 shows Venetian beads used for trade in West Africa, and supplied for that purpose by
the firm of M. L. Levin, a family which has been in the trade for over 100 years.
They are used for money respectively as shown, for purchasing palm oil, ivory,
slaves and gold. It appears that these particular beads are not interchangeable, tl«.,
beads for gold will not buy slaves and vice versd. Wealth in beads for gold will
only procure gold and so on. The probable explanation is that with these beads the
natives can buy from the European stores what they want according to the intrinsic
European value of the beads, which varies considerably and in some cases is high,
the intrinsic value representing the cost of production. In the British Museum is
shown a quantity of the bead money of King Prempeh of Ashanti in necklaces,
rings and armlets, taken from his hoard at the capture of his capital by Lord Wolseley
many years ago. These are not shown on the plate, but many of the beads of this
hoard are identical with those supplied by Mr. Levin's firm, and to be found in the
present Mr. Levin's collection, which I will explain presently. There are in the
British and Oxford Museums a good many cards of African trade beads well
worth study, supplied by the late Mr. Levin.
Fig. 18 shows wampum beads, hand and machine made. I have already referred to wampum
beads being money by law in the early American colonies, and shown strings of
them. There is a quantity of evidence as to this in the paper by Mr. Steam above
quoted. The beads were of two kinds, white and purple, usually made from
different parts of the same clam shell (vernts mercenaria) ; and roughly the purple
were double of the white shells in value. But the most interesting point about
these beads is tihis, that so long as they were hand-made, t.«., native made, they were
only used as ornaments and so on, and it was not until they were machine-made by
Europeans, and so became constant as to size and intrinsic value, that they were
used as money by the fathom, the fathom being a term of account at four to six
beads to the penny of value or inch of measurement. The plate is from Prof. Tylor's
article in vol. xxvi of this Institute's Journal^ p. 248, and shows the difference in
form and drilling between the hand-made beads which were for domestic use and
the machine-made beads which were money.
Fig. 19 is a tea-brick used as currency in Eastern Asia and Tibet The specimen in the Plate is
from East Bussia, and it will be seen that the brick is made of dust tea moistened
and pressed into a mould into which a stamp has been screwed. It bears an official
stamp and so is very near to coin in tea as already explained.
Fig. 20 is a disc of leaf-tea manufactured in Yunnan and obtained in Eastern Mongolia. This
can be used in pieces for purchases of a smaller value than the whole disc. This is
a currency very near to money.
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Colonel R. C. Temple. — Beginnings of Cum'my^ 117
Flait XX.
FigH. 1 and 2 show a war shield from Guadalcanar, South Pacific, and its cover : used chiefly
for payments of a high value, such as for a wife, and to store as representatives of
wealth. They are, as currency, parallels to the Karen drums already explained.
Their value in English money is from £l to 30«.
The mat money of the New Hebrides and other South Pacific Islands, of which
I have no plate, affords another almost exact parallel. The mats are made in great
lengths in folds and their relative value is determined by the number of the folds
counted in tens and their blackness or age. This form of money is especially
interesting, because it is lent out at interest, showing that it is not necessary to
have bullion money, or even easily divisible or separable money, to turn it to
personal pecuniary advantage. Codrington, Melanesiansj p. 323.
Tapay the bark-cloth money of Fiji, forms something of a parallel also. Tapa
in masses represents accumulated capital. Ratzel, Htstofy o/ManJkindy Trans., p. 246.
Fig. 4 shows a boat-shaped wooden bowl from New Caledonia, interesting chiefly as showing a
rough receptacle for shell money. Edge-Partington, Ser. Ill, p. 68.
Fig. 5 is a jadeite adze-blade from Marie Island in the Loyalty Islands, w^hose inhabitants ai^
cannibals. It represents the price of a fat man for food. This is currency and not
money, as it can also be used for the humbler purpose of carpentry.
Fig. 6 is a Navalae ring made of white quartz. These rings are from the New Hebrides and
are irregular in size. They are money.
Fig. 3 is a sperm whale's tooth from Fiji, there called tambua and used as currency. This is
currency, but tooth money has a considerable range in the South Pacific Islands ;
porpoiae teeth and dog's teeth being also used. The dog's tooth for money must be
that immediately behind the canines, and when whole and sound it is valued at
one, two to five poipoise teeth according to quality, the quality being of course
equal to the rareness and difl^culty of production.
Fig. 7 shows the eye-teeth of the elk {icapiti)y which pass for 25 cents of United States money
amongst the Shoshone and Bannock Indians of Idaho and Montana in the United
States, but only amongst the Indians themselves and not between the whites and
the Indians. They are also used for the ornamental trimmings of dresses and for
horse trappings, and so are currency.
Fig. 8 is a string of the lower jaws of the flying fox from the Fijis and other Melanesian
Islands, used as money.
Fig. 9 is a sperm whale tooth obtained from a whaler in 1822 and used as currency.
Fig. 10 shows the so-called Caroline Islands millstone money— fS, This is used in the
Carolines for large payments, but is made in the Pelew Islands. It is not really a
millstone at all, but a large rough stone disc with a hole in it for carrying. It is
made only for money and has no other use. That shown is a small specimen, 2^
feet diameter. F. W. Christian in Geogr, Journey xiii, 105.
We now pass on to articles made of metal. Figs. 11 to 19 are of iron.
Figs. 11 and 12 are hoes from the Dinkas and Shillooks of the White Nile. They have a
fixed value, but are usable otherwise and so are currency.
Fig. 13 is a native spade-blade with a cane withy or loop for carrying, used in Central Africa as
currency.
Fig. 17 is an English made spade-blade, imitating the native one. These being usable otherwise
are currency. In the British Museum are three iron spades from the Dor, Upper
Nile, identical with these specimens from the Oxford Museum.
Fig. 15 is a barbed spear-head from Central Africa of fixed value and usable otherwise :
currency.
Fig. 14 is a conventional spear-head from Central Africa used as money.
Fig. 16 is an iron plaque used as a marriage portion from Niam Niam in Central Africa. A girl
having two of these allotted to her would have no difiiculty in arranging her
matrimonial future and would be considered a priceless possession. This is
money.
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ss;
118 Colonel R. C. Temple. — Beginnings of Curreimj,
Fig. 18 is the well-known conventional Loniami spear-head, 5 feet long, and made to represent
high values. Fig. 19 is a conventional Lomami spear fi-om the Upper Congo, 5 feet
long. Both of these are money.
Plate XXL
Fig. 1 are imitation iron axes from the Ogowe River in West Africa. Fig. 2 is a bundle of five
or six of these fi'om the same district
Figs. 5 and 6 are sets of three iron axe blades, imitation, each on a cane fastening, from West
Africa.
Fig. 4 is an imitation iron adze from West Africa vei^ like the ha$hash or imitation axe-head
money of Kordofan, which runs 40 to the Turkish piastre. Tliere is a specimem in the
British Museum. Fig. 3 are similar bimdles of imitation spears used by the Nagas
of Manipur in Assam as money.
Figs. 7 to 11, money from ancient Cliina, consisting of imitations in iron of well-known objects.
The imitations have now, among numismatists, conventional names from their
shapes. Fig. 7 is the so-called knife money. Fig. 8 and 9 is the shirt money.
Fig. 11 is the razor money.
Fig. 10 is a modern cash. I have shown this as an example of development. It will be seen from
the figui-es that the hole in the cash directly owes its existence to the hole in the
handle of the old conventional money, and that the cash itself is all that remains
of that old money. It is the convenient tag end that has survived through the
ages.
Figs. 12 and 13 are two imitation iron hoes from the Congo, and are money.
Figs. 14 and 15 are two copper ingot crosses, both made inlJrua, in Central Africa, by casting in
a sand mould. They have a special rib on one side, in the centre. In the course of
the down river trade the specimens shown found their way respectively to Coanza
on the West Coast and to Tanganyika on the East Coast, where they were procui*ed.
They are money.
Fig. 16 is a magnetic iron hoe, called nguni^ from Zambesi District, East Africa. This is
money, no doubt on account of the peculiar property of the metal of which it is
composed.
Figs. 17 to 19 shows brass and copper plates and bar iron : all specimens of cuiTency. Fig. 17
is a set of copper plates, apparently from old sheathing, used as a marriage dowry
and regarded as property. They are tied together in fours and fastened to a stick ;
from Nimkish, Alert Bay, N.W. America. They afford a clear parallel to the Karen
di'ums and the Guadalcanar shields.
Fig. 18 is a hammered bi^ass frying-pan, partially conventionalised, still used both as cuiTency
and for domestic purposes by the Nagas of the Manipur Hills in Assam.
Fig. 19 is a l)ar of native-made iron, passing at a fixed value in Central Africa.
Fig. 20. Four copper bracelets, used as a wedding dowry and considered as property ; eiwjh
married woman has 100 ; from Nimkish, N.W. America, currency.
Fig. 21 is the unTis or armlet and anklet of fibre already described, worn by all Dyaks in
Borneo ; cuiTency, at five to a cent of trade-dollar money.
Fig. 23. This and those that follow are money. This is a ring of European spelter valued at
3^. on the Lower Congo.
Figs. 24 and 25 are old copper and bronze manillas from the Bonny River on the West coast of
Africa. They are the survivors of the old Roman and European bracelet or armilla
through the Spaniards. They are now a well-known money in West Africa.
Fig. 26 are English imitation manillas for the West African trade, but they are not current in
the Haussa country and thereabouts.
Fig. 22 ai*e iron English imitation manillas for the Eboe country trade, West Africa.
Fig. 27 is an old iron manilla from West Africa.
Fig. 28 is a large stone bead for purchasing slaves in West Africa
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Journal of the Anthropological Institute (N.S.), Vol, TI, Plate XFIII,
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Journal of the 4 nfhropol osteal Tnfttitufe (N.S.), Vol. IF, Ft ate XIX,
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Journal of the Anthropological Institute (N,S.), Vol. II, Plate XX.
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Journal of (he Anthropological InHiUtte {N.S.), Vol. IT^ Plate XXL
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Colonel fi. C. Temple. — Seginninffs of Cun-ency. 119
Figs. 29 to 34 are silver money. Figs. 29 and 31 are larins from Persia used all over the West
Coast of India, the Maldives, etc., for the last four centuries at any rate. They
consist of sUver wire, bent double and stamped to show fineness.
Fig. 30 is the silver fish-hook money of Ceylon similarly bent and stamped : probably grew out
of the larin.
Figs. 32, 33 and 34 are silver ticaU and their parts from Siam. The tical is a bar of silver, bent
double by hammering and stamped to show fineness.
Description of the Exhibits.
Mr. M. L. Levin's private collection of Aggry and other (cliiefly glass) beads
was shown, fastened into six frames. The collection consists of specimens of beads
of various kinds that have passed through the hands of the firm during the
nineteenth century.
Besides Aggry beads it contains : — A series of beads meant for ornament and
not for money for the East Indian trade. Bright shiny beads which are used in
Africa as presents and not as money, and are known as "dashes"; they can
however be used in barter and in some districts as currency. Miscellaneous
beads ; Japanese, French, Chinese, African, Australian (peach stones).
Among the African beads are some shell discs and cornelian beads used in
Africa, but not made there, as the Africans cannot bore cornelian: they are
probably Asiatic procured in trade. One of these is ancient. Similar beads of
stone are still commonly found at ancient Buddhist sites in Northern India.
Other ancient African beads were also shown.
The collection further contains money-beads which are not Aggries, e.g.,
KafiBr money, which consists of small common glass beads in shapes peculiar to
each district. With reference to the importance of form in money-beads, I may
say that there were, up to the outbreak of the Transvaal War, still lying useless
2,000 lbs. weight of beads, at Johannesburg, sent there as Kaffir money ; useless
because, they were of the wrong sort. Also in the collection are some beads which
Messrs. Levin attempted to export as general, but not accurate, copies of old Aggry
beads for use as money ; quite unsuccessfully, however, as no variation in recognised
form was acceptable to the natives as money. Blue Popo beads used for money and
exceedingly valuable, being worth more than their weight in gold on the West
Coast of Africa. The Venetian bead-makers at Murano, as the ultimate successors
or the Phoenician and Egyptian makers, are unable to imitate these apparently
simple bits of blue glass so successfully as to induce the natives to accept their
products as Popo beads. Coral money-beads used on the same West Coast,
equally valuable when large as the Popo beads, and worth more than their weight
in gold, i,e,, more than £4 the ounce.
In this connection there is a very interesting example in Mr. Levin's
collection of an old red bead found in some quantities on the beach of St Agnes in
the ScLQy Isles, presumably out of some wreck. These turned out to be trade
beads intended for the West African trade as money, and were made in Venice.
{Notes and Queries, 1873, p. 522.)
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120 Colonel R. C. Temple. — Beginnings of Cu7Tcmy.
There are in the British Museum and Oxford Museum several cards of
samples of Messrs. Levin's exportations of modern Venetian beads to Africa, both
as " dashes " and as money.
The following passage from Mr. Hore's account of the twelve tribes of
Tanganyika in Journal Anthropological Institute, xii, 1882, p. 8, is worth recording
here, both for its mention of the use of glass beads for money, and for its valuable
reference to the manufacture of salt for currency, as an addition to the notes already
made on the subject in the body of the lecture.
" The only export of great extent from Ujiji itself is the famous packages of
salt, current all over the Lake shores as a medium of barter. This salt is
manufactured once a year on the banks of the Ruguvu River, east of Ujiji, where
from 2,000 to 3,000 persons sometimes assemble at the proper season, just before
the commencement of the rain, forming quite a town for the sole purpose of-
manufacturing the salt. It is packed up in cylindrical leaf packages weighing
from 20 to 30 lbs. each, and value at Ujiji at about 2 yards of good calico. The
market of Ujiji town consists generally of an assemblage of from 200 to 300 small
booths or stalls, exposing for sale almost everything that the Lake Countries
produce, as well as meat, vegetables, fruit and grain. Here for the first time we
find a regular currency or money in use by the natives ; it consists of strings of blue
and white cylindrical beads, each string containing 20 beads. Bunches of 10 strings
are cslled fiuulo. From 9 to 11 fund^ are given in exchange for 4 yards of thin
Manchester calico, and from 12 to 15 fundo for 4 yards of good heavy American
calico ; the value varying daily according to the quantity of cloth in the market.
• . . . Coloured cloths witli nails and coils of copper and brass wire, are used
for more extensive purchases."
In regard to Aggry beads. The exhibits consisted of samples from Mr. M. L.
Levin's collection and of modern Venetian Aggries made for the existing trade in
Africa and belonging to myself. All these modern beads were manufactured for
Messrs. Levin at diflferent times for the above trade.
In the Levin collection are many samples of Aggry beads, both of their own
modern exportation and of genuine ancient make. Of the genuine ancient beads
there are several white and speckled samples. The true Aggry bead, old or new,
must be of glass, or of a substance closely resembling glass, of the same quality
throughout, and in the Levin collection are two samples of Aggries cut by
suspicious natives to test their quality. In both cases the outer surface was all
blue, but the inner surface, and of course the ends also, had a wavy white pattern
running over them. The regular continuance of this pattern throughout the inner
substance of the beads was what the cutters were looking for.
The place know as Agra, in trade parlance Aggiy or Aggrey, is, I am told, not
the modern Accrii. It is rather an old ruined site of a former town not far inland
from the West Coast of Africa, near Cape Coast Castle. It has given its name to
the famous Aggry beads probably because it was once an important trading centre.
The origin of the peculiar forms known as Aggry beads is somewhat thus. The
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Colonel E. C. Temple. — Beginnings of Cun^ericy, 121
Portuguese and Spaniards succeeded, as traders on the West Coast, the Arabs who
worked for Egyptian masters. The Arabs' trade was very ancient and their
currency the old glass beads. The more modern Arabs first and the Europeans
afterwards found that their best policy was to continue the recognised form of
currency by imitating it. The modern Aggry beads are made in Venice. Ancient
Aggries are very rare.
There does not appear to be much scientific information on this subject.
Indeed, I am only aware of the obviously cursory paper on "Aggri beads" by
Mr. J. E. Price, Journal Anthropological Institute, xii, 1882, p. 64, and the
avowedly inconclusive notice in Brent's " Glass Beads with a Chevron Pattern,"
ArcJueol-ogia, vol xlv. But what literary evidence I have confirms the above
statement, and so does an examination I was able to make, owing to the courtesy
of Mr. A J. Evans, of the splendid collection of beads in the Ashmolean Museum.
This examination enables me to say with some confidence that in form, substance
and manufacture all Aggries, ancient and modern, are the direct descendants of
those ancient Egyptian beads which Mr. Evans tells me belong to the seventeenth
and nineteenth Dynasties, especially the latter, and are characteristic of the
Eamesside period. The date of these beads from the ancient Egyptian tombs
may range therefore from about 1400 to 1100 B.c. As a step, perhaps, in the
pedigree. Professor Eidgeway informs me that long cylindrical beads of beryl and
aquamarine are found in prehistoric tombs in Rhodes, which seem to have come
from mines at Zabara in Egypt. The form and shape, and perhaps substance, of
these suggest the Popo beads of West Africa, which may almost be taken as a form
of Aggry beads, and have precisely the same ancient history.
Discussion.
Professor Eidgeway expressed his warm admiration for the valuable series of
facts which Colonel Temple had laid before the meeting. Personally he felt
gratified to find that Colonel Temple had collected so many fresh cases wliich
supported the views that he (the speaker) had put forward in his Origin of
Metallic Currency and Weight Stafidards, such, for instance, as the doctrine of
conventional price, which was admirably illustrated by the case mentioned by
Colonel Temple, where the price of chickens had got fixed at a rupee, because a
rupee was rashly given for the first chicken bought from the natives of a certain
district. He could not agree with the distinction between cuiren/^y and money
drawn by Colonel Temple, as he considered that it was impossible to draw a hard
and fast line between them.
Colonel Temple had spoken of certain objects as having been made solely for
the purpose of being used as media of exchange, such as the feather money of
Santa Cruz, and the mill-stone money of the Caroline Islands. This seemed a
I'etum to the old idea that people had sat down and agreed that such and such an
object should be their money without any reference to its utility. On this point
he would break a lance with Colonel Temple, for he thought that we had abundant
means of arguing from the known to the unknown in questions of primitive currency,
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122 Colonel R. C. Temple. — Beginnings of Currency.
and as iu all cases where there wei'e records it was invariably discovei'ed that the
object used as a medium of exchange had originally been an object employed in
daily life for some purpose or another, it was reasonable to infer that in cases such
as the feather money of Santa Cruz these objects had been formerly used as
ornaments of value, just as the other specimen of feather money shown by Colonel
Temple on the next slide is still worn as an ornament, and just as the feathers of the
royal bird of Hawaii were used both as money and ornament. He would call their
attention to some objects which within a short period had passed out of use in daily
life, but had remained in use as money. Every one knew that up to a few years ago
stone axes were used for all purposes of daily life in New Guinea, and were one of
the chief articles used in purchasing wives, etc. At the present time the iron axes
brought by traders had made the stone axe obsolete for practical purposes, but they
still retain their monetary value and continue to be used in the purchase of wives.
Again, on the north-west coast of North America the most valuable medium of
exchange was the " coi)per," which was worth 500 skins (beaver). He (the speaker)
had not been able to give its early history in his Metallic Cnrrencfy, but could only
quote from the Canadian Government report, which said that it was a conventional
money unit, but he had ventured to suggest that the " copper " was some kind of
gong, as the Indians attached great importance to its sound when struck, and
gongs, such as those shown on the screen, are used as money among some peoples.
However, his suggestion was wrong, for he now knew that these " coppers," an
example of which he exhibited, were made out of the native copper in the
Chilcat country north of Sitka, and were shields. The large ones had the totem in
the centre. These were of great value to a warrior as defensive armour, and hence
the large price which tliey fetched all down the coast as far as Queen Charlotte
Island. With cases like these before them, he thought it was dangerous to say
that the mill-stones of Caroline Islands had never had any practical use, but had
been first made for the purpose of serving as money. He desired once more to
express his heartiest thanks to Colonel Temple, whose kindness he had personally
experienced in the past, for his most valuable lecture.
Colonel Temple said that lie found himself practically only called upon to
reply to the remarks of Professor Kidgeway. He did not think that there was any
real divergence of opinion between himself and the Professor. He had had that
evening to confine himself to definitions and beginnings and their illustration, and
to leave development out of his purview. Hence the peculiar cast he had had to
give his paper. He agreed that it was very difficult to separate money from
currency at the points where the two met, and that looked at from the standpoint
of development, money in a conventional form usually arose out of currency, and
sometimes the development was vice versd. But what he wished to insist on was
that in order to adequately treat the question of the origin of money and currency
it was necessary to clearly define the technical terms to be used, and tliis he had
endeavoured to do. His illustrations and his method of describing them were
intended to throw light on his argument by showing what was used as money and
what as currency without reference to development.
Colonel Temple said he felt grateful for the attention accorded to his long
lecture, and for the courtesy with which his propositions had been discussed by
Professor Ridgeway and the other speakers.
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Meeting of June ISth, 1899. 123
OEDINARY MEETING.
JUNE 13th, 1899.
C. H. Eead, Esq., F.S.A., President, in tJw Chair.
The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and passed.
List of books presented to the Institute since last Meeting were read, and
thanks passed to donors.
The President then introduced Mr. George Clinch, who proceeded to read
his paper on " Prehistoric Man in the Neighbourhood of the Kent and Surrey
Border ; Neolithic Age." This was well illustrated by a series of lantern slides
and numerous specimens of Neolithic Implements, etc.
Discussion was carried on by Mr. Allen Brown, Mr. A. L. Lewis, Mr. Wm.
GowLAND, and the President. Mr. Clinch replied to the questions asked, and
expressed his obligation to Professor Rupert Jones for kindly help in the preparation
of his paper.
The President passed a vote of thanks to Mr. Clinch for a very able paper
that showed both ingenuity and thought. He then asked Professor Eupert Jones
to make a few remarks about a small collection of prehistoric implements presented
to the Institute by Mr. Fred Swynnerton of Simla, and Professor Eupert Jones
stated that he had looked over the collection, all of which had been found at
Gwalior. It contained specimens of Eoliths, mostly quartzite, and some fairly
worked implements. The short paper of Mr. Swynnerton was a good account of
them.
A vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Swynnerton for liis paper, and the
collection, and also to Professor Eupert Jones for his remarks on them.
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( 124 )
PREHISTORIC MAN IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE KENT
AND SURREY BORDER: NEOLITHIC AGE.
By George Clinch, F.G.S.
[with plates XXII AND XXIII.]
During the past twenty years numerous discoveries illustrative of prehistoric
man have been made in the district roughly indicated by the title of this paper.
The area to which the paper particularly refers is about four miles in diameter,
and is pretty evenly divided by the boundary line between Kent and Surrey, the
central point being the fir-crowned heights of Shirley, near Addington.
Upon the present occasion it is proposed to deal only with those remains
which belong to the Neolitliic Age, recent discoveries having made it possible to
form a pretty complete idea of the occupations and other phases of life in the
district during that period.
In the first place, it may be convenient to review, in a brief and general way,
the more important of the discoveries which have rewarded the researches of
the writer at various times. Particulars of some of them, in detail, have been
published already, but it is necessary to bear in mind the drift and tendency of
previously established facts before we can be in a position to appreciate the
force and meaning of those which have been brought to light recently.
In the year 1878, and during three or four years subsequently, I found at
West Wickham, Kent, a series of groups of flint implements of a character and
under circumstances which suggested that they marked the sites of Neolithic
dwellings. The field in which they were first found, called Moll Costen, had only
for a few years been under cultivation, so, although the hut-floors had been
disturbed before I had an opportunity of inspecting them, their contents had not
been widely distributed, and the implements, in many cases, were pretty perfect,
in strong contrast with the specimens found in the adjoining fields which had long
been subjected to the operations of husbandry.
That the place was the site of a Neolithic village, rather than a mere
manufactory, is clearly indicated by the domestic character of the implements,
and also by the fact that several examples bear marks of having been worn down
by use.
In several of the neighbouring fields in the same parish I was able to identify
the sites, either separately or in groups, of human dwellings during the Neolithic
Age. All these sites I hav^ examined carefully and frequently, with the result
that I have collected from them several hundreds of implements, flakes, chips,
cores, and weapons.
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Journal of the Anthropological InJttitute (N.IS.), Vol, 7/. Plate XXII.
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Journal of the Anlhropological Institute {N.S.), rot. II, Plate XXllI
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G. Clinch.— Pr^Ats^orw; Mam in the NeigKbrnirhood of Kent and Surrey. 125
My aim, however, was to find on some uncultivated site an undisturbed
hut-floor belonging to this class, and by excavation and examination of its contents
to determine, as far as might be possible, the method of construction of the
dwelling and anything that was not already known about its occupants.
After searching in the woods and other promising places, I found a good specimen
of a pit-dwelling 6 metres in diameter in Fuller's Wood, situated near Moll
Costen. This example, however, was so much overgrown by trees that it was
not possible to excavate it with any prospect of a satisfactory result.
f-TTS
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Scale of metres.
FIG. 1. — PLAN AND SECTION OF HUT-CIRCLE, HAYES COMMON, KENT.
On Hayes Common I found a large number of circular depressions which
appeared to have been once the floors of huts. In the year 1878 I cut a trench
through one specimen with a view of determining its origin, but beyond the fact
that the ground had been disturbed to a depth of about 50 cm., my search was
unsuccessful. Below that the gravel was hard and compact and had evidently
never been moved. In the following year I opened other pits with equally
indefinite results, no pottery, implements, or other sign of occupation being found.
In one small pit, 1'25 m. in diameter, however, there were distinct indications of an
ancient fire at a depth of 40 cm. from the surface of the ground. These indications
consisted of roughly cubical fragments of charcoal, powdered charcoal, and a number
of pebbles thoroughly reddened by severe heat.
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126
6. Clinch. — Prehistoric Man in the Neighbovrhood ofths
During the following seven years further pits were excavated, but still no
traces of habitation, except occasional marks of fire action, were found.
In 1886, I opened a pit of entirely different type, consisting of a large
depression, nearly circular in form and 6 m. in diameter, with a conical mound
in the centre, and a roughly quadrangular pit attached to it on its eastern side.
In the centre of the circular pit, immediately below the central mound, I found, at
a depth of 60 cm., about thirty unusually large pebbles evidently collected
in this place for some definite purpose, possibly as a hearth for the fire or
as a foundation to support a central pillar upon which the roof might be carried.
I formed the opinion then, and I have had no reason to alter it since, that these
Scale of metres.
FIG. 2. — PLAN AND SECTION OF HUT-CIRCLE, HAYES COMMON, KENT.
depressions represented the floor, and the enclosing mounds represented the low
walls or foundations of walls of a dwelling consisting of two apartments. In
the accompanying diagram (Fig. 1) of this interesting hut-floor the straight
lines represent depressions below the natural surface of the ground, and the
dotted spaces indicate embankments above it.
A difi^am of the ordinary type of hut-circle is shown in Fig. 2,
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Kent and, Sun'ey Border: Neolithic Age. 127
During the year 1886, and subsequently, I opened further pits, and after a
careful examination of every example, about 150 in number, I came to the
conclusion that they might be divided conveniently and reasonably into three
types, viz. : —
1. Lai-ge circular pits from 3 m. to 10 m. in diameter, and from 15 cm.
to 90 m. deep, surrounded by a well-defined and carefully con-
structed mound, in which, at one point, there was a flat space,
probably representing the entrance to the hut. These pits did not
show evidence of fire.
2. Large circular pits, similar in every way to those of the first type, but
with a low conical mound in the centre. (See Fig. 2.)
3. Small circular pits, very even and uniform in construction, from 1 -25 m.
to 3 m. in diameter, without marks of entrance, and generally
without an encircling mound, but always containing at a depth of about
35 cm., reddened pebbles, charred wood, and other marks of fire.
Pits of the last type would in most cases be too small for dwellings, and the
question occurs whether they might not have been the sites of fires for cooking.
This explanation will be dealt with later on.
There were several well-defined lines of ditch-and-mound work on Hayes
Common, which appeared to have some relation to the hut-circles, but none to the
existing roads across the Common. In fact, the modern roads, in some places, cut
through the lines of ditches and mounds.
Extending my researches to other tracts of uncultivated land, I noticed pits
similar in many respects to these at Shirley Common, and at Ci'oham Hurst,
both in Surrey. All were associated with chips, flakes, and cores of
flint, apparently of Neolithic Age, but beyond this there was little positive
evidence as to the period to which the dwellings, if such they were, might be
assigned.
During many years the approximate age of the Hayes Common pit-dwellings
remained a somewhat doubtful question, for although various circumstances
pointed to their great antiquity, no sufficient evidence upon the point was
forthcoming. In the year 1897, however, some building operations at Millfield,
Keston, adjoining Hayes Common, led to the discovery of a pit which had
unquestionably been the floor of a Neolithic workshop. Here were discovered
upwards of nine hundred fragments of flint, including cores, flakes, and wa^te
chips, and from the internal evidence, which has been set forth in detail in a paper
communicated to the Society of Antiquaries of London by Mr. Philip Norman,
F.S.A., the question has been settled once for all. Further particulars of this
important discovery will be found in a subsequent part of this paper.
The district under consideration in the present paper does not contain rocks
which would afford shelters of the kind utilised by prehistoric man in certain
localities, but the necessity of some shelter during severe weather must have been
felt by the inhs^bitants of the place during Neolithic tim^ It seemed worth
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128 G. Clinch. — Prehutoinc Man hi the Neiglibonrhood of the
while, therefore, to search for traces of ancient dwellings under the shelter of
such precipitous slopes as were to \ye found with a southern or south-western
aspect Croham Hurst, a remarkably fine tract of forest land situated about
one mile south of Croydon, offered precisely those conditions of shelter from the
cold winds and snow-storms of winter which would have been sought for as
dwelling-places by Neolithic men and women, and to it accordingly I turned my
attention.
The upper part of the hill consists of a bed of the well-rounded pebbles and
sand so abundant at Shirley Common, Hayes Common, and many others places.
It is in fact an outlier of the well known Oldhaven Beds. On the south side the
slope of the hill averages 30 degrees. It may be explained that this steep slope is
largely preserved by the vegetation consisting of heath, moss, grass, and a number
of stunted oak-trees growing in abundance on the top and sides of the hilL
What happens when this vegetation is destroyed is well shown in some of the
worn footpaths where the grass has been killed and the pebble beds have
been disintegrated and worn down by the rain-wash in consequence.
To some extent the steep angle of the hill may be preserved by masses of
ferruginous conglomerate, one large mass of which is exposed for a distance of 9 m.
on the surface of the hill near the point where most of the implements have been
found.
I mention these points because it is of some importance to understand the
conditions which may have made it possible for an ancient excavation on the side
of the hill to have been preserved to our own day. Taking all things into con-
sideration there does not appear to be any good reason why the excavations I
am about to describe should not have remained intact from Neolithic times. As
far as we know the hill has been wooded from a very early period; there is
practically no rain-wash on certain parts of it ; and there are no disturbing forces
which might cause a subsidence, or any other considerable alteration of the surface.
The rolling down of a certain amount of loose matter and the accumulation of peat
and decayed leaves would in the ordinary course take place, and recent excava-
tions of the contents of the shallow pits has proved that this has happened.
The excavated sites at Croham Hurst, which I am inclined to think were
occupied as dwellings in Neolithic times, are of two kinds, viz., (1) Large, circular or
nearly circular, depressions in the surface from 8 m. to 17 m. in diameter and from
60 cm. to 1'6 m. deep. These are situated upon or near the crest of the hill.
(2) Depressions similar to the above, but shallower and smaller, and often occurring
in pairs about half-way down the steep slope of the hill.
Plentifully scattered around these pits are numerous flakes, chips, and cores
of flint, but the thick covering of dead leaves and other vegetable matter makes it
extremely difficult to examine the surface of the ground.
During a number of examinations of the surface I have found upwards of a
hundred fragments of flint, each of which has been chipped with a definite aim,
but in nearly every ccuse, they are such as would be struck off the nodules of flint
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Kent and Sun^ey Border : Neolithic Age. 129
preparatory to or in the process of making implements and flakes. Few perfectly
finished flakes have been found by me, but enough to show that well-made
implements have been manufactured here, and these, it is almost certain, may
yet be founds if searched for, among the material which has rolled down the steep
side of the hill.
In March, 1899, by the kind permission of the Governors of the Whitgift
Foundation, four of these circular depressions were opened with results which,
although they must be described as generally neutral, did not in any way militate
against the theory of their Neolithic age.
In one large pit situated near the top of the hill and measuring 17*5 m. east
and west by 15 m. north and souths and 1*6 m. deep, I dug some experimental
holes from which it appeared that there was a layer of compact peat 30 cm. in
thickness, under which pebble-beds were disclosed.
The earth which had been removed from this depression had apparently been
deposited as an encircling mound around it, but this mound had become much
flattened by weathering and other cause& The deposit of peat, 30 cm. thick,
indicates considerable antiquity, as this kind of peat is not formed quickly, and
the pit was not situated in a specially good position to receive or retain any large
amount of v^etable matter.
Excavations in the depressions on the hill-side tended to show that there
had been a certain amount of material brought down from the hill above by
various causes. This is not remarkable when the steep southern slope of Groham
Hurst is remembered. Nevertheless, the digging revealed a deposit of peat,
20 cm. thick in the bottom of the pits under the material brought down.
As far as I have been able to investigate the matter at present the chief
evidence of the Neolithic age of tliese pits is to be found in the flint flakes, chips,
and cores which are associated with them, and when it is remembered that no
flints suitable for the purpose of making implements occur naturally on Croham
Hurst, their occurrence here has greater significance than would otherwise be the
case. This significance is increased by the fact that nearly every fragment of
chalk-flint found on Groham Hurst has been worked, and bears an ancient and
smooth surface. Further we may note that the adjacent ploughed fields (on the
surface of which flints occur naturally) are thickly strewn with flakes, and other
evidences of Neolithic work.'
Thus, although the hut-floors, like those at Hayes Conmion, have retained
scarcely any other indication of their purpose and great age except their general
form, their encircling mound, and their thick deposit of peat, the associated flakes
and chips of flint seem to prove pretty conclusively that Groham Hurst was
occupied by man duiing Neolithic times, and the form of the depressions affords a
strong presumption that they were the floors of the huts in which he dwelt.
> The worked flints here referred to are those found by Mr. Whitaker, F.RS., and myself.
I am unable to accept as genuine many so-called implements found in these fields by certain
other observers.
Nbw Skribs, Vol. II, Nos. 1 and 2. K
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130 G. Clinch. — Prehistoric Man in the Neighbourhood of tht
Throughout the district the principal evidence of Neolithic times is to be
found, as might be expected, in the flint implements, tools, and weapons, rather
than in those objects composed of more perishable materials which must have
been largely used by man. Articles made of horn, bone, and other parts of
animals have, of course, entirely disappeared by the ordinary processes of decay,
but some of the flint implements which were specially shaped to be fitted into bone
handles have been discovered.
Before proceeding to consider the implements in detail it may be remarked
that generally speaking those found at West Wickham are characterised by very
skilful workmanship, which shows that the art of flint-chipping and flint-grinding
had reached a high state of excellence.
The sharp-edged ground stone axe, which has been described by one eminent
writer* on the subject as the symbol of Neolithic culture, is represented among the
West Wickham implements by fragments rather than perfect specimens. My
collection contains only seven examples of ground implements altogether, and of
these only three are more or less fragmentary portions of regular celts or axes of
any importance, the remainder having been reworked or broken to such an
extent that it is not possible to say what was their original size and shape.
But I am not inclined to infer from the scarcity of this particular form of
work that civilisation was at a low ebb, or the art of implement making not
thoroughly understood by the people of the period and in the neighbourhood to
which these remarks refer. It should be remembered that the process of grinding
down a flint to a smooth surface and a sharp edge is at the best and with modem
appliances a tedious and lengthy operation, even when the general shape has been
roughed out by chipping. Moreover, flint was abundant and, in the hands of a
skilfiQ workman, easily and readily shaped by chipping, and it is not reasonable to
suppose that any people, savage or civilised, would purposely make their imple-
ments and weapons by a slow and exceedingly laborious process when the means of
producing them by a simpler, more expeditious, and equally advantageous method,
were within their reach.
I am inclined rather to attribute the scarcity of ground implements to the
abundance of raw material of which chipped implements could be easily manu-
factured, and also partly, to the absence of a suitable gritty stone in this neigh-
bourhood upon which ground implements could be rubbed down.
Celts entirely shaped by skilful chipping are not common. I have found
three fragments of such weapons, one being the pointed half and remarkable for its
particularly fine workmanship. (Plate XXIII, L.)
Closely allied in form with these chipped celts are certain roughly shaped
implements about 12*5 cm. in length, 4 cm. broad, 3 cm. thick, and weigh-
ing about '5 kilos. In the boldness of the workmanship we seem to have
almost a survival of palaeolithic methods, except that the results attained are
» Professor W. Boyd DawkiDs— iSber/!^ Man in Britain^ 1880 edition, p. 274.
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Kent and Siiirey Border : Neolithic Age. ISl
poorer, considered with reference to the efforts expended, than in the older
implements. (Plate XXIII, P.)
It seems probable that these implements may have been intended for use as
hoes, or other analogous agricultural tools, for scarifying or breaking up the
surface of the ground. In order to test how they would do for such a purpose I
have mounted one in a rough handle with a result which is not, perhaps, entirely
unsatisfactory.
The rarity of elaborate and highly finished arrow-heads south of the Eiver
Thames is well known, and it is not surprising, therefore, that only three
specimens which entirely answer to this description have been found at West
Wickham. The scarcity of these objects may be explained perhaps by the theory
that simpler forms of pointed flint have served as arrow-points.
Of the three elaborately worked arrow-heads found at West Wickham, there
is an highly-finished example which may perhaps be compared with the best work
of Neolithic times. Its form is that known as leaf-shaped, but it is rather thicker
and rounder than arrow-heads of this class often are. (Plate XXII, F.)
Its length is 2*4 cm. ; its breadth 1*5 cm. ; and its thickness 1*2 cm.
Another example, which originally possessed two barbs and a tang, has
unfortunately lost one of the barbs, but otherwise it is in good condition and its
point and edges are still quite sharp. Its length is 3*2 cm. ; breadth 2'2 cm. ;
thickness 5 cm.
The third example belongs to a class that is rare in England, but more
common in Ireland. It possesses a concave, tangless base, a rather tapering point,
and a somewhat one-sided appearance. Its length is 3*5 cm. ; breadth 2*2 cm. ; and
thickness '5 cm.
It seems unlikely that these highly-finished arrow-heads, made with so much
care and skill, were used for ordinary purposes. It is probable that they were
produced for some special use. Arrows intended for ordinary use may have been
pointed with the sharp, tapering ends of flakes, the butt ends of which were found
in such abundance on the hut-floor at Millfield, already mentioned and presently
to be dealt with in detail.
Many of those flakes had been broken with an oblique base, so that when the
point was mounted on the arrow one angle would form a barb.
The number of pointed weapons which may have served as spear heads is
rather larger than that of arrow-heads, and generally speaking their workmanship
must be pronounced decidedly inferior. This may be explained by the fact that
exactness in reference to poise and true balance was not so necessary in the case of
a weapon held and directed by the hand as in that of a missile, such as an arrow,
which was intended to be projected through the air. Accordingly, we find a
comparatively large number.of trimmed flakes which, although somewhat curved in
longitudinal section, have probably been used for the purpose of spear-points.
It has been suggested that some of these implements which I have classed as
spear-heads may have sei*ved as knives.
K 2
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132 G. Clinch. — Prehistoric Man in the NeigKbourhood of the
The implements known by the general name of scrapers, comprise such a
large number of forms, sizes, and methods of manufacture, and were undoubtedly
applied to so many different purposes, that it seems desirable to pay special
attention to them. We have in them the Neolithic equivalent of the modem pocket-
knife and the contents of a nineteenth century tool-chest — ^the implements, in
short, with which all kinds of articles formed of wood, bone, horn, and possibly
soft stone, were carved and scraped into the desired shapes. It is, therefore, a
matter of considerable importance to observe the shapes of the cutting edges, the
character of the marks of wear upon them, and the great variety in their strength,
and size, and methods of manufacture. In size, the scrapers vary from a diameter
of slightly more than 1'2 cm. to upwards of 5 cm. Although the shape is usually
more or less circular, it is sometimes elongated, and sometimes flattened. There
is usually a tendency more or less pronounced, towards a tang. This is developed
much more in some cases than in others but it exists in all. (Plate XXII, n.)
These remarks apply mainly to what may be called the regular forms of
scrapers. In addition to these there is a large number of less-perfectly shaped
forms. Upwards of fifty examples of this kind were found at West Wick-
ham. Generally speaking they may be described as rougher in style, thicker
in section, and less freed from the rough, original coating of the flint, than the
more regular scrapers. Yet when they are submitted to careful examination
it is clear that they have been put to such a multiplicity of uses that they may be
considered to be among the most interesting of the implements of the Neolithic
period found in the neighbourhood of the Kent and Surrey border. (Plate XXII, B.)
In a few instances the amount of wear to which the edges of scrapers have
been subjected has been so great as to produce a series of facets. The surfaces of
some of the worn edges seem to have been scratched in such a way as might,
perhaps, be produced by friction with sand. Other examples of wear show a
considerable removal of the edge, produced apparently by a series of slight blows.
The explanation formerly given by some authorities that scrapers were used
especially if not solely for the dressing of hides is not borne out by the evidence of
the implements found at West Wickham. This evidence points to a much wider
range of uses.
Among the class of implements known as flakes, there are some specimens of
remarkable excellence of workmanship. In some the flint has been shaped with a
cleanness and precision which reminds one of the fracture of obsidian rather than of
flint. (Plate XXII, a.) There is one very fine example, 5 cm. in length and triangular
in section, the edges of which have been minutely serrated. It was doubtless used
as a saw for some delicate work The main part of the implements found at West
Wickham, and indeed throughout the district, consists of flakea Many of these
have been carefully chipped to a point to be used as drills (Plate XXII, h) : others
have had semicircular indentations made in them and were probably used for shaving
and rounding sticks or fragments of bone ; possibly for arrow stems or needles,
and there ai*e many other forms of wear observable upon them. (Plate XXIII, L.)
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£!ent and Surrey border : Ifeolithic Age. 133
Hammer-stones are represented by several large masses of tough grey flint
varying in weight from '5 to 1*5 kilos. The surfaces of these hammers exhibit
marks of long continued wear, as the stone is in places worn in facets. (Plate XXIII, o.)
I have one very interesting implement which appears to have served as a
grain-crusher. It is a small quartzite boulder, possibly a Sarsen stone, each end of
which has been considerably flattened by wear. It weighs '8 kilo. One end is
worn nearly flat apparently from contact with a flat surface, whilst the other end
exhibits several facets. The diflTerence in the character of the wear on the two
ends may be explained perhaps by the theory that the flat end was produced by
pounding such as would be necessary to crush grain, while the faceted wear of the
other end may have resulted from the irregular rotary motion employed whilst
using it as a pestle in a mortar. The latter wear seems to have been caused by the
action of reducing the crushed grain to fine flour.
The recent discovery of a floor on which the manufacture of a large number
of flint implements had been carried on at Millfield, Keston, is of great value
for many reasons, for the light it gives as to the methods adopted by the maker
of flint implements ; the tools he used in his work ; the material he employed ;
and the specific purpose of the implements he produced. But perhaps its chief
importance arises from the fact that it enables us to assign the pit-dwellings on
Hayes Common to an approximate period.
It may be explained that the pit at Millfield, although in the parish of
Keston, is quite near the groups of pit-dwellings on Hayes Common, and
intimately related to thenL Towards the end of the year 1897, numerous flakes
and chips of flint were accidentally found by some men engaged in building
operations. The fact was communicated to me by Mr. G. W. Smith, and further
search was suggested. The result was that within a circular space 5 m. in
diameter and from 45 cm. to 70 cm. below the surface, 958 flakes and other
fragments of flint were found, consisting of : —
22 cores
461 flakes
475 waste chips
958
The character of these flints is precisely like that of the specimens which
have for many years past been found sparsely but pretty evenly distributed over
the surface of Hayes Common, but the flakes, especially those which were straight
and well-formed, had in nearly every case been purposely broken, the pointed end
of an acute triangular form, having in every such case been carried away, and
although the material removed from the pit was screened and carefully examined,
not one of these pointed ends was found. It is evident that they must have been
severed from the flakes to which they belonged and carried away for some specific
purpose, whether to be used as arrow-heads, or for the teeth of sickles, or for
what other purpose does not seem clear.
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134 G. Clinch. — Prehistoric Man in the NeigJAourhood of the
It has been shown* that the undoubtedly Neolithic pit at Millfield, is in
every way identical in character with the pit-dwellings on Hayes Common,
except that it has lost its covering of peat. Viewed in the light of this discovery
it is a comparatively easy matter to identify several groups of Neolithic dwellings
on Hayes Common and numerous lines of ditch-and-mound work which may
represent enclosures for the securing of the cattle belonging to the inhabitants
of the dwellings. It is not difficult to understand how these dwellings were
constructed. Probably an excavation from 5 m. to 10 m. in diameter was
first made, circular in form and about 1 m. in greatest depth. The removed
earth may then have been carefully arranged as a continuous mound around
the pit, and in this mound a number of long branches of trees were probably
planted, the ends of which met over the middle of the hut. A roof consisting
of a thatch of heath or reeds completed the means of protection from the external
elements, whilst the encircling mound would help to throw off superfluous rainfall,
and afford some degree of warmth and shelter. A conjectural restoration of such
a dwelling is shown in Fig. 3.
Scale of metres.
FIG. 3. — CONJECTURAL RESTORATION OF NEOLITHIC HUT WITH EXTERNAL FIRE,
HAYES COMMON, KENT..
In some of the larger huts there was a raised mound in the centre on the
sides of which the inhabitants may have reclined when rest was required. Some-
times, however, the mound seems to have been placed in the hut in orfer to support
or steady the lower end of the trunk of a tree upon which the rafters of the roof
rested. Owing to the highly inflammable character of the structure it would not
have been safe to have a fire within the hut during very dry or windy weather ;
the cooking fire, therefore, would be made at a short distance from the dwelling.
The smaller depressions from 1-25 m. to 3 m. in diameter, have already been
identified as the hearths upon which, or rather perhaps we should say, the holes over
which fires were kindled for cooking purposes. This theory seems to afford a satis-
factory explanation of thie depressions, and agrees with their sizes, forms, and contents.
« Proc ihc AfUiq.y Lond., Second Series, vol xvii, pp. 216-2S1.
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^etit cmd Surrey Border : NedUhic Age,
135
Cooking by means of heated stones and also by heating the ground is by no
means uncommon. In our own country we have a survival of such a primitive
mode of cooking. In some parts of England, gypsies and country people still bake
a hedgehog or other small animal by enveloping it in a covering of clay and then
placing it in the midst of a fierce wood-fire made on the surface of the ground.
The embers retain a considerable amount of heat for a long time, and the baking
can be continued as long as is necessary without fresh fuel. When the operation
is completed, the flesh of the hedgehog is said to be particularly tender, juicy, and
well-flavoured. I give this upon hearsay evidence only, as I confess I have no
actual experience of the matter.
The rural method of cooking potatoes in an iron pot without water and with
the aperture of the pot closely stopped by a compact mass of earth, is another
somewhat similar survival. In this method of cooking, as in that just described.
Scale of metres,
no. 4. — SBcnoN of pit containing evidences of firb, west
WICKHAM COMMON, KENT.
A. Peat and vegetable mould.
K Sand and pebbles.
C. Bed of charooaL
D. Undisturbed earth.
the flavour is said to be remarkably well preserved. In both cases this is
doubtless due to the fact that the cooking is thorough, and that the enveloping
clay makes it possible to retain those juices and flavours which would be driven off
by the modem culinary methods.
In some of the islands of the North Pacific there is still in use a method
of cooking whole animals by means of heated depressions in the ground, similar
in all probability to that once adopted by the Neolithic tribes who resided at
Hayes Common. It seems probable that this was the method of cooking generally
employed by our Neolithic ancestors, and as far as we can understand the fire would
have been made in the following manner. A hole was first dug in the ground from
1*25 m. to 3 m. across and about 76 cm. deep. Across this a number of dry oak
branches were laid and fire was applied. Into this fire was placed the animal
or joint that was required to be cooked, or if water was to be heated or a stew
prepared, a number of fair-sized pebbles, placed among the burning embers, were
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136 G. ClilNOH. — Prehistoric Man in the Ifeighhourhood of the
heated and used as pot-boilers in receptacles made of wood or other perishable
substances, for it is pretty clear that no pottery was in use.
A section of one of these fiUed-up pits in which a cooking fire had been made
was until recently well shown in the side of the gravel-pit at West Wickham
Oommon. A diagram of this section is shown in Fig. 4. From this it will be
seen that at the bottom of the pit was a mass of large fragments of wood, above
which was a bed of sand and pebbles, and over all, a layer of peat and vegetable
mould about 12*5 cm. thick.
It may be remarked that the evidence of the Hayes Common and West
Wickham Common pit-dwellings is in accordance with the observations of Pro-
fessor Boyd Dawkins,^ who remarks that cooking operations in Neolithic times
were generally carried on outside the dwelling.
The rarity of scrapers and crushers among the fiint implements at Hayes
Common and Croham Hurst is noteworthy. It may be accounted for, perhaps, by
the fact that large pebbles suitable for use 83 crushers, are abundant at both of
these places, and may very probably have been used as substitutes ; whilst pebbles
broken in halves by natural or artificial means, which are also plentiful, would
make equally useful substitutes for those scrapers which are shaped by chipping.
Judging from the evidence of the implements, and from the character and
amoimt of wear to which they have been subjected, it seems probable that the
race who used them — the men and women living in the neighbourhood of the Kent
and Surrey border in the Neolithic period — consisted of people of pacific
occupations, tillers of the soil, and herdsmen. That they were highly accomplished
in the art of making implements and weapons of flint is pretty clearly shown by
the examples which have been preserved to the present day. Many of these must
have been the result of much patient and skilful labour, but a large proportion
have been sadly mutilated by the hard wear and rough usage of the plough-share,
the hari-ow, the roll,>nd other implements used by the farmer in tilling his land
in more recent years. The art of flint tool-making seems to have been carried to a
high pitch of perfection at West Wickham in Neolithic times, and its pursuit probably
formed the special, if not the sole, occupation of certain members of the tribe.
What the implement-maker's materials were, and how he used them, we can judge
from the contents of the workshop-floor at Millfield, and it is probable that we
have there all that remains of the workshop from which the Neolithic tribes
on Hayes Common were supplied with arrow-points, sickle-teeth, etc.
The Neolithic tribes inhabiting the district to which this paper refers would
appear to ^ave been, in a limited sense, nomadic in their habits, seldom staying
long in ofle place but travelling about slowly, accompanied by their herds and their
flocks. In the winter they would seek the shelter of the Surrey hiUs and in the
warmer seasons they probably tilled the fertile valleys about West Wickham. '
In conclusion, it may be pointed out that the evidences of prehistoric man in
this country are being rapidly destroyed. In the locality to which this paper
» Early Man in Britain^ 1880, p. 273.
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Kent atid Surrey Border: Neolithic Age. 137
relates the operations of the villa-builder and the pursuit of agricultural industries,
but especially the former, are disturbing and obliterating these venerable and
intensely interesting of British antiquities, and it is most desirable that every trace
of prehistoric times should be carefully noted and recorded before these destructive
influences shall have swept them entirely away.
Appendix.
In the following list a few particulars are given respecting the best defined
and most characteristic types of implements discovered in the district to which
this paper relates — a district which comprises the following parishes: — West
Wickham, Hayes, and Keston, in Kent, and Shirley, Croydon, and Sanderstead, in
Surrey.
In every case, except that of Millfield, which was excavated mainly by Mr.
G. W. Smith, the following facts and statistics are based upon the discoveries of
the writer and refer solely to specimens in his private collection.
Type A. — Simple flakes, usually triangular or quadrangular in section and
from 2 cm. to 7 cm. in length.
Type B. — ^Flakes more or less modified or elaborated in form by secondary
work.
Type C. — Flakes, much worn by use.
Type D. — ^Flakes converted into a more or less circular outline by means
of secondary working. These are usually called scrapers, but it is evident
from their varieties of form and the care with which they have been shaped
that they were used for many different purposes besides the scraping of skins
during the process of tanning. They were probably used for cutting and carving
objects in wood and bone, and also for such work as would now be done by
means of planes, adzes, etc. In several examples of these so-called scrapers there
is a very decided tendency towards a tang, and a semi-circular indentation is often
found on each side at the termination of the cutting edge.
Type K — Scrapers resembling in many respects those included in type D, but
more roughly formed and generally much thicker in section.
Type F. — ^Arrow-heads entirely shaped by minute and delicate working.
Three entirely distinct forms are figured in the plate.
Type G. — Spear-heads, or possibly knives, more or less leaf-shaped in form
and worked much in the same manner as arrow-heads (type F).
Type H. — Drills, formed by careful secondary working.
Type I. — Saws, usually of small size with minute indentations to serve as teeth,
and a pronounced stop shown in two of the samples figured upon the lower left
hand side.
Type J. — Straight and wellnshaped flakes from which the pointed end has
been broken off probably to serve as arrow points or sickle teeth. This type is
mainly represented in the examples found at Millfield.
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138
G. Clinch. — Prehdstoric Man in the Neiffkhaurhood of the
Type E. — ^Hollow scrapers. The form of these is well shown in the plate.
The semi-circular indentations have been produced by very careful chipping. They
have probably been used for the purpose of shaving and shaping the stems of
arrows and other similar objects.
Type L— Celts shaped entirely by chipping. The three examples figured are
fragments, but that in the middle presents features of great merit and a high
degree of skill.
Type M. — Celts formed partly by chipping and partly by grinding. The two
examples figured have probably been intended to be hafted into a bone or wooden
socket.
Type N. — Celts formed by chipping but presenting a surface almost, if not
entirely, covered by subsequent grinding. Both of the specimens figured are
imperfect, having been mutilated at each end
Type 0. — Hanmier stones and grain crushers. The left hand specimen shown
in the plate has been shaped by long continued wear into a flattened sphere. The
other example is a quartzite pebble flattened at each end by wear. The material
employed for these implements is almost always tough grey flint
Type P. — Boughly shaped celt-like implements, probably hoes or similar
agricultural implements. The upper end is roughly triangular in section, and was
apparently intended to be bound into a cleft stick : the lower end meiges into a
celt-like form.
Specimens of these various typeB are figured upon the accompanying full-page
plates (Plates XXII and XXIII). In addition to the sixteen types already described,
the following may be mentioned in order to include fragments of flint which have
resulted from the manufacture of implements, etc.
Type Q. — Chips— fw^ments of flint often retaining portions of the rough
external coat of the flint nodule which have been struck off merely with the
intention of reaching suitable material underneath.
Type R — Cores — ^the blocks of flint from which flakes have been struck.
The distribution of these various types of implements, etc., among the different
Neolithic sites identified and described in the paper is shown in the following
table : —
Localities.
Types.
West
Wickham.
Hayes
Common.
Miimeld,
Keston.
Shirley.
Crofaam
Hurst
A. Flakes
B. Flakes with secondary work
C. Flakes, much worn by use
D. Scrapers (well formed)
E. Scrapers (roughly shaped)
881
13
32
30
85
40
5
61
6
90
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^ent and Surrey Border : Ifeoliihie Age.
13d
Localities
Types.
West
Wickham.
Hayes
Common.
MUlfield,
Keston.
Shirley.
Croham
Hurst
F. Arrow-heads
G. Spear-heads, or knives
H. Drills
L Saws
J. Flakes from which the pointed
ends have been broken.
K. Hollow scrapers
L. Celts, entirely formed by chipping
M. Celts, partly formed by chipping
and partly by grinding.
N. Celts, covered with a ground sur-
face.
0. Hammers
P. Hoes
Q. Chips
B. Cores....
9
13
12
2
26
3
2
3
8
7
549
40
2
50
8
400
475
22
1 c 1 1 1 III lllll
48
5
Discussion.
Mr. Lewis wished to congratulate both the author and the Inetitute on the
paper they had just heard. He had visited the pits on Hayes Common some
twenty years ago and had not been greatly impressed by them, but he was glad
Mr. Clinch had been able to find so much valuable material in connection with
them. So far as he had understood there was no evidence that the fires .of which
traces were found in the pits might not have been of comparatively recent date.
He doubted whether the circle of 50 feet diameter had been roofed over, and
thought it more likely to have been an enclosure for animals. Mr. Lewis
proceeded to point out the difference between the remains described by Mr.
Clinch and those of dwellings found at Carnbrae in Cornwall and Grimspound and
elsewhere on Dartmoor, which latter were furnished with stone seats or bed-places,
hearths, and holes made in the ground and used apparently for cooking by means
of heated stones, and in one at least of which holes had been found a large pot.
Mr. J. Allen Brown said he knew the author many years ago when he
began his investigations in Kent, and congratulated him on their result in the
paper he had read, and on his having obtained the interesting collection on the
table and the valuable information given as to its connection with the hut circles
on Hayes Common and elsewhere in the neighbourhood. Judging from the forms
and patina, the specimens appeared to be of late neolithic age, but there was no
evidence of the fauna with which they were associated. There was, however, one
specimen which in form and colour was quite unlike the others, and he would
be glad to know under what condition it had been found, whether in peat or
gravel. Its brown patina and axe-like form reminded him of the drift, although the
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140 G. CliKCH. — Prehistoric Man in the Neighbourhood of Kent and Surrey,
specimen clearly belonged to the division called neolithic. If the axe-head had
been wider at the blade, thicker and less neatly made, it would then have been
similar to axe-head specimens found in the river drift; as it is the implement
appears to be one of those forms, belonging to a series which appears to bridge over
the later palaeolithic and the later stone age, we call neolithic, as classified in the
speaker's paper read at the Institute in 1892 on the " Continuity of the Palaeolithic
and Neolithic Periods."
Mr. W. GowLAND remarked that the paper was one of great interest, and a
very important contribution to our knowledge of the habitations of neolithic man
in this country. Circular dwellings have, as is well known, been found in several
localities in Britain, notably on Dartmoor and the moorlands of Yorkshire ; in
these, however, the floors are but little, if at all, below the surface of the surround-
ing ground. Those which he had examined in both the above-mentioned districts
originally possessed walls of rough stones, of greater or less height, from which the
roofs sprang. In their immediate neighbourhood stones suitable for building the
walls occur in abundance. In the district explored by Mr. Clinch no such
materials are at hand. The floor was hence, he thought with him, sunk below the
surface by digging a pit in order that the roof might be of a convenient height. On
the other hand, it should be remembered that in other regions of the world, as in
North-Eastern Asia and the northern islands of Japan, pit-dwellings are character-
istic of a rigorous climate, and form the winter habitations of men who in the
summer occupy huts on the ground-level.
Circular pit-dwellings seem to be rare in England, and the author is to be
congratulated on his discoveiy of them in Surrey and Kent. Remains of these
dwellings of neolithic times are, however, widely distributed in Northern Europe
and in Germany, Austria, Hungary and Switzerland, the depth of the floor below
the surface varying from 1 to 1'5 metre. They are also found in France.
In the north of Portugal some have been discovered with a block of stone in
the centre of the floor, upon which rested a wooden post for the support of the
roof. This tends to confirm the accuracy of Mr. Clinch's explanation of the use of
the small mound in the same position in the Kent and Surrey examples.
The discovery of a cooking-place outside the dwellings is of considerable
importance, as, he believed, no actual remains of an external fire had hitherto been
found in England. He might mention that separate places for cooking, viz.,
small round houses apart from the dwelling, are to be seen at the present day in
Finland.
From his own experience of dwellings not diflFering much in construction from
those described in the paper, in several of which he had lived from time to time
when exploring the Shinano-Hida range of mountains in Japan, he would say that
culinary operations, except on a small scale, could not be conducted inside without
risk of setting fire to the roof. A fireplace apart from the hut would hence be
absolutely necessary when a large animal such as a deer or boar had to be cooked
for the use of the community or several families.
This outside fireplace, too, doubtless played an important part in the discovery
of the metals. It was, in fact, the first smelting furnace. The high temperature
which would be often reached in it, when the fire was urged by a strong wind,
would be quite sufficient for the reduction of the ores of the common metals to the
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SpecicU Joint Meeting of June 27th, 1899. 141
metallic state; so that, whenever any stones containing these ores became
accidentally imbedded in the fuel, under conditions favourable for reduction, the
discovery of the metals would certainly result.
Exhibition op Eude Stone Implements from the State of Gwalior,
Central India. By Frederick Swynnerton, Esq., Simla.
This collection included numerous roughly-chipped fragments of jasper, chert,
lydite, and other siliceous stones. Some of the objects exhibited were collected
by Mr. Swynnerton from the alluvium of the plain on which the city of Gwalior
stands. They occur in the gravel of the Sourrka River, and throughout the
alluvium on the banks to a height of at least 20 feet ; and are also found scattered
over the surface far from the river. Others were obtained from, or near to, the
surface of the ground at Eaipur, 12 miles from Gwalior. The collection also
included some large quartzite implements of palaeolithic type, found on the surface
at Eaipur by C. Maries, Esq., of Gwalior.
SPECIAL JOINT MEETING OP THE INSTITUTE AND THE
POLKLOEE SOCIETY.
JUNE 27th, 1899.
C. H. Kkad, Esq., F.S. A, President, in the Chair.
The Chaikman explained that this Joint Meeting had been called by the
desire of the Folklore Society to welcome Professor Frederick Starr of the Uni-
versity of Chicago, and he would therefore vacate the chair in favour of the
President of the Folklore Society.
Mr. K Sidney Habtland, F.S. A, President of the Folklore Society, then took
the Chair, and expressed the thanks of his Society for the reception the Institute
had given them and their friend Professor Starr, who had most generously
presented the Society with the interesting objects they now saw before them, and
who would favour them with some account of his collection.
Professor F. Stark, of Chicago, then gave an address explanatory of the large
collection of objects illustrating the Folklore of Mexico.
The Chairman wound up the proceedings by describing the kindly reception
he had received in Chicago from Professor Starr, and proposed a vote of thanks to
him for his very able addrass, which was supported by Mr. G. L. Gomme and
Mr. A, L. Lewis, and carried uAanimously.
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( 142 )
ON THE MEDIiGVAL POPULATION OF BRISTOL.
By Dr. Beddob, LLD., F.RS.
It is now a good many years since, to the lasting disfigurement and discredit of
our ancient city, the church of St Werburgh, with its beautiful tower, was cleared
away from Corn Street. I was one of the, I believe very few, people who derived
some advantage from this barbarous proceeding, of which, however, I have the
satisfaction of remembering that I was one of the active opponents. A largo
number of skeletons was dug out from below the vaults in the church, and a good
many from the churchyard adjoining, in which, however, interments had ceased for
many years. The former series must have dated from before 1761, at which date
the church was partially rebuilt ; but they were all probably much older, in fact
pretty certainly mediaeval. The latter were comparatively modem, but not recent.
Of the former I found 36 measurable, and of the latter 17, numbers sufficient to
afford a basis of induction. Their measurements were printed m the Bristol and
QUmcestershire Archceohgical Transactions, and in my Baces of Britain. I am not
going to inflict them on you now, but will say briefly that the mediaeval skulls
were somewhat short, broad and, if anytliing, low, flattish, rounded, with rather
small frontal region, but otherwise well filled. Their average breadth-index was
exactly 80, i.e., on the confines of mesokephaly and brachykephaly, by Topinard's
notation. On the other hand, the modem skulls were mostly of quite different
type ; in fact not one of the 17 distinctly resembled the small round type just
described, and which prevailed in the mediaeval series. They were mostly rather
large longish crania, nowise distinguishable from those we see on the shoulders of
our neighbours in Somerset and Gloucestershire, and their average breadth-index
was 76*6.
There are sundry circumstances which may influence the relation that the
cranial index bears to the kephalic, the dead to the living one, for example the
degree of dryness, as De Lapouge has shown. But we have most of us got into the
habit of adding two degrees to the index of the skull, in order to get that of the
living head. I apprehend that my distinguished friend (M. Topinard) will tell you
two d^ees are too much. But even if we added nothing, 80 would be a very high
index for a series of 36 English skulls, while 76*6 would be a low one for the living
head. The discrepancy needs explanation.
I have been disposed to attribute it to the presence in the earlier or mediaeval
series of a larger proportion of French blood. We know that for centuries after
the Norman Conquest natives of France continued to filter into this country, where
the use of the French language among the upper classes must have given the
immigrants certain advantages. Moreover Bristol, perhaps more than most other
English ports, carried on an active commerce witii the English dominions ia France,
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Dr. Bbddob. — On the Medusval Popidatwii of Bristol, 143
To show the intimacy of these relations, I will quote a passage, from Mr. Fuller's
paper on the Tallage of Edward IT. He says that among the rebellious Bristolians
in 1316, the Sheriff of Gloucestershire alleged that there were " a great multitude
of evildoers, as well men of Bayonne as Welshmen, added to them, levied as for
war against the King."
Now these men of Bayonne, or rather their posterity at the present day, are
a moderately brachykephalic folk, with a living index of 83^, according to
Collignon. In other parts of Gascony the index varies, here higher, there a little
lower ; but, on the whole, in all the west of France, except around the embouchures
of the Gironde, the Dordogne and the Charente, and in the valley of the Vienne,
the headform is so broad that a large importation of the breed into Bristol might
account for the phenomena.
Now lately I have gotten some evidence of another kind, which seems to point
the same way. In Mr. Fuller's paper, just now quoted, are a list of nearly 1,000
persons liable to tallage under Edward II, and one of upwards of 300 h'able to pay
subsidy in the first year of Edward III. I have analysed the surnames in these
lists, and estimated therefrom the strength of the French element in the population.
My plan is this : I take the certainly French names, such as Maltravers, Gumey,
the somewhat doubtful ones, such as Tilly, Murrell, the French nicknames, as
Bellamy, Blundell, Russell, names indicative of a French birthplace, as Pickard,
Dole, the French trade names, as Taylor, BulUnger, and the French names of ofl&ce
or condition, as Clerk, Bailey ; and ascertain the proportion which all these bear to
the whole list of names. In Bristol, in Edward II's time, this proportion was 20
per cent. Now of course I cannot claim that this was the real proportion of the
French blood-element in the population ; that may have been much greater or much
less. But I do think that my plan is a good one for comparing the strength of the
French element in different parts of England.
Surnames were not absolutely fixed in Bristol in the early part of the fourteenth
century, but they were nearly so. In the South Midland district, to judge from
facts in the Hundred Bolls, they had been nearly so in the latter part of the
thirteenth century. But in Wales there were no fixed surnames until very long
afterwards ; which may be one, but only one, of the reasons why so few Welshmen
can be made out in these tallage lists.
On applying the test described I find the French element much stronger in
Bristol lists than in lists from Malmesbury, Minety or Gillingham, of about the
same or an earlier date ; less too than in Devonshire, though it is my belief that
the French immigration into that county, chiefly from Bretagne, had been
considerable. The figures are* :
Bristol — 1st list, 20 per cent. ; 2nd list, 23-2. Malmesbury Abbey tenants,
11-3; Minety (Wiltshire), 8-2; Gillingham (Dorset), 11*9; Devonshire,
17 per cent. Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk, in the Hundred EoUs, vary from
15*4 to 17'3. But in the South-East Midlands the French settlers seem
* Bristol leaders of the King's party and of the revolters, 33 per cent.
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1 44 Dr. Beddoe. — On the Medioeval Population of BrisUl,
to have been very nunierous, and these are just the districts respecting
which the Hundred Bolls give us the fullest information. In Bedford-
shire, for example, the fi*ee tenants give 39 per cent, of names of French
type, the more numerous villan tenants 17 ; and at the present day the
ratepayers of two Bedfordshire parishes give me 20 per cent. I suppose
there was much infiltration of Frenchmen thither from London ; and I
think the prevailing form of head thereabouts is still roundish, and the
stature short.
Other points notable in these Bristol lists are the fewness of patronymics, the
often French type of those that do occur {e,g,, Everard), the scarcity of Welshmen,
the great number of people designated from their trades, and the very great number
bearing local specific names, such as Derby, Warminster, and the like. These
immigrants would seem to have come in large proportion from other towns, rather
than from the country surrounding Bristol.
Let us allow, provisionally, that the roundness of mediaeval Bristolian heads
may be accounted for by the largeness of the French element. Why then did this
round type subsequently disappear ?
The conditions of life in mediaeval cities were extremely unfavourable, and the
mortality excessive. Mr. Fuller remarks that enormous changes had taken place
in the constituency during the interval of fourteen years between the compilations
of his two lists. The second is even more French than the first (23*2 per cent,
against 20) and considering the active intercourse with Gascony and Guienne during
the reign of Edward HI, it may very well have been that the French element
continued to increase for some time. But the subsequent loss of Aquitaine must have
cut off the supply. I have analysed the list of Bristol testators in the Great
Orphan Book, which has lately been edited by Mr. Edward Alexander Fry, and I find
that in the fifteenth and the latter part of the fourteenth century the French
element, as already defined, has decreased to 18'4 per cent. Welshmen have begun
to come in and to settle — there are 2 per cent, of positively identifiable Welshmen,
and 3 per cent, of probable Welshpaen, Thomases and Eichardses and the like.
Local specific names continue very numerous, but trade names have greatly
diminished ; possibly they were of tener applied than acknowledged.
In the sixteenth century the French surnames had declined to 14*2 per cent. ;
the Welshmen and probable Welshmen, under the Tudors, were streaming in apace,
and amounted to 6'4 and 8*3 respectively ; and what I call the local general names,
such as Hall, Green, Townsend, Atwood, names indicative of a rural origin, had
much increased. Evidently the older population had largely died out or scattered
itself elsewhere, and its place was being filled up from Wales, Gloucestershire and
Somerset. The same processes have continued ever since, except that the Welsh
immigration, contrary perhaps to what might have been expected, has rather
slackened than otherwise, especially since the development of the Welsh coalfield
began. In fact there are fewer Welsh surnames now in Bristol than in the
sixteenth century. Irish immigration has never been considerable.
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Jovrnal of the Jnihropolotjical Institute (N.S.), Vol. IT, Plate XXIV,
A SKULL FROM SYRIA.
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( 145 )
NOTE ON A SKULL FROM SYRIA.
By W. L. H. Duckworth, M.A., Fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge.
[with plats zxiv.]
The specimen under consideration is the massive skull of an adult male which
was picked up near Damascus after the massacres of 1860. For the loan of this
specimen I am indebted to C. W. Cunnington, Esq., and I have made some notes
descriptive of its more striking features. Mr. Cunnington kindly made some of
the measurements which are appended.
The skull is of considerable weight and capacity (the latter being about 1650
cc). It bears four distinct wounds to which no doubt death was due. At the
bregma is a large and nearly quadrate hole, from which the missing piece of
the left parietal bone was no doubt removed by a sword cut, of which unmistakable
evidence is afforded by the clean-cut character of the posterior margin (45 mm.
in length). From this side, a crack or fissure traverses the left parietal bone
obliquely to end eventually in the lambdoid suture. At the external angular
process of the frontal bone on the left side is a large deficiency due to
destruction of the superciliary margin and parts adjacent to it, leaving a
depression of cup-like shape and about 20 mm. in diameter. The third wound is
a clean cut 36 mm. long just above the right parietal eminence : and a fourth
wound is seen as a clean-edged incision dividing the root of the left zygomatic
arch. Part of the lateral margin of the skeleton of the nose is absent from the
right side, but there is no certain indication that this deficiency is of a traumatic
nature. However this may be, the condition of the bones of the cranial vault
affords abundant evidence of violence.
Most of the teeth have dropped out, but those remaining are of large size and
good quality. Otherwise the skull is in good preservation and has suffered little
or nothing by weathering. Having remarked the massive glabellar prominence
and other muscular ridges and prominences, the asymmetry of the specimen next
demands attention. The skull is plagiocephalic. There is great parieto-
occipital flattening, but this is much more marked on the right than on the left
side, so that there is oomparatively great backward projection on the left side of
the conjoined parietal bones (the sagittal suture has long been closed by ossifica-
tion). But it is remarkable that while thus laterally asymmetrical, there is no
concomitant torsion or even lateral flexion of the basis cranii, and that the
occipital condyles, though dissimilar in size, are on the same horizontal plane
(which is a somewhat unusual occurrence in plagiocephalic crania).
From the indices (see Table) the skull will be seen to be brachyceplialic,
Nbw SxiOEB, Vol. II, Noa 1 akd 2. ^
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146 W. L. H. Duckworth. — Note on a Skull fro^n Syria,
akrocephalic, orthognathous, microseme, and leptorhiue. The figure representing
its cubic capacity places it in the megacephalic division (Flower).
The skull may be compared in the first instance to a specimen in the
museum at Nicosia, Cyprus (for a sketch of which I am indebted to my
brother, the Eev. H. T. Forbes Duckworth, M.A.), in which the same features of
prominent brow ridges with parieto-occipital flattening are seen to be associated
But the Nicosia skull does not present marked asymmetry.
Turning to the Syrian skulls in the Anatomical Museum at Cambridge, I will
only mention here, as a full description of these skulls will shortly be published
by K M. Corner, M.A., that at least two tjrpes are recognisable, and that of skulk
presenting parieto-occipital flattening of a degree comparable with that of the
Damascus specimen, only one was found, whose outline is here figured {cf. No.
2, Fig, 2). The latter, however, while resembling the Damascus cranium in this
respect, in all others resembles more closely a skull figured by Topinard and
described as the artificially deformed cranium of a Maronite {cf. No. 1, Fig. 2).
According to this author, artificial deformation is habitual among the Maronites.
This must not be overlooked in basing comparisons on the contours of various
crania from this region.
For accounts of other skulls from Syria, we are indebted to Pruner-Bey
and Dr. Paul Langerhans. In a communication made in 1866 to the Socidt^
Anthropologique de Paris,^ Pruner-Bey describes a series of about sixteen
crania, and it is interesting to note that twelve of these were collected under
similar circumstances, and at about the same time as our Damascus specimen, so
that there is reason to suppose that they belonged to individuals whose lives had
been lost in the masscu^res. Of these twelve, three present features distinctly
akin to those of Arab crania, while the remaining nine are as a series characterized
by the great prominence of the glabella, in addition to unusually massive mastoid
processes and nuchal crests. Now it is noteworthy that Pruner-Bey, while
mentioning the brachycephalic character as a feature of the group, and speculating
on the cause of the parieto-occipital flattening, which is also frequently present,
yet concludes that the crania represent ** le type sdmitique de la branche syrienne,"
while admitting in the next words that *' par leur structure massive, par leur
volume et par le grossissement des traits de la figure, ils dififdrent sensiblement
du crftne arabe."
He subsequently admits the possibility of the skulls having belonged to
a mixed race, and su^ests that two of them may have been those of individuals
with Turkish blood in their veins. As a group, however, they could not be
referred to a Turanian stock.
Now from this description I think that the Damascus skull would come well
into line with the nine crania described as a group by Pruner-Bey, and it may
be repeated that the circumstances under which they were procured were similar.
[But I do not think that from the published description Pruner-Bey is
» Bulletins de la SocieU ArUhrapoloffique de Parity 2« S6rie, tome i, p. 663.
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W. L. H. Duckworth.— iVb<<5 on a Skull from Syria, 147
justified in the conclusion that the series represents the Syrian branch of the
Semitic typa]
Before continuing this discussion, it will be as well to refer to Dr. Paul
Langerhans' careful paper in the Archiv fur Antkropologiey Band vii, 1873,
entitled, " Die heutige Einbewohner des Heiligen Landes." The author had at his
disposal eight skulls from £s Salt, said to be relics of a skirmish between
Government troops and Beduins. These specimens are not described in
detail, as thej are not considered of sufficiently authentic origin. Six other
crania (Amman, Philadelphia) are considered to be of indubitable Beduin
origin : these are dolicho-cephalic and less capacious than the Damascus
cranium, and bear no general resemblance at all to that specimen. Dr. Lan-
gerhans, it should be noted, finds a difference between the true Beduin skulls and
those of the peasant population of Syria, the latter possessing somewhat larger
skidls than the former.
From a perusal of Dr. Langerhans' communication it will be concluded that
the Damascus cranium is very improbably that of a Beduin, and having excluded
that contingency as completely as possible, we may turn to the characters of the
skulls of Turks, remembering that Government (i.e., Turkish) troops were involved
in the later stages of the " massacres," and that thia consideration must not be
neglected in forming an opinion of the nature of the Damascus cranium.
Taking the various descriptions of the Turkish cranium in their historical
order we may note that Vesalius (quoted by Blumenbach, Hamy et alii), in
his Corporis humani fabrica (sixteenth century), mentions the occipital flattening
of the skulls of Turks, and remarks on the part played by the midwives in the
artificial production of such deformity in infants (it is noteworthy that this
deformation is mechanically produced in the skulls of new-bom infants wheo
the presentation, to use the langus^e of the obstetrician, has been of the occipito-
posterior variety).
Sandifort (^Tabula craniorum diversarum nationum, eighteenth century) figures
as his typical Turkish skull, a cranium wi^h immensely prominent glabella
reminding one of the Damascus and Nicosia specimens: occipital flattening
is not a feature of the figure given by Sandifort.
Blumeribach gives a series of descriptive characters of the Turkish skull
which is almost completely realised by the Damascus specimen (see quotation by
Davis in Thesaturus Oraniorum, p. 124, viz., " Calvaria fere globosa : occipito scil:
vix ullo, cum foramen magnum pene ad extremum baseos cranii positum sit,
Frons latior. Glabella prominens ").
[Cams figures a Turkish skull, but I have not been able to consult the
reference.]
Betzitis {Ethnologische Schrifteriy 1864) figures (Plate III, Fig. 6) the cranium
of a Turk considered to be of typical form : the parieto-occipital flattening referred
to by Blumenbach is well seen. Eetzius places the Turks in his division " Brachy-
cephalse orthognathse."
L 2
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148 W. L. H. Duckworth. — Note on a Skull from. SyHa.
Davis (in the Thesaurus Craniorum), from the consideration of two crania of
Turks in his possession, comments favourably on the accuracy of Blumenbach's
description.
Weisbach, in 1873 {Mittheilungm der Anthropologischen GeseUscha/t in Wien,
p. 220) gave a description of the cranial forms of the Turks, based on the examination
of about seventy crania from the suburbs of Constantinople. He admits (cf. Hamy
in Crania Ethnica) that there may be included crania of " Albanesen, Tscherkessen,
Syrier, Araber," but he excluded all that gave any evidence of negroid aflSnities.
He figures a skull somewhat resembling the Nicosia specimen. Weisbach
concludes from his observations that "Der Schadel der Turken ist mithin
mittelgross, schwer (dick knochig), kurz, hoch, relativ breit, in sagittaler und
coronaler Richtung sehr stark gewolbt " — all of which features are reproduced in
the Damascus skull with the exception of the cranial capacity which renders
necessary the substitution of the term megacephalic for " mittelgross."
Flower {Catal. Roy. ColL Surg.), however, records the capacities of two crania
of Turks, and these are respectively as great as and greater than that of the
Damascus specimen. Capacities of over 1,600 c.c are also quoted by other authors.
Hamy in V Anthropologies 1895, insists on the " aplatissement pari^to-occipital
commun k tons les Turcs " and the development in vertical height : and the same
author in Crania Ethnica (wherein an extensive bibliography will be found),
gives a remarkable note in describing the southward expansion of the Turks into
Syria, where they are said to have produced a marked influence as far as "la
montagne des Ansari6s '* and ** les Y^halines." ** La montagne des Ansari4s " may
be presumed to be the range of that name to the north of the Lebanon. The note
just referred to deals with the characters of skulls measured by M. Le6n Cahun,
who obtained them when on a scientific mission to " la montagne des Ansari&."
The quotation runs as follows : " Cinq crSjies d'Ansari^s de Kerdaha pr^s Calbi^
sur sept recueillis par le voyageur, offrent la deformation parieto-occipitale plus
accus^e k droite qu'k gauche. lis ont en commun Findice 84*57 diam. a-p. 175
diam. tr. max. 148.*' And certainly the specimen figured in Crania Ethnica is not
lacking in other resemblances to the Damascus cranium, in which, as has been
already indicated, the parieto-occipital flattening is more accentuated on the right
than on the left side (just as in the Ansaries). The religion which has gained
their peculiar name for the Ansaries seems to have been practised in Northern
Syria for the last thousand years (cf. Lyde, The Asian Mystery y p. 67). Lieut.
Walpole {The Ansayrii, vol. iii, p. 342) indeed suggests that they are referred to
even by Pliny, and adds a note as to their physical appearance, " They are a fine
large race with more bone and muscle than is generally found among Orientals :
browner than the Osmanlee but lighter, fairer than the Arab.*' Walpole moreover
recognises that their numbers have been recruited from very various ethnical sources.
Dr. V, Luschan has in the Archiv fiir Anthropologic (Bd. 19, 1891)
recorded the results of an enquiry into the cranial forms of inhabitants of Lykia,
and finds that brachycephalic crania are there as frequent as the dolichocephalic
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W. L. H. Duckworth. — Note on a Skvllfrom Syria. 149
varieties ; he further refers certain hypsi-braohycephalic crania to what he calls an
" armeftiische " or "armenoide" race: as similar skull-forms occurred on two
occasions in very ancient graves, v. Luschau bases hereon a theory of the existence
of an aboriginal "Armenian" race in this r^on. The Damascus skull agrees
with some of these skulls from Lykia in being hypsi-brachycephalic, and with the
"Armenian'* skull figured in Dr. von Luschan's paper (Fig. 17) in its general
contour.
Professor Sergi in his Urspritng des Mittelldndischen Stammes describes various
skull-forms occurring on the Mediterranean shores, but the Damascus skull can be
referred to no form considered by Sergi to be characteristic of the " Mediterranean "
race : on the other hand its rotundity and elevated character assign to it a place
among the crania compared by Sergi {Urspmiig des MUtelldndischtn Stamnies —
Deutsch von Dr. Byhan, p. 134) to Mongolian skuUs.
Finally, the frequency of occurrence of brachycephalic crania in Asia Minor is
further insisted on by Elisyeef (who found the average breadth index to be 86, the
number of observations being 143) and Chantre (breadth index : average of
120 observations on males, 84-5). The two latter observations are quoted by
Eipley in his Races of Europe (1899).
The attempt to sum up the evidence may now be made, and it will, I think,
lead to the following conclusions : —
(i.) That the Damascus cranium is very similar in general contour and
especially in the peculiar character of its asymmetry to certain skulls
from " la montagne des Ansari^s " (one of which is figured in Crania
Mhnicay Plate LXXXV, Figs. 3 and 4), immediately to the north of
the Lebanon range.
(iL) That the Damascus cranium resembles nine of the skulls obtained in Syria
under similar circumstances by M. Girard de Rialle, and described by
Pruner-Bey in the BvMetin de la SocUti Aiiihropologigue de Paris
(1866, p. 563 et seq,).
(iii.) That the Damascus cranium resembles skulls described or figured by
Sandifort, Blumenbach, Davis, Weisbach, Flower, Hamy, et aliis, as
typical Turkish crania, and also, in certain features, the skull in the
Museum at Nicosia,
(iv.) That the description of the Damascus cranium as representing a form
common among peoples of Turkish origin, is not prejudiced by the fact
that Pruner-Bey ascribed the nine skulls (referred to in conclusion ii,
as similar to the Damascus cranium) to the Syrian branch of the
Semitic type, considering they did not correspond to any Turanian
type. For as regards the Syrian branch of the Semitic type,
the features in which the said nine skulls resemble that some-
what vaguely defined cranial form are not clearly stated by Pruner-Bey,
whereas the clearly specified features wherein they depart from the
Arab type of cranium are the very characters which ojie would from
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150
W. L H. DUCKWOBTH.— iV^o^« m a Skull from Syria.
the Btudy of the various works quoted, bring together as typical of
the skulls of Turks,
(v.) That if the argument in No. iv. is sound, the Damascus skull and skulls
like it might warrantably be described as Turanian as this type ib
understood by some authors (ex, gr. von Holder), but that as descriptive
of cranial forms, such terms as Turanian and Semitic are better
avoided until they have been more clearly defined.
(vL) Lastly, that large heavy-browed massive skulls with occipital flattening
occur in many localities adjacent to the eastern shores of the
Mediterranean ; they seem to be associated with the Turkish inhabitants
of those regions, and when they combine a high altitudinal index with
distinct brachycephaly, are compared by Sergi to ** Mongolian " crania.
They thus come into liue with certain crania found in the Crimea by
Demidoflf (cf. Exploration de la Russie m&idianaie), in Kurdistan (c/
Crania Bthnica), and lastly, they have some points of resemblance to
a skull found in Eastern Turkestan which is mentioned in an elaborate
memoir by Professor Budolf Hoemle in the Transactions of the Royal
Asiatic Society. The specimen, which was found in a mound with a
number of MSS., and is at present deposited in the Cambridge
collection, is a short broad skull with the same parieto-occipital
flattening as the Damascus skull, from which, however, it differs in
being much less massive. It is to be hoped that future research
will enable the whole of the lacunae between the foregoing examples
to be filled up, till a completely imperceptible transition from one
form to another shall be demonstrable.
Dimensions, etc., of a Syrian Skull. From near Damascus, picked up after
the massacre of 1860 :
Maximum length
180
Ophryo-iniac length . . .
180
Maximum breadth
148
Bi-auricular breadth . . .
131
Bi-stephanic breadth ...
120
Bi-zygomatic breadth . . .
144
Measurement from Basion to Glabella
116
ff *f it
Nasion
107
tt it >9
Alveolar point
105
t> >t it
Bregma
152
M » »>
Obelion
145
it >» w
Lambda
119
a w >i
Inion
78
» » tt
Opisthion
37
Orbital height
...
34
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W. L. H. Duckworth. — Note on a Skull from Syria. 151
Orbital breadth 43
Nasal height 57
Nasal width 25
Palato-maxillary length 57
Palato-maxillary breadth 68
Jugo-nasal arc 115
Jugonasal width 101
Horizontal circumference 526
Eadii:
Auriculo- Alveolar 106
-Nasal 101
-Glabellar 108
-Bregmatic 139
-ObeUal 135
-Lambdoid 112
-Iniac 81
Indices.
Cephalic (or breadth) 82*2
Altitudinal (or height) 84*4
Alveolar 981
Orbital 791
Nasal 43-8
Palato-maxillary (Flower) 1193
Naso-malar 113*8
Facial (Kollmann) 534
Stephano-zygomatic ... 83*4
Other measurements and indices :
Nasi-al veolar length 77
Angle of Cloquet 68^
Angle of Jacquart ... 74®
Cubic capacity 1,650
The illustrations accompanying this note are : —
Fig. 1. — The Damascus Cranium in Norma Lateralis : left side.
„ 2. — Outline tracings of four crania all reduced to the same dimensions (t.e., the naso*
lambdoid line is identical throughout the series).
No. 1. — Simple deformation in a Maronite skull (from Topinard).
„ 2. — Specimen 1237 in the Cambridge Anatomical Museum [a skull from
Bassus Tower, Syria, forming part of the Tyrwhitt Drake
Collection].
„ 3. — A skull in the Nicosia Museum, Cyprus.
„ 4. — The Damascus skull.
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1.-
( 15J )
SOME AUSTRALIAN TEEE CARVINGS.
By Herbert Perkins.
[with PLATBS XXV TO XXVIl.]
The originals of my photographs are in the Australian Museum, Sydney. They
form a collection unique of its kind, consisting of twenty-two logs or trunks of
trees that have been cut down in various localities and presented to the Museum
at diflTerent times. Through the kind permission extended to me by the trustees
of the institution and its curator, Robert Etheridge, Esq., Junr., I was enabled to
have a series of twelve photographs of them taken for the purpose of illustrating
this article.
Unfortunately there is very little known of the history of these carvings, or
of their actual meaning. What they are intended to represent or commemorate is
very largely a matter of conjecture.
" In fact," as Mr. Etheridge, to whom I am indebted for my rather meagre
information, said to me, "we know absolutely nothing reliable about them.
Where some lingering native tradition has survived it has been embodied in the
label attached to the exhibit It is, however, known that aU these carvings are of
an earlier date than the exploration and settlement of the country by Europeans,
and there is no instance on record of similar work having been done by the
aborigines since that time."
It has also been ascertained that the area over which they are distributed is
very limited. It may be roughly described as a long narrow strip of country
running north and south, on the western side of and nearly parallel to the main
range, and wholly situated in the central portion of the Colony of New South
Wales.
Outside these limits similar tree carvings have not, I believe, been discovered
in Australia.
In the Museum are six photographs showing the trees as they actually
appeared standing in the bush, and I may mention here that all the carved trees
found were dead ones. Of these there is no further information obtainable other
than what the various labels state, which are as follows : —
" Trees carved by Aborigines near Dubbo, N.S.W."
"Trunk of tree carved by Aborigines near Dubbo, N.S.W. This carving
is possibly intended to commemorate some circumstance connected
with the Boomerang."
" Trunk of tree carved by Aborigines near Guntewong, N.S.W. Placed to
mark the grave of a 'Doctor' or 'Medicine Man' at *Derwent
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Journal of the Anthropological Institute (N.S,), Vol. If, Plate XX F,
TREE CARVINGS, NEW SOUTH WALES.
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>b
'Journal of the Anfhropoloqiral InsiHute (A'.-S.), Vol, II, Plate XXVI.
TliEE CARVINGS, NEW SOUTH WALES.
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^■^
Journal of fhe Anthropological Iwtlilvte (xV.fi'.), Vol. IT, Plate XXVII.
THE caiAVE OF A NATIVE OF AUSTKALIA.
(From Oxley^s Kvpeditions, p. 139.)
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H. Perkins. — Soinc Australian Tree Carvings, 153
Park ' near Gimnedah. In the upper half is delineated the ' Cobra *
or head of the deceased and in the lower bis distinguishing scarifica-
tions."
"This information obtained by Mr. Henry Powell, the local 'Forest
Eanger.'*'
"Trunk of tree carved by Aborigines at Narramine, N.S.W. Placed lo
mark the grave of a head-man of the ' Macquarie Tribe/ who was a
noted 'Boomerang' thrower, and killed in a tribal fight with the
' Bogan Blacks.' The carvings are possibly intended for Boomerangs
to commemorate this."
So much for the description of these remarkable carvings. As to whether
there may be any further meaning in them beyond that of the somewhat vague
l^nds and surmises given above is, I think, a matter for Intimate speculation.
It occurred to me that the carvings might have some connection with the
" Bora rites."
What are commonly known as "Bora Grounds," the places where the
" Bora " rites or rites of initiation of youths into manhood are carried out, were
invariably ornamented by certain designs, generally traced in deep furrows in the
ground, and even in some exceptional cases where there was a smooth rock surface
cut into the rock. These designs are most remarkably similar to some of the
carvings. I have come across several of these " Bora Grounds " in the course of
my wanderings in the Australian bush during the last forty-one years, and can
therefore speak of them from personal experience.
I would therefore venture the suggestion that some of these carvings may
have been executed on the trees to mark the sites of certain particular "Bora
Grounds," or even perhaps in some cases to mark the place of, and to commemorate
the initiation of, some individual celebrated afterwards among the tribes.
The fact of not finding any tracings or designs on the ground near the trees
is easily explained, as if not purposely obliterated, they would quickly become so
through the action of the weather.
Note. — Mr. Perkins enclosed with his paper photographs of ail the specimens in the
Museum, but it was found impossible to reproduce them all, more especially as the greater
number are published in the Ethnographical Album of the Pacific Islands, 3rd Series. A plate
from Oxley's Expeditions into the interior of New SovJth Wales, p. 139, is inserted in order to
show similar carvings on trees standihg near to the grave of a native. — Editor J,A,I.
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( 154 )
DIALECT CHANGES IN THE POLYNESIAN LANGUAGES.
By Rkv. Samuel Ella.
Passing through many channels, and intermingling with other tongues, which
either already existed among earlier aborigines of the islands, or were introduced
by subsequent immigrations, the Polynesieui languages or dialects have undergone
considerable changes.
In tracing these changes we find that a peculiar phonetic hsiS been ado{>ted,
perhaps at first by a few only, and not by the entire people, but in course of time
the peculiarity has become general and national, and thus created a new dialect
diverse from the original This process is now taking place in Samoa. Most of
the natives of the eastern island, Tutuila, substituted k for t. Of late years some
of the young people of Upolu aflFected the same pronunciation, and this pernicious
fashion is being generally followed. Not only so, but they are changing ff=ng toi
n; thus, instead of saying tangata they say kanaka, and so forth, bringing the
Samoan dialect to nearly resemble the Hawaiian. In some instances they also
reject the Samoan break, or catch, and introduce k in its place. Probably the
latter was originally the common mode of pronunciation, but was softened by the
Samoans.
A vocal impediment in an individual may spread to the family, through
affecting the pronunciation, and being still further simulated by others, in the
process of time become general. I once met with a Samoan chief in the east of
Upolu who changed both / and t to k. His parting adieu struck me as .very
eccentric; instead of the usual " Tofd, otUou/aifeau ! " (Good-bye, missionaries), he
said, " Koka, oukou kaikeauJ* His utterance sounded very guttural and objection-
able to Samoan ears, and was not likely to be imitated.
Another cause of alterations in words of the common colloquial arises from a
peculiar tabu prevailing in some of the groups, as the Marquesas and Society
Islands. A high chief would select for his name or that of his son (heir apparent),
the name of a familiar article, or a quality, or action. In such a case the
common word is tabued, and must no longer be used in its ordinary sense, and it is
replaced by another, coined for the occasion. For example, the king of Tahiti
being much troubled at night by a cough assumed the name of Po-mare (night-
cough). Immediately jpo (night) was dropped from common use, and rui accepted
in its place, and unafe was changed to kare, Rui is formed from uri (dark or
darkness) by a simple transposition of letters. This peculiar custom is called
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Rev. S. EUik.'^Bialcct Cfiangea in the Polyvman Languages. 155
" iepi " by the Tahitians. One of the old missionaries mentions upwards of forty
words so changed in his time.
All Polynesian dialects have a profusion of obsolete words, more or less
numerous, which were once in ordinary use in their colloquial, as evidenced by
words found in their ancient songs and myths. The old orators among the people,
are proud to employ them in their public councils, but they are never heard on
other occasions. Some words that have passed out of use in one dialect may
be found' in the ordinary colloquial of another.
In reviewing the Eastern Polynesian dialects I shall make a few brief remarks
on each, and show how far they correspond and in what they differ. The
illustrations contained in the Comparative Vocabulary (see the Appendix), will
perhaps help to elucidate what is said on the subject. In this vocabulary I have
selected a few words of common use. Although a more extended vocabulary
would be found very serviceable to philolGgists, it did not seem desirable to occupy
more space in the. present paper, or enlarge on the topics treated in this cursory
review. A volume might (and may at sometime) be prepared on this subject, and
prove very acceptable and helpful to many. I take the Samoan as a basis, and as
the most refined and complete in grammatical construction ; and it will be seen
that there is a perfection in this dialect, both in its phonesis and structure, not so
clearly visible in the other Polynesian dialects. It will not be necessary here to
add the language of courtesy or deference, called "Chiefs' Language,*' always
employed in speakii^ to, or of, chiefs, which comprises a considerable change in
many nouns and verbs, and in some instances varies in accordance with the
status of the chief addressed or referred to.^
The Samoan alphabet consists of fourteen letters only, comprising the five
vowels — a, e, i, o, u, and nine consonants — ■/, g.^ng, I, m, n, p, s, t, v. The vowels
are pronounced as in French, Italian, etc.; t* as oo in "root." The consonants
seldom vary from the ordinary English sound, though I occasionally is pronounced
as a soft r; ^ is a slight nasal as ng in "king," not so strong a nasal as n in
*' French." In most of the Polynesian dialects it is represented hj ng, /S is mostly
a soft sibilant. It is absent from the other dialects excepting Kotuman. In some
islands, containing mixed races of Samoans and Tongans, t is often pronounced as
ts or tz. In other lands, t is changed to d or k, and s to L
The vowels are variously accentuated ; they may be short or long, broad and
open, or acute. As a general rule, special care is used in a distinct enunciation of
the vowel sounds, for words containing the same letters difier widely in meaning
according to the accentuation of the vowels ; e.g., marna may mean a ring, or clean,
or light, or shame, according as it is pronounced.
ff and k, freely used in other Polynesian dialects, have been elided from the
Samoan,* and replaced by a break or catch. This is represented in its written
1 This language of deference exists in Java, and is there called bhoBa-krama.
« Of late years k has been substituted for t.
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156 IIev» S. 'EhLk.^^Dialect Changes in the Polyiiman Languages,
form by an inverted comma (*). In books printed for native use, this sign is
omitted except in words which might be mistaken from its omission.
In the many different dialects of Polynesia the vowels are for the most part
retained throughout, and remain intact in corresponding words of each dialect, but
it is very different with respect to the consonants, for these have undergone changes
in the several groups of islands. The Maoris have made the most numerous
alterations. They also largely interchange vowels in their own vocables ; d readily
interchanges with ^, and often the sound is so indistinct that it is difficult for an
unpractised ear to discern which is used. F is omitted and replaced by w, wh, v,
n, and ^ ; / is represented by r ; and 8 is altered to h and v ; and k is used where
Samoans employ t, and w for v generally. Maoris in their peculiar phonetic give
wh for/, generally at the beginning of words, as whare tor f ale, fare, etc.*
In a few cases in each dialect vowels are interchanged, perhaps as the result
of careless speaking ; for, as a general rule, Polynesians pay special attention both
to the placement and exact pronunciation of vowels. Maoris are less strict, ior
they have a number of words in which the vowels are frequently altered, and
similar interchange is made also with consonants. These divergencies are
somewhat disconcerting and perplexing in trying to form a comparative
vocabulary. Take, for instance, the general word for a fly, lango^ or rango ; Maoris
call it both rango and ngaro. Now, ngalo in Samoan, etc., means " to forget."
Many changes of consonants distinguish the several dialects of Eastern
Polynesia, often marking the difference of tongues. Samoans have softened the
Polynesian language in every possible way, and have rejected all harsh sounds,
gutturals, and aspirates. They admit no conjunction of consonants, and reject h, k,
and r. For h they substitute 8 or/, and t for k Instead of r they use the liquid
I, and w is wanting, v always supplies its place.
The Tahitian language in some respects resembles the Samoan in regard to
softness and easy articulation. In it k is elided, but h is retained, and employed
where Samoans use /or a, and occasionally in pljwje of m. The nasal g=ng
is omitted, sometimes n is used instead. The letter r is profusely employed,
but often softened. In some words in which p is used by Samoans, Tahitians
substitute n for p, and frequently elide the n and g of Samoa, evidently
preferring the hiatus caused by two similar vowels coming together through the
elision of these consonants. T, h, and r, often take the place of I of Samoan ; m is
omitted in some words, and the vowel only expressed ; and in other words n is
used instead oi m;via sometimes employed in place of/
The literal form of words in Marquesan, Paumotuan, Mangarbvan differs
very slightly from the Tahitian, though perceptible changes have been made both in
the orthography and meaning of words. H and k are freely employed, generally
in place of / and 8 of Samoan. In the two fonner tongues / and h interchange
> In the eai'ly tranalation of the Scriptures, etc., the ti-anslators contented themselves by
using w only, omitting the h ; but this evidently was a mistake and often misleading ; the plan,
therefore, has not been followed by later writers.
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Eev. S. Ella. — Dialect Changes in the Polynesian Languages. 157
where / only is used in Samoan. Paumotuan and Mangarevan retain the nasal
g^^ng^ but in Marquesan k is substituted. Both I andr are omitted in Marquesan,
often causing an awkward hiatus, like that which frequently occurs in Tahitian.
A peculiarity in these three tongues is the frequent substitution oi e iov a\ a is
the most frequently used vowel in the other Polynesian dialects. Some variations
seem to be of an arbitrary character, not governed by any fixed rule, but what
Samoans would term a nanu^ an affected pronunciation. As previously stated,
many words are found in these three groups of a foreign origin.
Hawaiian orthography corresponds in some degree both with Tahitian and
Samoan. Agreement with the latter is pretty general, yet with several deviations.
There is a difference in some of the vowels, and frequent transpositions. As
regards the consonants, ^=7i^ is omitted and n is used instead ; h and k take the
plac« of /in Samoan, which is lacking ; k is freely used, mostly as a substitute for
^, which is also wanting except in introduced words ; I is occasionally employed,
but more frequently ; r takes its place ; and v is changed to w?, which also in some
words supplies the place of m}
The MoRiORis of the Chatham Islands are considered to be a remnant of the
autocthones not only of those islands, but also of the early inhabitants of New
Zealand. The language now spoken differs slightly from Mtwri. Many vowels are
interchanged in several words, and others are ejected, t is often pronounced as tch
as among some tribes of Tongan admixture.
Karotongan closely corresponds with Maori. There are occasional interchanges
of vowels, chiefly with a and e. Barotongans reject the aspirate, but have not
substituted the sibilant as in Samoan ; / also has been elided, which mutilates words
of general use in Polynesia, and it is not replaced as in Maori by w and wh\ Ar is
extensively used, and / is changed to r, which is the case in several Polynesian
dialects. There are diverse provincialisms in the Rarotongan-speaking tribes,
chiefly among the natives of the coral islands to the north and west of the Hervey
Group.
Tonga, though a neighbouring group to Samoa, has a phonetic differing
materially from the Samoan, occasioned by the frequent use of j and A, and the
substitution of h for j?; in some words by the re-duplication of vowels, and the
frequent interchange of o and a, H takes the place of a, and/ that of t In some
tribes t is changed to ta, tz, or tch,
NiuiAN is an admixture of Samoan and Tongan elements. The same is the
case with Tokelauan ; in the former the Tongan predominates, but the Samoan in
the latter.
Fiji, the geographical position of which is on the dividing line between
Western and Eastern Polynesia, and between the Melanesian and the Malayo-
Polynesian regions, has a language composed of mixed tongues of these
races. There are dialectic differences in the several islands of the group ; but
> The Hawaiian alphabet is the shortest of Polynesian, having only 13 letters.
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158 £ev. S. Ella. — Dialect Changes in the Polynesian Languages.
the vernacular of Mbau, the former seat of royalty, approximates nearest to the
Samoan, though it is evident that Melanesian peculiarities largely prevail, and
also that many words have been adopted from Tonga, with which place Fiji has
ever been in close communication. The Fijian orthography possesses ft, c=soft tt,
d (often used in place of t), a hard g, q=^ngg, v, w, and y. JP is wanting, and
substituted hy v; r often supplies the place of Z, and i^ (as in Maori, etc.), that
ol v; n at times instectd of /. Combined consonants are used, mostly as labials or
nasal breathings. These sounds are represented by mb, dr, nd, nt, and e for th.
In modem literature, th is put for the last mentioned, and ]n is omitted from the
mif of older orthography.
The BoTUMAN language, like the Fijian, is a compound of several Polynesian
dialects, with additions from Melanesian tongues, chiefly from the Caroline and
Gilbert Islands ; and, in accordance with the usage of Melanesians, final vowels
of Polynesian words are often eliminated, and combined consonants are freely
employed. The letter h is used in place of / in words derived from Samoa.
Samoan words are much mutilated in Botuman. The sibilant is retained.
The Syllables of Polynesian words are very simple and of easy pronunciation,
being composed of a consonant followed by one or two vowels, or formed by vowels
only. There are no proper diphthongs, with a few exceptions each vowel is
distinctly sounded. When two similar vowels come together there is a slight
break or hiatus between. In some cases, particularly in compounded words» two
similar vowels falling together are pronounced as a long voweL Every syllable
ends with a voweL Only in Maori, Fijian, Tongan, and Botuman, consonants are
conjoined. This construction of syllables is general in all the cognate dialects,
excepting the tongues of mixed Polynesian and Melanesian origin, where the
respective dialects intermingle or are modified by one another.
JRoot words are mostly dissyllabic, often simply monosyllables. Poly-
nesian, like the German, abounds in compound words, in the construction of
which the native tongues have remarkable facility. Polysyllabic words are
generally composed of such compound words — an evidence of the simplicity and
primitive character of the language. The radicals are mainly nouns or verbs,
chiefly the latter. In Samoan, a verb may be converted into a noun by annexing
ga (nga) to it; e^., Tnoe, to sleep; moega, a bed, or sleeping-place. This is the
case in many of the eastern islands, as New Zealand and Barotonga. In Malayan
an is affixed in forming verbal nouns.
As regards pronunciation, as a general rule the accent is on the penultima;
and, in accordance with this rule, when a word is prolonged by the addition of
an inflexion, the accent is shifted forward; e.^., ald/a, love; oZo/a^, beloved.
This does not apply to words ending in a long vowel ; then the accent is on the
ultima ; also in speaking of a place or thing at a distance (the demonstrative na
or la is added or understood), as, i f(d6 ; or i TtUuiM, also in mentioning a family
name or tribe, as Sd Tu'i-A'and, or in describing abundance, as niu, cocoanut,
e niud, abounding in cocoanuts.
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Eev. S. Ella. — Dialect Changes in the Polynesian Languages: 159
Polynesian is an agglutinate language; inflections are omitted, and their
place is supplied by particles prefixed or suffixed. Melanesian and Micronesian
tongues are to some extent inflexional A language of courtesy or deference, so
extensively used in Samoa, is employed partially, as an incorporation from Samoa,
in some of the other islands, as Eotuma, Tonga, etc.
These Polynesian tongues have a clear, systematic and grammatical form;
and an ignorant or clumsy speaker would hardly be tolerated A synopsis of the
grammar will be useful, noticing briefly the several dialectical differences. I have
studiously examined these divergencies but can add only the most striking without
trespassing on space. A full treatment of the subject would fill a volume. Taking
the Samoan as a basis, I shall denote the other dialects by their respective initials,
viz., S. Samoan, N. for Niu&in, To. Tongan, F. Fijian, H. Hawaiian, M. Marquesan,
Ta. Tahitian, P. Paumotuan, Man. Mangarevan, R Earotongan, Mao. Maori, Eo.
Eotuman, Tok. Tokelauan, KG. New Guinea. As the Maori and Earotongan are
much alike, and as a close affinity exists between Tahitian, Marquesan, Paumotuan,
and Mangarevan, also in Tongan and Niu6an, and between Samoan and Tokelauan,
what is said of the one will generally apply to the other correlative.
The Article. — The Samoan definite article is 'o le, singular ; in the plural U
is omitted, 'o alone is employed, and the same is used before proper names ; e,g,, *o
le tagata, the man, 'o tagata, men ; 'o Maiietoa, *o Savai'i} & is an indefinite and
partitive article (sing.), ni, isi, (pi.) ; si, sina, nisiy etc., are also partitives. The
plural is mostly denoted by the omission of the article, except in the use of these
last-mentioned partitives.
K, he (sing.), e, tau, (pL) ; To., koe, he, ha, a (sing.), a, e, ngoM (pi.), ha
(indefinite) ; F., na, a; 'EL, lie (sing.), na (pi.), ka, he (indefinite) ; M., Ta., Man., te
(sing.), e (pL) ; P., ta (sing.), a (pi.) ; R, te (sing.), e, au (pi.) ; Mao., he, te (sing.),
. ho, ka, nga (pL), e, hina (indefinite) ; Eo., se (sing.), na (affix pi.) ; N.G., wanting.
Nouns lack proper declensions ; particles mark the number, words for " male "
or '^ female" the gender, the neuter is not noted, and prepositions denote case.
Prefixed particles, au, tau, to'a are often used to point out numbers. Many nouns
are derived from verbs by affixing nga, anga, manga, sanga, or tanga to the verbal
root, mostly the first-mentioned. Many peculiar forms of verbal nouns might be
quoted, but they would be of little service as regards comparison of the dialects.
Similar changes of verbs to nouns belong also to some of the other dialects, as
Earotongan, Maori, etc. A peculiar method exists in Hawaiian for denoting
plurality, such aa prefixing the particle Tia to signify a large number, pas and puu
of objects previously mentioned, and poe in a restrictive sense. In Motuan of
New Guinea, number is generally absent, sometimes expressed by a change in
the genitive particle, or by re-duplication to form the plural.
Case in Samoan is indicated by prepositions prefixed. Nominative by 'o
broad. In To., N., F., and Mao., ko ; H., M., Ta., 'o (as in Samoan), no ; (pL) F. and R,
> Also in H., T., M., R, and sometimes in To., Man., Ta., F. and Maa, Be.
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160 Rev. S. Ella. — Dialed Changes in the Polynesian Languages.
etc., 6 ; N.G., expressed by being placed first in a sentence before the predicate.
The Genitive in Samoan has o soft or a, No special rule can be given which
should be used, though certain nouns take the form of o, others of a ; o is the more
general, and yet awkward mistakes might be made by using o where a should be
placed. In the other cognate dialects the genitive form varies : K, a ; To.,K, ae, o ;
F., na, nei ; H., M., Ta., P., na, no ; R, Mao., na, no, ta, to, a, o ; Ro., on, n^ ; N.G.,
Tia, dia, or ena (his) suffixed. The Samoan Dative is : i, ia, iaie (personal), to ; mo
and ma, for ; N., To., F., H., R, and Mao., ki, with variations, as To., he, he ; K,
kia, etc. ; E., i ; Mao., ko ; Ro., ko ; KG., placed at the end of a sentence. The
Accusative form much resembles the dative, or by omitting the particle. In N.G.,
it follows the nominative but precedes the predicate. The Ablative in Samoan is
formed by the addition of ai, e, mat, nai (from), i (into), e (by). In other dialects
a similar form is employed, as N., ki, tahe, mai ; To., a£, e, i, hi, ita ; F., e, vci ;
H., M., Ta., e, i, ma ; E., e, ki, ma ; Mao., e, % ma, na ; Ro., se, mai ; KG., laia
(suffix) from ; e, amo, by, etc. The vocative in Samoa takes e as an affix particle.
In To., H., Mao., and Ro. the particle is prefixed, and in Ta. and P. it is placed
either as a prefix or suffix ; K is nae (affix), and Ro., ko (prefix), KG., e, o (suffix),
sometimes as a prefix.
Adjectives, as a general rule, follow the noun, as le tangata leUi, a good man,
except in cases where a verbal significance is given to the adjective, as, E lelei le
tangata, The man is good. Adjectives are either primitive or formed from nouns
and verbs, as Idei, good ; 'ele'elea, dirty, from 'ele'ele, dirt ; fcCahngo, obedient, from
fa'alonga, to hear; or by a re-duplication of thenoun, as/a^z^o^wa, stony, horn faiu,
a stone ; apulupvlu, sticky, from apulu, to stick. Many adjectives are formed
by prefixing the causative particle fa*a to some nouns, verbs, and other adjectives.
A list of some adjectives of common use will be found in the Appendix. In
Motu, KG., nouns, verbs, and adverbs are used as adjectives, and known by
their position in a sentence. Adjectives are also formed from verbs by suffixing ka.
Degrees of Comparison are expressed in Samoan by words implying
contrast, as, E lelei leneiy e leanga Una, this is good, that is bad ; i.e, this is better
than that ; and e sUi ona lelei, best. The superlative is formed by adding certain
adverbs or adjectives, as sUi, superior, silisUi ese, supreme ; also a*iaH, mxUtid, nand,
etc. This form prevails generally throughout the Polynesian dialects. Tongans
express the superlative by affixing aubito. In Hawaiian comparison is expressed by
adding another adjective or an adverb, and the superlative is formed by prefixing
the article ke. In Rotimian pau signifies superlative. In Motu, Kew Guinea,
comparison is made as in Samoan, the superlative by adding, herea, exceedingly.
In Samoa the particle e is the usual prefix to adjectives and numerals ; sometimes
the verbal particles wa, na, sa are used when the adjective takes a verbal form.
Of the other dialects — K, To., and F., e; H., e, he; Ta., e; R, «; Mao., a;
Ro., se.
A list of units of the several dialects is given at the close of the Appendix.
The greatest similarity in the various dialects will be found in their numerals and
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Bev. S. Ella. — Dialect Changes in the Polynesian Languages. 161
pronouns. Certain things have their own peculiar particles and adjuncts, —
space will not admit of these being specified, — ^persons generally by the prefix to*a
in Samoan, as tdasefvlu, ten persons ; K, To., M., R, and Mao., toko ; H., koo ; Ta.,
too ; N.G., ra, ta, ha, la.
Pronouns. — The several dialects have a dual as well as a plural number, and a
variation to denote the inclusion or exclusion of the persons addressed. The dual is
formed by the aflSx ua (from Itui, two) ; the plural by the affix tou (from tolu, three).
The first person dual and plural is denoted by a prefix ta (inclusive) and ma (ex-
clusive). The second person by the prefix ou, and the third by la. See Appendix.
Case is denoted by the use of particles, similar to those used in the declension of
nouns, and they are also marked by an additional particle te used before verbs in
the future, or with oblique cases of pronouns. It has no other quality than that of
euphony. The pronoun porperly precedes the verb, though in some instances it
may follow the predicate, as, Na fai mai o ia, or, Ua faapea mai o ia, He said ; lit.
Said he. Samoans have a peculiar change in the 1st pers. sing, ta ; dative and
accus. ita (or nom. when used after the predicate), or as a re-duplicate for emphasis,
as in the familiar phrase, Tdilo lava ita, As for me, I don't know. The
Samoan nominative is formed by the prefix 'o ; K, To., F., ko ; H., o, a ; Ta., o ; E.,
ko, a, 0, oki ; Mao., a ; Ro., ka, ko ; N.G., wanting. The Genitive : S., o^ and a ; N., To.,
he, ha ; R, ni ; H., ko, ka ; Ta., na, no, a, o ; E., na, wo, ta, to ; Mao., ta, a, wo ; Eo.,
ne, on. The Dative : S., id, or ia te; K, kia ; To., ke, M, ku. Mate, iate^ ; F., vei ;
H., no,7ui,i\ Ta., ia. ; R, kia ; Mao., ka ; Ro., se. The Accusative in Samoan is
generally formed by the particles ia te, or they are omitted ; N., To., kia ; F., ko ;
H., M, i ; Ta., R, ia ; Mao., ki ; Ro., sa, se. The Ablative : S., e, by ; mo, ma, for ;
mai, nai, from — which take a second preposition as, mai ia te ia, from him ; N., a,
e ; To., e, i, kia, moo; F., ko; H., e, me, mai ; T., i, mai ; R, ki, ko, a, i, ei ; Mao.,
ki, no, 0, a ; Eo., e, i. The Samoan Vocative is e affixed ; N., To., nae ; F., i (prefix) ;
H., e (prefix) ; T, R, Mao., e (prefix or affix) ; Eo., ko (prefix). Motu, New Guinea,
pronouns have person and number, but no case.
Possessive Pronxmns in Samoan are distinguished by the adjunct of the Mticle
le (or I only) in the singular of the 1st person, and changed to lo and la in the 2nd
and 3rd person. In the plural the article is omitted.* My, mine : S., Wu, la*u ;
N., hau ; To., haJcu ; F., g^c, qo (affix) ; H., ko'v, ka*u, noiu, no*u ; Ta., tdu ; E., taku,
toku ; Mao., naku, nakahi, moku, oku ; Eo., oto ; N.G., lauegu. Thy, thine : S., lou,
lau ; N., hau ; To., to, te, Iw \ F., mu (affix) ; H., ko, kou ; Ta., to ; R, naau, taau,
ioou ; Mao., tau, tahau, taku, taiv, tohmv, nou ; Ro., o^i, ; N.G., oieniu. His : S., lona,
^ Tliis is a soft o, and not like the 'o of the nom. which has an aspirate or catch.
« Tongans often abbreviate the pronoun in the genitive and dative ; as ^ 6 man for he
mautolu ; hinautolu for Hate lautolv. The abridgments are mau^ nau, ndua. Samoans shorten
the 2nd pers. pi. nom. to tau for oiUou.
* Na is sometimes used as a personal pronoun in the nom. of the 3rd pers. sing., as Ua 7ia
fai mai, he said or says ; but it is the general form of tlie 3rd pers. sing, as an affix to the
possessive, lona or tana. When a plurality of things is indicated the I (as in the article) is
elided, as lona /ale, his house ; onafale, his houses ; lana mea, his thing ; ana mea, his things.
Nsw Series, Vol. II, Nos. 1 and 2. M
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162 Rkv. S. Ehhk.^Dialect Changes in the Polynesian Lang^toffes.
lana ; N., hona, hana ; To., h<mo ; F., na (affix) ; H., kana, nana ; Ta., nana, tona,
tana ; R, tona, n/ma, iana, nana ; M., tana, nana, tana, nana, nahana ; Ro., on ;
N.G., ie7ia. Our : noted by prefix particles to the personal pronoun ; S., lo, la, as
la tato2i; N., To., ha, ko ; F., kcimumi (affix); H., ka; Ta., ta; R and Mao., ia,
to ; Ro., oto ; N.G., ai emai (exclusive), ita tda (inclusive). Your : S., lo, la ; N.,
ha ; To., to, te, ha ; F., natmuiau ; H., ka, ko, na, na ; Ta., R, Mao., ta, ta, a, a ; Ro.,
omus ; N.G., emui, umui. Their : S., la, lo ; N., Aa, Ao ; To., ho ; F., nodra ; H., ia,
fa) ; Ta., ta, to ; R, na, no,ta,to\ Mao., te, to ; Ro., ou ; KG., idia, edia}
The Samoan Demonstrative Pronoun is represented by lenei, this ; Zca, Wa, or
lend, that, sing. ; and plural ia or net, these ; na or /a, those. Sea, sid, and «inet, are
used in a familiar or diminutive sense. So in K, a enei, this ; a ena, that ; To., ka
end, lieni, this ; eni, ni, these ; hena teu, that ; F., a qa, this ; na, that ; H., eia, this ;
la, leila, that ; kena (personal) ; Ta., teie, teicnei, this ; tena, tenana, that ; R, nei, tela,
teian^i, this ; te7ia, tera, reira, teina, na, tenana, that ; Mao., tenei, nei, this ; tena,
tera, that ; ena, era, those ; Ro., teisi, sini, this ; teii, those ; ta, that ; N.G., ina, ini,
this ; ena, that (near) ; una, unu, that (distant).
In Samoan the Relative Pronouns are often omitted, but understood ; they are, a
ai, who ; *o le, who or that, sing. ; the plural is expressed by dropping the / ; ai is
also used as a relative reflective. K, koe ; To., aku, who ; teic, that, ai (reflective) ;
F., ka, koya ; H., wai ; Ta., vai ; R, ko tei ; kitie; Mao., UKii, nana ; Ro,, ka sei, ta ;
KG., enai, unai
Indefinite Pronouns are : S., ni, some, any ; nisi, id, some others ; nai, some
few ; K, falu ; To., niihi ; F., «o ; H., kekahi ; Ta., /eteAi ; R, /«tet ; Mao., ketahi,
hinu, tokohinu ; Ro., vil ; KG., haida, tain/i, idia ta.
Interrogative Pronouns: S., *o ail who 1* Ole a? what ? (sing.) ; the plural drops
the article le; Se a ? what ? (indef., sing.) ; ni df (plural) ; lefea ? sefea ? which ?
Who ? : K, ka e,na at To., Z» hai, koai ?n>aa?naJiafF,, a thei, ko ? H., ko wai ?
Ta., ovai ? kovai ? na vai ? R, koai f Mao., ko wai ? Ro., ka sd? KG., daiia .^ daidia ?
What ? : K, ke he? pa ke hdn^oa ? (emphatic) ; To., eha ? aha f koeha ? F, thava f
ne ? H., aha ? heai Ta., aha ? eaha ? n^i ? R, eaa ? Mao., aha, ne ? Ro., ka tes f
ka tea ? KG., dahaka ? Which ? : K, To., koe . . . fef F,, a thava ? H., hea ? Ta.,
tehea ? R, teea ? Mao., tehea ? Ro., ia m ? ka tei ? KG., edana ? *
Fb?-&« in Polynesian would be more clearly defined by Oriental conjuga-
tions than by European. Number is often denoted by a re-duplication of the verb
or a syllable. The plural form is used with nouns of multitude. Verbs generally
' The following terminal particles also express the genitive of nouns of relationship ; and
this accords with similar forms in many Melanesian dialects : —
Fijian, Ist pers. sing., qu, qo ; 2nd, mu ; 3rd, no.
New Guinea, „ „ gu ; „ mu ; „ na,
„ plu., mai(inclu.); „ mui; „ dia,
da (inclu.).
* In asking the name of a person 'o ai is used, as ^0 ai loii ingoa f Who is your name I
The same form is employed in the other cognates.
' An affix particle ea denotes interrogation generally.
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Eev. S. Ella. — Dialect Changes in (he Polynesian LaTiguages. 163
agree with the nominative. If the objective is the main subject of the predicate,
the verb must agree with it. The usual prefatory particle in Samoan is *ua ; N";,
Ima ; To., hea^ hto ; F., nm ; H., wa, ua ; E., and Mao., ?ia, kua ; Eo., sa ; N.G., none
special. Tongans employ very freely the particle hea at the beginning of sentences,
which is somewhat similar to Samoan ona, and may be rendered by "then." In
New Zealand and Earotonga Tia is often used to call attention at the cdmmeijce-
raent of a sentence ; in Samoa it becomes Ka, but not of. frequent use except in
public speaking. Oiia^ in Samoan, before the predicate, and followed by ai lea
after the verb, properly expresses consequence or result. Tahitians affix an
expletive ra to most verbs and nouns. This is followed to a limited extent in
Eaxotongan and Marquesan. In Hawai'i and the eastern islands of Samoa ra is
changed to /a.
Moods and Tenses are formed by the addition of . particles, as prefixes or
suffixes, which, although they for the most part possess no separate meaning, serve the
purpose of distinguishing action and time. There are also directive particles which
follow the verb and denote its application, as mai, towards, and atu, from the
speaker ; ane, directive along or aside ; a'e, directive upward, and ifo, downward ;
ese, away from. These directive particles exist in the several dialects, with certain
modifications; N., To., mai, atu, hake, hifo; H., mat, aku, ae, a*e, iho ; Ta., niai, atu,
at, ake ; E., mai, atu, an/i, a*e, ake, iho ; Mao., mai, atu, anxi, a!e or alee, iho. In
Motu, KG., the suffixes are compounded with the verb: rfo^, id, upward; dobi,
downwards ; oho, away ; ohu, around.
Verbs are active, passive, or neuter, each expressed by its governing particle,
Except by occupying considerable space their various forms and deviations cannot
now be particularly specified. It may be sufficient to give the passive form of
each dialect. Samoan passive particles or suffixes to the verb are a, na, ina, ia, sia,
iia, with other changes of the consonant ; N., ai, nia ; To., o (prefix), tia (suffix) ;
F., tai ; H., ia hia ; Ta., ia, aia, hia, raa ; E., m, hia, tia, anga ; Mao., ia, hia, tia ;
Eo., aki ; N.G., by fidding the personal particle, as gu, 1st person sing., and so
forth ; sometimes Ua or tia.
The Samoan Infinitive takes e before the verb, and this is the rule generally
throughout Eastern Polynesia, excepting N., and To., ke\ E., o, ke, ite; N.G., ane.
The Reciprocal (as Hithpael in Hebrew) is formed by fe prefix and cCi, etc., suffix
to the verb. Diflference of action is represented by slight changes in the suffix,
and the addition of a consonant to the affix a'l adds emphasis or intensity to the
predicate. N., To., fe , , , , aki; F., vei; H., (none); Ta., iho] E., uaorai; Mao.,
(none) ; Eo., hoi .... iung, etc. ; N.G., he ... . heheni. The Ca^isative (as Hiphil
of Hebrew) is expressed by a prefix /a'a to the verb. It is also used with nouns,
adjectives, and adverbs, giving them a verbal form of causation. Fa^a also changes
intransitive to transitive verbs, as the prefix her in Malayan. It has also other
important significations, but is chiefly used to signify causation.^ N., To., faka
* Vide Pratt's Samoan Grammar and Dictionary,
M 2
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164 Rrv. S. EvUL-^Dialect ChaTiges in the Pdynman Languagn.
faa\ F., mka\ H., Km, hoc; Ta., fna, haa\ R, oka) Mao,, whaka, wha; Ro., aa,
fa,fak ; N.G.. Jut, ahe. The Subjunctive is denoted by several particles prefixed, as
ina ia, ina ua, ona ua\ or a, pe, pe afai, a/ai, ane; K, Ictzdce, ane ; To., kabaii ; F,,
kavaka ; H., me, mehe ; Ta., ahira, ahiri ; R, me, naringa, angairi, i akono, mehe ;
Mao., me, me he, ki ; Ro., kqm ; N.G., hema, baine. The Potential, expressed by
prefixes : S., ma, mafai ; 'S., ka] To., faa, kane ; F., ko sa ; H., ka ; Tju, £ m>a; R,
A^i, «i«, i>enei ; Mao., Aei, r/i^, ahei, penei ; Ro., wio, vahia. The Samoan Imperative
has certain prefixes and affixes which express also attitude, as ia, ina (pref.) with
ia (suff.), commanding ; and, forbidding ; seH, entreating ; N., a (affix) ; To., ke, tau ;
F., me, ia; H., c ; mai and o/«, forbidding ; Ta., a, ia ; Tiuii and ore, forbidding ; R,
ka, kia ; Mao., kia, hia ; kore, forbidding ; Ro., au, la ; N.G., ha, a.
Another peculiar form of the verb in Samoa is the Intensive (like Piei in
Hebrew). It is expressed by a re-duplication of the verb. Continued action is
denoted by prefixing tau or affixing a'ina to the verb. Other cognate dialects have
this mood.
Tenses in Samoan have various modifications. It will not be necessary to
notice the several special conditions, but simply to give what may be termed
natural Tenses, or points of time. The Present Tense is expressed by the prefixes
ua, e, and o loo. This last is mostly used as a participle. N., kua ; To., oku ; F.,
a sa; H,, ua, e, i, ana ; Ta., c ; R, e ; Mao., e (as a prefix or suffix) ; Ro., e, ne ;
N.G., mu, mua (affix). The Past Tense in Samoan is represented by Tia or sa ; N.,
ne, tuai (emphatic) ; To., na, nae, n^\ Y., ka, sa\ H., a, na, nai, ia ; Ta., ia, i; R,
hut, ka, n/i, ne, no ; i, ia (suffix) ; Mao., a, ka, na, no ; Ro., na, voihia (pref) with
^ing (affix) ; KG., va (affix). The Futu,re in Samoan is marked by the prefix e ; N.,
ti, to ] To., he, e ; F., ena, sa ; H., e, ku, ua] Ta., R, Mao., e ; Ro., se ; KG., ba,
baina, baine, etc., to suit the pronoun. The Perfect Tense prefix is : S., ua, ina ua ;
K, kua, tiuxi\ To., hio\ a (affix); F, sa, sa qai; H., wa; Ta., tta, e; R, kua;
Mao., kua ; Ro., ne ; KG., vada (prefix), vaitana (suffix).
In Samoan, and other cognates to a certain extent, a peculiar particle, te, is
used for euphony between the pronoun and verb in present and future tenses.
I must now conclude this paper with comparing a few adverbs, prepositions,
and conjunctions, viz. : —
Adverbs. — ^Here : S., unei ; K, i hinei, hand ; To., i heni ; F, kikei ; H., ianei,
nei; Ta., onei,o i nei; K, teia, tetai, nei, konei\ Mao., konei, nei; Ro., teisi, m^ea;
KG., iniseni. There : S., i^ita, ina ; K, ki ai ; To., ki ai ; F, ki na ; H., la, laila,
aianei; Ta., reira, i tera\ R, reira, tena; Mao., rerd, reira; Ro., e tau; KG.,
unuseni. Where : S., *ofea, i fea ; K, ko fe ; To.,fe, koeha ; F, ni ea\ 'R,,te hea;
Ta., i hea, tdhea; R, teiea; Mao., kohea, kei hea, tea; Ro., sini, e tau; KG.,
edesefiii. When : S., afea (present and future), anafta (past); K, afe\ To., i he, fe,
bea; F., ia ni; H., a, hea; Ta., i; R, kia; Mao., ahea, ano; Ro., avas; KG.,
edana, negai. Then : S., ona (prefix with ai lea affix) ; K, ati ; To., bea ; F, ni,
ni n/i, e na; H., laHa; Ta., ati; R, ei reira; Mao., tanei, ati; Ro., kota; KG.,
unai negana. Yes : S., e, ioe; K, e ; To., io ; F., io ; K., oia, ae \ Ta. oia, <u ; R,
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Rev. S. Ella. — Dialect Clianges in the Polynesian Langtuiges. 165
a, 0, ae, koia ; Mao., ea, Jcoia, ina, ana^ ; Ro., o ; N.G., io, oibL No : S., hai^ iai ;
N., nalcai] To., iiat, o?'e; F., senga\ H., o^«; Tjl, ai^a, ore\ R, ^tXm, A:ar<?, Ao;*e;
Mao., te,y hore, kahore, kao, kanapa, kifiai ; Ro., caki, ingke ; N.G., /a«i.
Prepositions. — Of : S., o, a ; N., Aa, Ae \ To., a, o, i ; R, io ; H., te, io, iia,
no, n, ; Ta., ?ia, wo, a, o ; R, twi, ??o, a, o ; Mao., wa, tio, a, o, ii ; Ro., ne, on,
From : S., mai ; K, TJiai ; To., Toei ; F., ?ywii ; H., mai ; Ta., o, c, m«i ; R, Tiiai,
viei ; Mao., i, na, no ; Ro., e ; N.G., aim. For : S., mo, ma ; N., ha ; To., ^Moa ;
F., na ; H., we, na, tw ; Ta., t, Tia ; R, wa, ?io ; Mao., 7na, mo ; R, Tie ; KG., cffu,
agu, ema, emu. With: S., ma; N., mo\ To., ka, i, mo, tooc; F, vata; H., t,
T^j ; Ta., ma, mo, na, no ; R, ki, i ; Mao., vie, ki ; Ro., mai ; N.G., trfa. In : S.,
i; K, t ; To., i, ki ; F, e, mai ; H., i ; Ta., i, tei ; R, t, ei ; Mao., i ; Ro., e ; N.G.,
vareai. To : S., i, m ; K, At ; To., ii ; F., ki ; H., i, ki, na ; Ta., i, ia; R, Ai, i,
io ; Mao., ki, ko ; Ro., ae ; N.G., dekena. Above : S., i lunga ] N., i Itmga ; To.,
olunga; F., maithake; H., Zi/Tia; Ta., ?ua, Tw^a; R, i ranga, nunga\ Mao., ii
imnga ; Ro., rere ; N.G., atai. Below : S., i lalo ; N., i lalo ; To., ii Zo/o ; F,
lako ; H., lalo ; F, faio ; Ta., i raro ; R, ki raw ; Mao., ii raiv ; Ro., /opo ; N.G.,
henu. Behind: S., i tiia; N., i t^ia, mole; To., i, mui] F, «i»i; H., t kiia,mtdi;
Ta., mamui] R, i m«ri; Mao., i <wa, inonira; "Ro., fauw, }^.G., murina. Before:
S.,i luma\ N., i mua; To., mtta] F., iiZiu; H., mtia; Ta., miMi; R, mwa; Mao.,
1 wwea, keiwha ; Ro., mi«a ; N.G., vairanai.
Conjunctions. — And: S., mxi] N., w^o; To., met, ma,^ mo, mu; F., kei; H.,
ma, ame\ Ta., o, ma^ ; R, e, ma, mei\ Mao., Ae, me, 7»ia^; Ro., ma\ KG., ??mw',
JoTio.* But: S., 'a,faitai; K, fat; To., ka, kane\ ¥.,ia; H., a; Ta., fl^rea; R,
iareia; Mao., he, a, ia,otira] Ro., mane; KG., a. Also: S,,ma,foH; K,/oii;
To., /o/W ; F, talega ; H., Aoi ; Ta., hoi ; R, oii ; Mao., Aoii ; Ro., tapeima ; KG.,
da'hu. Although : S., e ui ina] N., kaeke, fano ; To., ne ongo, kahou ; F,
kevaka; Ta., la; R, e iia; Mao., aAoioa; Ro., mane] KG., ewaJe. Because:
S., at^a ; K, Aa, nukua ; To., ioewAi ; F, ni, ai ; K,, no ka m^ea ; Ta., no te meu ;
R, no ; Mao., Aeoi, no te mea ; Ro., ne an ; KG., modi he. Therefore : S., 'o le mea
lea] K, ati, honei] To., ioia; F, o ioya; Ta., ^ie, 7iei; R, teianei] Mao., 7«o
reira, koia ; Ro., topei ; N.G., inai, badina hinai. If : S., afai, ana (past) ; K,
iaeie, a?ie ; To., kahou ; F, kevaka ; Ta., e, ia ; R, e ; Mao., me, kapatau, ki te mea ;
Ro., kepoi ] KG., bema (past), Jai/ie (future).
It will be seen from the foregoing synopsis of a comparative grammar of the
Polynesian languages that there is a close affinity and agreement between the
several dialects of these people, spread over a very extensive portion of the Pacific.
Diversities appear in many particulars, but no more numerous nor wider than are
found in the provincialisms of European countries where civilisation and refine-
ment abound. All point distinctly to a common origin. With the exception
of Kew Guinea, Fiji, and Rotuma, I have not introduced any of the manifold
1 Koia and lui in Maori and Barotongan also express appi-oval, as 'o ta, and 'o Ua in
Samoan.
' Used chiefly in connecting numer&ls, pronouns, and proper names.
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166 llEV. S. Ella. — Dialect Changes in the Polynesian Lanrfuages.
tongues of Western Polynesia. These may he superadded at some future time.
Hence I refer to the languages treated as Polynesian, and not as Indo-nesian.
Among the Melanesian and Micronesian languages will be found a large percentage
of Polynesian words, more or less altered to suit the genius of these tongues
abounding in consonants, double consonants, and gutturals. Like the Polynesian,
they are aflected by the phonesis and vocables of neighbouring islands. This is
quite natural, and bears some comparison with the languages of Piedmont and
the cantons of Switzerland, and other Eui-opean countries.
In conclusion allow me to add my hope that this slight effort of mine will
stimulate and help others to publish their knowledge and acquisitions, for the
purpose of settling some useful comparisons, and to arrive at a more satisfactory
conclusion. I have cautiously abstained from putting forth any theory founded
upon mere conjecture, or weak premises, and I earnestly solicit close and searching
investigation from all available sources ; and that the facts and evidences obtained
may be placed before competent philologues and ethnologists.
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Rev. S. Ella. — Dialect Ckaru/es in tJie Polynesian Languages, 167
APPENDIX.
CoMPAiiATivE Vocabulary of Polynesian Words.
Of the Polynesian Dialects here mentioned it should be remembered that a
large number of natives of other islands, not noticed here, speak the same languages
as these given under the names of Tabitian, Earotongan and Samoan; for
instance : —
Tahitian is spoken by the peoples of the Society, Greorgian, and Austral
Groups, and also by the natives of the neighbouring isolated islands in the north.
Earotongan is the language of the people of the Hervey Group, or Cook's
Islands, also of the widely-scattered atoll islands of Penrhyn, Manahiki, Eaka-anga,
Pukapuka, etc., with some slight differences.
Samoa, or Navigator's Islands : the refined language of Samoa is also the
tongue of the people of the EUice Islands and the Union Group, with some slight
modifications and variations.
Malayan is spoken throughout the Malayan Archipelago, with more or less
purity. I have a list of some 700 Samoan words connected with Malayan roots,
and bearing evidence that the Eastern Polynesians left the Malayan regions prior
to the Arabian invasion and introduction of Arabic additions to the Malayan
tongue.
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168 Kev. S. Ella. — Dialect C/ianz/es in the Polynesian Laiiguages.
CoMPAitATivE Vocabulary op
1. Emglish ....
Sun
Moon
Heavent
Siar
2. Malayui ....
Mata-ari, Lasi ....
Bulan, Fasina
Langit
, Bintang, Faiui ..
3. Samoan
La
Maaina
Ungi
Feia
4. Niu^an
La .^
Mahina
Langi
Fetu
5. Tongan
La'a
Mahina
Langi
1 "
Felu'u
6. Fijian
Singa
Vula
1
' Lomalangi
Kalokalo
7. Hawaiian ....
I^,Ha
Mahina, Malama •• .
1
Lani
Hoku
1
8. Marquesan ...
A, Aomati
! Mahina, Meama ....
Aki
1
Fetu, Hetu ... \
9. Tahitian ....
Ra, liahana
Marama
Ba'i
Feti'a, Fetu
10. Faumotu&n ...
nana
Kayake
Bangi
Hetu
11. MaDgareran
Ba
Maina, Marama ....
Rangi
Etu
12. BarotoDgan ....
Ba
Marama, Ahoroa ...
Bangi
Etu.... i
13. Maori
Ra, Komaru
Mahina, Marama ....
Bangi, Baki
Wbetu
14. Rotumau ....
Asia
Hula
Langi
Hefu
16. Tokelauan ....
La
Masina
Langi
Fetu
16. Motu
Dina
Hua
Ouba
Hisiu
17. Malagasy ....
Mlisokndro'
Volana
Lanilra
'* " is pronounced i
Kintana
1
»<*u" in Madagascar,
1. SnglUh ...
Light
Darkme99
Heat
Cold
2. Malayan ...
Tamaraina, Trang
Oalap, Klam
Ka-pinas-an
Dingin
8. Samoan
Malanudama
PouliuU
Veyela
Ma'alili
4. Niuean
Ma'ama
Pouli
Mafana
MakaliU
5. Tongan
Mama
Bouli
Mafana, Yeyela ....
Mokojia ...•
6. Fijian
Barama
Butobuto
KaUkata
Liliua
7. Hawaiian ...
Malamalama, Ao ....
Pouri, Poeleele ....
Vela, Vera
Anu, Hau
8. Marquesan ...
Maama, Ao
Potana
Vea
Anu
9. Tahitian
Maramarama
Poiri
Mahanahana
Maariri
10. Faumotuan ....
Marakorako
Potangotango
Vcrarera
Biakariri, Anuanu
11. Mangarevan
Marama
Pouri
Hana,Vera
Makariri
12. Barotongan ...
Mararoa
Poiri
Verarera, Pukaka
Anu
18. Maori
Ao, Marama
Pouri
Wcra
Makariri, Matoke....
14. Botuman ....
Taf
Maksulu
Pumahan, Sun ...
Matit
16. Tokelauan ....
Ao
Po
Veyela
Ma'aliU
16. Motu
Diari
Dibura
Siahu
Keru
17. Malagasy ...
Hazayana
Aixina
Halanana
Htttsiaka
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Polynesian Words.
169
1. Claud
2. Awan
3. Ao ....
4. Aho...
6. Ao ....
6. O, Loaloa
7. Ao ....
8. Ao ....
9. AU....
10. Paku
11. Ao ....
Rain
Hujan, Uan
Ua
Uha
Uha
Uiha
Ua
ua
I Ua
I Papape
; Ua
12. Tumurangi... Ua ....
13. Kapua^ Au....
Ua ....
14. Aoga ^
Usa....
15. Ao
ua ....
16. Ori, Daga-
daga
17. BahoDa ....
Medu
Banarana
Lightning ...
EUat
Uila
Uhila
Uhila
Liva
Uwila, Uila
Uira
Uira
Koviri
Uira
Uira
Uira
Mere
Uila
Keyaru
Helatra ...
for which it has eridentlj been substituted.
1. Bag
2. Art, Aoa aoa
3. Ao
4. Aho
5. Abo Bo ....
6. Singa .... Bongi
7. Ao, Laokofl.... Po -..
Night
Malam, Bungi
Po
;po
8. Ao
Po ...
9. Ao, Mahana < Bui....
I
10. Aku, AuiDa { Buki
11. Ao ....
12. Ao ....
13. Ao, Ba
14. Ban
15. Ao ....
16. Dina
17. Andro
I
Po
Po
Po
PoDgi
Po ....
Boi, Hanuaboi
Alina
I
Thunder ....
Guruh
Faititili ....
Paku-langi...
Faijijili, Mana
Kurukuru ....
nekili
Ilatiitii ....
Patiri, Haruru
Fatitiri
Atutiri
ManguDgu
I Wbatitiri, whaitiri
Wind,
Angin.
I Matangi.
Matangi«
I Matangi.
TliangT.
Makani.
I
.. Too
I
..; Faititili ....
I
.. Quba rahua
. I Kotrokorana
J Matani, Metaki.
I
..| Mata'i.
1
Matangi.
Matangi.
Matangi.
Matangi, Hau.
Laugi.
Matangi.
LaL
I Birotra.
I
Fire
Api
Afl
Afi
Afi
Buka
Ahi
Ahi
... I Ahi
... I Neki, Eorure
1
' Ahi
A'i
Ahi, Eanaku, Ka-
pura
Bahi
Afl
Lahi
Afo
Land
Tanah
Fanua
Fonua
Fonua
7anua
Aina, Honua
Fenua, Henua
Fenna
Fenua
Nuku, Enua
Enua
Wlienua ...
Hanua
Fenua
Xano-bada....
Tany
Mountain,
G-unong.
Maunga.
Mounga.
Moiinga.
Ulu-ni-ranua.
Mouna.
... I Mouna,
I
...j Mau'a,
... I Mahunga.
Manga, Mou.
Maunga.
Maunga, Mounga.
Solo.
Maunga.
Orooro.
TendromBobitra.
Digitized by
Google
no
1. EnglUh
2. IfalaTmn
3. Samosn
4. Niuean
5. Tongau
6. Fijian
7. Hawaiian
8. Marquesan ..
9. Tahitian
10. Faumotuan .
11. Mangarevan..
12. Barotongan..
18. Maori
14. Botuman
16. Tokelauan ..
16. Motu
17. Malagasj ..
Eev. S. Ella. — IHaleH Chan/^i$ in the Polyncsuin Languages,
Comparative Vocabularv of
StOM
Batu
Ha*a, Fatu
Maka
Maka
Vatu
Pohaku
Kea
Ofa'i, Toa ....
Kooao, Pakakcta ....
; Poatu
Xoka, Fatu
Kamaka, Toka, Pow-
hatu.
Hof
I
Fata
i Nadi
' Vato
Sand
Kair
Oneone
Oneone
Oneone
Nukunuka....
One
Oneone
One
Ngaere
One, Oneone
One
Onepu
Fanfan
Oneone
Baria
Faaika
Sea^
Tisek, XaUi
Sami, Moina, Ta*i
Tahi
Tahi, Moaoa
Wa-tui, Tathi ....
Kai
Tai, Moana
Miti, Xai, Moana ....
Mo&na r.
Moana
Tai, Moana
Mofina, Tai
Tari, Soti
Moana
Dayara
Banomasina, Biaka
..J Water
...I Ajer, Wai
.... Vai
... \ Vai
.... Vai
... Wai
... Wai
.... Vai ;
... Vai, Pape
... Komo
.... Vai
.... Vai i
... Wai I
..... Voi, Tanu, Tonu ...
....Iv.i .... ....
I
... Banu
.... Bano
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
English
Malayan
Samoan
Niu^an
Tongan
Fijian
Hawaiian ...
Marquesun ....
Tahitian
Faumotuan ...
Mangarevan
Barotongan...
Maori <
Botuman ...
Tokelauan ....
Motu
Malagasy ...
Mother
Ina, Mentua
Tina .... -j
Matua.fifinc j
Fa'e .... \
Tina .... j
Makua hine \
Kui
Metua Tahine •^
Makua hine \
Kui <
Metua Taine \
Matua wahinc, I
Waea 1
Oihooi .... \
Biatua
Sinana .... j
Beny .... \
Brother
Sudara, Abang (eldest) <
Uao (brothers)
Tuangane (sisters)
Matakainanga (brothers)
Tungane (sisters) ....
Tehina (brothers)
Tuongaane (sisters)
Tuakane (brothers)
Ngane (sisters)
Hoahanau kane (brothers)
Kunane (sisters) ....
Tusana (brothers)
Tuakane (sisters)
Taeae (brothers)
Tuaana (sisters)
Deina (brothers)
Tungane (sisters)
Tuakana (brothers)
Tungane (sisters)
Teina, Taeake (brothers)
Tungane (sisters)
TeLna (brothers)
Tungane (sisters)
Sosinga (brothers)
Sangoeveni (sisters)
Teina
Eakana (elder)
Tadina (younger)
Bahalahy (brothers)
Analahy (sisters)
SiHer
Sudara perampuan, Abang
(eldest)
Uso (sisters)
Tuahafine (brothers)
Mahakitanga (brothers)
Matakainanga (sisters) ...
Tuofefine (brothers)
Tehina (sisters)
Taiina (brothers)
Tuakana (sisters)
Kaika-wahine (brothers)
Hoahanau (sisters)
Tuehine (brothers)
Tukana (sisters)
Tuahine (brothers)
Tuaana (sisters)
Tuahine (brothers)
Deina (sisters)
Tuhine (brothers)
Teina (sisters)
Tuaine (brothers)
Teina (sisters)
Tuahine (brothers)
Teina, Tuakane (sisters) ..
Sanghoiena (brothers) ...
Sasinga (sisters)
Tuafafine (brothers)
Taihun^ (brothers)
Tadina (sisters)
Anabavy (brothers)
i RahaTavy (sisters)
....|
Chief
Damang, Tuan ...
Ali'i, Tui
Iki, Patuiki
Kiki, Tui
Turanga
Ari'i
Hskaiki
Ali'i, Fatu
Ariki, Pupuariki
Ariki
Ariki
Ariki
Nmngato,
Fure'aki
Aliki j
Lohia, Lohiabada
(high)
Mpanjaka, An- \
driana (royal) {
Digitized by
Google
Rev. S. ElLuV. — Dialect Changes in the Polynes^ian Latufuagcs.
Polynesian Wokds.
171
1. Man
Wiman
Boy
Qirl
Father.
2. Orang laki-
• l&ki
3. Tangata ...
Perampuau, Bini
Fafine
Anak-llikUaki ...
Tama
Anak perampuan....
Teinc
Bapa, Bama.
Tama.
, 4. Tangaia ...
Fifine
Tam&
Tan-ft-fiue
Matua.
5. Tangata ....
Fefine
Tamil
Ta'a-hine
Tamai.
6. Tarnata ...
Alewa
Ngone tangana ...
Ngone-alewa
Tama.
7. Kanaka ....
Waliine
Kam&, Keika kano
Kaikama liinc
Makua kaue.
8. Enata
Vehine
Maliai ....
Pahoe
Motua.
9. Ta'ata
Vahine
Tama iti, Tamarii ..
Tam& hine
Metua tanc.
10. Tangata ....
Mahine, Morire ....
Makaro '
Manania
Makui.
11. TangaU ....
Ahine, Aine
Tamft
Tama Line
Motua.
12. Tangata ...
Vaine
Tam&roa, Tamaiti
Metua tane.
18. Tangata ...
Waliine
Tama iti
Hine, Kohine
Matua, Papa.
14. Lee
..Honi, Hen
Lee lilii, Fameamea
Lee honi
Oifa.
15. Tangata ...
Fafine
Tamft
Teino
Tama.
16. Tauna, Ta-
Hahine
Mero
Kekeni, Haniulata
Tamana.
unimanima
17. Lehilahy ...
Veliivavy
Zazalahy
Zazayayy
Bay, Baba.
1. BeUy
Natel
Breati
Hand
Finger,
2. Prui
Pusat
Dada, Susu
Tangan
Jari.
3. Manava
Pute
Fatafata, Susu ....
Lima
Tamatama^-lima.
4. Manara
Pito
-
Fatafata, Huhu ....
Lima
Matalima.
5. Nget43
Bito
Huhu
Nima
—
6. Kete
""
Suthu
Linga
IqaqaJo-ni-Iinga.
7. Kaopu
Piko
U
Lima
M'y.Tifjnu^nalimw.
8. Opu
Pito
U
Ima
—
9. Opu... • ...
Pito
U
Bima
—
10. Kopu
Pito
Kouma, U
Bima
Manemanea.
' 11. Kopu
Pito
U ,
—
—
12. Kopu
Pito
u
•
Bima '
Maikao.
13. Kopu, mau-
awa
14. Efe
Pito
u
Fatiat, Sus
Binga
Haephaep
Matibao.
Kakae.
15. —
—
—
—
—
16. Boka
17. Kito.
Udo
Gemt
1
Ima-palapala
Ima-qagiqagi.
Foitra
1
Tratra
1
Tanana
Bantsan-tanana.
Digitized by
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172 Rev. S. Ella,— Dialed Changes in the Polynesian Languages.
Fool
I
Shod
Comparative Vocabulary of
1. En^Usk
Bone Skim
....
2. Malayan .... Kaki ... J
Darah
Tulang Eulit
....
1
8. Samoan ... Vae
Toto
lYi 'F*'u
...
4. NiuAm .... Hui 1
Toto
Hui Kill
...
6. Tongan .... Vae
Toto ,
HuL - ....]KiU
....
6. Fijian .... Yara
Dra.
Sui 'KuU
...
7. Hawaiian .... Wawae
Koko
Iwi lU
....
8. Marquesan ....
VaoTae
Toko
Iri Iri
...
9. Tahitian .... avae
Toto
In jlri..
....
10. Faumotuan ....i Vaeyae
1
Tikairi
Keiga ! Kiri
1
11. Kangareran Vavae
Toto
Iri ....
Kiri'
i
12. Barolongan ....< Vaeyae
Toto
Iri
Kiri
....
13. Maori .... Wae
Toto
Iwi
Hiako^kiri....
....
14. Botoman ....
Aftea
Tot
Sui ....
in
-
16. Tokelauan ....
—
—
—
—
16. Motu
Ae.palapa1a
Ban
Turia .... ...
Kopi
i
17. Malagasy ....
Tongotra
Ba ....
Taolana
Hoditra ....
1
1. EnffU9h ...
Note
Moutk
Ton^M% ' Todh
2. Malayan ....
Hidong
Mulut
Lidah ^Gigi
... 1
8. Samoan
Isu
Ngutu
LaukufaiTa (Alelo) Nifo
1
4. Niu^n
Ihu
Ngutu
Alelo
Nifo
i
5. Tongan
Ihu
Ngutu
Elelo
Nifo
...
6. Fijian
Uthu
Ngusu
Yame
Bati
-. ■
7. Hawaiian ...
Ihu
Waha
Alelo Niho
...
8. Marquesan ...
Ihu
Vaha
Seo
Niho
...
9. Tahitian
Ihu
Vaha
Arero
Niho * ....
...
10. Faumotuan....
Ihu
Vaha
Aroro
Niho
...
11. Mangareyan
Ihu
Haha, Aha
Erero Nibo
12. Barotongau ...
Futa-iu
Vaa
Aroro Nio
..
13. Maori
Ihu
Mangai, Waha ...
Arero
Niho
...
14. Botuman ...
Ibu
Nuj
Alele
Ala
16. Tokelauan ...
—
—
—
—
16. Motu
Udu
Udu
MaU
Hiiio
...
17. Malagasy ...
Orona
Vara
Lela
Nify
.....
Digitized bv
Google
Rbv. S. Ella. — DiaUd Changes in the Polt/nesian Languages.
Polynesian WoRDSk
173
1. S[edd
Rair
Faee
%•
Sar.
2. ESpAla (ha-
lu)
3. Ulu
Bambut, bulu
Muka
Mate
TeUnga.
Lau-ulu
Mata
Mata
Talinga.
4 Ulu
Lau-ulu
SCata
Mata
Telinga.
6. Ulu «
Lo-ulu
BCata
Mata
Telinga.
6. Ulu
Drau-ni-ulu, Yulna
Mata
Mata
DaUnga.
7. Poo
Hulu
Kamaka
Maka
Pepeifto.
8. Upoo
Onoho, huu
SCata
Mate
Puaina.
9. Upoo
Huruhuru
ICata
Mata
Taria.
10. Maro, Pan-
ene, Pepenu
11. Upoko ...
Huruhuni
Huru Uru
Mata, nohi
Nohi
MafA
Tariuga.
Teringa.
12. Upoko ....
Bau-uru
Mata
SCata
Taringa.
18. Upoko ....
Huruhuru
Mata
Kanohi
Taringa.
14. Filou
15. —
16. Qara
Le?a
Maf
Mafa
FaUang.
Hui
Vaira
Mate
Taia.
17. Loha
Volo
Tarehy
Maw
Sofina.
1. Tree
Cocoatmi
Breadfntit
ram
Taro.
2. Ptthn
Niop, Nup
Sukun, Kuru
Ubi
—
3. La'au
Niu
*Ulu
Ufl ...
Talo.
4. Akau
Niu
Mei
Ufl
Talo.
6. Akau
Niu
Mei
Ufl
Tapo.
6. Kau
Niu
Uto
Un
Dalo.
7. Baau, Laau
Niu
Mei, Uru
Uhi
Ealo.
8. Kaau, Akau
Behi
Mei
Bua-uhi
Tao.
9. Baau
Haari, Niu
Upu
Uhi
Tapo.
10. Bakau
Niu
Kupu
Uhi
Fakea.matietie.
11. Bakau
Nikau, Niu
Nohunohu
Uhi
—
12. Bakau
Niu, Nu
Kuru
Ui
Tftpo.
13. Bakau
Nikau
—
Uhi
Tapo.
14. 01
Niu
Ul
Uk ...,
—
15. Lakau
Niu
—
Ufl
Talo.
16. Au
Niu, Ngaru
tJnu
Uhe, Maho
Talo.
17. Kaio
Yoanio, Nio
Ovi
—
Digitized by
Google
174 llEV. S. Ella. — I>ialrH Chanffes in (he Polyne^an Lang^iages.
COMPARATITK VoCAUULARY OF
1. Sngluh
2. Malaj
8. Samoan
4. Nia^n
5. Tongan
6. FijUn
7. Hawaiian
8. Marquefan
9. Tahitian
10. Paumotuan
11. Mangareran To ....
12. Karotongan ... ' To ....
13. Maori ... !
14. Rotuman ... I Thou
15. Tokelauan ... '
16. Motu .... Tohu
j
17. Malagasy .... Faiy
Sugar-cane
TubbQ, Toro
Tolo
To
To
NdoTu
Ko
To
To
To
.... Banana
... Piaang
... Fa'i
... Full
.... Hopa
.... Vuni, Vote
... Maia
... Meika
... Mei'a
.... Meika
.... Meika
r
... Meika
1
... ■ Per
Fai
r Dili (plant)
\ Bigu (fruit)
... Akondro ....
.... Pig,...
.... Babi
... Pua'a
Puaka
....' Buaka
....'Tuaka ....
.... Puaa
.... Puaa
.... Pua'a
... Puaa
.... Puaka ....
...' Puaka ....
I Poaka, Puaa
...I Puaka
.... Puaka ....
\ ! Boroma ....
Eisoa
Fi$h
Ikan, Ika ....
Fa
Ika
Ika
Ika
Pa ....
Ika
Pa
Ika, Para ....
Ika
Ika
Ika
Pa
Ika
Qarume ....
Hazandrano
... I
Many Melanesian words for " house " are derived from
1. SfiglUl ' ...
Boto
Arrow
....
2. Malayan
Panah
Anakpnnah
....
3. Samoan
'Aufana
U
4. Niu&in
Kaufana
Fana
...
5. Tongan
Kaufana
Kaho
...
6. Fijian
Dakai, Vueu
Ngasau ....
...
7. Hawaiian ....
Pana
Pua.pana ....
...
8. Marqnesan ....
Pana
Koniu
...
9. Tahitian
Fana
Ohe
10. Paumotuan....
Poro-fana
Teka
11. Mangareran
Pana
—
12. Barotongan ....
Ana
—
18. Maori
Whana
Pere
...
14. Botuman ...
Loloki, Fan
Fana
...
15. Tokelauan ...
—
—
16. Motu
Peva
Diba
17. MaUgasy ....
Isipiki
Zanatsipika
Qood
Balk, Fia
Lelei
Mitaki
Lelei, Marie
Vinaka
Maitai, Pono, Pua
Meitai
Maita'i
Maitaki, Tiru
Marie
Meitaki
Pai
Lelei
Lelei
Namo
Tsara, Soa...
Bad
Buruk, Leak
Leanga
Kelea
KoTi
Tha
Ino
Po
Ino ....
Kiro, Manuann
£ino
Kino
Kino
Raksa
Leanga
Dika
Batsy
Digitized by
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^\\>
EiVk S. Ella. — Dialect Chaifiges in the Polyrusian Lang^iages,
PoLTOfistAN Words,
175
1. Ff>wl
H<m9€
Canoe
Clul
1
Spear,
2. Ayam^Hayan
8. Moa
Bumah, Fari^
' Fale
1
Pjrau, Sampan,
Wangkang
Va'a
Gada,Pala,Tokam
; Uafcongi
Tombak.
Tao.
4. Moa
Fale
Vaka
Lakau
Tao.
6. Moa
Fale
Vaka
Akau
Tao.
6. Toa, Manu-
Vale
Waqa
Wau, Nai
Moto.
manu
7. Moa, Manu....
Hale, Hare
Wa'a, Vaka
Neua .... • ...
Ihe, £ao, Polulu.
8. Moa, Manu....
Hae
Vaka, Vaa
Akau-fcoa
Pakeo.
9. Moa
Fare
Vaa, Pahi
Baau
Mahae, Tao, Niu.
10. Moa, Manu....
Fare
Vaka
Panmgi
Komore.
11. Moa
Hare
Vaka
—
Tao.
12. Moa
Are
Vaka
Lupo
! Korare.
1
13. Tttaokao ....
Whare
Waka
Patu, Mere, Mere-
; Tao, Matia.
U. Moa, Manu-
Bi
Kafcea
mere
Omua-oi
Jau.
manu
15. Moa .... ...
Fale
Vaka
—
'Tao.
16. Kokorogu ....
17. Akoho
Buma
Trano
Vanagi (smal)),
Aai (large)
Lakana
Kalera (wood),
Gahi (stone)
Zara
To.
Lefona.
1
rumah, Malayan j
Fari ia a large house
court, or palace.
1. Great
Small
New
Old
Near.
2. Besar
Kechil, Kiiti.kiiti....
Bharu
Tuah
Dekat, Ara.
3. Tele, Nui ..
Kiiti
Fou
Tuai
Latalata.
4. TaW
Tote
Fou
Tuai
Tata mai.
6. Lahi
Jii
Foou
Tuai
Ou, Tata.
6. LoTU
Lailai
Vou
Mandi*
Voleka.
7. Nui, Loa ....
Iki,Poko
Hou
Kahito
Kokoke.
8. Nui
Ifci
Hou
Tata.
9. Bahi, Nui ....
Ifci
Hou, Api
Tahito
FatAtA.
10. Paueke
Korereka ....
Hou
Tahifco, Veruveru ...
Fakaka, Fakuriu.
11. Tore, Nui ....
Nik
Hou
Taito
Tutata, TaLa.
12. Mata
Ngiti
Ou ....
Hamiriafcu, Taito ..
Vaitata.
13. Bahi, Nui ...
Nohinohi, Ifci ....
Hou
Tawhito, Auki ...
Tata, Tutata.
14. Te'u, Tefce'u
Me'ame'a
Foou
Kekel
Hoieleung.
16. Tele
Ifciifci
Fou
Leva
Late mai.
16. Pata
Maragi
Matamata
Qunana .... ....
Kahilakalma.
17. Lehibe
Kely, Madiniki ....
VaoTao
Antitra, Ela
Akaiky.
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176 Kev. S. '&LhA,—Duilrct Changes in th4* Polynesian Lan0tdg^§t
ComparAtivb Vocabulary oV
1. EnglUh ...
DiHatd
To Live
me
breathe
2. Malayan ...
JiLuh
Ber-idup
l^tati .. ..
Nafaa, Befnafas ...
3* Samoan
Mamao
01a..„
Oti, Mate
llanaTtt ....
4. Niu^an
Mamao
Moui
Mate
Fafangu
5. Tongan
Mamao
Moui
Mate
Manara
6. Fijian
Yawa
Bula
^
Thengu
7. Hawaiian ...
Mamaov Loihiaku
*01a ..- ....
Make
Hanu
8. Marqaetan ....
Memao
Pohoe
Mate _ ....
ManaTa ....
9. Tahitian
Te, atea
0«
Pobe, Mate
Hufi te aho
10. Paumotuan...
11. Mangareyan
Mamao, Maoro-
takake
Mamao
Ora
Ora
Mate
Mate
Anare
12. Barotongan....
Mamao ....
Ora
Mate
A'o....^
18. Maori
Mamao, Tawhiti ....
Ora
Mate
Manawa, Wbakaha
14. Botuman ...
SonBou
Mauri
Ala
Huang 1
15. Tokelanan ...
Mamao
OU...
Mate
Manara
16. Motu
Daudau
Mauri
M»f*
I*«»
17. Malagasy ....
Laritra
Yelona
Mrty .... >.
Miaina
1. SnglUh
To go
Come
Ea*
J>rinh
2. Malayan ....
Pergi, Pfci
Datang, mai ....
ICakan
Miuum
8. Samoan
Alu, (pi.)
Sau,' O mai (pi.) ....
•Ai
Inu
4. Niu^an
Fano, Haele,
(pl.)
AJu,0(pl.) ....
Haele mai, mai
(pl.)
Hau,Alu,0(pl.)....
Kai
Inn..-
6. Tongan
Kai
Inu....
6. Fijian
Lako
Lako mai
Kana
Ngunu
7. Hawaiian ....
Here, Hele aku ....
Here mai, Hele mai
Ai
Inu, Unu
8. Marquesan ....
He'e
A mai
Kai, Kaikai
Inu
9. Tahitian ...
Haere atu
Haere nud
Amu
Inu
10. Paumotuan....
Haere atu
Haere mai
Kai, Ngau....
Kami, Komo
11. Mangarevau
Ere
Ere mai, Nau mai
Kai
Inu
12. Barotongan...
Aere atu
Aere mai, Tae
Kai
Inu, Unu
13. Maori
Haere atu
Haere mai
Kai, Ngai
Inu, Unu
14. Botuman ...
La'o
Leum, Helen
Ate, Telaa
lom
15. Tokelauan ....
Alu
Sau
Kai
Inu
16. Motu
Lao
Mai
Ania
Inua
17. Malagasy ....
Mandekap, Heli-
hely
Ayy, Avia ....
Homana, Mihinana
Miaotro
^ The word to or of chiefs is Tery different, and yaries
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Rev. S. Ella. — Dialect Changes in the Polynesian Lan^/uages.
Polynesian Words.
177
1. See
Hear
Know
Think
Make.
2. Liat, Amata
Bangar
Tau
Kira, Mengiea ....
Kapja.
3. Va'ai, Mata-
roata
4. Eitekite,
Zitea
5. M a m a t a,
vakai
6. Baitha
Fa'alongo, Tian-
Rona
Fanongonongo
Fanongo
Iloa
lioa, Fioia
Ilo
Manatu
Manatu, Maua-
manatu
Manatu
Fai.
Eke.
Ngaoki.
Bongo
Kila
Nanuma
Thakava.
7. Ike
Lono
Ike
Mana'o
Hana.
8. Kite
Hakaono
Kite
Metao
Pepena.
9. Ite, Hi'o ....
Fa'aro'o
Ite
Mana'o
Hoa, Hamani»
10. Hipa
Bongo
Kite
Manako
Hanga, Patu.
11. Kite, Nana....
Bongo
Kite
Makara
Hanga.
12. Akalu, Kite
Bongo
Kite
Ma'ara .-.
Angaanga. Marmi.
13. Kite
Bongo
Kite, Matau
Hua, Mahara
Hanga, waihanga.
14. Tel, Eae ....
Aafai
Inea
Ahae
Be.
15. Va'ai
Fakalongo
Iloa
Manatu
Fai.
16. Haia
Kamonai
Diba
Laloa
Karaia.
17. Mahita
Mahar^, Mandre ....
Mahalala
Miheyitra
Manao.
1. Sit
Place
Laugh
Weep
Fear.
2. Duduk ...
Tarep
Tertawa, Ghilak ....
Tangis
Takut-an.
8. Nolo
Tu'u
'Ata, 'Ata'ata ....
Tangi, Aue
Fefe, Mata'u.
4. Nofo
Tuku
Kata
Tangi
Mataku.
5. Nofo
Tuku
Kata, Katakata ....
Tangi
Maoavake.
6. Tiko
Vipia
Dpendre
Tangi
Bere.
7. Noho
Kau iho
Aka, Akaaka
Kani, U, Ue
Hopo, Mata'u.
8. Noho
Tu'u
Kata
Eue
Meta'u.
9. Noho,PaTahi
Tu'u
Ata
Ta'i
Matau.
10. Noho, Tarau
Hakaruke
Kata
Tangi, Tatangi ....
Mataku.
11. Noho
Atatotoko
Kata
Tangi
Matake, Ete.
12. No'o
Tuku
Kata
Tangi, Aue
Mataku, Hopi.
13. Noho
Whiu
Kata
Tangi
Mataku, Hopi.
14. Noho-sio, Ho
Nasua, Popona ....
Kaha
Ouou
Fea, Mamoru.
16. Nofo
Tuku
Kata
Tangi
Mataku.
16. Helai
Atoa
Kiri
Tai
Gari.
17. Mipetraka ....
Manetraka
Mihomehy
Mitomanj
Mabahotra.
according to rank, sucli as <i/io, .ni*M, marin.
New Sbries, Vol. II, Nos. 1 and 2.
N
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178 Rev. S. Ella. — Dialect Cfhanges in tJie Polynesian Langua^ges,
COMPARATIVB VOCABULARY OF
1. English
2. Malayan
3. Samoan
4. Niu^an
5. Tongan
6. Fijian
7. Hawaiian
8. Marqueean .
9. Tahitian .
10. Faumoiuan .
Aku, Baku, Eita
Vu, 'Ita ....
A'u
A'li
I
A'u
A'u, Wau
A'u
A'u,Vau
7au
11. Mangarevan ' A'u
12. Raro tongan ... | A'u
13. Maori
14. Rotuman
... A'u, Akau...
.. Sgow
15. Tokelauan ....
16. Motu
17. Malagasy ....
A'u
Lau
Aho, Izaho
. I Thou
.. JKau, Dika..
.... Oe
...' Koe
Koe
Iko
Oe
I
..' Koe
..! Oe
.. Koe
. Koe
. Koe
Koe
. Ae, Ou ...
. I Oe
. Oi
..; liianao
H0,9h9,U,
Iya» Inya .
la
la
la
lya, Koia ..
la ....
la
la
la
la
Koia
la
la
la
la
i«y
....
IF(9(dualinclaaTe)
1
...•
Taua
....
Taua
....
Tau
....
Kendrau, Eendaru
Kaua
....
Taua
....
Taua
I
Taua «
ISua
....
Taua
.. Itara
... Taua
Ita raruoti
1. English
They (dual) ....
Thfif (plural)
One
Two
Three,...
...
2. Malayan ....
3. Samoan
Laua
Orang, Kamu
Latou
Talii, Sa, Satu,
Asa
Tasi
Dua
Lua
Tiga ....
Tolu ....
4. Niu^an
Liiua
Lautolu
Taha
Ua
Tolu ....
....
5. Tongan
Naua
Lautolu, Nau
Taha
Ua
Tolu ...
...
6. Fijian
Rau
Ra, Ratou ....
Dua
Rua
Tolu ....
....
7. Hawaiian ...
Laua
Lakou
Kabi
Lua
Kolu ....
....
8. Marquesan ...
Aua
Atou
Tahi
Ua
Tou, Torn
9. Tahitian ....
Raua
Ratou
Tahi
Rua, Iti
Torn ....
10. Paumotuan ..
Raua
Ratou
Rari
Piti
Naeti ....
11. Mangarevan
Raua
Ratou
Tahi
Rua
Toru ....
...
12. Barotongan....
Raua
Ratou
Ta'i
Rua
Torn ....
13. Maori
Eaua
Ratou
Tahi
Rua
Toru, Tengi
14. Botuman ...
Iria
Iris, Oris
Taa, Esea
Rua
Folu ^
....
15. Tokelauan ....
Laua
Latou
Taai
Laa
Tolu ....
16. Mofcu
Idia raruoti ...
Idia
Tamona
Rua
Toi ....
...
17. Malagasy ....
—
Iry .... ...
Isa, Iray
Roa ....
Telo ....
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Rev. S. Ella. — Dialect Cftanges in the Folynesian Languages,
Polynesian Words.
179
1. IF0(dualex.
clusiye)
We (plural inclu-
siTe)
Kita
We (plural eiclu-
BiTe)
Kami
You (dual)
You (plural).
Kau.
8. Maua
M*.
Tatou
Matou
Oulua
Outou.
4. Maua
Tautolu
Mautolu
Mua
Mutoiu.
6. Maua
Tau, Tautolu
Mautolu
Mooa
Moutohi.
6. Kelrau
....
Datou
Keimami
Kemundrau
Kemudon, Ton.
7. Maua
....
Kakou
Makou
Olua
Oukou.
8. Maua
....
Tatou
Matou
Koua
Kotou.
9. Maua
....
Tatou
Matou
Orua
Outou.
10. Make
Tatou
....
Matou
Eorua
Koutou.
11. —
Tatou
Matou
Korua
Kotou.
12. Maua
....
Tatou
Matou
Korua
Kotou.
13. Maua
Tatou
Matou
Korua
Koutou.
14. Omiara
l8,La
Omia
Ansa
Ou, Ousa.
15. Maua
... ; Tatou
Matou
Oulua
Outou.
16. Airaruoti
.... Ita ....
Ai
Uniui-raruoti
tJmui.
17. -
I Isikia
Izahaj
—
(Tianareo,
1. Four
Five
Six....
Seven ....i Eight
NinB
—
—
Ten.
2. Ampat ...
Luna
Anani
Ttijuh
..: Salapan.De-
Sambila
n
Sapuiuh.
3. Fa
4. Fa
Lima
Lima
Ono
Ono
Fitu
Fitu
Valu
Valu
Iva ....
Hiva
Sefulu, Nga-
fulu.
Hongofuln.
5. Fa
Nima
Ono
...
Fitu
Valu
HiTa
Ngofulu.
6. Va
Lima
Ono
....
Yitu
.. 1 Walu
Thiwa
Tini, Ngavulu.
7. Ha
Lima
Ono
Hiku
.. Walu
Iwa...
...
Utai.
8. Ha
Ima
Ono
....
Itu, Fitu
...| Vau
1
Iva....
Onohu'u.
9. Ha, Maha
Rima
Ono
Hitu
.. 1 Varu
Iva....
Ahuru.
10. Ope
Miha
Hene
Hito
Varu, Uava
Nipa
Horihori.
11. Ha
Rima
Ono
Hitu
Varu
Iva ....
Rongouru.
12. A
Rima
Ono
Itu ....
...
Valu
Iva ....
Ngauru.
13. Wha ....
Bima
Ono
....
Whitu
Warn
Iwa....
"
Ngahuru.
14. Hake ....
Liam
Oon
....
Hif
...
Vol
Siar
Sanghulu.
15. Fa
Lima
Ono
....
Fitu
...
Valu
Iva....
Sefulu.
16. Hani ....
Ima
Taurato]
....
Hitu
...
Taurahani ....
Tauraha
inita
Qauta.
17. Bfatpa ....
Dimy, Limi
Enina
....
Fito
Valo
Sivy
....
Folo.
N 2
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180 Eev. S. Ella. — Dialect Chayiges in the Polynesian Languages.
[Since the foregoing paper was sent to the Institute, information has been
received of the author's death at Sydney, N.S.W. The Rev. Samuel Ella was bom
in 1823 and was one of the oldest missionaries of the London Missionary Society.
He was accepted by the Society in 1847 and went out as printer to Samoa. He
remained there for fourteen years, and was ordained a full missionary in 1860.
After two years' stay in Sydney on account of ill-health, he went to Uvea, in the
Loyalty Group, where he established a mission among the Melanesians of the
island He returned to Sydney in 1875 after eleven years' labour, and died on
February 12th of this year. He was the translator of the New Testament into the
Melanesian language of lai, spoken on Uvea Island, and took great interest in all
that concerned the Polynesian races. He had been President of the Australian
Association for the Advancement of Science. To his kindness and courtesy the
present writer owes much information on the languages of Southern Melanesia. —
S. H. R]
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181
ANTHROPOLOGICAL REVIEWS AND MISCELLANEA.
Readers of the Journal are invited to communicate any new facts of especial interest
which come under their notice. Short abstracts of, or extracts from, letters loill he
published at the discretion of the Editor, Letters should be marked "Miscellanea'* and
addressed to The Secretary, 3, JSanover Square, W,
Notes on the Languages op the South Andaman Group of Tribes. By M. V. Port-
man. Calcutta, 1898.
Althoagh not a professed philologist, Mr. Portman has made good nse of his
opportunity as the officer in charge of the Andamanese natives for some years to give
linguistic students a clear and accurate account of the remarkable form of speech
current in several closely related varieties amongst these aborigines.
The present volume supplements and, where necessary, rectifies the extensive
studies already made by Mr. £. H. Man and Colonel B. C. Temple, some of the results
of which have appeared in this Journal, How important was the work done by these
labourers in an obscure and particularly thorny field, appears from the fact that
Mr. Man was the first to give written form to the Andamanese language, under quite
exceptional difficulties, due to its astonishingly rich phonetic system, comprising no
less than twenty-four distinct vowel and seventeen consonantal sounds. Mr. Man has
also collected copious materials for a grammar and a dictionary of over 6,000 words,
which he has, jointly with Colonel Temple, arranged for publication. Such of these
materials as are available for reference have been utilised, together with a great deal
of fresh data, in the preparation of Mr. Portman's book, which, under the modest title
of Notes, forms a large octavo volume of nearly 600 pages, but with a peculiar arrange-
ment and pagination, the convenience of which is not obvious. Thus there are first
of all eight chapters, which are consecutively paged up to p. 188, and deal somewhat
thoroughly with the peculiar features of the language, with special reference to the
views of Mr. Man and Colonel Temple on this subject ; with the tribal divisions and
sub-divisions of the natives ; with the structure of the sentence illustrated by analytical
notes and translations from the Gospel of Saint Matthew ; with Andamanese myths,
legends, songs, and folklore, these subjects being also illustrated with original texts,
copious explanatory notes, and even variants of the same legend in three or four
di^erent dialects.
Then follows another series of eight chapters, which are also consecutively paged
up to p. 391, but are entirely devoted to an exceedingly valuable analysis of a com-
parative vocabulary of about 2,300 words in English, and the five chief dialects of the
South Andamanese group. This vocabulary, however, is separately paged from 1 up
to 191, thus completing the volume, which with preface makes, as stated, nearly 600
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182 Anthropological Kevuws mid Miscellanea,
pages altogether. If, therefore, a double pagination was needed, it shonld obvionslj
have begnn with Chapter IX, and run on oontinuonslj with the vocabniary, with
which Chapters IX to XVI are exclnsivelj connected. But the inconvenience is not
so great as might be sopposed, because English is the first of the six lexical columns,
and is fortanately arranged without break from A to Z, and not disposed in a number
of exasperating sections — ^nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc., as is too often the case with
such collections. I have in mj possession a vocabulary of an eastern language, in
which the words are ingeniously broken up into sixteen distinct groups, on some
abstruse psychological principle which I have never yet been able to fathom.
But where the material brought together is of such excellent quality, a somewhat
defective arrangement may well be overlooked. How valuable to students of the
evolution of language are the chapters occupied with the analysis of the vocabulary
one example will suffice to show. In the vocabulary the English preposition " above "
is rendered in the chief dialect tang len, which in the analysis (p. 190) is explained to
mean literally " in the roof," because " the Andamanese puts his property away by
sticking it in the thatched roof of his hut.*' Thus the concrete expression ^* in the
roof " has acquired a purely relational force, and from hundreds of such instances we
see how true it is that all the familiar elements of speech must have originally been
notional terms.
But the chief interest of this language, constituting it an order of speech, one
might say, absolutely sui generis^ lies in its twofold development of prefixed and post-
fixed particles, thus combining within itself the essential characters of two distinct
types of agglutination, as represented, for instance, in the Ural-Altaio postfix and the
Bantu prefix systems. The result is an exuberance of relational elements, which, like
the tangled vegetation of txopical woodlands, actually interfere with each other's
grammatical functions. About the nature of the postfixes there is no difficulty, all
agreeing that they are of the same normal character as those of other postfixing groups,
and differ from the typical Mongolo-Turki only in the total exclusion of vocalic
harmony. But so varied and subtle are the uses of the numerous prefixes, that
opinions well may differ respecting their true character. Mr. Man and Colonel
Temple appear to regard them all as of one category — pronominal determinatives
— whereas Mr. Portman plainly shows that their function is twofold, qualitative
inasmuch as they modify the meaning of the roots and thus classify them, and strictly
grammatical, either possessive pronouns or indicative of gender. But on this
point he speaks somewhat doubtfully, remarking that ^' it appears to me that one of
the functions of the prefixes is to indicate gender, not in the sense of male and female,
but in the sense of classifying the Andamanese roots into genera or groups." Then he
adds : " In order to modify its meaning, a root may have two or even three prefixes,
one of which is probably a gender prefix. The system by which the roots are classified
into genera is not known, and the opinions of individual Andamanese on the subject
are only of valae as showing the mode of thought of the people '* (p. 81).
It is remarkable that, with all this wealth of formative particles, the numerals
are limited, as in the Australian and many New Guinea languages, to one and ttioo.
Three really means " one more " ; four " some more," and^re " all " ; and here their
arithmetic may be said to stop altogether. In some groups, however, six or seven, or
perhaps even ten^ may be reached by the aid of the nose and fingers. First the nose
is tapped with the little finger of either liand to score one, then with the next finger
for two^ and so on up to five, each successive tap being accompanied with the word
anka, " and this." The process is then continued with the second hand, after which
both hands are joined together to indicate 5 + 5, the score being clenched with the
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Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. 183
word ard/uTu^ '* all." Bat few get as far as this, and the process usnallj breaks down
at six or seven.
While indispensable to the student of language, Mr. Portmau*s book will also
be prized by the folk-lorist for the specimens it gives of the Audamanese myths and
legends. Several variants are given, all at fii*st hand, of the curious fire-legend, in
which Fulugoy head of the native pantheon, plays a part singularly inconsistent with
the idea of a Supreme Being current amongst less primitive peoples.
A. H. Keane.
The Dolmens and Burial Mounds in Japan. By William (Rowland, Esq., F.S. A., etc.,
ArchcBologia, vol. Iv, pp. 439-524 (1897).
The Dolmens of Japan and thbie Builders. By W. Gowland, Assoc. B.S.M.,
P.C.S., F.S. A., Trans, and Proc. Japan Society, vol. iv. Part III (1899).
In these two papers we have a clear and well-illustrated account of the Dolmens
of Japan by Mr. Gowland, late of the Imperial Japanese Mint. While they have
much in common, they are by no means identical as regards either the letterpress or
the illustrations, though alike in general treatment and conclusions.
The author remarks that he uses the term " dolmen " in its broad or generic
sense to signify "a stone burial- chamber, generally of rude megalithic structure,
larger than a cist, and whether covered by a mound or not." They are numerous in
Japan, where he has "carefully examined 406 and made drawings of or measured
140." Simple mounds preceded the dolmens. Burial in chambers hewn out of rock
was also largely practised by the early Japanese. But standing- stones, either single
as " menhirs " or in *' avenues " or " circles " have not been discovered in Japan.
The simple burial mounds have been mostly destroyed either " by the hand of
time or in reclaiming land for agriculture." The remains found in them consist
generally of stone beads and ornaments with swords and arrowheads of bronze. No
stone weapons or implements have (in Mr. Gowland's experience) been found in these
ancient burial mounds, the evidence tending to show that the Japanese had passed
out of the Stone Ages before they migrated from the mainland, and were, when in
Japan, in the last stages of their Bronze Age.
A map in the paper from Archceologia illustrates the distribution of Burial
Mounds, Dolmens and Bock-Hewn Tombs in Japan. We learn that they occur
chiefly *^ in the basins of the greater rivers, on the margins of the more important
plains, and near the coasts of the inland and Japan Seas." From their distribution
the author thinks that during the dolmen-building period the extreme north-east and
some of the wilder tracts of the interior were still held by the Ainu aborigines : this
view being confirmed by the increasing numbers of aboriginal stone weapons found
as we proceed towards the northern extremity of the island. The situations in which
dolmens are usually found are '* the lower flanks of a mountain range, and the crests
and slopes of the lower hills and upland tracts which bound the plains ; sites com-
manding extensive views being preferred.
The author divides the Japanese dolmens into "four great typical classes
according to the general form or plan of their interiors, beginning with the most
simple and ending with the most highly differentiated structures." He then gives
accounts, illustrated by plans, sections, etc., of examples of these classes and of the
weapons, ornaments, etc., discovered in them. No well or even moderately preserved
skeleton (he says) has yet been found in any dolmen, owing to the damp atmosphere
and free infiltration of water; and this is true even of those in which there is a
sarcophagus.
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184 AiUhropological Reviews and Miscellanea,
Afl to the period to which they belong, he remarks that "the dolmens are
certainly all of the Iron Age." No bronze swords have ever been fonnd in them,
though bronze arrowheads associated with iron swords are said to occnr occasionally.
And as iron was known in China as early as the year 1000 B.C., and as there was
commnnicatiou between China and Japan at least as early as the year 265 B.C., Mr.
Gowland thinks the beginning of the Iron Age in Japan may date from abont the last-
named year ; and that shortly after dolmens began to be built. And he states that
the total abolition of burial in dolmens was decreed by the Emperor Mommu (697-707
A.D.) and cremation introduced about the same time.
There is no evidence that the dolmen builders had any metallic currency, and no
indication that they possessed a knowledge of writing. As to their religious belief : —
" The arms and armour, the ornaments, and the vessels for food and drink, show
conclusively that there was a belief in a future state of existence for the dead, not
widely different from that they had left behind, and in which they required all those
things which they had been accustomed to use in their life on this side of the tomb.
The sacrifice of retainer and the subsequent substitution for them of terra-cotta
images also bears out this view."
T. V. H.
Ethnologt, in two parts. By A. H. Keane. F.R.G.S., 2nd edition, Cambridge, 1896.
** Man, Past and Present." By the same author. Cambridge, 1 899.
In these two volumes, the work of Professor Keane, we have at last a compre-
hensive treatise on the Science of Man, which may safely be placed in the hands of
English students of Anthropology. The existing English literature of the subject
includes pre-Darwinian books, such as those by Dr. Prichard, Messrs. Nott and
Gliddon, and Dr. Latham. Since then English scholars, such as Professors Huxley,
Tylor, and Boyd Dawkins, Mr. Darwin, Sir John Evans, Sir John Lubbock, and many
writers in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute, have made important contri-
butions to the knowledge and evolution of Early Man. But while continental writers
have provided many valuable works of a comprehensive character, the English student
has hitherto possessed no standard treatise of the subject as a whole, except the
Anthropology of Dr. Tylor and Dr. Brinton's Ba^^es and Peoples^ both admirable works,
but of a less comprehensive range than Professor Keane's Manuals.
The new Cambridge Geographical Series thus supplies an obvious want. The
author is one of the most learned members of the modern English Anthropological
school. His range of reading in the highways and byways of Ethnological literature
is immense ; his manuals are brightly written, well arranged and excellently
illustrated.
The treatise on Ethnology consists of two parts — the firat dealing with those
fundamental problems which affect the human family as a whole ; the second discuss-
ing the several main branches of Mankind. In " Man, Past and Present," the range
is wider and the author discusses in detail the origin and inter-relations of the main
groups of the Hominidae, and attempts to bridge the gulf between the past and
present of the Human Race.
It is, of courae, impossible to review in detail the vast amount of information thus
brought to bear upon the physical and psychical development of Man. Mr. Keane is
naturally a follower of the evolutionary school ; he dismisses the theory of a special
creation and concludes that man has been developed from a Pliocene ancestor. He is
not " descended " from the gorilla, the chimpanzee, or some other member of the
SimiiadaB, his nearest congeners; but his ascent is referred to some long extinct
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Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. 185
generalised form, from whicb the other branches also sprang along independent lines.
Specially deserving of stndy in the treatise on ethnology are his views on the
evolution of neolithic megalithic architecture, the relations of race to language, the
ethnological problems of Australia and Tasmania, the Stone Age and the local
independent evolution of cultui'e in America.
In " Man, Past and Present " the reader will specially direct his attention to the
admirable discussion of the inter-relation of the Caucasic peoples along the shores of
the Mediterranean, the distribution of the Mongoloid races and the ethnological
problems of India — the relations of the Aryan and Dravidian culture and the origin of
the modem Rajpnts and Jats. Some attention is also devoted to the coincidence of
the folklore and mythology of distant races, in regard to which he strongly advocates
the view that where actual contact and outward influences are excluded by considera-
tions of time and space, this identity is a proof of the common psychic nature of Man.
The question which he raises of the dependence of early taboos on the regulation of
the food supply deserves more detailed treatment than the author is able to bestow
upon it. On the great marriage question he discards all theories based upon pro-
miscuity and so-called " Communal Marriage." Unfortunately, the great work of
Messrs. Spencer and Qillen on The Native Tribes of Central Australia was published
after the completion of these books. We may expect to find the important results
arrived at by these writers in connection with marriage and Totemism utilised in a
future edition.
Professor Eeane will add to the obligations of English readers by the publica-
tion of his Ethnographical Atlas, of which we are glad to welcome the announcement.
Meanwhile he has completed a work which will be of the greatest talue to students,
and which should be in the hands of the many explorers in the ranks of the navy,
army, and civil services engaged in the administration of our Indian and Colonial
Empire.
The science of Ethnology abounds in problems which have been the battle-ground
of various schools. It would be too much to expect that all experts on the multitu-
dinous questions with which he deals will agree in Professor Keane's conclnsions.
But the writer of a text-book must have the courage of his own convictions, and if
such a manual is to be of any real value, it must express definite views, while a
complete statement of opposing theories is out of the question. At any rate, the
author has everywhere, by his copious references to the best authorities, made it
possible for any reader to test the evidence for himself.
W. Cbooke.
Dee Periplus des Hanno. Von Dr. Karl Emil lUing. Separately printed from the
Programm des Wettiner Gymnasiums. Dresden, 1899, No. 666. (Printed by the
Bammingsche Buckdrackerei.) 8vo. pp. 49.
This is a learned and compendious discussion of the principal questions raised by
the Periplus, It includes separate sections on the Date of Hanno, which Dr. lUing
places (against Meltzer) between 450 B.C. and 287 B.C., but finds no valid evidence by
which to define more closely ; on the Pillars of Hercules, which (against C. T.
Fischer) he regards as the well-known geographical promontories, not the votive
columns at Gades ; on the length of the Day's Journey in the Periplus, which he
regards with Vivien de St. Martin as very inferior in value to the topographical
indications ; on the Voyage of Colonisation, in which he sums up the results of modem
geographical and ethnological research bearing on the places and tribes mentioned as
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186 ArUhropological Beviews and Miscellanea.
far as Kerne ^ on the Yoyaf^ of Discovery beyond Kerne, where he takes the O^wv
oxnf^ for the modem Mongo ma Loha (" Mountain of the Gods"), the highest peak
of the Cameroons, and the Notov xipav for the neighbourhood of Corisco Bay; and
finally on the " Gorillas," whom he regards with some probability, not as apes, but as
members of a hairy pygmy race of men, taking Kptifivo^rai = " good climbers "
like the pygmies seen by Emin Pasha ; and proposing the very ingenious emendation
irr€poi9 a/nvvofievoiy ** defending themselves with feathered arrows " (as the pygmies
actually do), in place of the meaningless fierpioi^ of the MS., or the pointless
correction iritpot^ which is found in most of the editions of the Fervplus,
J. L. M.
Bird Gods. By Charles de Kay. London : Allenson, 1898.
This is an attempt to prove that much of the mythology of Europe and elsewhere
is based on the cnlt of birds. The author has collected a considerable amount of
curious information, but he gives no references to his authorities, and his conclusions
are not likely to meet acceptance by sober students of mythology.
W. Crooki.
Authority and Arch^oloqt, Sacred and Profane. Essays on the Relation of
Monuments to Biblical and Classical Literature, by S. R. Driver, D.D.,
E. A. Gai-dner, M.A., F. L. L. Griffith, M.A.,F. Haverfield, M.A., A. C. Headlam,
M.A., D. G. Hogarth, M.A. Edited by D. G. Hogarth. London : Murray, 1899.
8vo. pp. xvi, 440.
This useful volume is an attempt to express in a small compass the changes which
have been necessitated in our view of the historical authority of Hebrew, Greek, and
Latin literature by the exploration and excavation of Classical and Biblical lands and
sites. The editor, who is well known as a '^ Wandering Scholar in the Levant," and as
the Director of the British School of Archsdology in Athens, introduces the question
by a short discussion of the scope of archsBology, and of the lines along which
archsdological evidence has proved, and may still be expected to prove, a valuable
touchstone and corrective of literary tradition.
The essays which follow are by difEereut hands. Professor Driver treats of
Hebrew Authority in Part I, dealing first with the subject matter of the Pentateuch,
and then with the history of the Jewish Elingdom and of the Exile; to this are
appended a very full collection of parallels to Biblical phrases and customs derived
from epigraphic and other sources, and a most judicious estimate of the present
position of Old Testament criticism, with special reference to the so-called ** conflict "
between the archsBological and linguistic schools, of which so much has been made by
the opponents of any sort of criticism at all. Professor Driver has little difficulty in
making his contention clear that the alleged cases of divergence are based on
misapprehension or misrepresentation of the conclusions either of the archsBologists, or
of the philologists, or, quite frequently, of both.
In Part III, Christian Authorityy or the value, as history, of the documents of the
I^ew Testament, is examined by Rev. A. C. Headlam in the same cautious and
thorough- going manner. The principal subjects of discussion are, naturally, first the
results of the recent discoveries of early papyrus documents in Egypt— small enough it
is true, but most suggestive, and, for the circumstances of the first age of Christianity,
most instructive ; next, the conclusions which may be drawn from the Christian or
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qnasi-Christian inscriptions — mostly epitaphs — discovered in certain districts ot
Phrygiaby Professor W. M. Ramsay and other travellers; and thirdly, the revised
interpretation which the first really thorough examination of the Catacombs, or the
first systematic collation of the multitude of inscriptions in them, has permitted, of
the half legendary history of the beginnings of the Christian Church in Rome.
Part II, interpolated as it were between the Old and the New Testament, but
chronologically in its proper position with regard to both of them, sums up the present
state of " profane " archseology in its bearings upon the literature and history of
Greece and Rome. This part naturally covers a wider and less homogeneous field, and
suffers the more, in that the main positions were here for the most part much earlier
won, 80 that the recent contributions to our knowledge have been much more of the
nature of detailed corroboration or correction than in regard to the history of the
Jewish action or of the Christian Church.
The section entitled " Egypt and Assyria " is little more than a detailed
criticism of the writings of Herodotus in the light of modern research. Mr. Griffith
is admirably qualified by his close study of the Egyptian and Assyrian versions of the
events, personages, and customs which are in question, to produce a thorough and most
compendious commentary on all the passages where Herodotus is definitely wrong, or
where his testimony has been called in question. But we think that he has prejudiced
his own case by insisting too exclusively on this side of the matter, and by following
too closely the method once popularised by Professor Sayce of assuming Herodotus to
be wilfully wrong, except when he can be proved to be accidentally right. No one
now-a-days goes to Herodotus, as many still do go to " Homer " or to " Moses " for
first hand information about early Egypt or the order of natural phenomena. But
from the educational point of view, which is now all-important, Herodotus, like some
other ancient authorities, is in the best sense " written for our learning " ; and it is as
useless — and as easy — to pour ridicule on the " Father of History " for bad zoology or
ignoraiice of hieroglyphics, as to attack the ** Father of Science " on the ground of
alchemy or misrepresentations of Aristotle in the Novum Organum, Students won't
get any good out of a writer who is always being held up to them as an inaccurate
igpioramus and plagiarist ; but they will go far out of their way to make the best of
him if they are left to discover that he was doing his best, and in fact better than the
best of his age. It is after all to Herodotus himself in the long run that Mr. Griffith
owes the discovery of the difference between hearsay and eyewitness — between
Authority, in fact, and ArchsBology.
Mr. Hogarth's own article on pre-historio Greece gives a fair, though not very full
account of the extraordinary advances which the last few years have seen in our
knowledge of that part of the Mediterranean in which Aryan — and through it
European — civilisation took its iise. But his eclectic attitude is not always quite
definite or clear — that perhaps is still really out of the question — ^and he has suffered
somewhat from his attempt to popularise, without the help of illustrations, a rather
complex group of hypotheses in which almost every step depends upon the comparison
of artistic styles. Professor Ernest Gardner has had an easy task, in summarising the
principal excavations of the last twenty years on the greater sites of Greek antiquity,
and has illustrated, as fully as his limits permit, the enormous change which has come
over the whole cycle of Greek classical studies as the result of them.
Finally Mr. Haverfield's sketch of Italian archeBology is slighter and more
superficial than we should have expected from so learned an authority. True, the
whole subject is less advanced, and has hitherto proved less fertile in brilliant and
unexpected discoveries than the exploration of Greece ; while the most valuable results
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188 Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea,
from Roman history have been gained for the most part by a minute classification of
epigraphic formulae, which does not lend itself to popular treatment ; but we would
gladly have had more — even if it was only of " private interpretation" — on the eternal
problem of the validity, actual or symbolic — of the " authority '* preserved to us by
Livy and Polybius, which deal with the beginnings of the Eternal City, and its
peculiarly complex civilisation. But this and other omissions elsewhere which were
perhaps necessary if the book was to be kept within the limits of a single volume,
might well be amended, if in a second edition, which will doubtless be required before
long, "Sacred" and "Profane" Authority could be accommodated with separate
covers — and with a less egregious title.
J. L. M.
The Kingdom of the Barotsi, Upper Zambesia. By Alfred Bertrand. Translated
by A. D. Miall. London : Fisher Unwin, 1899.
The author gives us in the form of a diary an account of an adventurous
exploration of a little known region in Africa. The map and illustrations are
admirable, and the book contains here and there interesting notes on ethnology.
The first appendix, in particular, which contains a summary of the sociology and
customs of the Barotsi, deserves attention.
W. Crooke.
The Races of Europe. By William Z. Eipley, Ph.D. New York : D. Appleton
and Co. Accompanied by a Supplementary Bibliography of the Anthropology
and Ethnology of Europe, published by the Public library of the City of
Boston.
This is a magnificent contribution to the ethnology of Europe, and it is no
exaggeration to say that its efEect upon all sciences dealing with the race problems
of Europe will be epoch-making. Professor Ripley has with indefatigable labour
collected all available statistics of the physical characteristics of the races of Europe,
and few will have an adequate idea of how much accurate work has been done by the
anthropologists of Europe till they read this volume. But not only has the raw
material been collected, it has been thoroughly analysed in the light of the latest
views of anthropology ; and the whole subject has been expounded in a lucid and
picturesque style which will make it equally delightful reading to the general reader
and the professional anthropologist. The maps are a special feature of this work.
The geographical distribution of cephalic indices, pigmentation, stature and other
ethnical criteria are shown for every country in Europe whenever statistics are
available, and the relation of these criteria to the physical geography of the country
is fully developed and expounded in the text. A very large number of typical
portraits of the various races is also given.
Professor Ripley adopts the views of the modem school of anthi'opologists, who
find among the peoples of Europe three principal race types, namely, the tall blond,
dolichocephalic Teutonic race in the north; the dark, dolichocephalic Iberian or
Mediterranean race in the south ; and the brown, brachy cephalic Alpine race in
middle Europe. He also favours the view that the Teutonic type may be a variety
of the Mediterranean, which has acquired its special characteristics by the long
continued action of climate and selection. These views at present hold the field
among European anthropologists, but, as Ripley himself points, there are many
abnormal racial phenomena in Europe which this theory altogether fails to account
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Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea, 189
for. For example, the tall dark populations of the Balkan States and the tall dark
people of the western highlands of Scotland represent combinations of physical
characteristics which agree with neither of the three leading types of the orthodox
school of anthropologists. That the study of such apparent anomalies will, in the
near future, probably lead to a modification of the present views, is already indicated
by the remarkable work of Deniker.
After dealing with Europe in general, Ripley devotes separate chapters to Franco
and Belgium, the Basques, the Teutonic race, the Mediterranean race, the Alpine race,
the British Isles, Russia and the Slavs, the Jews and Semites, Eastern Europe, and
Western Asia. It is surprising how many cherished beliefs are demolished by a
perusal of these chapters. For instance, many even who are au fait in the latest
ethnological literature, will be surprised to learn that the Basques are not a pure
representative of the Iberian race, but a mixture of a broad and a long headed race ;
that the true Finns are by race allied to the blond dolichocephalic Teuton and not
to the dark brachycephalic Lapp ; that the Turk is not Mongolian ; and that no such
type as the Homo Oaucasicus exists in the region from which Blumenbaeh derived this
name for the typical European.
The data collected by Professor Ripley bear every mark of careful ascertainment,
and I believe that the utmost reliance can be placed on their accuracy. I do not
share, however, his faith in the cephalic index as a test of race. He himself confesses
that it fails in the British Isles, where the greatest uniformity prevails as to cephalic
index, alongside of the greatest diversity of pigmentation. Boas, Macalister and other
leading anthropologists have recently exprassed disbelief in the cephalic index as the
characteristic function of head measurements. There can be no doubt that the faith
in this ratio has often been the cause of the failure to publish the absolute measure-
ments of the head. Livi's magnificent volume on military anthropometry, for instance,
does not contain any absolute dimensions of the head — only cephalic indices. If the
cephalic index should be discredited by future investigation, the value of such work
as Livi's will be greatly vitiated.
Ripley concludes his work with chapters on European origins, social problems,
and acclimatization. The last chapter should bo of great interest to a colonizing
people like ourselves. The effect of change of environment on different races is fully
discussed and some remarkable points brought out which have an important beanng
on the future struggle of races for the possession of the earth.
The bibliography drawn up by Professor Ripley appears to be most exhaustive,
and will be invaluable to students of European ethnology. His system of references
to this, in his greater work by means of dates, is ingenious, and when once understood,
very useful. J. G.
The Cult op Othin. An Essay in the Ancient Religion of the North.
By H. M. Chadwick. London : C. J. Clay and Sons, 1899.
The controversy aroused by Professor Bugge and other scholars, who think with
him on the origin of many of the northern myths, shows no sign of abatement.
Mr. Chadwick's contribution is an attempt to answer three questions : 1. What were
the characteristics of the cult of Odin in the noi*th P 2. Is it approximately
identical with that of the ancient (continental) Germans, or has it undergone
substantial modifications in the north ? 3. When was the cult introduced into the
north ?
It will be seen that his main theme is rather the worship than the myths of
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190 Anthropological Revieios and Miscellanea.
Odin ; but the interdependence of myth and ritual is now so completely recognised
thut it is no longer possible to discuss the one apart from the other.
The book is divided into three chapters, the first of which discusses the cult
chiefly as revealed in sacrifice. In connection with this, the author examines the
famous passage in the Hdvavidl upon which Professor Bugge so much relies. This
was dealt with, but not in a very satisfactory manner, two or three years ago by
Mr. Eirikr Magnusson in his paper on " Odin's Horse, Yggdrasill," read before the
Cambridge Philological Society. Mr. Chadwick rightly holds that the strophes 138
and 139 reflect primarily the sacrificial rite. He challenges, however, the assumption
by Bugge and Ooither that the sacrifice imputed to Odin was a self-sacrifice. Odin,
he holds, is both the person saciificed and the person to whom the sacrifice is offered,
but there is no indication that the sacrifice was a self-sacrifice, and if not, the inference
of Christian influence is unwarranted.
The traces of the cult of Odin on the Continent and in Britain are few ; but I
think Mr. Chadwick is right that (at least on the Continent) both sacrificial and
funeral rites are to be found which can best be explained by reference to Odin-
worship. Perhaps this may also apply to certain practices in warfare. Some of the
references to England, however, seem more doubtful. The entry in the Saxon
Chronicle, for instance, of the capture of Anderida, which relates that ** all who dwelt
therein were slaughtered " is a very sandy foundation for an inference that the
conquered had been devoted by ^lle and Cissa, the conquerors, to Woden. The
explanation of Coifi's desecration of the heathen temple by casting his spear into it, as
recorded by Bede, is questionable too.
The problem of the date of introduction of the cult into Scandinavia is one of
considerable difficulty. Having regard to the funeral rites ascribed in the Ynglinga
Saga to Odin, Mr. Chadwick conjectures that cremation was an integral part of the
cult. Now, cremation, it appears, was introduced into the north shortly before the
end of the Bronze Age. This is placed by Montelius about B.C. 500. But Odin-
worship was essentially that of a warlike people. Tacitus's account of the Swedes (if
they are to be identified, as seems probable, with the Suiones) presents them as an
essentially peaceful nation. The cult of Odin, therefore, cannot have been known to
them before about 50 a.d., the approximate date of the historian's information. If,
then, cremation were an essential part of the Odinic rites, Montelius*s chronology
must be challenged as placing the end of the Bronze Age too far back. This
Mr. Chadwick proceeds to do, and comes to the conclusion that the Iron Age proper
had not begun in Sweden before the third century a.d., and that the cult of Odin can
hardly have been introduced into Sweden later than the end of the first century. He
holds that the cult was a foreign one, but whence introduced he does not suggest.
From the fact that Odin is described as essentially a god of the nobility, it would
appear that his worship was that of a conquering caste, — Thor being the god (or one of
the gods) of the people who were subdued. If these conclusions be correct, there is no
room for the supposition that the principal myths relating to Odin have been
seriously influenced by Christianity.
The northern mythology and worship seem to have been an amalgam of many
creeds. The problems they raise are numerous and important. Mr. Chadwick has in
this little book only dealt with a few of them ; but, short as his monograph is, it is a
real contribution to our knowledge of a subject full of interest for scientific enquirers
into the history of Religion, as well as for those whose special business is with the
history of the civilization and religion of the north.
£. Sidney Hartland.
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Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea, 191
The Negritos. By A. B. Meyer, M.D. Dresden : Stengel and Co., 1899.
This is a translation by Miss C. S. Fox of two chapters from the author's work
on the Negritos of the Philippine Islands. It is a review of the chief authorities on
the existence of the Negrito race in the Philippine Islands, Borneo, Java, Sumatra,
the Andaman s and Nicobar, India and Australia, and New Guinea. The general
resolt is to show that the existing evidence is incomplete and unsatisfactory, and
that much farther inquiry is needed before the question of the ethnology of this
part of the world can be finally settled.
W. Crooke.
The Temple op Mut in Asuek. An account of the excavations of the temple and
of the religious representations and objects found therein as illustrating the
history of Egypt and the main religious ideas of the Egyptians. By Miss
Margaret Benson and Miss Janet Gburlay. London: John Murray, 1899.
This is the result of three years' diggings in the Temple of Mat, near Kamak,
undertaken by these two enterprising and energetic ladies, who may be said to be
the first women who have had permission granted them by the Egyptian Government
to make excavations on any site in Egypt, for which they are deserving of all praise
as they appear to have condacted it very carefully.
In the course of the work they discovered some highly interesting statues and
monuments, many very fragmentary. The most notable are those of Sen-Mut, the
architect of the Temple of D^r el Bahari, favourite and Chief Steward of the cele-
brated Qaeen Hatshepsut of the XVIIIth Dynasty; the statue of Mentu-em-hat,
and the remarkable heads of the woman of the Saitic period and the so-called
Philistine.
The book is highly interesting and well got up, illustrated with photographs and
plans. It is decidedly worth reading, although the shortness of the actual description
of excavations is somewhat disappointing. The work contains several chapters upon
the religion and history of Egypt during the period the Temple of Mut was flourishing,
and is supplemented by a chapter by Mr. Percy Newberry, describing and translating
the inscriptions from the monuments discovered.
P. G. H. P.
The Philippine Islands; a political, geographical, ethnographicaEl, social and com-
mercial history of the Philippine Archipelago and its political dependencies,
embracing the whole period of Spanish Rule. By John Foreman, F.R.G.S.
2nd Edition. London : Sampson Low, Marston and Co., 1699.
This is a most elaborate account of a portion of the world which recent events
render particularly interesting. It is well illustrated and supplied with an excellent
map. It will long remain the standard account of the Spanish Dependencies in
Eastern Asia. Mr. Foreman's account of the native races is disappointing, and in
particular he has done little to throw light on the Negrito peoples.
W. Ceookb.
Among the Wild Ngoni. By Dr. W. A. Elmslie. Edinburgh and London : Oliphant
Anderson and Ferrier, 1899.
Thitf book serves a double purpose ; it gives an account of the founding of several
stations of the Livingstonia Mission in the northern part of British Central Africa,
and at the same time briefly describes the natives themselves, their customs and
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192 Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea,
beliefs. The book is the more valuable from the length of time the author has
worked in the distnct. Among the sections of greatest interest to the anthropologist
is perhaps the history of the Ngoni pieced together from various native narratives.
The author traces the reflux wave of the Zulu-Xosa group of Abantu from the borders
of Natal. Driven before the victorious arms of Chaka they retired northward in
several streams at short intervals of time, and founded warlike communities on the
Zulu model, such as the Matabele in Mashonaland, the Ngoni to the west, and the
Magwangwara to the east of Lake Nyasa and the Watuta, who reached as far as the
Victoria Nyanza.
A fuller account than had previously been published in popular form is given
of the native war dances, the ifshantisi or medicine men, and the poison ordeal by
drinking tnuave. It is to be hoped Dr. Elmslie will at some other time supply a fuller
record of Ngoni customs, beliefs, and medical practice than was practicable in the
limits of this book.
F. C. S.
Vocabulary of the Gualluma tribe inhabiting the plains between the Yule and
FoRTEscuE Rivers, Nobth-West Australia.
The following vocabulary, prepared by Mr. E. Clement, of an Australian tribe
hardly if at all known from a philological point of view, is interesting. It may be
hoped that before this language becomes extinct, the rules of inflexions and syntax,
hardly touched on in the present paper, will be worked out. In the meantime it is to
be noticed that words related to those of other Australian tribes at vast distances are
to be found in the present vocabulary, connecting the Gualluma with other members
of the Australian family of languages.
E. B. Tylor.
Numerals : —
1, OUnjerie (** j " is pronounced as in English "jam ").
2, OUddrrd (" a " pronounced as in " America '*).
3, Burgd (" u ** pronounced as in " full '*).
4, Cudarra-cudarra.
5, Cudarra-CHdarra'Cunjerie,
6, Manga (plenty) or Mdrril (plenty).
^' 1
8, > Manga or Marru (" u " pronounced as " oo " in " cool ").
9, etc. J
On the Upper Sherlock River I frequently heard hurgo-burgo for 6, but not
elsewhere.
Comparison : —
The comparison is formed by placing mahmay morsy before the adjective as :
wdhdf good.
mahma waha^ better.
cungerd, high (**g" pronounced as in English "gate").
Tnahma cungera^ higher.
There is no superlative.
Oenders, none.
Oases, none.
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Anthropoloffical JSevieias and Miscellanea. 193
naidyu, I, me, my (" ai " pronounced as " ai " in English " aisle," "yn" pronounced
as in English " you ").
naidyu walgai^ I go (present).
naidyu hdlldlyS toalgaiy I went (perfect).
I before go.
(** TB " in hallalye is pronounced as "ju " in the German ^^judus" only shorter.)
naidyu munti walgai baiaccay I shall go to-morrow (future).
I sure go to-morrow.
naidyu munti buccundij I am hungry.
I true hungry.
(*' i " in munti and huccundi pronounced as '^ i " in English '* knit.")
naidyu hallalye huccundi^ I was hungry.
I before hungry.
naidyu eohoya wSregd,
my son or boy ill.
(" ya " in cohaya is pronounced as the Gorman ^^jer^^^ only shorter.)
naidyu coboya hallalye werego,
my boy before ill.
Baiacca Willinhung walgai iahelgo mMiacca, Willinbung is going to get married,
fem. name
to-morrow Willinbung go get man.
There are no words for greetings. Distances are reckoned by pointing to sun or
moon.
eiimhdiy hot. Tndto, cold.
mdhma eumhai, summer. mahma moto, winter.
njinday you. naligoru^ we, all.
taUi, tongue (the final " i " pronounced as " i " in " knit ").
muta, nose (" u '' as " u " in *' full ").
hola, head. murra^ finger.
haiy arm (" ai " pronounced as " ai '* in " aisle ").
yendiy forehead.
era, tooth (" e " pronounced as " e " in " debt ").
wea/raj leg (" ea " pronounced like " e '* in English " we ").
mamlyrUj knee (" u " pronounced like " oo '* in soon).
hulewdke, thigh. koruka, ear.
tola, eye. iijari, eyelashes.
parela^ shoulder. nakif neck.
karaki, collarbone.
kina, foot (the " i " pronounced like " ee " in " feet ").
noruka, ankle (** u " pronounced as the " oo " in English " tool •*).
tarka, fingernail (" ear " pronounced like " ear " in English).
cadarra, vein. mwrra, blood.
eohoya, boy. mirga, girl.
kjandU cough. nimai, Java sparrow.
hdhd, water. lanama hdba, still or standing water.
wimhai hdha, running water. manga or marru, plenty.
cohodja, little. murriandi, quick.
murrawarra, quick. ngami, slow.
hahmbd, to sleep. warri, flies.
New Series, Vol. II, Nos. 1 and 2,
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194 Anthropological Beviewa and Miscellanea,
cuming, mosquitoes. potcarry, hill kangaroo.
tangurray emu. walloo, snake.
wangalU, lizard. bavangeraf big lisard.
muncUif stone. yandaga or arang^ sand.
corada, stick.
taridiy branch ("i " pronounced like " i " in English " knit ").
gnaluy stomach (" u " prononnced like "oo" in "too ").
nielt^ navel. mirrawai^ married woman, wife.
gnara, husband. njundi, dead.
palam, long time.
tauruy fish (" an " pronounced like " on " in " proud ").
waikiy to swim.
moloriy to dive (" i " pronounced as " ee *' in " feel **).
tarko 1 . culcaroy hair.
parga j wongulla, elbow.
curroTigy yanda, parverriy sun. willeray moon.
hinderi^ ^^ tnray wind.
gnogo J ' yongoy rain.
naiguaiy to eat. handelgo^ to smell.
pehnay wood borer.
puree, sea (" ee " pronounced like " ee " in " feel '*).
. cundarray hunting spear.
magundUf fighting spear (" u " pronounced like " oo " in " tool ").
panigo, to dance. eromagaiy to shout, to call.
cundigo, tired, stop* njurra^ camp.
tamarray fire- wood. cabrakiy to bring, fetch.
rmtrry red. yinda, black.
ivarruhmay ants. wandt, male organ.
Tnendi, female organ.
heviy breast ('' v " pronounced as in Latin ** vita ").
tiy parents. canerangy sister.
comhinumarray brother.
gnairOy to throw (" ai " pronounced as the " ai " in "aisle ").
^^* IcomeherB. jHin^^arrt, go away.
euckai J mirga or mandiwangay tall.
cohodya, little. canderay clouds.
gutawannay beetle. tameray to roast.
nauwaiy to see, to look.
wallivnddiy lightning. (Pronounced very rapidly, a beautiful word, I think.)
yindarro, thunder. waruga 1 devil, evil spirit.
pa/tnty to sit. warunga J
ca/rriy to get up. tanuiy to make fire.
mejagaiy to drink. curnbaiy hot.
motOy cold. tcinibaiy to run.
togaiy to throw. carakaiy to spear downwards.
' ngari^ to lie down. paniy to lie down.
cundardy a duck. currunguUuy heart.
tambiy ribs. morrOy backbone.
kaun or cahuly skin. wandi or njandoy tail.
carramarri^ to tight. munday stone, hill.
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195
Una, track.
pideda, ^hite cockatoo.
wandiali cuel'ai, where do yon come from ?
mdm^., father.
jimhuy nest.
wallaguru, feathers.
mangallahf bird-claw.
canaliwallif butterfly.
mangula^ child.
hurruru, hair belt.
ginda, charcoal (" gin " pronounced like " gin " in English)
djufio, enemy (pronounced like " jnuo ").
mungurruy kangaroo.
minnawango, centipede.
billago, red-breasted cockatoo.
nanga^ mother.
kimbuy eggs.
perigalguy claw of kangaroo.
mangangarri, to hop.
candt or horulla, stone knife.
maia, humpy or bush house.
Muira, Australia.
njudigalma, to kill.
cangarra walgat, to fly.
literally: top walking.
ginder, salt.
eeha, ashes.
calga, roots.
gfiarrangnaara, netting needle.
midOf no.
dtagalma, to open.
cadalgu, to spear.
hijagUf to bite
dagalgu, to catch.
werego, sick.
wanangurra, whirlwind.
peebun, Sturt's desert pea.
marben, passport.
coohuy yes (better spelled perhaps cuhu)
yo7igurru naidyu, give it to me.
ngani muna, how far ?
far now.
naidyu mida waiya, I am not afraid.
Male names.
Williamarra,
Qindenibangu.
Qinabi.
Vani.
Kadjieringa.
Curraba.
WilUwilUringo.
*Cunyin.
*Tollabong.
NiUrengo.
*Mudgira,
* I could only ascertain the meanings of these four names : —
Cunyany one who is asleep. Tollabong, sharp eye.
Mudgiroy wild dog. Cadji, little spear.
OinderubangUy has no doubt something to do with salt.
The children of the tribe become either —
BaUiert/.
Curramurrang,
Burong (" u '* pronounced like the French "u").
or Banniker,
mida bulbiy I don't want it.
mida waiya, don't be afraid.
nungo, strong.
Female names.
Wimeringo.
Murga,
Mindiyangu.
Terabangu,
*Cadp.
2
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196 Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea,
According to their parents, thos :^
BoKtflfy father \ child iB Banniker.
Ourramurrang mother J
Curramurrang father 1 ^^j^^ j^ ^
BaUiery mother J
BuTong father 1 ^^.,^ .^ Ourramurrang '
Banmker mother J
Banniker &ther 1 ^^y^ .^ p^„^
Burong mother J
Second generation : —
^a«t«ry father ) child is Bunmj,.
Otirramurran^ mother J
0«rra««rra«j, father 1 ^^jj^ j^ Ba„„»-it«..
Balliery mother J
^«'-'"»^ father 1 ^^j ^ j^ Banmfcer.
Uttrramurrongr mother J
Gurramurray father 1 ^^j,^ j^ ^,^„^
Burong mother J
etc., etc.
I have never been able to find the origin or meaning of these foor names, bat will
try again on my next journey in that district.
Centralblatt tub A.NTHROPOLOGIB, Ethnologie und Urgeschichtb.
Edited by Dr. G. Buschan.
It is with mach pleasure that we call the attention of onr readers to the above
excellent joarnal, which has now reached its fourth year of publication under the
distinguished editorship of Dr. Buschan. It is published in quarterly parts, each oi
which contains an original article on some subject of general anthropological interest
of from three to four pages in length. This is followed by a series of abstracts of some
of the more impoHant anthropological monographs of recent publication in different
countries, followed by similar abstracts of papers on Ethnology and Primitive
History. A short section is next devoted to the news of the day in anthropology, and
finally a list of the various papers published on the subjects embraced in the title of
the Gentralhlait in the current literature of the year. Such a publication appearing
every quarter is of great importance to anthropologists and greatly facilitates their
researches. In the first place it is a useful index of what is being done in various
parts of the world, while in the second place the short abstracts of more important
papers indicates their scope; thas enabling an author, when preparing a paper on
any subject, in a few minutes to find out whether there is anything appearing in the
scope of his work which it is necessary for him to examine and refer to. When
work has to be done at high pressure, this is a most valuable saving of time and
trouble, likewise when the author is removed from easy access to the various libraries
and scientific periodicals it is a great matter to be able to get such a list of references
classified to hand. We hope therefore that our Fellows may not be slow to avail
themselves of so valuable a help, and become subscribers for it, as it deserves every
unconragement of anthropologists, and is thoroughly international in character.
J. Q. G,
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Anthropological Iteviews and Misedlaned. 1S7
ilAOLEHAWK AMD Cbow. A Stadj of the Australian Aborigines; including an Inquiry
into tbeir Origin and a Survey of Australian Languages. By John Mathew,
M.A., B.D. London: David Nufct, 270-271, Strand. Melbourne: Mullen
and Slade. 1899.
The Bev. John Mathew, the author of this work, is the writer of the paper on
Australian Gave Paintings which appears in the Journal of the Anthropological Institute^
vol. zxiii (1893). The title Eaglehawk and Crow is explained in some of the earlier
pages of the book, where the author reviews some myths widely spread among the
aboriginals in which either the eaglehawk or the crow, or both, figure as names given
to tribes or divisions of tribes. He inclines to think that '* the eaglehawk and crow
represent two races of men which once contested for the possession of Australia, the
taller, more powerful and more fierce ' eaglehawk * race overcoming and in places
exterminating the weaker, more scantily equipped sable ' crows.' " He believes that
the aborigines of Australia were Papuan and that they were the ancestors of the now
extinct Tasmanians. But he also thinks that there is evidence of a Dravidian element
which accounts for certain resemblances between Dravidian and Australian languages,
and of a third and later Malay element. To the last-named race he is confident that
the best Australian cave paintings are due, also the introduction of circumcision in
the north.
The physical characters, dwellings, clothing, implements, food, government, laws,
institutions, customs, ceremonies, art, superstitions and religion of the various tribes
are discussed. Mr. Mathew thinks that the linguistic evidence points to the conclusion
that the migration of the aboriginals was " from the north-east, south-eastward on the
east coast, southward, south-westward and westward elsewhere." Much space is
devoted to the characteristics of the languages spoken by the aboriginals, both as
regards their structure and affinities and the local variations in the terms most in
common use. Indeed, linguistic evidence occupies about half of the whole book, and
constitutes the leading feature of Mr. Mathew 's latest contribution to our knowledge
of things Australian. T. Y. H.
Nbw Edition of "Notes and Qubries on Anthbopology."
By the time this Journal is in the hands of our readers, the third edition of
Notes and Queries on Anthropology will have appeared. This work is now so well
known to anthropologists and has proved itself of so much value to travellers and
others as a guide to anthropological research that it is almost unnecessary to more
than mention a few facts regarding it. A new edition has been rendered necessary
by the second edition having become exhausted in less than half the time required for
the distribution of the first edition. The third edition, like the previous, has been
produced under the editorship of Dr. J. G, Garson and Mr. Charles H. Bead, who
have taken the opportunity of having the various sections thoroughly revised and in
some instances rewiitten. Although a good deal of new matter has been added, the
size of the book has not been materially increased, the text of this edition being only
ten pages more than that of the former edition. Several new illustrations have been
added to the first part of the work which deals with anthropography or, as it is some-
times inappropriately termed, the physical characters of man. This part of the work
also shows most changes in its revision. The instraments for taking measurements
with have been improved and modified in the directions which experience has shown
to be desirable. A description has been given of the photographic outfit required for
taking anthropological portraits, with directions for its use, and added to the general
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l98 Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea.
section on photography, which has been entirely rewritten. Modifications have been
made in the directions j^iven for recording varioos observations with a view to making
them more precise and more readily understood. In the instances where advancing
knowledge has modified or altered the views previously held, or shown that other
observations are required, the sections so affected have been rearranged to meet the
equirements of the subjects of which they treat.
By arrangement with the British Association for the Advancement of Science,
under whose auspices the work hsji been produced, the Anthropological Institute will
be responsible for the publication and distribution of the new edition. To the
Secretary of the Institute, 3, Hanover Squai*e, London, W., should be addressed all
orders for it, accompanied by a remittance of 5^. per copy, except in the case of
members of the British Association and of the Anthropological Institute, to whom it
will be issued on personal application at the above address at the reduced price
of 3ff. 6(2. J. G. G.
Anthbopoloot at the British Association. Dover Meeting: September 13th to
20th, 18^9.
The Anthropological Section met at Dover, in the Rifle Volunteer Hall, and was
fairly well attended, considering the small scale of the Dover Meeting. Forty-one
papers and reports were presented, many of which were of more than average value.
The result« of the Dover Meeting again indicate the necessity of more careful
revision of papers presented, with a view to check diffusiveness and illogical argument
on facts, the accuracy of which it is the duty of the officers of the Section to check.
In future it will be incumbent on the Secretaries to enforce the rale of the Association,
which requires that all papers be submitted on or before the first day of August to
permit of the needful revision.
Readers of papers may also be reminded that the effect of many comma nications
is impaired by the inaudible utterance of readers and speakers. The room at Dover
was exposed to interruption from outside, but it would have been possible to obviate
this by more attention to distinctness of delivery.
The President's address will be found printed in full in the Proceedings of the
British Association (Dover, 1899), and in Nature, October, 1899, No. 1562. In the
summary of the work of the Section which follows, a full abstract is given of those
papers and reports only which are not immediately to be published in extenso. In all
other cases a reference is given to the Journal or periodical in which the full text of
the paper will be found. The papers are classified below in the order of their subject
matter.
ORGANISATION AND METHOD.
Finger Prints. Henry.
Mr. E. R. Henry, C.S.T., described his System of classifying Finger Prints as
evidence in identification. He referred to the importauce of fixing human personality
so that no efforts made to confuse it subsequently may prove availing. Finger prints,
error in transcribing or recording, the " Personal Equation " error is reduced to a
minimum. Taking the impressions of all ten digits occupies only a fraction of the
time required for measuring, while search is more exhaustive and many times more
rapid. This new system has been introduced on a most extensive scale throughout
British India, where the postal, survey, registration, medical, pensions, emigration,
police, opiam, and other great departments have adopted it, and the Legislature has
recognised it by passing, with the strong approval of all representative bodies consulted.
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Anthropological lieviews and ifisceUafua. l99
being absolute impressions taken from the body under conditions whicb eliminate
an Act to amend the Law of Evidence so as to make relevant the testimony of finger
print experts.
The main difficulty hitherto experienced had been that of providing an effective
system of classification. But this difficulty has now been overcome.
Mr. Henry's paper will be printed in full in this Joivmal.
A committee of the British Association has been appointed to inquire into this
method of identification by finger prints : Chairman^ Mr. Francis Chilton ; Secretary ^
Mr. O. L. Gomme. It should report to the Bradford Meeting in 1900.
FiNOBB Pbints. Galton.
Mr. Francis Galton, F.B.S., read the following paper on the *' Finger Prints of
Young Children " :—
At the time when I published my book on Finger PrintSy and subsequent works
on the same subject, no material existed for determining the age at which the patterns
of the ridges on the fingers and their numerous details became first established. The
ridges were known to be traceable in some degree long before birth, but it was not
known whether they had acquired, even in early childhood, that strange complexity of
distribution which I showed to be permanent from youth upwards. The wish to
complete my work by investigating this interesting physiological point was sharpened
by a request for an opinion on the following case. The police authorities in (I
will not say what country) received information that a baby, who was heir to a great
title and estate, might be kidnapped for the sake of extorting ransom. Such cases
have occurred in history, and it is needless to insist on the miserable doubts and legal
difficulties that would arise if a stolen infant should be restored after the lapse of some
time without satisfactory identification. I was asked whether prints of the fingers of
a baby would serve for ever afterwards to identify him, and to prove that he was not
a changeling.
An American lady — Mrs. John Gardiner, of Boulder, Colorado — kindly volunteered
to collect finger prints of infants for me. The following remarks are confined to those
of her own child Dorothy, whose fingers she printed every day after that of her birth
for a short time, then less frequently, and afterwards yearly, the child being now
4t^ years old. By selecting the best of the numerous specimens of the earlier dates, I
compiled three sets of all the ten fingers. In the first set the age of the child lay
between 9 days and a month. In the second, between 1 month and 6 weeks ; in the
third, between 5 and 7 months. In addition, I have a fourth set taken at 17 months,
a fifth at 2| years, and a sixth at 4^ years.
It is easy to those who have learnt the art, and who have the necessary materials,
to print with sharpness the fingers of children who have attained six years of age or
upwards; but it is exceedingly difficult to print the fingers of babies. Far more
delicate printing is needed on account of the low relief of the ridges and the minute-
ness of the pattern. At the same time, babies are most difficult to deal with, the
persistent closing of their fists being not the least of the difficulties. The result is
that many undecipherable blurs are made before one moderate success is attained, and,
at the best, the print is made by a mere dab of the finger, rolled impressions being
practically impossible. Consequently the first four sets are all more or less blotted,
and none show more than a small part of that surfece which it is desirable to
print.
The fifth and sixth, sets are clear though pale, for it was necessary to spread the ink
Tery thinly to avoid blots ; otherwise they are perfectly suited for comparison^. The
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200 Anthropological Iteviews and MisceUanci,
two sets agree in every detail, and show the same order of complexity that is foand iil
the ridges of adalt persons ; so, subject to the possibility of some minute after-change,
I should infer that the print of a child's fingers at the age of 2^ years would serve to
identify him ever after. It will be interesting after the lapse of some years to ascertain
whether this is the case with Miss Dorothy Gardiner.
The first four sets are much more difiicnlt to deal with. I have scrutinised them,
and compared them several times with the last two sets and with one another, and my
conclusions are as follows : —
(1) The type of the pattern is never doubtful to a practised eye. To an unprac-
tised eye the result of a slight twist of the finger at the moment of printing, which
gives a specious air of circularity, might convey the false impression of a whorl to
what was really an arch or a loop. (2) The character of the core is defined within
narrow limits, bnt not always accurately. Thus, in cue instance, the core of a loop in
the 2| and 4^ year sets was a clear ** staple." At 17 months the staple was connected
to the cnrve next above it by a small isthmus ; in babyhood the staple and the ridge
were joined — whether by a blot or in reality I cannot say. (3) A similar absence of
distinction between ridges that are afterwards clearly separated is often foand near
the y point. It is thus impossible to count the number of ridges with accuracy that
lie between the core and the Y, and the entry has often to take such a form at 9 + F
the F proving to be any number between one and perhaps eight ridges. It is, however,
a great point to be assured that the real number is not less than 9. (4) The doubt (as
I pointed out in my book) which is always attached to the exact way in which a new
ridge arises is greatly increased in these prints. No weight should be assigned to the
character of the junction or ending, but only to the fact that somehow a new ridge has
become interpolated.
The study of these prints is an excellent discipline in the art of decipherment. I
have counted sixty-eight details in the prints of these ten fingers that can be identified
throughout all six sets, unless obliterated in some one of them by a blot. In the
majority of cases the identity is unquestionable; in the others it maybe trusted within
narrow limits. I have, therefore, little doubt that the prints of ail ten fingers of a
baby, if taken as clearly as those I have dealt with, would suffice for after-identification
by an expert, bnt by an expert only.
It should be added that I have had as yet no opportunity of taking finger prints
from infants who are two or even more months younger than babies ordinarily are at
the time of their births — I mean such as are now successfully reared in warmed glass
cases. These premature infants are passive, and in that respect easy to deal with, but
they are tiny creatures who require great tenderness in handling. I think that the
impressions most likely to succeed would be those that their greasy fingers might
leave on a highly polished metal plate, to be afterwards photographed under suitable
illumination.
Genealogical Statistics. Rivers.
Under the title " Two New Departures in Anthropological Method," Dr. W. H.
B. Rivers described his procedure in collecting, social and vital statistics by means
of genealogies during the Cambridge Expedition to Torres States (vide below).
In Murray Island and in Mabuiag, genealogies going back for three to five
generations were compiled, which included nearly all the present inhabitants of those
islands. In working out the genealogies, the only terms of relationship used were
father^ mother^ childf husband, and wife ; and care was taken to limit them to their
English sense. The trustworthiness of the genealogies was guaranteed by the fact
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Anth/ropdogical Hem&ws and Miscdlanea. 201
thafc nearly every detail was derived from two or more sonrces. It was foand that
these genealogies afEord material for the exact stndj of numerous sociological questions.
Thus the system of kinship can he worked out very thoroughly hy finding the native
terms which any individual applies to the other members of his family ; so that the
subject can be investigated entirely by concrete examples, and abstract terms of rela-
tionship derived from European sources entirely avoided. The genealogies also provide
a large amount of material for the study of totemism, marriage customs, naming customs*
etc. By this method also vital statistics can be collected of the past as well as of
the present. The genealogies collected in Torres Straits supply dates for the study of
the size of families, the proportion of the sexes, the fertility of mixed marriages, etc.
The method has the further advantage of bringing out incidentally many facts in the
recent history of the people, and of giving insight into their views on various subjects.
It is also eminently adapted to bring one into sympathy and friendly relations with
natives.
A small amount of work on these lines was also done with natives of Tanna and
Lifn living on Mabuiag : enough was done to show that the method is readily
applicable to other Melanesian populations, and it is hoped that it may be found to be
capable of wide application.
[The other "new departure" described by Dr. Rivers is the method of deter-
mining skin colour, summarised below under that heading.]
Personal Equation. Garson.
Dr. J. G. Garson discussed the limits of Personal Equation which are admissible
in curieut systems of anthropometric identification.
Photographs. Brit. Ass. Commitiee.
A Committee was appointed by the British Association for the Advancement of
Science in September, 1898, to provide for the '* Collection, Preservation, and
Systematic Registration of Photographs of Anthropological Interest."
A similar Committee on Geological Photographs was appointed in 1889, and has
organised the valuable collection preserved in the Museum of Practical Geology. The
Royal Geographical Society has gradually collected a large number of geographical
photographs, many of which are also of anthropological interest. More recently the
Hellenic Society has announced a large special collection for the use of students of the
topography, civilisation, and art of Greece; and the Anthropological Institute
possesses a considerable collection of photographs, which have been lately mounted
and classified, and has permitted the registration of these in the list of the
new Anthropological Photographs Committee.
The considerations which led to the appointment of this Committee are briefly as
follows : —
(1) A very large number of anthropological phenomena can only be studied in
the field, or by means of accurate reproductions ; but the latter are in many cases
difficult to procure, except where typical examples have been regularly published ; and
even then it is frequently of advantage to be able to acquire separate copies of single
plates or illustrations, for purposes of comparison, without breaking up a collection or
a volume.
(2) On the other hand, most travellers, collectors and museum officials find it
necessary to make many photographic negatives in the course of their own work, for
which they themselves have no further use, but which they would gladly make
accessible to other students, if any scheme existed by which this could be done
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202 Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea,
ivithont trouble to themBelves. Such xiegatiyes also accumulate, and take up
valuable space, and are very liable to damage through neglect.
(3) Further, though many professional photographers in i*emote parts of the
world have made admirable use of their opportunities of recording native types,
customs, and har.diwork, there has hitherto existed no single record of v^hat has been
done in this direction, with the result that valuable collections have remained
practically inaccessible to those in whose interest they have been made. In the
case of the Hellenic Society, already cited, the inclusion, in the reference collection, of
selected prints from the negatives of profeFsioral photographers abroad baa been
found to be of great advantage to teachers and students, who consult it with the view
of choosing the best representations to add to their own series.
What appears therefore to be required is, in the first place, a register of the
photographic negatives which can be made generally available, illustrated by a
permanent print from each, preserved at an accessible centre ; together with an
arrangement by which properly qualified students may bo enabled to have duplicate
prints made from them for their own use, at a reasonable price. In any such scheme
it is understood that the copyright, for purposes of publication, remains with the
owner of the negative, and that all duplicate prints distributed under this arrangement
are subject to that qualification.
In establishing such a Register and Collection of Anthropological Photographs,
the Committee invites the co-operation of all owners of suitable photographic negatives,
who are requested to submit for registration one unmounted print from each negative
(which will be mounted by the Committee and preserved either at the office of the
British ARROciation, or in some central and accessible place), together with a full
description of the photograph. The latter should state —
(1) The subject of the photograph, and the place where the original subject is
(or was) to be found, the date when the photograph was taken, and name of the
person who took the photograph.
(2) The name and address of the owner of the negative.
(3) The whereabouts of the negative itself: i.e., whether it is retained by the
owner at his own address, or deposited with a professional photographer at an address
named, or with the Committee.
(4) The terms on which prints, enlargements, and lantern slides will be supplied
when ordered through the Committee.
The Committee has made arrangements for the storage and insurance of any
negatives which may be deposited on loan ; and for the production of prints and lantern
slides from them to order ; and a number of negatives have already been so deposited.
The Secretary of the Committee, Mr. J. L. My res, Christ Church, Oxford, will be
glad to supply forms for the registration of negatives, and any further information
which may be required.
The Committee has been reappointed for the year 1898-9, with a small grant for
the purpose of mounting the phologiaphs already given or promised ; and it is hoped
that it may be possible to publish a first list of photographs in the next report.
ANTHROPOMETR F.
Egypt. MacIver.
Mr. D. Maclver, B.A., gave examples of the ways in which anthropometry may
aid archfi^ological investigation, and pointed out the unusually favourable conditions
for such anthropometrical work which exist in Egypt. He gave a summary of the
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AnthropologiGol Reviews and Afiscellaiiea. 203
series of Bgyptian measarements at present available, of the difficulties which hav^
arisen in their interpretation, and of some new methods of publishing measurements
specially designed to meet them. Details were given of three important series of
specimens from Egypt, viz. :
(1) Prehistoric Series ; from the excavations of 1898-9.
(2) VI. to XII. Dynasties ; from the excavations of 1898.
(3) XII. to XVI. or XVII. Dynasties ; from the excavations of 1898-9.
These series were considered (a) separately, with the object of ascertaining the
rade type represented in each ; (b) in comparison with one another, to show their
affinities and difEei'ences. The paper concluded with a note on the light which such
comparison throws on Egyptian history.
[To be published in full in this Journal.']
Egypt. Macalistbb.
Professor A. Macalister, M.D., F.R.S., commented on the mcasui^ments of
1,000 Egyptian Crania.
MoBiOBi. Maoalistek.
Professor A. Macalister, M.D., F.li.S., exhibited an example of an anomalous
atlanto-occipital joint in a Moriori skull.
New Hebrides. Macalister.
Professor A. Macalister, M.D., F.R.S., exhibited an example of a pre-basioccipital
bone in a New Hebridean skall.
ScuooL Children : Abnormal. Brit. Ass. Commiitee.
The Committee " On the Mental and Physical Deviations from the Normal of
Children in Public Elementaiy and other Schools " was appointed in 1893, at the
sugges^^on of the late Sir Douglas Oalton, and has worked in conjunction with the
Childhood Society.
The Fifth Report (1897) contained a catalogue of 1,120 exceptional children
(597 boys ; 523 giils), forming about 1 per cent, of the children in public elementary
schools. These 1,120 cases were arranged in primary groups showing the class of
defect indicated : namely, A. Developmental Defect ; B. Abnormal Nerve-signs ;
C. Low Natrition ; D. Mental Dnlness.
In the Sixth Report (1898), the correlation of classes of defects in these children
was shown to be very high. They have a much greater tendency than average
children to become delicate in an adverse environment, especially the girls« This, as
might be expected, is most marked in those under seven years of age.
In this Seventh Report (to be printed in full in the Froaeediiiga for 1899), the
same children are arranged in a table arranged to show the proportion of primary
groups, showing only one class of defect, to the compound groups in which the other
classes of defect are present together with the primaiy symptom.
The defects shown thus suggest the need of management and care in training
stage by stage, with the object of improving each phase of mental ability, and
removing individual disabilities.
The Committee has been reappointed, with the addition of Dr. W. H. B. Rivers^
and with a small grant to carry out farther statistical inquiries.
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204 Anthrapologicat Reviews and Miscdlanea,
Skin-Colocr. Rivers.
Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, described the methods employed daring the Cambridge
Expedition in Torres Straits, to determine the colour of the skin qnantitativelj.
Numerous records were taken with Lovibond's Tintometer, and these were fairly
satisfactory, although the dark skins of the natiyes were found to be difficult objects
to match exactly.
More satisfactory matches were made with the colour-top ; bnt the latter method is
open to the objection that the coloured paper discs used on the top are liable to fade,
while the glasses used in the Tintometer have the advantage of being constant.
Records were taken of the colour of various Melanesians and Polynesians, as well as of
the two races of Torres Straits. The following match of the skin of the Mamus or
chief of Murray Island is given as an example of the colour-top results.
Orange ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 15°
Yellow 6°
White 7"
Black 332°
360**
AMCHJBOLOGy,
Alphabet. Flinders Petrie.
[with plate xxviil]
Professor W. M. Flinders Petrie presented a resume of recent investigations into
the sources of the alphabet, as follows : —
About ten years ago there were first noticed signs upon Egyptian pottery of
1400 and 2500 B.C., which were closely like those of the Greek alphabet. I ventured
on a supposition that they were an early stage of the alphabet ; but, rather than
allow of the existence of an alphabet before 800 B.C., most scholars tried to believe
that the^e signs were derived from Egyptian hieroglyphics
The next year this same system of signs was much further disclosed, and I could
draw up a list of 120 signs, mostly in use as early as 2500 B.C. And here the
subject rested for some years.
When about five years ago the prehistoric age of about 5000 B.C. in Egypt began
to be disclosed, again we found a large number of marks upon the pottery, many of
them identical with those already known to be some two or three thousand years
later. As the hieroglyphic system was not yet in the land, this discovery removed
these signs altogether from the possibility of being degraded hieroglyphics.
Then a year or two ago Mr. Arthur Evans showed the existence of a system of
signs in Crete, which are largely like those already found in Egypt.
The next step is the collation of the longer editions of the Greek alphabet with
these signs. In the Earian and Celt-iberian alphabets or syllabaries we have no less
than 43 values in place of the 26 preserved in the Greek alphabet ; and these
43 values are represented by about 60 different signs. Many of them are therefore of
the same value, but they probably represent different forms gradually reduced to
equal values. Hitherto it has probably been thought that these barbarous Greek alpha-
bets deserve no special attention. But when so far apart as Karian and Spain we find
close similarity in the forms, and many connections with the Italic as well as Greek
alphabets, it becomes at least an open question if we are not in presence of an
earlier and more extensive alphabet or syllabary. To avoid the defining whether
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mrnal of the Anthropological Insti
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Anthropological Beniews and Miscellanea. 205
these signs represent a single letter or a syllable it may be best to speak of them for
the present as a ngnary, or collection of signs.
On comparing then this signary with that found in Egypt no less than 44 of
the 60 signs are known there. If we further extend the Mediterranean signary
by the signs found in Crete, we find 56 signs in use both iu the Mediterranean and
in Egypt.
It is not too much therefore to say that we are in presence of a widely-spread
and long-lasting system of signs, or signary, common to the Mediterranean from
Spain to Egypt.
In what way can we understand this and connect it with what is otherwise
known of the history of the alphabet P I venture to give an outline of what may be
tested as a working theory to connect all these facts together.
As early as 5000 B.C., some trade existed around the Mediterranean, as proved
by imports into Egypt. At that time the signary was beginning its course, some
40 signs already having been found of that age ; and these signs are likely therefore
to have been carried from land to land. The firm position of a similar signary in
Syria and Arabia points to its being established there before the rise of the powerful
hieroglyph system of Egypt. That system seems to have been thrust in, and so to
have divided the Arabian and Mediterranean branches of the signary, which were
later divided also by Hittite hieroglyphs and Babylonian cuneiform.
The signary continued to amplify and develope, held together a good deal by
intercourse, but with much variation in different lands. By 2500 B.C. it contained
over a hundred signs in its Egyptian form, and over thirty signs are already known
in the Cretan form.
The great systematising force which gave it a unity unknown before was the
application of these signs as numerals by the Phoenicians ; nine were appropriated to
the units, nine to the tens, and nine to the hundreds. This system was entirely
Oriental, and even in late times of coinage it was scarcely ever used in Europe. But
once having been adopted by the leading commercial nation the system ised order
became enforced on all the Mediterranean. The other signs which did not form part
of it dropped into the background ; and we only have somo twenty or thirty of them
surviving in the less civilised regions of ELaria and Spain. This view exactly
explains the otherwise puzzling phenomena of the early G-reek alphabets. There is
seen the most rigorous order of letters, and yet in most of the letters great confusion
as to the forms. The pre-existing signaries in the various lands and tribes did not
easily fall into line, when the numerical basis of order sprung into use, and it took
some centuries for them to become unified. How impossible this would be on the old
view that all Greece took over a compact and complete alphabet ready formed by the
Phoenicians !
We stand therefore now in an entirely new position as to the sources of the
alphabet, and we see them to be about thrice as old as had been supposed. That the
signs were used for written communications of spelled-out words in the early stages,
or as an alphabet, is far from probable. It was a body of signs, with more or less
generally understood meanings; and the change of attributing a single letter value
to each, and only using signs for sounds to be built into words, is apparently a
relatively late outcome of the systematising due to Phoenician commerce.
This notice is by no means an account of the subject, nor does it profess to give
the evidence. As yet we need far more material and research before the true meaning
is seen. But this is only a bulletin to report the accumulation of intractable facts,
and to show what is the most likely counection between th^m.
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206
Anthropological Seviews and Miscellanea.
Table of Signaries,
This table iihows five periods of the Egyptian signarj, (1) prehistoric,
(2) the early dynastic, (3) the Xllth dynasty, (4) the X VIITth dynasty, and (6) Roman
collected by the writer. The Kretan signary is that collected by Mr. Arthur Evans.
The Karian is that collected by Professor Snyce. The Spanish is the well known
Celtiberian alphabet bt inscriptions. Only those Egyptian and Kretan signs are
shown which seem related to the Karin and Spanish alphabets ; there are about
twice as many signs found in Egypt, which survive only in Krete, oh seem to have
been lost altogether in the West. The values given are only those of the Karian and
Spanish ; no values are known for the Egyptian and Kretan signs independently of
this comparison. Some of these signs appear also in the Cypriote and Libyan
alphabets ; but they have much less connection as a whole with the Egyptian, and as
the values here are different from those in Cyprus and Libya it is safest to rely only
on the faller signaries of Karia and Spain.
Copper Celts: Ireland. Copfet.
Mr. George Coffey presented analyses of Copper Celts, which, though rare
compared with those of bronze, have been found in considerable numbers in Lreland.
Thirty specimens are described or mentioned in the Catalogue of the Museum of the
Boyal Irish Academy, published in 1861. The Academy's Collection (now in the
National Museum, Dublin) at present numbers eighty -two examples.
Copper celts are not confined to any particular district : examples are recorded
from the counties of Donegal, Londonderry, Antrim, Cavan, Majo, Oalway, Louth,
Tipperary, Waterford, Cork — localities embracing the extreme north and south, and
east and west of the island.
One specimen was analysed by J. W, Mallet in 1853 : it gave copper, 98*74 ; tin,
1-09, Tram, B.LA., vol. xxii.
During the present year Mr. J. Holmes Pollok, Royal College of Science, Dublin,
kindly analysed for me eight additional specimens as follows : —
London-
derry.
W. 3
—
Cork.
1881/136
8^430
Galway.
1874/38
Xyrone.
1897/112
1
_ Water-
ford.
1
—
Reference
W. 17
1896/7
W. 10
1876/20
Density 8*833
8-698
8^749
8^862
8-811
8^987
8-705
Copper .
Arsenic .
Tin
Silver
Lead
Zinc
Nickel .
Iron
98-43
•76
Trace
•26
•05
9676
136
•60
•14
J46
•07
98^71
•18
•10
•13
•07
97-68
•76
•79
•18
•44
97-25
1-66
•61
•26
•17
•10
9717
1-86
•27
•11
•17
96-46
Trace
•06
2-74
-21
•26
98-24
•13
•83
•07
•12
Total
99-49
99^27
99^21
99-85
99^84
99^68
99^71
9939
The above analyses are fairly in line with analyses of copper celts from other
parts of Europe, with the exception of W. 10. This celt is one of the best finished
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Anthropological Revietm arid Miscellanea. 207
copper celts in the collection ; the metal is, however, very soft and hardly serviceable.
It is remarkable for the almost total absence of tin (0*05) and the high percentage of
lead (2*74). There is not evidence to show whether the presence of the lead is
intentional or accidental. It was fonnd at Tramore, county Waterford, a rich copper
district. Nomerons lodes of copper and lead are exposed in the cliffs of this locality,
and extensive remains of ancient workings have been fonnd in a promontory near
Tramore.
The classification of the copper celts by metal is confirmed by type divisions.
The copper celts are invariably of the plain flat type, without ornament, and in no
instance showing even rudimentary stop ridges. Ten specimens closely resemble
common forms of Irish small stone celts. Some of these might be regarded as
ingots, but in fonr instances they have been ground to an edge for nse. The examples
of developed metal form are in general ruder and heavier than bronze celts. In some
cases the rough snrface marks of casting have not been removed, but in many
instances these celts show traces of having been rubbed down over the body of the
celt, after the manner of stone celts. Celts of the developed copper form can be
classified under two main types.
1. More or less V-shaped ; flare of cutting edge wide compared with length of
celt, leading to plain bronze celt of type (Evans, Fig. 28, and Wilde, Fig. 247).
2. Cutting edge narrow compared with length, and in some instances nearly
semicircular ; sides more or less parallel, leading to long, slender, plain bronze celt of
type (Evans, Fig. 33). In several instances types I and 2 cross. In both types the
butt end, in the majority of examples, is thick and squared off, showing a quadrang-
ular section. As the types approach those of the bronze celts a thinning off of the
butt end is noticeable.
The copper celts appear, therefore, to represent, apart from metal, a transition
from stone to bronze types, and can be arranged in series showing development of form
from stone to bronze.
Fi-om the preceding facts it would appear reasonable to conclude that, prior to a
knowledge of bronze, copper was known and used for cutting implements in Ireland.
This statement is supported by a find of three copper celts, a copper tanged knife
and three copper awls, all found together at Kilbannou, county Galway (Academy
Collection). One of the celts is included in the eight analysed by Mr. Pollok, 1874 :
88. All these objects seem to be copper, and agree most closely in the appearance of
the metal, as if made from the same piece. The awls are of early type, pointed at
both ends and without shoulders, and the knife also appears to be of an early type.
In the discussion which followed : —
Sir John Evans laid stress on the importance of these analyses which bear out
the evidence of the forms of the implements, though paucity of tin does not in itself
prove that an implement is of a period intermediate between Stone and Bronze Age.
Such implements of unalloyed copper (which are peculiarly frequent in Ireland) are
found to have been cast in open single-valve moulds, and that their cutting has been
renewed by hammering, with the result that the edge is found expanded laterally, and
even recurved into volutes.
PiBUL*^ North Africa. Evans.
Mr. Arthur J. Evans, M.A., F.S.A., pointed out the importance of the " Occurrence
of * Celtic ' Types of Fibula of the Hallstatt and La Tdne Periods in Tunisia and
Eastern Algeria."
In the course of a recent journey through Tunisia and Eastern Algeria, the
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208 Anthropological Beviews and Miscellanea.
author found repeated evidence that a form of '* Late Celtic " fibula, answering to a
well-known '* Middle La TSne" type of continental archsBologists, was in use among
the ancient Nnmidians. Three examples of this were described; two from near
Constantine (the ancient Cirta)^ and one from a dolmen near El- Kef (Sicca Venerea).
The anthor traced the origin of this type in the lands abont the head of the Adriatic,
and its subsequent diffusion on European soil. Attention was called to the new
materials for the chronology of this and other allied forms, supplied by Bianchetti's
excavations in the Gaulish cemeteries of Ornayasso near the Lago Maggiore, where a
large series of tombs were approximately dated by the presence of coins.
The author also described some examples of earlier fibulee found at Cartliage, and
in a dolmen near Guyotville in Algeria. Two of the forms are parallel to those
found in the early cemetery of Fusco near Syracuse, and may have been due to the
same Corinthian influence which during the sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries seems
to have been predominant at Carthage itself. Another Carthaginian fibula is identical
with a Hallstatt type, and is the prototype of the " crossbow " form so widely
distributed thi*oughout the north, when it gave birth to a long succession of derivative
forms reaching down in Gothland and elsewhere to mediaeval times. In the case of
both the earlier and later African examples there is thus nn indication pointing to the
ancient course of the amber trade by the Adriatic coast. The appearance of Celtic
types of fibula among the Numidians finds its complement in the discovery of large
hoards of Carthaginian and Nuroidian coins on the transit line of t^is commerce
between the Save and the Adriatic. Attention was further called to the appearance
of " Late Celtic " forms of Fibula in the Carthaginian Dominion of Western Sicily.
In the discussion which followed : —
M. Paul Pallary, of Eckmiihl, Gran, laid stress upon the wide range of influence
of the Hallstatt civilisation, and also on the historical continuity of Berber civilisation
down to, and beyond, the Roman conquest of N. Africa. He inquired whether any
other part of the tomb furniture of the dolmen near El-kef had been preserved.
Mr. Evans replied that no record remained of anything but the fibula.
M. Bosteaux-Paris, Mayor of Cemay-les-Reims, commented upon the types of
fibulaB shown by Mr. Evans, in relation to the types which are characteristic of the
Haute Mame area.
M. E. Fourdrignier, of the French Commission of Megalithic Monuments,
emphasised the distinct character of the type Mamienne, which is difPerent from, and
prior to, that of the civilisation of La T^ne ; and is marked by the presence of objects
of coral, by the use of chariots, and by the absence still of coined money. He
suggested an ultimately Scandinavian origin for the whole group of civilisations
under discussion.
Lake Village : Glastonbury. Brit. Ass. Commixtei.
The portion of the site excavated in 1899 is situated in the centre and on the
west side of the village, and includes dwelling mounds and the ground round them.
One of these mounds (P P) contained no less than ten superimposed hearths, together
with a floor of rushes, some well-preserved hurdle- work, a finely turned wheel -spoke,
and a whole wheel cut from the solid, and 15 inches in diameter. Another mound
(E E) contained a human skull, and a number of sling-pellets of baked clay ; and
another (C C) had peculiar depressions excavated in the floor, and lined with baked
clay.
To the report are appended the analyses, by Dr. J. H. Gladstone, of a number of
metallic objects, including a bronze unusually rich in tin, and a soeptre-like object of
pure tin, gilded and furnished with bronze finials.
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AnthropolofficaJ Beviews and Miscellanea. 209
Mr. C. W. Andrews adds a note on tlie species of birds identified from bones found
at Glastonbury.
SlLCHESTER. BrIT. AsS. COMMITTEE.
The excavations at Silchester in 1898 were begun on May 2 and continued, with
the usual interval during the harvest, until November 26.
Operations were confined to an area of about eight acres in the south-west corner
of the city.
This area is bounded on the north by insulm XV and XYI ; on the cast by tnsulcs
XVJI and XVIII, excavated in 1897; and on the other sides by the city wall. It
contained two insulce (XIX and XX), together with a large triangular area to
the south, forming apparently part of insula XYIII. See the plan in last year's
report.
Insula XIX presents the peculiarity of being inclosed by a wall, and contains,
in addition to three minor buildings, a well-planned house of early date and of the
largest size, with fine hypocausts. To it is attached the workshop of some industry,
with a large inclosure dependent on it, containing two settling- tanks, perhaps
belonging to a tannery. The courtyard of this house is partly underlaid by the
remains of a much earlier one, of half-timbered construction, containing in one of its
chambers a mosaic pavement of remarkable design, and perhaps the earliest in date
yet found in this country. A small house in this insula is somewhat exceptional in
plan and also, perhaps, of early date.
Insula XX contains a number of buildings scattered over its area, but none of
these appears to be of any importance. Two of them are of interest as furnishing
plans of houses of the smallest class. This insula also contains one of the curious
detached hypocausts which were noticed in the excavations of 1897. A large inclosure
with attached chambers, nearer the lesser west gate, may be conjectured to have
contained stabling for the accommodation of travellers entering the city.
Several wells were found in both instilce, lined either with the usual wooden
framing or disused barrels. A pit in insula XX contained a double row of pointed
wooden stakes driven into the bottom, and may have been for the capture of wild
animals at some period anterior to the existence of the Roman town, or subsequent to
its extinction. No architectui*al remains were found, but the rubbish-pits yielded the
usual crop of earthen vessels.
The finds in bronze and bone do not call for any special notice, but an enamelled
brooch of gilt-bronze, with a curious paste intaglio and several settings of rings, may
be mentioned.
Among the iron objects are a well-preserved set of hooks, perhaps for hoisting
barrels, and a curioas pair of handcuffs or fetterlock.
From a pit in insula XIX was recovered an upper quern stone, still retaining its
original wooden handle.
Although a considerable area in the sonthern part produced no pits or traces of
buildings, the ins^ilce excavated are quite up to the average in point of interest, .and
their addition to the plan completes a very large section of the city.
A detailed account of all the discoveries was laid before the Society of Antiquaries
on May 4, 1899, and will be published by the Society in Archceologia.
Stonehenge. Eddowes.
Dr. Alfred Eddowes described some new observations and a suggestion on
Stonehenge. He believes that the thirty large upright stones, with their intervals,
New Series, Voi* II, Nos. 1 and % V
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210 ArUhropohgical Beviews and Miscellanea.
indicate that the circle was divided into sixty equal parts ; that the Grooved Stone
was used for supporting a pole ; and that the signs of wear at the mouth of the
groove, together with the two worn horizontal hollows on the convex back of the
stone, indicate how this pole was fixed. Such a polo would form the pointer of a sun-
dial, or by the length of its shadow an indicator of the time of year.
In discussion, it was pointed out that the sun-dial theory, as commonly stated,
ignored the necessity of treating Stonehenge, not as an unique monument, but in
connection with the many smaller circles and other " megalithic " constructions of
which the original purpose can be more easily ascertained.
Stone Implements : Pitcairn Island. Browij.
Mr. J. Allen Brown showed some fine specimens of adzes and long club-like basalt
chisels ground on both sides, and of larger axe-heads, some rough chipped, others
ground to a cutting edge and polished. lu the discussion which followed, Dr. Hamy,
Keeper of the National Museum of Ethnography in Paris, observed that in the
Polynesian and Melanesian Archipelagoes, each island had its own characteristic
forms, ascertainable by comparative examination. It was therefore necessary in
collecting to keep these implements quite separate, so that by comparison the
developments in their methods of construction could be ascertained, and also their
paths of migratory progress from one island or group to another. From this stand-
point the importance of the discoveries had no mathematical relation to the extent of
territory in which they were found.
ETffNOQSAPHY.
Africa: Uganda. Macdonald.
Lieutenant-Colonel J. R. L. Macdonald, R.E., presented on account of the tribes
and languages observed in the course of the Juba Expedition northward from Uganda.
[It will be published in full in this Joumal."]
Africa: Benue River. Pope-Hennesst.
Lieutenant H. Pope-Hennessy contributed notes on the Jukos and other West
African tribes north of the Benue River.
[They will be published in fuil in this JoumaL']
Africa : Somali, Galla, etc. Koettlitz.
Dr. R. Koettlitz exhibited a number of weapons and other objects collected by
him in a recent journey through the Somali, Galla, and Shangalla country.
[They will be exhibited at the Anthropological Institute during the current
session, and described in this Journal.']
Canada. Brit. Ass. Committee.
- The Committee of the Ethnographic Survey of Canada reports that during the
pastyear their work has been extended in important directions.
A large number of schedules giving detailed directions to observers have been
distributed ; but it was found necessary to issue supplementary instructions respecting
facial types and directions for certain measurements. Through the courtesy of
Professor F. W. Putnam and Dr. F. Boas, it has been possible to make use of the
excellent series of facial types employed by the Bureau of Ethnology of the World's
Columbian Exposition at Chicago,
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J
Anthropological Beviews and Miscellanea. 211
Several requests for anthropometric instruments have been received, and several
observers have ab^eadj forwarded extensive records of measurements.
The work of the past year is farther represented by two papers appended to the
Report, namely —
1. The origin of Early Canadian Settlers, by Mr. B. Suite, Ottawa.
2. Studies of the Indians of British Columbia, by Mr. C. Hill-Tout,
Vancouver, B.C.
Copies of photographs taken by Mr. Hill-Tout and by Dr. G. M. Dawson have
been deposited with the British Association.
The work now in progress includes : —
(1) Customs and Traditions of the Huron Indians of Lorette, P.Q., by Mr. Leon
Gerin, Ottawa. (2) Anthropometric Studies, by Dr. C. A. Hibbert, Montreal ; Mr.
A. F. Hunter, Batrie, Ont. ; Dr. P. A. Patrick, Yorkton, N.W.T. ; Dr. F. Tracey,
Toronto. (3) Photographic Studies of the North- West Coast Indians, by Dr. C. F.
Newcombe, Victoria, B.C. (4) Studies of the Early Settlers of Canada, by Mr.
B. Suite, Ottawa ; and (5) Ethnological Studies of the Indians of British Columbia,
by Mr. C. Hill-Tout.
The introduction into the North -West of large bodies of Europeans who are to
become permanently incorporated in the population of the Dominion, has suggested
the importance of securing, at as early a date as possible, such fact>s relating to their
general ethnology as may seem to establish a suitable basis for the study of these
people under the influence of their new environment. Satisfactory arrangements have
been made with respect to the Doukhobors, and it is probable that similar arrange-
ments may be completed during the coming year with respect to other large bodies
of immigrants.
The exceptional circumstances surrounding the Indians of British Columbia;
the fact that it is becoming more difficult each year to obtain i^eliable accounts of
these people ; the rapid disappearance of old customs, dress, and mode of living ; and
also the present availability of the services of an expert and enthusiastic observer have
seemed sufficient reasons for devoting to their study a much larger share of the
resources of the Committee than might otherwise appear justifiable.
New Guinea and Torres Straits. Cambridge Expedition.
The principal results of the recent Cambridge Expedition to New Guinea and
Torres Straits were described by Dr. A. C. Haddon and his colleagues in a series of
papers which will be published in fall in the Memoirs of the Expedition. A
summary of the important psychological and linguistic results will be found below
under their respective headings.
[0/. the summary account in Nature^ No. 1567.]
New Guinea. Seligmann.
Mr. C. G. Seligmann presented notes on the Club Houses and Dubus of British
New Guinea. One or more houses larger and more highly decorated thltn the rest
called in the Gulf and Mekeo districts elamo and marea respectively, are to be seen in
every village of these parts of British New Guinea. No women mav enter these, they
are the club houses of the men, the home of the unmarried youths, and strangers are
quartered there. Each family or family gix)up, called itzuhu in the Mekeo district, is
responsible for the upkeep of one of these. Among the Toaripi much stress is laid on
the convenience and advantage of an elamo in keeping the young men from the
P 2
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212 ArUhropologtcal Beviews and Miscellanea.
women's quarters, and their legend of the origin of the elamo relates how one of their
ancestors, called Menliave, was risited by Avara Lam, who rales the north-west
squalls, who bade him build a house for the unmarried youths into which no woman
might come. Infringement of these rules is still met by Avara Laru destroying the
elamo. Wooden effigies of birds and fishes are hung outside elamos, but these are not
reverenced — the beast they represent is eaten when opportunities offer, and the
family group is not called by their name. East of Delena elamos or mareas are not
found, bat their place is taken by the dubv, a platform, often two-storied, with
elaborately carved corner posts and cross-pieces stretched longitudinally across the
tops of these, which are hollowed to receive them. One man called Dubu Tau/na^ from
each principal family of a family group (tduhu)^ looks after and is responsible for the
duhu. The office is hereditary, not necessarily in the direct line. Women may not
approach the duhu except on the Hood Peninsula, where once a year the girls who
have become marriageable assemble on the duhu. The products of the garden and
chase are sometimes hung on the duhu, which may rarely be painted red and white.
Semon, Im Atuiralischen Busch, p. 353, notes that he has seen skulls hung on one, but
does not state where. Before fighting, warriors fully decked and armed resort to the
duhu and there mutter the names of their ancestors. After killing a man, the
successful warrior would, on his return to the village, go straight to the duhu, and
on it eat his first meal. But little could be determined as to the meaning of the
carving, the origin of the duhus themselves being unknown to the natives. At
XJnalimarupu there is a carefully excavated hollow in one of the comer posts, said to
represent a bowl. The pattern, as a rule, is made up of a number of four-sided
pyramids carved on the wood, and the tops of the comer posts are carved so as to
resemble jaws, between which the cross-pieces rest.. Perhaps these represent the jaws
of a crocodile, the pyramids being conventionalized scales. This form of decoration
is, however, found among inland people whose acquaintance with crocodiles must have
been but slight.
New Guinea : Torres Straits. Seliqmann.
Mr. C. G. Seligmann described the seclusion of girls at Mabuiag, Torres Straits.
When the signs of puberty appear, a circle of bushes is made in a dark corner
of the girl's parents' house. The girl, now called Kemgi Gasaman, is fully decked
with cross shoulder-belts of young cocoanut leaf, with leglets just below the knee,
with anklets, with petticoat, with chaplet round head, with armlets of cocoanut
with cut dracenas iu them ; with shell ornaments hung on front and back of chest,
and with nautilus shell ornaments iu her ears. She squats in the centre of the bushes,
which are piled so high around her that only her head is visible. This lasts for three
months, the bushes being changed nightly, at which time the girl is allowed to slip
out of the hut. She is attended by one or two old women, the girl's maternal aunts,
who are especially appointed to look after her. These women are called Mowai by the
girl ; one of them cooks food for the girl at a special fire in the bush. The girl may
not feed herself or handle her food, it being put into her mouth by her attendant
women. No man — not even the girl's father — may come into the house ; if he saw his
daughter during this time he would certainly have bad luck with his fishing, and
probably smash his canoe the first time he went out. The girl may not eat, in the
breeding season, turtle or turtle eggs ; no vegetable food is forbidden. The sun may
not shine on her; " he can't see day time, be stop inside dark," said my informant. At
the end of three months a girl is carried to the fresh- water creek by her Mowai, she
hanging on to their shoulders so that Qot even her feet touch the ground, the women of
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Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. 213
tbe tribe forming a ring round the girl and Mowai, thus escorting her to the creek.
Her ornaments are removed, and the Mowai with their burden stagger into the creek,
where the girl is immersed, all the women joining in splashing water over the three.
On coming out of the water, one of the Mowai makes a heap of grass for her charge
to squat ou, while the other runs to the reef and catches a small crab. She tears
off its claws, and with these she runs back to the creek, where a fire has meanwhile
been made, at which the claws are roasted. The girl is then fed on these by the
Mowai. She is then freshly decorated, and the whole party marches back to the
village in one rank, the girl being in the centre, with the Mowai at her side, each of
them holding one of the girl's wrists. The husbands of the Motvai, called by the girl
WadtLarHf receive her, and lead her into the house of one of them, where all eat food,
the girl being now allowed to feed herself in the usual manner. The rest of the
community have meanwhile prepared and eaten a feast, and a dance is held, in which
the girl takes a prominent part, her two Waduam dancing, one on each side of her.
When the dance is finished the Mowai lead the girl into their house and strip her of her
ornaments. They then lead her back to her parents' house.
Queensland. Sbligmann.
Dr. G. G. Seligmann presented notes on the Otati tribe of North Queensland,
visited in the course of the Cambridge Expedition.
QdlENSLANO. HaBDON.
Dr. A. C. Haddon presented notes on the Yaraikanna tribe, Gape York, North
Queensland, visited in the course of the Cambridge Expedition. — The Yaraikanna
are fairly typical Australians in appearance ; six men were measured, average height
1-626 m. (5 feet 4 inches), cephalic index 74*7 (extremes, 72-4-77'7). A lad is
initiated by his mawara, apparently the men of the clan into which the boy must
subsequently marry ; he is anointed with " bush-medicine " in the hollow of the
thighs, groins, hollow by the clavicles, temples, and back of knees to make him gi*ow
— the bull-roarer is swung. In the Yampa ceremony the initiates (langa) sit behind
a screen in front of which is a tall pole, up which a man climbs and catches the food
thrown to him by the relatives of the langa. Then the bull-roarer is swung and
shown to the langa ; lastly, a front tooth of the langa is knocked out, with each blow
the name of a " land " belonging to the boy's mother or of her father is mentioned,
and the land, the name of which is mentioned when the tooth flies out, is the territory
of the lad. Water is next given to the boy, who rinses out his mouth and gently
empties his mouth into a palm-leaf water vessel ; the clot by its resemblance to some
animal or vegetable form determines the art of the lad. The ari appears to be
analogous to the manitu or ohhi (or " individual totem " of Wazer) of the North
American Indians. After the ceremony the boy is acknowledged to be a man. Other
ari may be given at any time by men who dream of an animal or plant, which is the
ari of the first person they meet on awakening. The Okara ceremony was alluded to,
and various customs, among which may be noted, children must take the ** land '' or
country of their mother, a wife must be taken from another country ; all who belong
to the same place are brothers and sisters.
Scotland. Gray.
Mr. J. Gray, B.Sc, gave an account of recpnt ethnographcial work in Scotland.
The preliminary observations on the physical characteristics of the people of East
Aberdeenshire, begun in 1895 by the Buchan Field Club, were summarised in a paper
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AiUhropoloylml R'oiews and Miscdla)iea.
in Froc, Brit. Ass. (Ipswich), 1895, p. 831, and published more fally in the TraMdctioM
of the Buchan Field Club.
A pigmentation tmvvej of the whole of the school children of East Aberdeenshire
has since been completed, chiefly through the organising ability of Mr. Tocher, the
Secretary of the Bnchan Field Club, and the generous and grataitons co-operation of
the school teachers. Returns were received between October, 1895, and November,
1897, from over ninety schools, comprising nearly 14,000 children.
The scheme of colours for hair and eyes was practically the same as that of
Dr. Beddoe ; but his two darkest classes for hair were amalgamated into one.
Comparison with Dr. Virchow's survey of German school children would, however,
have been facilitated if blue eyes had been separated from other light eyes.
Tke Figmentation oi the school children (with that of adults added for comparison)
is shown in the following table of average results : —
Hair.
Eyes.
Fan-.
Red.
1
Brown.
Dark.
Light.
' Medium.
Dark.
Children, total
25-3
7-0
46-5
21-2
41-0
35-0
24-0
» Boys
23-6
6-8
48-2
21-4
41-6
35-8
22-6
Girls 1
26-9
7-3
44-7 1
21-1
40-6
1 33-8
25-6
Adults, total 1
9-5
5-7
641 '
20*7
25-4
' 48-6
26-0
„ Males
9-5
5-6
66-2 !
187
21-3
1 50-7
22-8
„ Females
9-8
1 '-^
54-8 1
29-0
21-6
I 39-0
39-4
A study of this table reveals several noteworthy facts : —
(1) About 15J per cent, of the fair-haired children become brown-haired adults —
almost exactly the same percentage that Virchow found to become brunette in
Germany, and about 15 per cent, light-eyed become medium or dark-eyed.
(2) Between boys and girls the percentage of dark hair is practically equal, and
the girls have only 3 per cent, excess of dark eyes ; but adult females have 1 1 per cent,
more dark hair than adult males, and 16^ per cent, more dark eyes. The darkening
of the females is therefore post-natal. Ripley points out the same excessive pigmen-
tation of the females among the Jews, and also in regions like Alsace, where a blonde
Vfiuce has invaded a brunette country.
A comparison with the continental districts whence, according to tradition and
history, we have derived a large element in our population, namely, Schleswig-
Holstein, LUneburg, and Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the reputed original seats of the
Angles and Saxons, is shown in the following table : — ^
Brunette
Blonde
\ Blonde
Brown
Light
1
Brown
type.
type.
hair.
51
hair.
48
eyes.
1 25-7
eyes.
Upper Bavaria
Schleswig-Holsteiu
24
17
34
7
43
i 82
18
50
16
LUneburg
7
44
83
17
49
18
Mecklenburg-Schwerin
10
42
; 77
23
49
21
East Aberdeenshire ...
20-4
liy-2
25-3
1
07-7
41
24
> The Aberdeenshire " blonde-tvpe " (including fail' hair with light grey eyes, as well as
with blue) is rather larger tliau Virchow's (which includes only the blue eyes), but the " brunette
types '' are practically the same.
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Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea. 215
The three North German districts are clearly much more blonde than East
Aberdeenshire. Germany, as Virchow's survey has shown, gets more branette and
less blonde from north to sonth ; but we must go to its extreme southern frontier —
i.e., to Upper Bavaria — before we find a district approximating in pigmentation to
East Aberdeenshii*e.
It is noteworthy that whereas in Germany (especially in North Germany) there
is always more blonde hair than blue eyes, in Aberdeenshire the reverse is the case.
Of this, two explanations are possible : (1) that the immigrants from Germany were
not pure blondes, but of a mixed variety with brown hair and blue eyes ; or (2) that
pure blonde immigrants found here a population with brown eyes and hair so black as
to resist depigmentation longer than the brown eyes.
The maps of different elements show blonde areas on the accessible parts of the
coast, and branette areas on the inaccessible parts.
The Stature of 169 persons measured at Mintlaw in 1895 averaged 6 feet 8^ inches
(which is about the average for Scotland), with three distinct peaks of maximum
frequency at 5 feet 7^ inches, 5 feet 9 inches, and 5 feet 11^ inches. Of thirteen
persons of 5 feet 11^ inches in height, nine were dark, three brown, and one fair-
haired, the other two heights comprise equal numbers of fair and dark.
The Head Measurements show cephalic indices lying almost entirely between 74 and
84, with peaks of maximum frequency at 77 and 79. These indices do not give a
satisfactory analysis into race groups ; but on plotting the head-measurements on a
chart, with the length and breadth as co-ordinates, the people are separated into
three groups, coinciding very closely with Beddoe's average dimensions plotted on the
same chart; of (1) Italians and Row- grave-men ; (2) Danes; (3) Hanoverians. The
Danish group is the most numerous, the Italian coming next, and the Hanoverian last.
Mixed groups also appear on the chart, having the length of one typical group, and
the breadth of another.
[To be published in full in the Transactions of the Buchan Field Gluh,']
United Kingdom. Brit. Ass. Committee.
The Seventh (and final) Report of the Committee of the Ethnographical Survey
of the United Kingdom presents a summary of the method adopted by the Committee,
and of the results hitherto attained ; not indeed as suggesting that the work of
organising an Ethnographical Survey of the United Kingdom, which was first
entrusted to the Committee at the Edinburgh Meeting in 1892, has been completed,
but because in the opinion of the Committee the preparation for that work has been
carried as far as the means at their disposal have enabled them to carry it, and
because they have arrived at the conviction that the work itself may now properly be
left to be completed by other hands possessing the necessary organisation and more
adequate means.
The method adopted by the Committee was : (1) To inquire what places were
suitable for the survey, as containing a population in which there had been compara-
tively little admixture of race. (2) To draw up a brief and comprehensive code of
instructions for observers, with explanatory comments and directions as to the use of
instruments for measxiring, etc. (3) To enlist the voluntary assistance of local
societies and local observers in making measurements, collecting items of folk-lore, and
otherwise.
Under the first head, the Committee collected in their first and second repoi*ts
Proc. Brit. Ass, (Nottingham), 1893, p. 621 ff ; (Oxford), 1894, p. 419, from the
information supplied to them by persons of authority resident in the various districts,
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216
Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea.
a list of between 300 and 400 villages and places which complied with the definition
laid down by the Committee as containing a nnmber of persons whose ancestors had
belonged to the locality for as far back as conld be traced.
Under the second head, the Committee prepared and published, in their second
and third reports {Proc. Brit, Ass. (Oxford), 1894, pp. 426-9; (Ipswich), 1895,
p. 509 £Ej, a code of instmctions for obeervers in the several bitinches of the
investigation.
The Committee have also published in subsequent reports a paper drawn up by
Mr. Hartland (Proc. Brit, Ass, (Ipswich), 1895, p. 513 fE), containing many useful
hints to observers; and a paper by Mr. Gomme (Proc, Brit. Ass. (Liverpool), 1896,
p. 626 ff), on the scientific method to be pursued in localising folklore observations.
In other reports, the Committee have published at length specimen collections of
physical observations and folklore observations, the principal of which collections
were made by the lamented Dr. Walter Gregor. These are intended to serve as
models for other observers, as it was not the intention of the Committee to print at
length in their reports the records of observations contributed to them by the several
collectors, but only a digest of the results.
The following list of these special reports published by the Committee will
facilitate reference : —
Aberdeen, Banff, and Isle of Lewis . . Proc. Brit. Ass., 1897, p. 506 ff.
East Anglia (Cambridge Committee) . . ,, „ „ 1897, p. 503 ff.
Galloway (Rev. Dr. W. Gregor) . . „ „ „ 1896, p. 612 ff.
., „ 1897, p. 456 ff.
„ „ 1896, p. 609 ff.
„ „ 1897, p. 510 ff.
„ „ 1897, p. 500 ff.
„ „ 1897, p. 506 ff.
„ „ 1896, p. 610 ff.
„ „ 1897, p. 500 ff.
„ „ 1897, p. 510 ff.
„ „ 1897, p. 453-4.
„ „ 1898, p. 713.
Under the third head, the policy of the Committee has been. (1) To establish
Sub-committees in various parts, and secure the co-operation of local societies in
forming such Committees and otherwise. (2.) To obtain the services of volunteer
individual observers. The Committee feel that their best thanks are due to the
societies and persons by whom they have been favoured with information ; but they
are also of opinion that for the future conduct of the survey, it will not be sufl&ciont
to rely upon such assistance, however generously bestowed. To ensure absolute
uniformity in the methods of collecting information, upon which the usefulness
of the information for the purposes of comparison almost entirely depends, it is
essential that one or more persons should be wholly engaged upon the work.
There are two methods by which this can be done. (1) The entrusting to the
Committee of the necessary means. (2) The transfer of the work to another body
possessing the necessary means. The circumstance that the Ethnographic Bureau,
has now been established under the auspices of the British Museum, induces the
Committee to lean rather to the second course ; and the Committee cannot but think
that the Bureau might well include the British Islands within the scope of its
functions.
Ireland
,, . « . . . . • .
Kirkcudbrightshire
Lewis (Isle of). . .
Pembrokeshire (E. Laws, F.S.A.)
Wigtownshire
Yorkshire (Cleokheaton)
Cf, the lists of unpublished communications
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Anthropological Bevi&ws and Miscellanea, 217
FOLKLORE, RJELIQION, etc.
Animism. Marbtt.
Mr, B. B. Marett, M.A., read a paper on '* Pre-auimistic Beligion." The term
Beligion denotes a state of mind embracing emotional and ideal constitnents, whereoi
the former constitute the universal and constant, the latter the particular and
variant element. Self-interpretation in ideal terms on the part of the religious
emotion of the savage has found most complete and definite expression in Animism,
the " Belief in Spiritual Beings." Animism, however, as compared with ** Saper-
nataralism," namely, that state of feeling almost uncoloured by ideas which is the
primary form taken by man's Awe of the Supernatural (or extraordinary) is but as
the strongest sapling in a thicket of hetcrogeneoas growths, which, in the struggle for
existence, has come to overshadow the rest and give a character to the whole. The
vagueness of primitive ** supernaturalistic " utterance is illustrated by, e,g,, andria'
mamtra (Malagasy), ngai (Masai), Tnana (Melanesians), wakan (North American
Indians), kalou (Fijians). A ** pre-animistic " validity as manifestations of religion
thus attaches to a variety of special observances and cults ; and it may therefore be
interesting in the case of some of the more important of these to distinguish between
the original basis of " supernaturalistic *' veneration and the animistic interpretation
that as the result of successful competition with other modes of explanatory conception
(notably " Animatism," namely, the attribution of life and will, but not of soul or
spirit, to material objects and forces) is thereon superimposed in accordance with the
tendency of the religious consciousness towards doctrinal uniformity. The author
illustrates his thesis as follows : —
A. In regard to the Inanimate, — (1) Selected instances show the transition throagh
" Animatism " and '* auimatistic " mythology to Animism in the interpretation of the
religious awe felt in relation to extraordinary manifestations on the part of Nature-
Powers ; (2) the cult of the Bull- roarer displays an almost complete absence of
animistic conceptions in regard to the veneration of Daramulun^ Mungunngaury
Tumduny Baianmi (Eumai, Murrings, Kamilaroi, etc.) ; (3) in Stone-worship ; sympa-
thetic magic in connection with the use of '* guardian stones," etc., generates explana-
tory conceptions tending towards an animistic form.
B. In regard to the Suhantmate and Animaie. — (1) Plant and Animal Worships
show how Totemistic Magic and, apart from Totemism, the desire for magical
communion with extraordinary animals, invite explanations which need not be
animistic, though they tend to become so. (2) Among observances connected with
the phenomena of human life: (a) dream and trance are the special parent-soil of
Animism ; (6) awe of the Dead Body, as such, is due to the instinct of self-preserva-
tion, an influence which co-operates with the theory of the self -existent soul to bring
about the ascription of the ** potency " of human remaias to that of the surviving
spirit; (c) Diseases taking the form of seizure, and those of a convulsive nature,
lend themselves almost directly to animistic interpretation ; those ascribable to
Witchcraft are not necessarily so explained, though the idea of Infection tends
this way ; the awe of Blood, notably of an issue of blood, is analogous to the awe
of the Dead Body, and a crucial proof that " snpernaturalistic *' veneration may, in
regard to certain maladies, assert itself strongly in the absence of animistic colouring.
[To be published in full in Folklore.']
BuBMAH: Nats. Temple.
Colonel B. C. Temple, C.I.E., described the *' Thirty-seven Nate, or spirits, of the
Burmese." The belief in the Nats, or supernatural beingo who interfere in the affairs
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218 Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea,
of mankind, is universal among all the native inhabitants of Burma of every race and
religion. Every writer about the Burmese and their customs mentions the Nats.
The subject is, however, still but vaguely understood. The Nats are of three
distinct kinds: (1) the supernatural beings due to the Buddhist cosmogony; (2)
the supeinatural beings familiar to the creatures, objects, and places with which
man is concerned due to the prehistoric animistic beliefs of the people ; (3) the
supernatural beings who are ghosts and spirits of the notorious dead. Of the many
orders of Nats thus created, that of the Thirty-seven Nats is by far the best known
among the people. These are the ghosts of the departed royalties of fame, and
their connections. About them nothing seems to have been previously published
in England, and this paper is a preliminary attempt at an adequate representation
of them, and of the history, real or supposed, connected with them during life.
[To be published in full, and with full illustrations, in this Jowmal.']
India : Fcneral Rites. Crooke.
Mr. W. Crooke described the " Survival of Primitive Funeral Rites in Modem
India," under the following heads : —
(a) Customs connected Tvith the preservation of the corpse, such as various forms
of mummification ; (6) platform burial ; (c) direct exposure of the dead to beasts
of prey ; (d) general exposure of the dead ; (e) the question of the priority of burial
to cremation ; (/) transitions from burial to cremation, and vice versa ; {g) disposal
of those dying in a state of taboo ; {h) shelf or niche burial ; (J) crouched or sitting
burial ; (j) disinterment of the corpse ; (k) jar or urn burial ; and (Z) dismemberment
of the corpse.
[To be published in full in this Journal,']
Italy : Gubbio. MagIver.
Mr. D. Maclver exhibited a model of the "Cero" of St. Ubaldino, which is
explained as a relic of a pagan Spring Festival observed at Gubbio in Umbria. The
model is deposited in the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, and will be described fully
at a future meeting of the Folklore Society. Gf. also H. M. Bower, The Procession and
Elevation of the Ceri at Ouhhio. Folklore Society's Publications, No. 39.
New Guinea: Torres Straits. Rat.
Mr. Sidney H. Ray presented an account of the Linguistic Results of the
Cambridge Expedition to Torres Straits and New Guinea.
The geographical position of the Torres Straits Islands renders an accurate
knowledge of the construction of the languages important, especially for determining
the relation of the Australian languages to those of New Guinea and the Malay
Archipelago, and also, perhaps, to languages fiirther west in Southern India and
the Andaman Islands. Several missionaries have worked among the Eastern and
Western tribes of the Straits, and the existing gospel translations are reputed to
have been made by them, but no one has preserved any record of, or can throw
any light upon the construction of the languages. The translations were analysed
ill a former work, Proc. Roy. Irish Acad, (3) 1893, ii, p. 4G3 ; iv, 1897, p. 119, by
Dr. Haddon and myself, but the result was somewhat unsatisfactory. As we had
dealt exhaustively with the vocabularies, my attention during my stay in the islands
was mainly concentrsted upon the grammars of the two languages.
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Anthropological Hevieivs and Miscellanea, 219
The construction of the Eastern (Mnrrfty and Damley Islands) language was
found to be very complex, modifications of sense being expressed by an elaborate
system of prefixes and suffixes.
The grammar bears no resemblance to the Melanesian, and but little to the
Australian. The speech used in school and church is a debased form of the
original ; as my native informant described it, '^ they cut it short." As most of the
young people know English, it is very probable that the pure language will die out
with the older folk.
The language of the Western tribe was studied at the central island of
Mabuiag, but the closely allied dialects spoken on Warrior Island, Saibai, and
Prince of Wales Island, were also investigated. The grammar of this language is
decidedly of Australian type, though there is no marked connection in structure or
vocabulary with languages of the neighbouring mainland. Of these latter, the dialect
of the Taraikanna tribe in the neighbDurhood of Cape York was also investigated.
In New Guinea, at Port Moresby, the Motu language is well known, and I
used it as the means of obtaining from Koitapu natives some illustrations of their
strange language. The results show that there are people living in the Motu
villages, whose languages are totally distinct from that of the Motu both in structure
and vocabulary. A language (Koiari) similar to the Koitapu was found to
prevail in the district inland from Port Moresby.
At Port Moresby I also obtained from some Cloudy Bay natives specimens of
their language, which like those of Koitapu and Koiari, approaches the Australian
type, but has nothing in common with the Melanesian.
At Bulaa (Hula), Hood Peninsula, the structure of the dialects of Bnlaa,
Keapara (Kerepunu) and Galoma were the subject of conversations with Kima,
the intelligent chief of Hula. These dialects are related to the Motu, and like
it, are in grammar and vocabulary very closely akin to the languages of the
Melanesian Islands.
At Sagaana in Kiwai Island is the Fly River Delta, I took advantage of a
fortnight's stay to make a first investigation into Kiwai and Mowata grammar.
The language is very difficult, with exceedingly complex forms. It shows some
traces of connection with the speech of the Eastern Islanders of the Torres
Straits.
P8YCE0L0GY.
Nbw Guinea: Tokres Straits. Cambridge Expedition.
The following Contributions to Compai*ative Psychology resulted from the recent
Cambridge Expedition to New Guinea and Torres Straits.
I. — Qeneral Account and Observations on Vision^ etc. By W. H. R. Rivers.
Previous work on the psychology of savage peoples has been limited to deductions
from their behaviour, customs, and beliefs. The special object of the psychological
work of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition was to employ exact experimental
methods in the investigation of the mental character of the natives of Torres Straits
and New Guinea. By means of these methods it is only possible to investigate
directly the more elementary mental processes, but in the course of such work one
meets indirectly with many facts which illustrate the higher and more complex
developments of mind.
Observations were made in Murray Island by Messrs. McDougall, Myers, and
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220 Anthropological Beviews and MisceUanea,
myself on abont 150 individnals. The Bnbjects investigated included visual acuity,
sensitiveness to light, colour vision, including colour-blindness, binocular vision
and visual space perception ; acuity and range of hearing, appreciation of differences
of tone and rhythm ; tactile acuity and locali9ation, sensibility to pain, estimation of
weight, smell and taste ; simple reaction times to auditory and visual stimuli, and
choice reaction times ; estimation of intervals of time ; memory ; strength of grasp
and accuracy of aim ; reading, writing, and drawing ; the inflncnce of various mental
states on blood-pressure ; and the iDfluence of fatigue and practice on mental work.
In Kiwai and Mabniag fewer observations could be made, owing to the fact that
most of the apparatus had been taken on to Borneo, but observations were made
by Mr. Selig^ann and myself on more than 100 individuals, many of whom were
not, however, natives of these islands. The subjects investigated were chiefly visual
acuity and colour vision ; auditory acuity; smell and touch; writing and drawing.
It is not possible now to do more than give a rough sketch of our results. Most
of the methods used had been in some degree modified to meet the unusual conditions,
while some were new, and the consequence is that, with one or two exceptions, we
have very few data with which to compare our results. The exact bearing of most
of our observations will only become apparent when comparative data on European
and other races have been collected.
Our observations were in most cases made with very little di£Bculty and, with
some exceptions, we could feel sure that the natives were doing their best in all we
asked them to do. This opinion is based not only on observation of their behaviour
and expression while the tests were being carried oat, but on the consistency of the
results. The small deviations of individual observations from the average (mean
variation) showed that the observations were made with due care and attention.
The introspective side of psychological experimentation was almost completely
absent. We were unable to supplement the objective measurements and observations
by an account of what was actually passing in the minds of the natives while
making these observations. Attempts were made in this direction without much
success.
One general result was to show very considerable variability. It was obvious
that in general character and temperament the natives varied greatly from one
another and very considerable individual differences also came out in our experimental
observations. How great the variations were as compared with those in a more
complex community can only be determined afler a large number of comparative data
have been accumulated.
Another general result which should be of great interest to anthropologists is that
the natives did not appear to be especially susceptible to suggestion, but exhibited
very considerable independence of opinion. Leading questions were found not to be
so dangerous as was expected. It is hoped that when our results are worked out, it
will be possible to express in some definite manner the suggestibility of these people as
compared with Europeans.
Of the special investigations undertaken by myself, that on visual acuity was
the subject of a paper in the Physiological Section of the British Association. Of.
Proc, Brit. Ass. (Dover), 1899.
The colour vision of the natives was investigated in several ways. A hundred
and fifty natives of Torres Straits and Kiwai were tested by means of the usual wool
test for colour-blindness without finding one case. About eighty members of other
races, including Australians, Polynesians, Melanesians, Tamils, and half-castes were
also tested without finding one case, except among natives of Lifu. No less than
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Anthropological Beviews and Miscellanea. 221
three out of eight natiyes of this island were fonnd to suffer from well marked
red-green blindness of the ordinary type. Unfortunately the number of Lifu natives
who could be examined was too small to allow any definite conclusions to be drawn,
but the possibility is suggested that colour-blindness may be a racial peculiarity, a
fact, which if established, would be of great ethnological importance.
The names used for colours by the natives of Marray Island, Mabuiag, and Kiwai
were very fully investigated, and the derivation of such names in most cases established.
The colour vocabnlaries of these islands showed the special feature which appears to
characterise many primitive languages. There were definite names for red, less
definite for yellow, and still less so for green, while a definite name for blue was either
absent or borrowed from English.
The three languages mentioned, and some Australian languages, seemed to show
different stages in the evolution of a colour vocabulary. Several Australian natives
(from Seven Rivers and the Fitzroy Biver) appeared to be almost limited to words
for red, white, and black. In Kiwai there was no word for bine, for which colour the
same word was used as for black, while the name applied to green appeared to be
inconstant and indefinite. In Murray Island the native word for blue was the same
as that used for black, but the English word had been adopted and modified into
hUhi-hillu, The language of Mabaiag was more advanced ; there was a word for blue
(malttdgamulnga^ sea-colour), bat it was often also used for green.
Corresponding to this defect of colour terminology, there appeared to be an actual
defect of vision for colours of short wave-length. In testing with colonred wools,
no mistake was ever made with reds, but blues and greens were constantly confused,
as were blue and violet. The same deficiency in seeing blue seemed also to be shown
in experiments on the threshold of sensitiveness for red, yellow, and blue, carried out
with Lovibond's tintometer. Experiments on the distance at which small patches of
different colours could be recognised also showed great inferiority in seeing blue as
compared with red, but the few comparative observations so far made, do not enable
one to say that there is any striking difference between Europeans and Papuans in
this respect.
Observations were also made on the colour vision of the peripheral retina, on
after-images and on colour contrast.
Observations were made by means of Hening's fall experiment which showed the
existence of binocular vision in all except one man with an orbital tumour.
Qoantitative observations were made on some visual illusions.
Numerous observations were made on writing and drawing, the former chiefly
in the case of children. The most striking result here was the ease and correctness
with which mirror writing was performed. In many cases native children, when
asked to write with the left hand, spontaneously wrote mirror writing, and all were
able to write in this fashion readily. In some cases children, when asked to write
with the left hand, wrote upside down.
Experiments were made on the estimation of time. The method adopted was to
give signals marking off a given interval ; another signal was then given as the
commencement of a second interval, which the native had to finish by a similar signal
when he judged it to be equal to the given interval. This somewhat difficult procedure
met with unexpected success, and intervals of 10 seconds, 20 seconds, and one minute
were estimated with fairly consistent results.
Nearly all the investigations gave some indication of the liability to fatigue and
the capability for improvement by practice, but these were also the subject of a special
investigation parried out by modifications of Kraepelin's methods.
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222 Anthropological Reviews and MisctUaner'.
II. — Ohservationa on Hearing ^ Smell, Taste, Readiony TimCy etc. By C. S. Myers.
The conditions for testing acuity of hearing were very nnfayonrable on Murray
Island, owing to the noise of the sea and the rnstle. of the cocoannt palms. The
general results of many experiments lead me to conclude that few Murray Islanders
surpass a hyper-acute European in auditory acuity, while the majority cannot hear
ss far. For the determination of the upper limit of the perception of tone I used
Hawksley's improved form of GaJ ton's Whistle. Of the fifty-one Murray Islanders
who were investigated, all save one readily appreciated the difference between the
pure high note and the noise of the blast that is inseparable from it. Experiments
wore also made to determine the minimum perception of tone -differences. Twelve
Islanders were tested for their sense of rhythm ; this was found to be remarkably
accurate for 120 beats of the metronome to the minute, and somewhat less so for
60 beats. Most of the subjects had a tendency to vary in the direction of increasing
the rate of the taps.
Olfactometry is very difficult to prosecute for various reasons. Until I have
made further comparative observations on Europeans, I can draw no certain con-
clusions as to the relative smell-acuity of the former and the Murray Islanders;
but so far as my experiments go, they seem to indicate no marked superiority in
the development of this sense among the Islanders. Doubtless hyper-acuity is more
common among them, but there seems no reason to believe that they are able to
perceive such traces of odour as would be imperceptible to the most sensitive European
noses.
Experiments were made to determine the appreciation and recognition of the
common tastes — sweet, salt, bitter, and acid. Sugar and salt were readily recognised,
acid was compared to unripe fruit ; the bitter is the most uncertain — evidently there
is no distinctive name for it in the Murray Island vocabulary.
Binet's diagram used for testing visual memory was employed on twenty-eight
people with interesting results.
Numerous time reaction experiments were made, more on simple auditory
reaction than on simple visual reactions ; a few visual choice reactions were also
made. The time of the simple reaction is not sensibly longer, but probably in
many cases even shorter, than would be that given by a corresponding class of
Europeans. The experiments clearly showed the great difference of temperament
among the individuals investigated. There was at one extreme the slow, steady-
going man who reacted with almost uniform speed on each occasion ; at the other
extreme was the nervous, high-strung individual who was frequently reacting pre-
maturely, and whose mean variation in consequence was relatively g^eat. Yet the
mean variation, save in the choice- times, was extraordinarily low for such unpractised
people.
III. — Observations on the Sense of Touch and of Pain, on the Estimation of Weight,
Variations of Bhod-Pressure, etc. By W. McDougall.
The power of discrimination of two points by the sense of touch was investigated
in a series of fifty adult males. On half the number of subjects the observations were
made on the skin of the thumb, of the second toe, and of the nape of the neck, and
on the skin of forearm on all the subjects. There was a general correspondence of
delicacy of discrimination in the different parts of the skin tested in any one subject.
A few of the subjects showed a very much greater delicacy of discrimination than the
others, while the latter showed a fairly uniform delicacy which is considerably greater
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Anthropological Revieiva and Miscellanea. 223.
than that shown by the short series of white men who have been tested by the same
method.
Observations on the sensitivity to pain produced by simple pressure on the skin
were made by means of Catteirs algometer. With, this instrument it seems to be
possible to register accurately the point at which, with increasing pressure, a painful
element is first perceived. The sensitivity to pain as thus determined seemed to be,
roughly, inversely proportional to the delicacy of touch discrimination in the series of
individuals, and in the whole series the sensitivity seemed to be distinctly less than in
the short series of white men observed.
Similar series of observations were made on thirty children. It should be under-
stood that the degree of pain produced was in all cases so slight as not to spoil the
pleasure and interest of subjects in the proceedings.
The accuracy of localisation of touch sensations was also measured in a number of
the same subjects, and temperature spots were mapped out in a few.
In the same subjects a series of observations on the delicacy of discrimination of
differences of weight was made, and other series were made with the purpose of
determining the degree of suggestibility of the people — the effect of size as appreciated
by sight and grasp on the judgment of weight. It was interesting to find that although
the abstract idea of weight seemed entirely new to the minds of these people, and no
term in their language answered to it exactly, yet their power of discrimination of
difference is at least as good as our own.
In the same series of people the blood-pressure was observed by means of Hill and
Barnard's sphygmo-manometer during rest, muscular work, mental work and excite-
ment, and slightly painful skin-pressure, and marked variations recorded under these
conditions. No series of observations on white men under similar conditions have yet
been made for comparison.
Music: Torres Straits, etc. Myers.
Mr. C. S. Myers contributed some observations on Savage Music, dwelling on the
interest of savage music for the anthropologist as contrasted with that of the musician.
He considered the problem as to how far common fundamental physiological conditions
lurking beneath the differences of music were covered over by the various psychological
factors inseparable from distinct civilisations. Sympathy was, he considered, the basis
of music, including musical and noise sounds, as long as they awakened the required
feeling of pleasure in the minds of a suitable audience. The characteristic feature of
Murray Island music was the lack of rhythm in the now obsolete tunes that were
reproduced in the phonograph. In respect of the complexities of rhythm in other
races, Mr. Myers said that from his own observations on the Malays of Sarawak, there
were grounds for suspecting the futility of search after quarter-tone music, owing to
irregularity of intonation.
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( 224 )
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Folklore in Borneo. 8vo. Wallingforft, Penn-
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A Theory of Universal Grammar.
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Aspen Mining District, Colorado.
Geological Survey, Waahinffton.
The later extinct Floras, North America,
Geological Survey, Washington, 1899.
The Student's Flora of New Zealand.
Mackay, Wellington, 1899.
Memoirs D'Archeologie et, etc., ete.
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Australian Advancement of Science.
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JOURNAL
OF THl
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
OF GBEAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
ORDINAEY MEETING.
NOVEMBEE 7th, 1899.
C. II. Ekad, Esq., F.S.A., President^ in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and signed.
The election, as Fellows of the Institute, was announced of the following : —
Mr. 6. F. Lawrence, Miss S. E. Eucker, Mr. A. S. Quick, Dr. J. W. Williams, ,
Mr. J. F. Tocher, Mrs. K. Leb, Mr. F. W. Christian, and Mr. E. C. Maclagan.
The President regretted that Lieut-Colonel Macdonald was prevented by
illness from reading his paper.
Mr. Wm. Crooke then re^d Lieut.-Colonel J. E. L. Macdonald's paper: —
"Notes on the Ethnology of Tribes met with during progress of the Juba
Expedition of 1897-99," and Dr. G arson exhibited a series of lantern slides
illustrating the paper.
Discussion was carried on by Captain Malcolm, Mr. Crooke, Mr. 6. L.
GoMME, Mr. Shrubsall, Mr. Bouverie Pusey, Sir Thomas Holdich, and others.
The President, after pointing out the value of such papers, and the difficulty
Lieut-Colonel Macdonald must have had in collecting such information, amongst
the other duties of his position, closed the proceedings with a vote of tlianks to
Lieut-Colonel Macdonald for his paper, to Mr. Crooke for reading it, and t'j Dr.
Garson for exhibiting the slides.
Nbw Series, Vol. II, Nos. 3 and 4.
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'\
( 226 )
NOTES ON THE ETHNOLOGY OF TRIBES MET WITH DURING
PROGRESS OF THE JUBA EXPEDITION OF 1897-99.
By LiEUT.-CoLONEL J. R. L. Macdonald.
During the travels of the expedition which I had the honour to command, we
came in contact with between thiity and forty native tribes, and were able to
collect a series of notes on their languages, customs, and traditions, meagre indeed,
but still of interest. In some cases the information is new, and in others it tends
to support the views of previous traveller, or modify their speculations by the
provision of additional data. The expedition had neither the time nor the scientific
training necessary for the task of solving the many most interesting problems
regarding the true classification and grouping of these various tribes in the general
scheme of the African races, or of tracing the various migrations that must have
led them to their present geographical distribution. That must be left to experts,
and the expedition will be content if it has supplied a few additional facts to guide
the experts to the solution of the problems.
The regions, in which the labours of the expedition lay, are singularly
interesting from an ethnological point of view, comprising as they do the meeting-
place of several great African families, the Bantu, the Negro, the Hamitic and the
Masai or Nuba-FuUa. In endeavouring to compile a few notes that may be
interesting, I would purpose to consider the language, customs, etc., of the tribes
encountered in five groups, without prejudice to their ultimate inclusion in any of
the great African races. The grouping I propose for the purpose of this paper is
one that I was led to adopt from the apparent connection of the tribes, and whether
or not it may be scientifically accurate, it is at all events convenient, as whatevci-
race the group may be ultimately included in, it will probably carry with it all its
component members. This grouping is as follows : —
Nuha-Fulla ?
Masai.
Kwafi.
Sambur or Kore.
Latuka.
Karamojo.
Turkana.
Donyiro.
Elgumi.
Langu.
Eom.
Lango or Wakedi.
Umiro.
Eimama.
Wahima ?
Suk?
Suk.
Nandi.
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Journal of (he Anthropological Tnxlitufe {N.S.), Vol. II, Plafu XXIX.
I.-MAP OF UGANDA AND ADJOINING TERRITORIES
ILLUSTRATING THE PRESENT DISTRIBUTION OF THE ALLIED TRIBES
By J. R. Macdonald, Lt. Col.
^•^^«^ y^^a^kair^ VICTORIA NYANZA
Ammbiro ^^ JJft^A^ _ "Idf?^** r/T^^***^ ■'^^^^^
Vt^r^ ^ ElafijtuLe 5 /iBiikoba
&'-W*'»UJJ yiLLKIIBO JBra^^i V .^ .
o \ ^<^ ^"i. -'^ f?
.AiTU-riWA
TU* £diul>irrgli Gc<K^f<ipiui-«l laaotntn
EXPLANATION OF COLOURING
Karamojo | ]Suk-Nandi Group
Lango Tribes EL^^^ Negro
believed to be allied i 1
to the Karamojo 1 J Bantu
Masai and Latuka
[^ ^JSomali, etc.
The relative territory of Eloegop, Suk-Nandi, and Karamojo is probably fairly reliable
The contemporary distribution of the Lango, Bantu, and Negro Tribes as shown
is however uncertain, and is here to be considered as only a suggestion
Route of Col. Macdonalds' Expedition shown thus:— Digitized by VJjOOQI^^
Jnvrnal of fhe Anlhi-opoloriical Tmlilulf (N.S.), Vol. II, Plate XXS.
II.-MAP OF UGANDA AND ADJOINING TERRITORIES
ILLUSTRATING FORMER EXTENDED DOMINION OF THE ELOEQOP (MASAI)
By J. R. Macdonald, Lt. Col.
Th# Loiulnxr^i Ovo^rBpJu*-4i1 IxLVtitiUA
EXPLANATION OF COLOURING
E j Karamojo
jLango Tribes
believed to be allied
to the Karamojo
Masai and Latuka
Suk-Nandi Group
Negro
Bantu
Somali, etc.
The relative territory of Eioegop, Suk-Nandi, and Karamojo is probably fairly reliable
The contemporary distribution of the Lango, Bantu, and Negro Tribes as shown
is however uncertain, and is here to be considered as only a suggestion
I Route of Col. Macdonaldt' Expedition shown thus:— Digitized by VjOO^^^
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Lieutenant-Colonel J. K. L. Macdonald. — Notes on the Ethnolof/y of Tribes. 227
Kamasia and Elgeyo. Wakavirondu.
Lumbwa and Sotik. Waketosh.
Lake. Masowa.
Save, Sore, etc.
Anderobo. NcfjnK
Bantu.
Wagandu.
Wasoga.
Wanyoro.
Watoru.
Sliuli.
Nyifa or South Kavirondo.
Madi.
Bari.
Beri.
Many of these tribes have been so fnll)'^ dealt with by others that they need
not be further referred to liere, but the remaining tribes I propose to deal with by
first (a) Considering the connection in language ; {h) furnisliing some information
regarding their habits and customs ; and (c) giving a few brief notes on tlieir history
as it could be obtained from their own traditions or deduced from those of their
neighbours.
{a.) Comparative Vocabularies.
The comparison of languages by means of meagre vocabularies is unsatisfactory
in many respects ; but in the case of an expedition which travels rapidly and cannot
afford the time for the construction of grammars, the comparison by vocabularj'^ is
the only one possible.
It must, however, be remembered that the vocabularies collected by the
expedition were not taken from slaves at a distance from their own countries,
but were in almost every case the result of actual travel amongst the tribes
concerned.
Comparative vocabularies of twelve languages, in addition to Swahili (the
general medium of conversation), are attached. Of these twelve, two, the Ogaden
Somali and Borana Galla, were taken down from Somalis who accompanied the
expedition for purposes of comparison with the other languages ; as they may be
of interest I have allowed them to stand in the tables accompanying this paper.
Each vocabulary given shows about 108 words. Unfortunately Mr. C. Hobley,
who had collected vocabularies of certain languages, could not furnish me with a
list of the English words he used, and so only some forty words are common to
his and my own vocabularies ; still this is better than nothing and renders the two
sets of vocabularies mutually useful.
The expedition vocabularies embrace the languages of the following tribes : —
Usoga, North Kavirondo, Masai, Karamojo, Latuka, Nandi, Anderobo, Save, Suk
and South Kavirondo. The people of Kamasia and Elgeyo talk the same language
as the Nandi, and the Turkana and Donyvio have the same language as the
Karamojo.
Mr. C. Hobley gives vocabularies of the following: — North Kavirondo, Muhasa,
South Kavirondo (Nyifa or Nife), Elgumi, Nandi, and Lake.
c^ 2
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228 Lieutenant-Colonel J. K. L. Macdonald. — Notes on the Ethnology of
As already stated some forty words are common to both sets of vocabularies,
so we can, to this extent, construct a comparative vocabulary of the languages
talked by some fifteen of the tribes in the area under discussion. Casati's vocabulary
of Lur, which is stated by Emin te be closely allied to Shuli, has a good many
words common to one or other set of vocabularies, and shows that South Kavirondo
is allied to those languages ; and as the Kwafi and Samburu languages are merely
dialects of Masai, we may say that we can te some extent extend our comparison
over nineteen languages.
With regard to the expedition vocabularies care was taken by questioning
several men to secure accuracy in obtaining the correct corresponding word. That
this was invariably successful is hardly probable ; but still it is hoped that the
results of our efforts towards strict accuracy will be found fairly reliable.
The vocabularies of Usoga, North Kavirondo, Masai, Karamojo, South
Kavirondo, and Suk were obtained direct from natives of these tribes; the
languages of the Nandi and Anderobo were got from a Suk Government interpreter;
the Save vocabulary was taken down from a Swahili who had been long resident in
the district and knew the language well ; while the Latuka was from the Latuka
Soudanese who had been some time in that country and had Latuka wives.
Kiswahili was the medium of communication in every case except Latuka when
Arabic was employed.
The words have been written in English characters as nearly phonetically as
possible, but in dealing with savage languages and imfamiliar sounds it is ver}'
difficult to express the exact sound in English characters. The '* 1 " and " r " are
practically interchangeable in many cases, and the sounds of " p '* and " d " may
almost imperceptibly slide into " b " and " t," while the hard " g " and " k " are
frequently nearly alike. Again there are some nasal sounds in Masai, Karamojo
and allied languages that are difficult to express ; these have been shown by " ng "
or " n " as most nearly representing them.
We may now glance at the general results, Masai, Kwafi (or more properly
Guash Ngishu, for Kwafi is a Swahili term), and Sambur (or Kore) are three
divisions of the one tribe, the Eloegop, and speak what may be considered one
language with slight dialectic differences. This was noticed by Farler, as regards
tlie two first-mentioned, from vocabularies made out by missionaries before
Masailand was actually visited by Europeans. Extensive vocabularies of Masai
and Kwafi have been compiled by Krapf and Erhardt, and Oust groups tliis
language with the Nuba-FuUa.
We found that the language most nearly allied to that of the Eloegop, though
widely separated in geographical position, was that of Latuka in the Nile Basin.
The classification of this language had previously been a matter of dispute. Oust
in his Modem Lang^iiagcs of Africa places it in the Negro group, but notes that
Baker in his Nyanza remarked that it was quite distinct from that of the Nile
tribes he met. Baker was inclined to think that the people of Latuka were
Gallas, while Emin placed them among the Langos, whom Gust classes in th^
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THhes met vjith duH^ig pi'ogress of the Jtiba Expedition of 1897-9. 229
Haniitic group, and Eavenstein in 1884 from Eniin's vocabulary considered the
Ljituka were Masai. The Latuka can hardly be called Masai, but the great
similarity of their languages, extending as it does to some thirty per cent, of the
words, would appear to show a common origin.
The Latuka and Eloegop must, however, have been separated for a long
interval as there are marked differences in the intonation of certain words, the
Latuka being on the whole the softer language.
Closely allied to the language of Eloegop and Latuka, but with mther more
divergence, comes that of the Karamojo Turkana and Donyiro, which has, however,
sufficient similarity to indicate a common origin. It is noticeable that the syllable
" ak " which begins so many Karamojo words is not so very different in sound, as
might be supposed by the spelling, from the " ng " which appears in Masai, the
" g " of which is very hard and almost " k ".
I was unable to get a comparative vocabulary of Elgumi, but fortunately
Mr. 0. Hobley secured one, a'^d this shows that the language of the Elgumi may
be considered a dialect of Karamojo. I may here mention that Elgumi is a name
applied by the Masai not only to the tribe west of Mount Elgon but also to the
Turkana and possibly to the Karamojo. It is not a name recognised by the tribes
themselves, and would appear to be a nickname applied by the Masai to their
tribes on account of their well-developed noses. The term Elgumi is thus
somewhat indiscriminately used by the Masai for the Karamojo tribes, in the same
way as "Lango" is used by the Nile tribes to the west to designate the same
people.
We thus find the Masai, Guash Ngishu (or Kwafi), Sambur (or Kore), Latuka,
Kammojo, Turkana, Donyiro and Elgumi speaking languages which would appear
to clearly indicate a common origin.
So far we have been on fairly solid ground, but with regard to the other
tribes I have provisionally placed in the same group, information at our disposal
is hearsay. The people of Langu and Eom were visited by the expedition, but
vocabularies were not collected. We were, however, told by our Karamojo guides
that these small tribes were allied to themselves and spoke a nearly identical
language. I am inclined to think the same .thing applies to the Lango or Wakedi,
the Umiro and Kimama. It is doubtful whether these last names do not refer to
one and the same tribe. The Karamojo know the powerful tribe dwelling north
of Lake Salisbury as the Kimama and say their territory extends far to the west.
They do not know the term Lango or Wakedi and appear to know little of Umiro.
The territory they ascribe to the Kimama would appear to be so extensive as to
embrace a considerable portion of the country which is said by the Waganda,
Wangoro and Shuli to be occupied by the Lango and Umiro. I have already
pointed out that " Lango " is a far-reaching term as employed by the Nile tribes
and is used to embrace the Karamojo themselves. Wakedi or Bakedi (the naked
people) is simply a Luganda and Lungoro nickname applied to the Lango. I am
accordingly inclined to think that the tribe might be called Umiro and that the
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2:50 Lieutenant-Colonel J. E. L Macdonald. — Notes on the Ethnology of
Uniiro are known on the east as Kimama and on the west as Lango. They would,
however, appear to l>e allied in language to the Karamqjo, but it appears to me
that they are not a pure bred tribe, but an admixture of Karaniojo and Nilotic and
perhaps aboriginal blood. It is to be noted that while the Eloegop, Latuka, and
Karaniojo are largely pastoral and dwellers on the more open plains, the peoples
of Kom, Langu, Umiro and Lango are for the most part higlilanders, while the
Kimama are dwellers in swampy country. Still the balance of evidence would
seem to show that these last mentioned tribes are more or less allied to the
Karamojo group.
This latter group would appear even more extensive, as our Swahilis told us
of another trilje north of Karamojo called Dabosa which speaks the same language
as Karamojo, and the Dodinga (or Irenga) tribe would also appear allied to this.
The group of languages we have so far considered are apparently connected to the
extent of 30 or 40 per cent, of their words, but now we come to another group, the
Suk-Nandi, which, while possessing a still larger percentf^e of words common
within the gi*oup, has comparatively a small percentage of words which appear in
the languages of the Masai group. The percentage is lowest, about 5 per cent, in
the case of the Latuka, which is geographically most removed, and rises to alx)ut
11 per cent, in Masai and Karamojo, which are conterminous with the Suk-Nandi
country. It is interesting to note that the group now dealt with has almost the
stime percentage of words common to the language of Ogaden Somali, a Hamitic
family.
It had previously been noted that the Nandi, Lumbeva and Sotik were the
same, or a clearly allied people, and more recently that of Nandi Kamasia and
Elgeyo tribes appeared identified. Mr. C. Hobley, to whose study of the languages
of his district we owe so much, further established a close connection between the
Nandi, Lako and Save. It was, however, left for the expedition not only to
confirm Mr. Hobley*s deductions, but also to bring into the same group the
Suk, and an even more interesting fact, the Anderobo, formerly classed as a Helot
tribe.
With the exception of the Anderobo, who are Helots to the Masai and are
admitted by their masters to have been the original inhabitants of Central
Masailand, the remaining tribes of this group are mountaineers, who not only
possess what is almost a common language but who also show a great similarity in
many of their customs.
These connections, together with the present geographical distribution of the
tribes and tlieii* own legends, would show that they form fragments of a large tribe,
which occupied an extensive tract of Masailand and South Karamojo prior to the
advent of the Eloegop. This is further confirmed by the inclusion of the Helot
Anderobo in the Suk-Mandi group of languages. The northern members of the
group show more connection in loan words with the Karamojo, the southern
members with the Masai, and this is in harmony with the tribal traditions to the
effect that they were respectively partially dispossessed by Karamojo and Eloegop.
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Tribes met vnth duHng progress of the Juha Mt-pedition of 1897-9. 231
A further interesting fact in this connection is that the Suk headdress favour the
Karamojo as the Mandi one does the Masai.
The well-marked Bantu group need not be dwelt on. But it may be
interesting to note a few points regarding Ketosh and Masawa. I have called the
Bantu tribe north of the Nzoia Eiver and south of Mount Elgon Ketosh, and
confined the term Masawa to the region west of Mount Elgon. It must however
be understood that Masawa is sometimes used in a wider sense to embrace Ketosh,
and that the inhabitants of both regions would appear to belong to one tribe or to
be very closely related. Mr. Hobley, who first established that there were Bantu
speaking people on the west of Mount Elgon, was inclined to show a wedge of
Elgumi separating what I call Masawa into a northern and a southern portion.
During our journey to the west of Mount Elgon, however, we found tribes he had
classed with the Elgumi ; the Ngoko, for instance, were Bantu, and on discussing
this point with Mr. Hobley on our return he was inclined to agree with us that the
western slopes of Mount Elgon might all be classed as Bantu. The people of
Ketosh and Masawa, though they have much in common with the Bantu Kavirondo,
have certain marked resemblance to the Wasoga, and it is interesting to find that
the language of Usoga would appear to bear a far closer connection with Masawa
than with North Kavirondo.
Of the Negro group of tribes I have little to say. Mr. Hobley had already
established the fact that the people of South Kavirondo or Nyifa (Nife) belonged
to this group, a fact borne out by the connection between the Nyifa and Lur
vocabularies. The Lur and Shuli languages are closely connected, as has been
pointed out by Emin, who also found they were so closely related to Shilluk, that
his Shilluk soldiers could easily make themselves intelligible to the Shuli. The
Bari and Beri are supposed to be connected with the Dinka, and the Madi with
the Nyambara (Oust) or Makaraka.
There are evidently fragments of still older tribes scattered about in this great
area the study of whose languages would be interesting. Thus the Lako, Save and
Masawa told us of a small scattered tribe, called the Elgonyi, who dwell on the
upper slopes of Mount Elgon. Similarly the people of Latuka said that amongst
the lofty mountains south-west of the Latuka valley, therp were a number of small
tribes with a language differing from that of the Latuka and Nile tribes.
Donaldson Smith found a small separate community called Dume, north of Lake
Stephani; and Austin was not able to connect the Marie north-west of Lake
Eudolf with the surrounding tribes, though they bore some resemblance to the
Masai or Sambur.
(6.) NoT»s OF Customs of Various Tribes.
The Masai group including the whole of the Eloegop, the Latuka, the
Karamojo, Turkana, Donyiro, and Elgumi are, for the most part, pastoral dwellers
in open grass plains. Agriculture is, however, practised to some extent more
especially in Latuka, Karamojo and Elgumi. With the one exception of Latuka,
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232 Lieutenant-Colonel J. R L Macdonald,— ^Vo/t'^j on the Etluwlogy of
where there is a recognised king, the remaining members of the group are split
up amongst a numl)er of petty chiefs, who, however, combine in case of war.
Internal strife is, for the most part, avoided by strict laws regarding the
settlement of disputes ; this has, however, become rather lax amongst the Eloegop,
who have in consequence become much weakened by civil war and are fast losing
their power.
The members of this group dwell in considerable villages or groups of
villages, permanent and large in the case of Latuka, semi-permanent in the
case of Karamojo and Elgumi, and movable amongst the Eloegop and Turkana.
It is doubtful what is the religious belief of the Latuka, but the other
members of the group believe in one Supreme Being and in a future life, though
there is also a belief in the power of rain and locust doctors.
There is amongst all much the same general organisation for war, and two
fighting chiefs are appointed on mobilization. The fighting weapons are spear and
shield ; bows and arrows are hardly used at all. A few old men amongst the
Masai possess these weapons, but poison is not employed. The northern members
of the group, however, use the throwing spear as a missile. All the members of
the group are brave and courageous and are much feared by their neighboui-s.
They are, liowever, open and manly, and not given to treachery as a rule.
The tribes to the west, whom I have already mentioned as being probably of
mixed origin though allied to the Kai*amojo, are more agricultural and dwell in
more difficult country. They also apjjear to be more treacherous, but use much
the same weapons as the Karamojo.
The knowledge of working iron, dressing hides, and making pottery is
universal. The males are, for the most part, naked ; the females more or less
decently dressed.
In view of the recent medical theory on the connection between mosquitos and
malarial fever, it is interesting to note that amongst some lyiembers of the group
it is a well-established article of belief.
The following more deUiiled account of the customs, etc., of the Masai and
Karamojo are given : —
Masai.
The men are mostly tall, the women of medium height. The hair is woolly.
Prognathous features are never seen. Their muscles are not, as a rule, well-
developed, but they are active.
Mode of Subsistence, — Mainly by pastoral pursuits. Cooking is primitive
when obliged to eat vegetable food, this is prepared by boiling; but they live,
when possible, on milk and meat, the latter raw, or nearly so.
Their huts are little more than dome-shaped shelters, either thatched or
covered with hides, each with a small door. A collection of huts is enclosed by a
thorn zareba. If obliged by scarcity of cattle, sheep, or goats to take to agricultm-e,
they grow millet.
Helvjion and Customs, — ^A young man is not supposed to marry until he has
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Tinhcs met vnth during irrogress of the Jvha Eoyedition of 1897-9. 233
blooded his spear. He sends a jar of honey or small present to the parents of the
girl he wishes to marry. If they accept this, it is a sign his suit is approved of.
He then sends four oxen, and three goats, and the bride's mother brings the girl
to his hut, where the bridegroom has milk in readiness. The bride refuses to
enter until she is given a goat. There is no ceremony, but the bridegroom wears
the bride's skin petticoat, sme^^red with fat and red earth for a month after
marriage. There is no limit to the number of wives. A wife who misconducts
herself three times may be returned to her parents, who refund the present
received from her husband.
Women with child are fed on light diet. After birth both mother and
child are given the fat of goats, and a mixture of blood and milk. The first
appearance of milk teeth on the left before the right is considered a bad omen. A
child is named after two months. On death a chief may be buried ; lesser people
are carried outside the kraal and left to the hyenas.
The Masai believe in one Supreme Being, called " Ngai," and in a future
state. The Supreme Being is always invoked for success on the war-path.
Before starting on the war-path, the Leibon is consulted, and medicine made.
The warriors then, for some time previous to the start, retire into the jungle and
eat flesh, which is supposed to make them fierce.
Two fighting chiefs are selected, and the war party assembles. An ox is then
killed, and the Leibon makes a fire ; each warrior lights his fire from the central
one, and after the ceremony is irrevocably committed to the war-path.
In dividing spoil, a place is selected some four days' march from home. The
war party then select nine men as arbitrators, all of whom must be good warriors.
These arbitrators then call out the warriors one by one, and allot to each his share.
If any man objects, his objection is considered, and, as an ultimate resort, he fights
one of the arbitrators, with knobkerries and shields as a rule. If he fails to
defeat the arbitrator, he gets nothing; if he kills him, he is himseK put to
death.
If in peace a man kills tmother, all his cattle are given to the victim's father.
If he wounds another, nothing is done if the wounded man recovers ; but if he is
permanently disabled, a fine of oxen up to nine is paid.
In settUng serious disputes by oath, each disputant takes hold of a goat or
sheep, which is then cut in two. This is done in presence of witnesses, and the
matter thus settled is not supposed to be reopened.
A minor oath as to a statement is taken by biting a piece of grass.
Arts and MamtfcLctures, — Raw hide is made into shields and scabbards, and
used for clothing.
Tobacco is smoked in pipes or used as snufif.
A fermented liquor is made from millet.
Their ironwork is manufactured for them by their subordinate Wanderobe.
Personal Ch'navients. — The lobule of the ear is pierced and enormously
distended ; they wear a cylindrical block of wood in the aperture.
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2;54 Lieutenant-Colonel J. R. L. Macdonalu. — Notes on the Eihrwlogy of
The hair of both sexes is plastered with grease and wet clay, and plaited into
a number of small tails.
An operation resembling circumcision is practised on the men, and a special
mutilation on the women.
The ordinary dress of the men consists of one or two goat-hides ; they have
no idea of decency ; but the women are well covered with similar hides.
Both men and women plaster the body with grease, generally mutton fat, and
red clay. The married women shave their heads ; they also wear a high collar of
rings of ii'on superimposed one above another; the forearms and the legs, for
several inches above the ankle, are covered with similar rings.
When in fighting dress, the men wear an arrangement of feathers in a ring
surrounding the face, a skin, generally of the Colotos monkey, fastened round the
neck and hanging down the back, and strips of Colobos hide round the ankles and
surrounding the leg just below the knee.
The chief weapons are spears, swords and shields. The spear is a characteristic
shape, and meant only for use at close quartere ; the blade is of the shape of a
double-edged, straight sword, and is of great length ; the shaft, of wood, is merely
long enough to afibrd a grip ; the blade is balanced by a long pointed, cylindrical
piece of ii'on as a pommel.
The swords are usually short ; they ai-e of a spatulate shape and double-edged.
The grip is wound round with a strip of hide. The scabbard is of wood covered
with hide.
The shield is large, oval, and convex in front. It is painted in red and white
clay pigments. The devices used are various.
Bows and arrows ai'e not unknown, but are not used in action, being mostly
confined to the old men.
Bcirter. — Brass and wire, especially iron wire, are in demand. Beads and
cloth are also taken in exchange for native products.
Karamqjo,
The men are almost nearly all well over medium height. Many attain a
height of 6 feet 2 inches, and several individuals of the height of 6 feet 4 inches
or 5 inclies were observed.
The physical development is, as a rule, magnificent. The only peculiarity in
build is that the clavicle is often short, so that an appearance of narrowness is
given to the shoulders.
They are active, and rmi with exceptionally good action.
The women are of medium height. The prognathous type is very rare ; the
features are generally well developed.
The tribe has a great reputation as warriors.
Mode of Subsistence. — Chiefly by agricultural pursuits, they have also large
herds of cattle, sheep, goats and donkeys.
The chief crop cultivated is millet.
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Ti'ibes met with duHiuj p'Offress of the Juba E^ypedition of 1897-9. 235
Agricultural implements consist of hoes, either with a long or short shaft.
The millet is cooked either by parching the grain or by heating a mass of
millet flour with water.
The huts are small and roimd, with wattle walls and conical thatched roofs.
The furniture consists of small wooden stools, also used as pillows at night.
Eeligioiu — An indefinite belief in a Supreme Being and in the ghosts of
ancestors appears to constitute their faith. The Supreme Being is known as
" Akuja," and is invoked to protect the crops and for success in war.
Dead bodies seem, as a rule, to be merely deposited outside the villages to be
eaten by hyenas, etc. The bodies of chiefs are, however, buried.
Marriage is not a matter of barter as amongst most tribes. The girl can veto
the arrangements, and hence is regularly courted, her parents not interfering in
any way until her wishes are known.
If a wife misconducts herself three times she may be returned to her
father's house, the latter returning to her husband the present originally received.
There is no limit to the number of wives.
There are strict mles regarding disputes, which, if serious, are adjudicated on
l>y a council of chiefs. Homicide is severely repressed. Murder is punished with
death. Accidental homicide may be pardoned the first time, but a second case is
punished with death.
In war two fighting leaders are selected by the council of chiefs, and under
these leaders are the various communities each under its own local chief as his
representative. The division of spoil is carefully regulated.
When a child is born it is given blood as well as milk. If it develops milk
teeth on the left side before the right, it is a bad omen, and a goat is sacrificed ;
but the child is not put to death as amongst some other tribes. The child receives
a name which, in the case of a boy, is altered when he has been on the war-path.
There is no fixed rule against a young man marrying before he has killed an
enemy or been on the war-path, but as this is a warlike tribe and the women are
allowed a voice in matrimonial arrangements, it is more or less a custom that a
young man must distinguish himself in war before marrying.
They believe in omens, and before a raiding expedition consult the entrails of
a goat.
They also believe in '' medicine " for production of rain and to ward ofi*
locusts. In the former case a black ox is killed and its blood caught and mixed
with water in an eai'then pot ; a fire is then lighted and extinguished with the
blood and water. Eain is supposed to follow if there has been no irregularity in
the ceremony.
To ward off locusts a red-headed goat is selected and killed by a blow on the
head; its stomach is then taken out and cast in the direction from which the
locusts are coming ; this is supposed to turn them.
A solemn oath is taken in the following way : A black ox is selected and
speared, the interested parties then take hold of a leg each, and these are cut
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236 LiEUTENANT-C'oLONEL J. R. L. Macj^onald.— iV^o/r.s' on the Ethnology of
from the body : each then partakes of the mari-ow from the leg he has thus
received.
Arts and Manufactures. — A rude kind of black earthenware pottery is made.
Tobacco is smoked ; the pipe in common use is fitted with a gourd, which is
filled with water, through which the smoke is drawn.
The only intoxicating liquor is a fermented drink made from millet.
Iron is the only metal worked ; their weapons and implements are well made.
Personal Adornments, etc, — Marking by raised cicatrices is practically universal.
Ear ornaments consist of a number of small rings, passed through the free edge
of the ear. The lower lip is usually pierced, and a small piece of wood, ivory or
brass wire inserted.
A characteristic ornament worn by men of importance is a collar formed of
rings of iron lying one above another, and kept in position by vertical stays of
the same metal. The arms are generally decorated with lai"ge bracelets of ivoiy.
The headgear of the men consists of a large mat of hair worn on the back
of the head, and secured by a string passing round the forehead. This is supposed
to be made from the hair of the wearer's ancestors. The men go about absolutely
naked — the women wear small skins.
Circumcision is not practised.
The women wear necklaces of imported beads, and also made of small
circular pieces of ostrich egg-shells, and of the vertebrae of snakes, with the ribs
removed.
Weapons consist of spears and shields. The spears are formed for either
thrusting or throwing ; the heads are small, and of a bay-leaf shape ; the neck of
the blade is long and forms a considerable portion of the shaft. The edge of the
blade is kept very sharp, and is protected by a rim of hide. The shields are very
small, of an oblong shape, with concave lateral edges. The ivory bracelets worn
on the foreai-m are very long, and are apparently so made as a means of protection.
Knobkerries are also used, both for striking and throwing.
Many warriors also wear a circular iron bracelet, with a sharp cutting edge,
for fighting at close quarters ; the edge of this is, like the spear-head, protected
by a leather rim, which can be sprung off at once; to prevent this iron disc
cutting the wrist, it is set into a leather bracelet, which protects the skin.
The expedition was a long time in the country of Karamojo, and our relations
with this people were most friendly throughout. This was much facilitated by
the fact that they had a tradition that white men would ultimately come to rule
the countiy. As we were the first white men to enter Karamojo, the natives said
the tradition had been fulfilled, and that the country was ours.
The Karamojo were a singularly honest people, the most honest savages I had
ever met. We bought large quantities of food from them, some 400 sacks of
grain, the rate of exchange being one goat for a sack of millet. They always
expected to be paid in advance, and on stating how many sacks they were
prepared to provide, took away that number of goats and empty bags. In one,
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THbes met with duriru/ progress of the Jiiba Expedition of 1897-9. 237
two, or three days according to the distance of their homes from camp, they
returned with the grain, and in no single case were they dishonest. On another
occasion we paid a man seven goats to guide us for a month. After three days,
however, he said he did not know the road we proposed taking and would rescind
the contract With this intimation he disappeared, and it was not until many a
month later that we got back to our standing camp at Titi, when I found, somewhat
to my surprise, I admit, that the absconding guide had returned the seven goats to
the European in charge of the camp.
They have a very practical way of encouraging industry in the young.
A child gets a smaller ration than an adult. But when the child gix)W8 up,
and complains that the reduced ration is no longer sufficient it is presented
witli a hoe and told to assist in the common cultivation, if it expects an adult's
•fare.
The Suk'Naiuli grmip are mountaineers and dwellers in forest regions. They
have this in common that they do not live in villages, but in scattered hamlets of
one or two houses, each with its own small patch of cultivation which produces
little more than is necessary for the inhabitants. These patches of cultivation
are, however, often irrigated with some skill. The natives are not, however,
dependent on agriculture aloue, as they have considerable flocks of goats and
sheep and some cattle. Fowls are also kept, which is not the case amongst the
Masai and kindred tribes. Amongst the Suk group of tribes both sexes are
of medium height and slightly built. They are, however, active. The features
are generally good, and only amongst the Suk and Anderobo does slight
prognathism exist.
The tribal organisation is more poorly developed than amongst the surrounding
tribes, and the power of combination seems small except perhaps amongst the
Nandi and Suk.
The weapons used are bows with poisoned arrows, spears and shields. The
mem here of this group are treacherous and unreliable with a few exceptions. They
appear to have a vague belief in a Supreme Being, but very little is known
of their religion.
Skins are cured, rude earthenware made, a fermented drink is prepared from
millet, and iron is worked in the various districts, except Save, where iron
implements are imported.
Except among the Suk, no disfigurement except ear-piercmg is practised.
Ear ornaments, generally of iron or brass, are worn in a perforation of the lobule.
T!ie males are naked ; the females wear a short petticoat. The form of headdress
is various. The Suk use the felted liair bag of Karamojo, while the Nandi,
Luko and Save affect the Masai style.
A more detailed description of the Suk is given below: — The men are of
medium height ; the women are short in stature. Slight prognathism is common.
Aluscular development is fair.
Mode of Subsisteyice. — Those who dwell in the hills live by agriculture;
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238 LiEUTENANT-CoLONKL J. E. L Macdo^ald.— Notes on the Ethnology of
irrigation is employed. Those who live in the plains, in the east of the Suk
country are pastoral. Game is caught, chiefly by loop snares attached to heavy
logs. The millet, which is the principal grain cultivated, is made into a coarse
meal and cooked as a stiff porridge.
The huts are circular in plan, the walls made of upright poles plastered with
mud, and the roofs, which are dome-shaped, are thatched. The houses are
scattered and are not stockaded.
Iron hoes are used for cultivating.
Religion and> Ctcstoms, — The Suk believe in a Supreme Being called
" Akisomlorot," and have some idea of a future state. They pray for success
in war. They do not appear to believe in rain or locust doctors.
A young man may marry before he goes on the war-path. He presents the
parents of the girl he wishes to marry with a sheep. If they accept this, and
thus signify that they agree, he retiims in two days with a present of cattle and
takes the girl away. If she objects, he waits and catches her outside the house
and takes her to his hut. This relic of marriage by capture was also noticeable
amongst the Save, wheie, however, the bridegroom may be assisted in the pursuit
of the girl by a party of his friends.
On reaching the bridegroom's hut, the bride refuses to enter until the child
of a neighbour is produced. With this in her arms she enters the bridegroom's
house. There is no further ceremony.
If, as a wife, she misconducts herself she is sent back to her parents, who
refund her price in cattle.
A woman with child is dieted. The child is named by the mother four days
after birth. If a boy, he retains this name until his return from his firat war-
path, when his name is changed. If milk teeth first appear on the left side, it is
a bad omen, and the child is not suckled, but fed on goat's milk. The child is
weaned after three months.
.The dead are carried into the bush. Even the body of a chief is left
unburied, but an ox is slaughtered by the body, and the flesh of the ox may not
be eaten by any one.
The Suk, like the Nandi, appear to be capable of acting in bodies in war, and
select two fighting chiefs. There are no elaborate preparations before starting on
the war-path, although the warriors are supposed to eat as much meat as possible
before taking the field. Ostrich feathers in their hair are a sign that they are on
the war-path.
Their arrangements for dividing the spoil would also appear primitive. The
two chiefs take their share and the balance is divided anyhow. In the adjustment
of the inevitable disputes that arise, the use of spears is not allowed, but sticks
and knobkerries may be employed.
If one Suk in peace time kill another, he is fined all his cattle, but is not
put to death ; if he only maims he has to pay ten cattle. Thieves are punished by
being beaten with sticks.
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Tribes inet mth during progress of the Jicba Expedition of 1897-9. 239
Diaputante generally exchange spears as a sort of oath that they will abide
by the settlement arrived at.
Arts mid Manufactures. — Skins are cured, but not made into leather. A rude
kind of earthenware is made. Millet is grown and the fields are often irrigated
by small channels.
Tobacco is grown, and used as snuff. A fermented liquor is made from
millet, and largely consumed. Iron is worked.
Personal Ornaments, DisfigurementSy etc. — Some of the men are marked with
patterns in raised cicatrices on the chest. The two central lower incisors are.
removed. Ear-rings of wire are worn by tlie men in the lobule, and a few also
wear a ring in the septum of the nose. The lower lip is always perforated in the
male sex ; in this perforation is worn a pendant wire ornament from 4 to 6 inches
in length. The hair of the men is commonly plastered with mud on the top of
the head, and ornamented with feathers. Men of importance wear the long hair
bag {shoalip) of the Karamojo. In either case a piece of wire is inserted into the
hair posteriorly, and curved forward over the top of the head. The women wear
their hair in the natural state. The men are generally naked except for the skin
of a goat or monkey depending down the back. The women wear two or three
goat skins fastened round the waist. Circumcision is not practised.
Their weapons are spears, shields, bows and arrows. The spears are used
either for throwing or stabbing. The blades are small, and of a bay leaf shape ;
the butt end is protected by a small sharpened pommel and the edge of the blade
is protected, when not in use, by a rim of hide.
The shields are of wicker-work, and are oblong in shape, averaging about
3 feet in length, and 9 inches in breadth. The bows are well made, and the arrows
liave generally detachable thin wooden points which are poisoned and break ofl'
in the wound. A curved finger knife projecting, like a claw, from the finger ring,
is also sometimes worn.
The members of the Bantu and Negro groups have been so fully described by
othera that it is unnecessaiy to deal with them in detail here, and I will conclude
this paper with a few notes on the history of the tribes as gathered from their own
legends and traditions.
(r.) Notes on the Histoby of Certain Tkibes as Eegards Their Present
AND Past Geographical Distribution.
This is a somewhat difficult matter as the data with which we have to work
are very meagre, and it is not improbable that some of the deductions to which I
have come may be challenged or modified by others. But in dealing with such
primitive peoples, it is very dilficult to obtain any traditions as to their origin or
migration, and I sliall confine myself to the expansion, contraction and movements
of the tribes concerned within the area considered, and leave the larger question of
their actual origin to experts.
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240 LiEiTTENANT-CoLONKL J. R L. Macdonald.— iVo^f^ (m the Ethnology of
Dealing first with the Eloe^op, we find a tradition that they came from the
country oast of Lake Kudolf. Extendinj^ sonthwanl thoy conquered the whole of
the grass lands adjacent to the meridional rift, enslaved the Anderolx) there,
occupied the plateau of Lykipia and nearly exterminated the "Senguer," who
dwelt on the Guash Ngishu plateau.
As " 1 " and " r " are interchangeable " Senguer " of the Julm expedition is
evidently tlie same word as " Jangwel," a tenn which Mr. C. Ilobley found was
applied by the Nandi to designate their tribe. Still spreading onward the
Eloegop occupied the grass lands far to the south, as far as, or even beyond.
Mount Kilimanjaro. They then divided into three tribes, similar in language and
customs, but with a certain internal jealousy gradually growing into open war.
The Sambur retained the country east of Lake Rudolf, the plateau of Lykipia and
the meridional rift as far south as Baringt. The Guash Ngishu branch occupied
the equatorial portion of the meridional rift and the grass plateaux on the Guash
Ngishu and Man ; the Masai extended from Naivasha to Kilimanjaro. Civil
war broke out between the Masai and Guash Ngishu who were helped by their
kinsmen of Lykipia. After some initial defeats, the Masai detached the Sambur
of Lykipia from the hostile alliance and then crushed the Guash Ngishu so utterly
that the latter could no longer hold their own against the dispossessed Nandi and
their kindred, and ceased to exist as a tribe. They are now scattered dwellers iu
Nandi, Kavirondo or Ketosh.
The Sambur weakened by the civil war were attacked by the Suk who lived
on the southern portion of the Karamojo plateau, and were being expelled from
their country by an advancing Karamojo wave. Under the pressure of the
Karamojo the Suk migrated west and conquered from the enfeebled Sambur that
portion of the meridional rift north of Lake Baringo, thus practically cutting off
the Sambur of Njemps from those of Lake Rudolf. The latter had apparently to
deal with the growing power of the Rendile, who show close affinities in language
and customs with the Somali, and the isolated Sambur of Njemps were shorn of
their power under the attacks of two small villages near the south of Lake
Baringo. The Sambur of Lykipia, weakened by war and isolation and impoverished
by cattle plague, were in turn subject to attacks by the Rendile, and are now
almost, if not quite, destroyed. Thus the once great dominion of the Eloegop is
now represented by the southern branch, the Masai, and these, who suffered very
much by their civil wars, the cattle plague and from small-pox, are perceptibly
weakening in power, and signs are not wanting that a further split is in coui-se of
formation between the northern and southern Masai which will still further
weaken this once powerful and much dreaded tribe.
In this sketch of the Eloegop, based on their own traditions, I have not
referred to Latuka, as I could gather nothing to show any trace of the migration
which separated these peoples, although their common origin would appear to be
beyond a doubt.
But in tracing the migration, soutliwjinl, of the Eloegop, their great dominion
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Tribes met vrUh during progress of the Juha Expedition of 1897-9. 241
and their gradual decay, we have incidentally arrived at certain evidence as to the
relative antiquity within the geographical area considered, of certain other tribes.
The Anderobo, Nandi and Suk must have been anterior to the advent of the
Eloegop, while the Karamojo migration southward would appear of more recent
date.
Passing on to the Suk-Nandi group, we find that they comprise amongst
their members the Anderobo, and the Nandi (Sanguer or Jangwel) who were
admittedly prior to the Eloegop, and also find that this group of tribes embraces
many others who are now for the most part dwellers in the mountainous and forest
regions in this part of Africa. These tribes, often small and insignificant in
themselves, would appear to be broken fragments of a powerful and widespreading
people who occupied an extensive trait prior to the advent of the Eloegop,
Karamojo and Bantu conquerors.
It is also interesting to note that this group of tribes shows more connection
in language with the Ogaden Somalis than do the tribes which now occupy the
great expanse of intervening country. This is still more remarkable when we
bear in mind that the northern Somalis rather look down on the Ogadens as
having been more contaminated by mixture of blood with the aboriginal
inhabitants.
The greater antiquity of the Suk-Nandi group as compared with the Eloegop
is clear, and the Suk traditions, that they were dispossessed by the advance of the
Karamojo, subsequent to the migration of the Masai, would appear evidence that
the Karamojo wave is of still more recent date. There is also confirmation of the
Suk claim to have formerly occupied the south of the Karamojo plateau, in the fact
that the inhabitants of the Chemorongi mountains, which run as a wedge into the
Karamojo and Turkana country, are Suk, and that small completely isolated
colonies of Suk still dwell on the lofty mountains of Dehasien, Moroto and
Kamalinga, in South Karamojo. The people of Save, who belong to the Suk-Nandi
group, also say that they formerly occupied the plains north and east of Elgon until
dispossessed by the Eloegop and Karamojo. The southward movement of the
Karamojo would appear to have been at a much later date than that of the Eloegop,
although the connection of their language and customs point to a common origin.
The Karamojo themselves appear imknown to the Masai, but their kindred the
Turkana are called the Elgumi.
The Karamojo, Turkana and Donyiro are branches of one tribe, of the same
blood, language and customs, who have gradually moved southward and westward.
The Elgumi west of Mount Elgon appear to be an offshoot of the Karamojo, and it
is interesting to find that Mr. Hobley has discovered that only some 50-60 years
ago these Elgumi threw off a colony which intruded into the Bantu people of
Kavirondo and formed a settlement at Kikelelwa. This, coupled with the
southern advance within the same period of the Karamojo on the east of Mount
Elgon, would appear to show that the vitality of this great and warlike tribe is not
yet exhausted. The Karamojo would also appear to have reached the Victoria Nile,
New Seiiie8, Voi., II, Nos. 3 awd 4. R
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242 LlEUTENANT-CoLONKL J. R. L. MacdonalI). — NoUs on the Ethnology of
but the so-called Wakedi there are not pure Karamojo. It is more likely that
while the Karamojo have conquered widely it is only on suitable country like the
open grass plains that they retain f heir full characteristics, and in an unsuitable
locality, they deteriorate through admixture with the conquered tribes l)etter
adapted than themselves to the local climatic conditions.
So far there has been little difficulty in establishing the opinion that the Suk-
Nandi were prior to the Eloegop and the latter to the Karamojo, but in ascertaining
the comparative antiquit)' of the Bantu and Negro tril)es there is much less to go
on. The Bantu people of North Kavirondo, however, state that they came from
the south, while the people of Masawa (and Ketosh) are said to have migrated by
way of Usoga. The fact that the former are mainly growers of grain and potatoes,
while the Masawa people resemble the Wasoga and Waganda in lai-gely
cultivating bananas, would appear to support this tradition. The Nyifa or South
Kavirondo, a tribe allied to the Negro Shuli, have no tradition as to their origin,
and no knowledge of their cousins in the north. This fact might be taken to
indicate that their presence in Kavirondo is prior to the Bantu. Tlie Bantu
Kavirondo have moreover secured the best part of the country, viz., that with two
rainy seasons, while the Negro Kavirondo are confined to that portion with only
one rainy season. This would all point to the Bantu Kavirondo being the more
recent conquerors in the count ly. I am also led to believe that the Negro Nyifa
in Kavirondo are anterior to the Masawa, and that the Elgumi are of still more
recent origin.
The Masawa people have always spoken of the latter as encroachers, if not
interlopers, and the Kikelelwa incident shows a spreading tribe.
If the Negro Kavirondo reached their present position from Shuli country
by the East of the Nile and Victoria, it would appear probable thai they were
isolated by the intervening country between Mount Elgon and the Nile being
occupied by the Bantu, who were themselves more recently sub-divided by an
intrusive wedge of Elgumi, who separated Masawa from Usoga.
It is interesting to note that the Wasoga, Waganda and Wanyoro know the
Elgumi and Lango as Bakedi, or the naked people, while the equally naked Shuli
are called by a distinctive name Bagani, and the Kavirondo are called Bakavirondo.
Now it is hardly likely that the epithet " naked people " would be applied to a
neighbouring tribe unless those who applied the term had some clothing
themselves, and there is reason to believe that the Bantu peoples in the Victoria
region have gradually developed a taste for clothing and were originally as naked
as any one else there. The Waganda admit to the Bakedi raiding across the Nile,
and to many more or less unsuccessful counter raids, but I have never heard them
claim to have dispossessed the Bakedi of territory. On the other hand the fact
that the Shuli have a specific name Bagani applied to them, not unlike the Bantu
word for aliens, would show that the Bantu people knew them as a distinct tribe,
and would tend to indicate that the Bakedi appeared later in the field. More
reliable data as to this point should, however, be procured in Uganda, and doubtless
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Tribes met vnth during progress of the Juba Expedition of 1897-9. 243
will be forthcoming, if others will, like Mr. C. Hobley, take an interest in such
investigations. But as matters stand, I would favour the theory that the Negros
preceded the Bantu, and the Bantu preceded the Elgumi, Lango and Karamojo.
Thus if we consider the more limited area in which tliere mingle representatives of
the Negro, Bantu, Suk-Nandi, Masai and Karamojo, I am led to conclude that the
Karamojo are the Ihost recent arrivals. Before them was a wave of Bantu
sweeping northwards and of Masai (Eloegop) sweeping southwards dispossessing
and encroaching on the older inhabitants represented by the Negros and Suk-
Nandi families. Whether the Bantu or Eloegop were earlier in the field is
uncertain, but it is noteworthy tliat the Masai were known to the Waganda, who
had a prophecy, strangely brought to pass by the British occupation of Uganda,
that their country would be conquered througli Masailand. The relative antiquity
of the Negro tribes and the Suk-Nandi in their present geographical position is
uncertain, and there is nothing on which to base an opinion, but on tliis i)oint,
too, further research may throw some light.
The whole question is a difficult one, but some of my conclusions appear to rest
on a fairly solid foundation. In other cases, there may not be sufficient grounds
to establish my theory, but as 1 have given my reasoning I trust that, even
sliould the conclusions be afterwards proved inaccurate, in certain details, the
work of my recent expedition has at all events thrown a little additional light on
the most interesting problem of the ethnology of these regions.
Discussion.
Mr. Crooke remarked that for him this paper possessed special interest
because in it a mass of materials was collected which would be of value in
considering the Negrito element in the Indian population, which probably reached
the Peninsula from the opposite Continent of Africa. Some of the customs
described by Lt.-Col. Macdonald were from this point of view of special interest.
Thus, the wearing by the bridegroom of his bride's petticoat for some time after
marriage suggested similar customs of sex disguisement in India, of which various
explanations might be formulated. The Masai custom of bush burial in the case of
lower class people might be compared with similar Indian burial rites as described
in a paper contributed by him to the present number of the Journal. Tlie question
of female circumcision among the Somalis was discussed by Major J. S. King, in
Vel. II, Journal Anthropological Society of Bombay, So far it does not appear to
have been traced in India. The blood covenant oatli of the Karamojos is an
interesting parallel to similar Arabian rites, as described by Dr. Eobertson Smith.
The Suks appear to have a well- developed custom of bride capture. The bride
takes a child in her arms probably as a fertility charm.
ilr. SiiRUBSALL pointed out the manner in which the lantern slides just
exhibited illustrated the probable physical as opposed to the linguistic or social
unity of the negro races of Africa, drawing attention to certain features of
resemblance between the natives of the country to the north-easL of the great
lakes, and those depicted on the Benin castings now q,% th^ British Museum,
U 2
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244 LiBUTENANT-CoLONEL J. R L Macdonald.— JVo//'^ oti th^ Ethnology of
CENTRAL AFEICAX
Collected by Lieut.-Coloxel J. R. L Macdoxald
EnglUh.
Swami.
U$oga,
N. Kavirondo,
Masai,
Laimka.
Karamojo.
Salutation ....
jambo
godeo
merembe
soVa
komo
miita
1
Water
mail
cfaakula
maji
amaji ....
ngare
ngarei
akipi
2
Food
emere
iifnffia
nda
angiria
akimuj
3
Village ...
mji
charo
litara
ngang
tiyangole ...
lore; nawi
4
Man
mtu
mundu
mundu
waltonani ...
oiye
tonoiian
5
Woman
mke
mkazi
mukasi
ngatok
nangote
aberu
6
Child
mtoto ..^
mwana
mwana
ngerei
adurt
koko
7
Pay
siku
lunako
musiro
ngalon
ngalono
agulon
8
Boad
ni»
ngira
ngira
ngoitoi
nekoi
aroto
9
Cloth
nguo
lugue
lisero
ananga
abongo
alao
10
Smoke
moshi
mosi
mos
mburua
aburo
apum
11
MiUct
mtama
bugemba
mabele
olmu^ha^
nema
muma
12
Fhintation ...
shamba
musire
makunda
elmgunda ....
elwaji
amana
13
Cattle
ng*ombe ... '
ente
ngombe
f ngeteng 1
^ ngishu J
neteng
fate \
taituk /
14
Cow
ng*ombe jike....
entemugongo ..
ngmukasi
ngeteleboni
angote
aituk aberu
15 .
Bull
ng*ombe ndume
enteenume ...
ngyeuno
olegeteng ....
atamut
aituk mauek
16
Goat
mbuzi
mbofi
mbusi
\ ndare J
eni
agine
^'i
Sheep
Donkey
kondoo
entama
ligondi
enger
aker
metbek
18 '
punda
endogoi
isigiri
usigria
asigiria
vigria
19
Camel
ngam*a
"""
ngamia
undames ...
akonikoni ....
ungala
lochore
20
Waterhole ....
—
enaulo
buina
laroto
agiri
21
Biver
mto
kivari
mualo
guaso
nalore
nangololo ...
22
Bain
mTiia
amadi
ifula
ngai
agede
akiro
23
Tree«
miti
moti
musara
ingata
abere
akitoia
24!
GraM
nyasi
esubi
munyasi
elgujita ....
nebo
nginya
25 1
Earth
udongo
etaka
lirohla
n^ukok ...
aboro
alup
26
Sleep
lak
kutenduka
kukoma
eraga
ejoto
apere
27 1
Milk
maziwa
mata
mabere
kule
nali
akile
28 ;
Spear
Shield
mkuke
eifuma
lifumo
aremct
nelu
agwara ...
29
ng'ao
ngabo
ngabo
elongo
akali
aupal
30 1
War
vita
eige
khwenina
njore
toriiim
ngijore ..
athiho
31
Peace
amani
turiembwa ....
khwerunatawe
sutwa
obing
32 1
Meat
nyama
mamba
inama
r nigiringo 1
\ ngiri J
aringo
agiring
33
Game
—
▼isoro
ieolo
muwesi
nalore
eliangi
3t!
Head
kichwa
mutwe
murue
lugunya ...
nagho
akao
35
Hand
mkono
mkono
sinama
angalna
nani
akani
36
Foot
mgnu
magui'u
sirenje
angeju
neju
akeju
37
Brother
ndugu
mgandawange
mwanawefu ....
olalashe ...
ilung
lokatokan ...
.18
Son
mtoto
mukewange ...
mushaniwefu
leion
unyigo
lapat
39
Dog
mbwa
itibwa
mbwa
lodia
ingok
ngoko
40
Lion
simba ...
mpobgoma ....
jatunyi
oloiigalum....
achiung ....
angatum ...
41
Snake
nyoka
musota
njoka
o]o?orei
amuno
emoni
42
Iron wire ...
sengenge
ungwiri
luualo
sengenge ...
abilata
athoat
43
Brass wire ..
masango
rikomo
mukasa
masang
akwen
maitoet
44
Beads
ushaiiga
bunere
fiuma
saien
ouozo
chulo
45
Firo
nioto
muriro
muriro
ngemn
nema
—
46
Father
baba
latawange
baba
papa
munya
baba
47
Where
wapi
gha
rohena
kore
nkero
jejai
48
How many ..
wangapi
wameka
balibanga
kajakulo ...
mkSja
nyai
49
What
nini
niki
shina
ainyo
nenyi
nyo
60
* Kikuyu word
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Tribes met vrith during p-ogress of the Juha Kqxdition of 1 897-9. 245
VOCABULAEIES.
IN THE COUESE OF THE JUBA EXPEDITION.
Suk.
NoMdi.
fFanderoho,
Save.
S. Kavirondo
Wanyifa.
Borana
Qalla.
Ogaden
Somali.
1
chamkeoha
chamke
eobei
Bobei
moBi ....
nagaya 1
kabla. J
r mot.
\ manwadba.
2
pau
pek
Pek
piko
Esni '.".. Z
bisban
bia.
8
ama
amit
amit
ngumia
Bagftle
sorta.
4
ngokatanyo
keita
kaita
kota
paobo
karang
h&r&da.
5
akogo
pIk
korke
kiito
moran
thano
Bifeda
adSga.
6
korkoni ...
korko
koroko
thako
intala
nakta.
7
monu
lakwe
lagwe
lekwa
nyathi
jole
elma.
8
akogo
petunok ....
aeng
siBita
ndal
guyan
tirbu
awa.
9
ore
onma
ore
areti
wangio
wadada.
10
alao
ange
ange
kirenget
lao
waya
marada.
11
iiros
iyet
aTOB ....
ingitim
iro
ar
keka.
12
mosong
mosangik ....
moBong ....
miiBongek
bel
macbabo ....
barurk.
13
matei
pet
pek
imperet
puotbo
oru
berto.
14
tainge
togha
toka
teta
▼iang
lawoni
lota.
16
sakat
iwoge
Bakat
tela koroko ....
Tiangmathako
ruath
koT&mta ....
Bsdidik.
16
yeai
aito
cto
teta moran ...
kibich
dibika.
17
Bgoror
nioko
arte
warek
dieU ....
khree
arega.
18
kesh
kicherek ....
keche
mangit
rombo
kbola
eda.
19
sigria
Bigire
sigpia
eigria
kanyema
&re ....
tomera.
20
tamas
tameBi
tombes
tembeB
aluo
I-}
kono
fechan.
21
p»u
kererkie ....
luge
pikopafioi
awaclii
22
en
endo
en
eitom
aora
endata
durdurka.
28
rop
tOPOt
ropta
ropta
kotU
b«ke
rop.
24
kuendo
ketit
ketit
katet
yatb
lum
muku
hniyet.
auBk.
25
Busom
BUBuandi ....
BUBUOn
Biiflwek
buyo
26
ntiinoi
numunyek....
nongum ....
16
biye
aro.
27
rde ....
kaguruiyo ....
mauru
ruondo
anendo
rafi
sahao.
28
keko
kiyeko
keiko
kiko
chaki
an&n
ana.
29
ngot
aDgotet
ngotit
akwar
tong
waran
warak&.
80
longe
long
longe
lofiget
knot
wante
kaflhan.
81
iQk
lake
setluge
parare
kutai
lueni ..,
nyabiadufe
tSrerta.
82
mU
tiliye
tilia
merembe
nagejira ....
nab&t.
88
peng
penda
p&iyek ...
pendo
ringo
fon
hnip.
34
arawa
arawe
arawe
xnakao ....
le
^
—
35
met
metit
metit
metit
wich
mata
madaba.
36
eyi
eyu
eu
—
luedo
h&rk&
kanta.
37
kcl
keldo
kelto
kirenget
tielo
luku
lueha.
w^ala.
38
wurtanyo ...
keturche ....
elte
tiliangani
wadwa
oboIcB
39
nyeta
nyetik
lakwe
kwero
omera
miicba
arorta.
40
kugwl
BeBe
chu^
ngoniti
guok
Bftye
U^eba.
41
kawai
abiye
kieBmg
—
sibori
nek
42
moroi
eren
eren
njoki
tuol
b&fu
m&Bk.
43
titir
tobokwe ....
tobokwe ....
Bengenge
malo ....
—
—
44
tai
tae
tei
f Bengenge \
\ amulnm J
mola
—
marta.
45
Bonei
Boneiet
Bonoi
Bonaia
utiti
— .
koslia.
4G
mat
maBtinock ....
mat
—
macb
ibit&
tabka.
47
paponyan ....
paipai
pabwa
—
urwa
abaki
ababi.
48
ngo
ngiro
ano....
miono
kulote
awe.
49
adeng
ata
ata
ata
adi
nag&m
wamiBa.
60
kenya
kelene
ne
ne
ango
wanBum ...
wamhei.
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240 Lieutenant-Colonel J. R. L Macimjnald.— JW-e'.< oii the EtJuwhpji/ of
Central African
:Engli9k.
8waWi.
U$oga,
Mas4n,
Laimka,
Katamojo,
To-day
leo
Icro
sitere ....
UU..
aghiina
takii
51
Yettfrtiay ....
jana
ido
sharere
ngole
ngolonole ^..
beali
52 .
Id front
mbele
mberi
mbiri
lugunyia ....
agowere ....
kingaren ....
53 j
Behind
nyuma
enuma
munuma
kuram
negalo
kao
54
kesho
en jo ....
machnri
teiseri
rooite
moi
55 !
No ..^
hakuna
ira
shishirio
meti
abeng
mim
56
All
wote
rnona
vos ..«
poege
ingiye
d^^H-ng
67
Aft4?r
baada
linda
basiri
ngor
idigido
togwa
58
^■ow
sasa
begano
bulano
Uta...
teniaghani....
tete
59
Here
hara
ghano
ano
ene
leni
nege
60
Thrre
hjko
cyo
cria
idye
dia ....
ama
61
Near
karibu
gambi
naharabi
tana
PjETlltU
api
62
Fur
mbali
aghala
nehale
alagwa ^.
aiamaja
aluana
63
1
Who
nani
nani
wina
engai ...
ngaiyc
ngai
64 '
Whose
ya nani
chani
shawina
kenengai ...
anangai ....
kangat
65
Mr
jan«u
yange
y'^t^je
enai
ununa —.
kang
66,
Your
jako
lyo
^f^jo
line
onungana ....
koni
67
Hii
jake
chono
nasisis
lanye
onalia
kalu
68 1
Bring
Icta
Icta ...•
lera
eao
eau
yao
69 ^
Come
njoo
cda
inza
wao
uwang
bwa
70 i
Want
taka
nenda
ninycre
aiyao
yatakitaniye
achamet ....
71
Go
ncnda
genda
kenda
shomo*
ilo ....
toloto
72 .
Will reach ....
tafika
tunatoka
kuola
tabeiye
abanya
abun
73
Wait
ngoja
rinda
rinda
tonyo
c'tYlanani ....
dareo
74
Tell
ambia
nkobera
songiri
tolimu
ekiana
tolomokin ....
75
lie is coming
anakuja
aida
aredza
a'otu
atuade
aloto
76
He is going....
anakwenda ....
agenze
akcndire
alle
ilo
alothi
77
CaU
niwite
mweto
mnlange
raboto
nif&k
tanyara
78 ,
Do you know
wajua
mekwisha
indidi
many ire
ayolo
mejakene ...
iyen
79
Finished
bamaze
bauere
edibe
atukoi
armure
80
Take away ...
chukua
situra
kinga
ewa
ebiam
toting
81
Speak
soma
TOgera
kunya
slmga
eroro
ekiana
tolomokin ....
82
Drink
kunywa
ama
aitangik ...
amata
amathe
83
Bat
kula
kuria
dia
enaea
ingiye
anami
84
To fight ....
ku pigana
burwana
matarata ....
toriamu ....
iyare
85
Make
fanya
kola
khola
cnderoni ....
egani ..
—
86
Dear
ghali
kikalanguf ....
kitinyere
agu
om atari
agu gum
87
Cheap
rahisi
viom
bulai
kelelak ....
ninana
agilejok ...
88
Fast
upesi
mangumangu
rapo a
chia
tasiugu
kokwak ....
tomatiim ...
89
Slow
polepole
kala
aketiaketi ...
mimo
aditadit ....
90
Unripe
Good
bichi
kibisi
kivisi
kesbala ....
obuji
yoghoma ...
ajonok
91
mzuri
muningi
mulai
sederi
ajokan
92
Bad
mbaya
mubi
momubi
torono
orogho
orono
93
Red
mwekundu ....
mweru
mulaf
nanyuki ....
odoiret
narengan ....
94
White
mwoupi
lueru
ndaf
neibor
olobong ....
nakwafian ....
95
Black
mwetisi
mwidugavu ....
nimumari
narok
lamole
—
96
Blue
kama maji ya
bahari.
luTUVU
nimnmari
naiyasha ....
losura
nakirionon....
97
Bravo
hodari
mukalangufa
muting
chogul
ogol
aboite
—
98
One
moja ....
mulola
mulala
nabo
apei
99
Two
mbili
babili
mabili
are
arega
nyare
100
Three
tatu
basatu
mataro
uui
kunugoe .....
nyaini
101
Four
nno
bana
bane
onon
ongwan
nyomou ...
akan
102
Five
tano
batano
barano
miet
miet
103
Six
sita
mkaga
basaba
ile
ile
akankapei ....
104
Seven
saba
musamva
baranonababili
nabishyana
ghaiarak ....
akankare ...
105
Fight
nane
munana
banana
ishiete
kotoguni ....
akankaune....
106
Nine
tissa
muenda
barananabane
naudo
kotongon ...
akankaomon
107
Ton
kumi
ikumi
kckume
tomon
tomon
tomon
108
^ rerb alio.
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Tribes met nnth during progress of the Jvha JB^jpatition of 1897-9. 247
Vocabularies — continued.
Suk.
Nandi.
Wanderoho,
8av€,
8. Kavirondo
Wanyifa,
Borana
Galla.
Offoden
Somali.
61
iye
nauoni
ngolel
laut
tinende
b6ru
m&ngta.
52
oino
amut
omut
amtum
nyoro
b6rtiram ? ....
BhaH.
5a
tai
tai
huimet
—
atelo
d&b&ri
horei.
64
let
letut
let
siskina
kien
jebe
tibonoko.
55
oinopet
karon
arol
tuni
king
bortirom ? ....
bin.
56
maxninye ....
matinye ....
momi
purio
onge
imbeku
maakan.
57
tukul
tokol
togul
tukul
lundo
wasuntutu ....
kulugei.
58
mulegit ....
toma
marobon ....
tombo
podi
kaaon
enduBne ....
wali.
' 59
ive
raune
ongolen ....
raut
wanBum ....
ata.
60
iyete
yii
iyu
ule
karkai
arma
mcch&n.
61
yuno
olim
iyun
inyi
kucha
kulothi ....
bago.
sedo.
62
legit
legit
legit
—
machegiae ....
tai
63
lowet
lo
16 P
—
mabori
baya
ba^afukta.
64
ilat?
torot
ichingo
figo
ngawa.
wauBun
waiyo.
65
ongonyete ....
poDgoki ....
pongo
Paago
maruga P
kaunuti ....
ayale.
. 66
nenyan
nanyo
nenyune ....
nanwane
mara
k&nkiya ....
anale.
, 07
nangu . .
nangun
nangun
nyanuni
mari
kanketi ....
sagale.
nikasale.
' 68
paueri
mananyo ....
rom
nyangun
marejalicha ....
kahebelutie
69
ubune
konu
obun
Buturi ...
kel
kotim
ken.
70 ' nyona
abwa
iio
kujoli
abl
koi
kale.
amache
amache
kucham
adwaro
malefet
vandoni.
, 72 kepecha ....
id
kebe
kepichike
wathio
ejem
sau.
73 1 mona
keitete
kaitete ....
kuo
atundu
bUrtt
wagari.
74 kanja
kanyet
kanya
Bia
rit
eeh
juk.
1 75
mauune ....
maun ..%.
m6kin
kungala
wacliima
bobifeda ....
iishek.
1 76
angun
aifio
manyo
kajong
aberu
aduf I
waemon.
1 77
kepe
kui
kftoe
kuo
othio
nidiemi ....
navi&ge.
78 1 kure
kur
kur
nalalakujo ....
aluango
warn
uyM.
79 [ angilttm ...
ofigin
onget
kakorok ...
kalim
engeyo
nimbeka ....
waak&n.
80 akorok ....
karok
kabek
urumo
injirtu
domabi.
81 ken>a
tip
up
nam
ting
fad&du ....
kat.
82 anaim
ngatan
moun
ngolal
wacho
dubadu
adal.
83 auchongim....
aupiek
«pi
pick
amatho
biahanduki
ap.
84 aiua
ongem
am
wam
acbamo
nyadu
sortoam.
85 epcsien
ngebarke ....
keporien ....
kubwar
wakedo
walola
warlirhai.
86 yeiya
sagbaa
eai
—
tem
kapi
8ame.
87 1 au
61
aoi
buriokwalisli....
matek
—
ibadagiahe.
88 karan
kolokol ....
namnyum ....
kwal
maber
wandiko ....
wacliabanyabo.
' 89 mongun ....
mongun
amai
kabehikucbo ....
pispio
huriBi
n&kso.
1 90 ■ njomot
mutia
nyomutio ....
mulmut
mosmos
Inniiem
ayaao.
91 1 nvatcl
tokonyalo ....
nyalel
tombo kimar ....
manum
dedi
akoicnye.
92 1 kariiin
kararan ....
kararan
maber
tttnsa
watalmonte.
93 , eya
sorin
ea
—
marach
hama
waliunyoi.
94 1 perir
' 95 ; el
periek
lelek
perir
masulwali
dima
wasio.
lei
maracbar
ati
waadu.
1 96 , toi
tuek
toi
lateng
kurach
wamedoiyo.
j 97 woiwei
arareita
Eochigo
—
lateng
ganale
akhtar.
98 I Bul
koUol
aoi
matek
jftba
h6gbuleiye.
3 ! ^^''"^ -
agenge
akengo
agenge
acheli
taka
met.
100 adeng
101 eomok
aieng
aeng
aien
ario
lam
l&ba.
Bomok
samok
samok
adek
B&di
padlie.
102 naongon ....
anwan
onwan
anwan
ongweni
afur
afftr.
103 ekan
mat
miit
muti
abich
shan
sban.
104 akankapei ....
ilo
lo
niutwakenge ...
auchiel
ja
Icb.
106 isnp
tif&p
ti»up
BiBek
mutwaien
aboro
torba
todltwa.
106 tine
sisit
mutwasomok ..
abereo
fadet
sidlt.
107 Bokol
sokol
eoghor
nrutwan
luedoakacbel....
e&gul
aagai.
106 ' n&man
1
tomon
amun
tomon
apaj^ -
kildSii
1
tomon.
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( 248 )
NOTES ON THE MASAI SECTION OF LIEUT.-COLONEL MACDONALD'S
VOCABULARY.
By Mks. S. L. Hinde.
Masai.
Masai.
English.
English.
Mrs. H.
C0I.M.
Mrs.H
' Col. M.
1
Salutation
There are various
9oha.
Ram
OTTWlCTCgi
forms of saluta-
Ewe
ngerr....
....
tion in Masai.
Donkey (mascu-
oldmtoe
The salutation
line).
"soboi" is used
„ (feminine)
ossigirria
....
usigria.
between men
Camel
ndamess
or
undames.
when jio< shaking
ngaiurr.
hands; the reply
River
ngioasso
or
guaso.
tothisis"eber."
orrgeju.
Man
eltungani
waltahani.
Ood .... \
Rain .... j
Woman
engitoh (form of
ngatok.
ingai ....
...
ngai.
address).
Trees
elgieg....
i
ingata.
„ (female)
ngoirraion (this
—
„ (singular)....
oldani
word is never
Grass
engojeta
elgujita.
used as a form of
Earth (ground) ....
ngop ....
....
ngtdnkok.
address unless
Sleep (imperative
erraga
....
eraga.
insultingly).
plural).
Child
ngerai
ngerei.
Milk
Hgule....
....
hule.
Day .... \
Sun .... J
ngaJon.
Spear
War
eremet
endiore
....
aremet.
njore.
Koad
ngditri
ngoitoi.
Meat .... {
engerri
....
ngiri.
aoth ....
engeld
—
ingeringu
....
nigiringo.
„ (warrior's
enanga
ananga.
Game (alive) ....
ngwess
....
tnuwesi.
war cloth.)
Head
elogonya
....
lugunga.
Smoke
emburru^r
mburua.
Hand
ndap ....
....
ngurruma .... l
Arm (the whole)
ngaina
....
angaina.
Plantation
{emogonda is the V, eJmgunda.
Foot
ngaiju
ollaUishe
....
angeju.
Kikuyu form). J
Brother
....
olalashe.
A head of cattle...
ngiiing
ngeteng.
Boy
orlaiyon
Cattle (plural) ....
ngishu
ngUhu.
Son
there is
no
leion.
Cow
ngitelibong
ngetelehoni.
word
for
Bull
orloingoni
olegeteng.
son ; child
A goat
ndari
—
is always
Goat (he-)
orlorro
agine.
used.
„ (she-) ...
ingine
ndare.
Dog
orldia
....
lodia.
A sheep
ngera
enger.
Lion
aiondtring
olongaium.
N.B. — In the Masai language there are different words for the males and females of domestic
animals in distinction to those of wild animals, which have only one gender.
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Mrs. S. L. Hinde. — Notes on the Masai Section ofLt-CoL MacdonalcCs Vocabulary, 249
Masai.
.
Masai.
English.
English.
Mr8.H.
C0I.M.
MrB.H.
C0I.M.
Snake
oloserai
olosorei.
He is going
keUo nenye ....
alle.
Iron ¥rire
e99€gengi
sengenge.
Call (imp. sing.)....
Do you know ....
emhdotu
mboto.
Beads
euain
saien.
aiulu iye
ayolo.
Fire
ngima
ngemd.
Finished
endeba
edibe.
Father
haha
papa.
Finish (imp. sing.)
edebi
To-day
tadda
iota.
Take away (imp.
endau or
ewa.
Yesterday
f»gole
ngole.
sing.)
rodomo.
In front
nologonya ....
lugunya.
Speak (imp. sing.)
atoju
croro.
Behind (last) ....
korom
hurum.
I>rink( „ „ )
Eat ( „ „ )
toogo or tooko
aitangik.
To-morrow
taaiiaere
teueri.
enosaa
enfisa.
No
menenye
—
To fight
naarr or
tnatarata.
Not
None
meti
meti.
Make (imp. sing.)
ngigerishu.
endobera
enderoni.
All
hbogi
poege.
Dear
ergot
agu.
After
iengai
ngor.
Fast
tassiogi
tasiugu.
Now
iaada
tata.
Slow
aketi
aketiaketi.
Here
enne
ene.
Good
sidai
sederi.
There
iddie
idye.
Bed
enyuki
nanyukl.
Near
eteana
tana.
White
eboir
neibor.
Far
elagua
alagwa.
Black
erok
narok.
Who
enaiana
engai.
Blue
engarramboi
My
elai or enai ....
enai.
or ollonyori.
Your
enino
line.
enaibasha (or
naivasha.
His
enenye
lanye.
naioasha as
Bring (imperatiye
singular).
taw
eao.
we call it),
means "the
Come (imp. sing.)
iooo or do
loao.
big water"
Want (I want) ....
aiu
aiyao.
or "sea."
Beach (imp. sing.)
tabaigya
tabeiye (fut.
Three
uni
MUi.
indie.)
Four
ungwun
onon.
Wait ( „ „ }
ndaUhu
tanyo.
Five
miet
miet.
Tell ( „ „ J
tiagi
Six
elle
tie.
Say ( ,. „ )
tolimu
tolimu.
Seven
nabishana ....
nabishyana.
He is coming ...
elofu nenye ....
alotu.
Eight
issiet
ishiete.
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( 250 )
NOTES ON THE SWAHILI SECTION OF LIEUT.-COLONEL MAC-
DONALD'S VOCABULARY.
By Miss M. R Woodward,
SwAHiLi and all Bantu languages divide their nouns into a number of classes,
which are distinguished by their fii-st syllable, and bring their adjectives, pronouns
and verbs into relation with substantives by the use of corresponding changes in
their first syllables.
Swahili
Sfoahitu
Engliih,
JSnglish.
Miss W.
Col. M. '
MissW.
C0I.M.
Man (person)
mtu
mtu.
Beach, to ....
kujika
_
Male, n
mwanaume
—
He will reach
atajika
tafika.
Woman, female, n
mwanamJce
—
Call, to
kuita ... 1
mwite .... J
mwite.
„ „ adj.
'he
—
CaU him
}> II (of
jike
—
Finish, to
kui9ha .... 1
amekwisha J
mekwisha
animals).
He has finished
(finished).
Wife
mJce
mke.
Drink, to
kunywa
kunywa.
Water hole
tundu la tnaji ....
—
Make (imper.)
/«»y»
fanya.
G-ame
matoindo
—
Unripe
'bichi
bichi.
Son
mtoto mume
mtoto.
Unripe fruit
aood
maiunda mahiehi
„ (male child) ....
mwana
—
•ema
—
How many ?
-ngapi f
wajigapi.
1, (fine)
'xuri
mzuri.
How many people ? •
vsatu wangapi ?
—
A good person
mtu mwema
—
All
•ote
wote.
A beautiful person
mtu mzuri
—
AH people
watu wote
—
Bad •....
•haya
mbaya.
Whose
-a nani 1
ya nani.
A bad person
mtu mbaya
—
Whose house ?
nyumhayanani?
—
Red ...
•ekundu
mwekundu.
My
-angu
yangu.
A red house
nyumba nyekundu
—
My house
nyvmba yangu ....
—
White
•eupe
mweupi.
Tour
-ako
yako.
A white child
mtoto mweupe ....
—
Your trees
mitiyako
—
Black
-eusi
mweu9i.
His
'oke
yake.
Black people
watu weuH
—
His house
nyufnba yake ....
—
Blue
kama maji ya
kama maji
Come (imper.)
njoo
njoo.
bahari (like
ya bahari.
Come, to
kuja
"^
sea-water).
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( 251 )
ORDINARY MEETING.
NOVEMBEll 21ST, 1899.
Professor E. B. Tylor, D.C.L, LLD., F.li.S., m tlic Gliair.
The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and signed.
The election of Mr. David MacIver as a Fellow of the Institute was
announced.
The President introduced Dr. E. Westermarck of Finland, who proceeded to
read his paper : — " On the nature of the Arab Ginn, illustrated by the present
beliefs of the people of Morocco."
Discussion was carried on by Mr. William Crooks, Mr. G. L. Gomme, Mr.
BouvERiE PusEY, and Mr. 0. H. Howarth. After the exliibition of some
lantern slides of Morocco, Professor Tylor closed the proceedings with a vote of
thanks to Dr. E. Westermarck for a most useful and interesting paper.
The Chairman mentioned that the Third Edition of AiUhropolofjical Notes and
Queries had just been issued.
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THE NATURE OF THE ARAB &IN^, ILLUSTRATED BY THE
PRESENT BELIEFS OF THE PEOPLE OF MOROCCO.
By Edward Westermaeck, Ph.D., Lecturer on Sociology at the University of
Finland, Helsingfors.
The Arab (jimi hold a prominent place in the young Science of Religion in
connection with a theory now much in vogue. They have been represented as
survivals of ancient Semitic religion, — survivals which indicate that the Semites
passed through a stage of totemism before they arrived at their conceptions of
transcendental gods. This hypothesis, which has gained much adherence, seems to
me to require reconsideration. Before proceeding to discuss the origin of the
belief in ^iiiUj however, I shall give a detailed account of the belief itself, and this
account I shall base upon the present superstitions of the people of Morocco
among whom I have spent nearly a year, and to whom I shall soon return, with
a view of examining the traces of Pre-Muhammedan belief still existing among
them.i
The belief in ^niln^ forms a very important part of tlie actual creed of the
Muhammedan population of Morocco, Arab and Berber alike. It pervades all
classes, and though some of the more enlightened Moors are inclined to represent
it as a superstition of the ignorant, I doubt whether there is anyone who does not
practically adhere to it. The common people speak of the ^7iiiln as unreservedly
as of men and women, and do not hesitate to claim a personal acquaintance with
them. In consequence, it is comparatively easy to acquire an accurate knowledge
of their belief.
The ^niln form a special race of beings, created before Adam. In various
respects, however, they are like men. They eat and drink, they propagate their
species, they are subject to death, and some of them, the Muhammedan gfiiln, go to
heaven after death. They even form sexual connections with men. In the village
Ebnl Hlu, in the Angera district, 1 was told that a villager once married a §innia,
or female §inn. She gave birth to two sons, one of whom became a tdleh, or scribe,
and is still alive. In a village near Tetuan, a similar case occun-ed. A man
married a gmnia, and lived with her in a mill. "When they were alone she had
the appearance of a woman, but, as soon as anybody else entered the mill, she
1 I have obtained valuable assistance from Slierlf *Abd s-Salto 1-Bakali, a resident of
Tangier, who has accompanied me on all my journeys in Morocco.
* dnUn (^i^a:>-) is the Moorish plui-al of ginrif or genu {^^*^}'
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Edward Westermarok. — The Nature of the Arab (iinn, 253
assumed the shape of a frog. The people knew of her from her doings. One
morning her husband was found in his bed with his legs tied up. He had
quarrelled with his wife, and she had taken her revenge in this way, whilst he
was asleep. As a rule, however, she was kind to him. He had always money, he
was well dressed, and possessed many guns, — which could only be accounted for
by his having a §innia for his wife. This was, after all, an unusually happy
instance, for connections with ^n^An generally result in madness.
U^n'An may be met with anywhere, but certain places are especially haunted,
meskunin (^jJ^L^). At Tangier they have their favourite abode on the sea-shore ;
at Fez m an old fort-; at Marrakesh their sultans assemble in the big well called Uhlr
I'hculddd, at Tetuan in the spring l-knd l-khir. They inhabit rivers, woods, the sea,
ruins, houses, and particularly springs, and drains, and caves, and other underground
places. Their native country is below the surface of the earth. There they have
villages and towns, and live in tribes or nations, each of which has its sultan. But
they are not tied down to any particular spot, and sometimes they travel great
distances. They are constantly coming forth to the upper world, more especially
when it is dark. Hence, a Moor's fear of the gnAn practically commences with the
twilight. There are streets in which he will not venture to walk at night, and houses
which are uninhabited because nobody dares to sleep in them. In Marrakesh I
heard of a man who moved out from his hoiLse regularly every night. Most Moors
are afraid of sleeping alone in a room, especially if the door be left open, and to sleep
in a stairway is regarded as particularly dangerous. It would require still greater
courage to pay a nocturnal \dsit to a place where cattle are slaughtered, as the
ynUn have a special predilection for places where there is blood. As soon as it
gets dark, too, a Moor will carefully abstain from pouring out hot water on the
ground.
The gu'^yii have no fixed forms, but may assume almost any shape they like.
They appear now as men, and now as goats, cats, dogs, donkeys, tortoises, snakes,
or other animals, — now as monsters with the body of a man and the legs of a
donkey, now in other shapes, — sometimes, for instance, with seven heads. A man
told me that once in his youth he met a little baby which suddenly changed
into a giant. The monster, which was, of course, a gimiy gave him a blow which
made him lame for three years. One evening my' servant, l-'Arbi, saw a §inn in
the offices attached to a mosque. The ^inn was white, had long hair, and was
scratching its head. L-'Arbi, who was frightened, called the night-watch, and the
§inn then ran away in the shape of a red dog. L-'Arbi asserted that he was out
of his mind for a month afterwards, and then a magician cured him by writing
him a charm. In my house at Marrakesh my sleep was disturbed by the noise of
a cat. When I told my servants to drive the creature away, they answered me
that no Moor would ever dare to hit a cat in the dark, since it is very doubtful
what sort of being it really is. It would be easy to fill a volume with §inn stories
from Morocco.
A yinn often indicates its presence by producing something strange or
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254 Edwakd Westeumarck. — 7%e Nature of the Arab 6inn,
unexpected. The columns of sand or dust wliich often travel across the plains of
Morocco are caused by ^wiln. In some places such a miniature cyclone is called
l-ammaria del-^niln (f^JfLa^\j ^j^^)y "the bridal box of the ijn'AnI* in other
places, 'aii^d (j. ju:), this being the name of an *dfrit{s), or strong ^inn. Ignis
fatiius is a fire kindled by gnUn. A falling star is a dart thrown by the angels at
a §inn who tries to get up to heaven. The big stones in the walls of Mequinez
were carried there by ^ntin, being too heavy for any man to lift. Dear times are
caused by many ^ntln being in the town and eating up the food. When a man stumbles
in the dark, some people say that he trod on a §inn. The most usual way in which
the gn'An make their presence felt is by causing sudden disturbances of the health,
such as convulsions, epileptic and paralytic fits, rheumatic and neuralgic pains, fits
of madness, and certain epidemics which are rare and violent, like the cholera. In
these cases the gimi works its will by striking its victim, and by entering his
body, or sometimes, in cases of epidemics, by shooting an arrow at him. When the
cholera was in Morocco some years ago, the people believed that an army of jrvAn
had overrun the country. Where the epidemic was very violent, the jnHin were
supposed to have pitched their tents inside the town wall, whereas the occurrence
of a few cases only indicated that they were camping outside the town, and now
and then making a hit with their poisoned arrows. I was told at Tetuan that
those who died were followed to the grave by an unusually great number of
people, and that for the following reason : — when a dead man was buried, the
enemy at once looked out for another victim, and let his arrow fly among the
crowd at the grave, and, therefore, the bigger the crowd, the less the individual risk.
Jackson, in his account of the plague which raged in Morocco a century ago, also
states that those who were attacked by the plague were supposed to have been
shot by " genii " armed with arrows.* It should, however, be noticed that by no
means all kinds of illnesses are attributed to the tricks of the gn'An, but only
sudden and unusual ones. Fever, typhoid, small-pox, etc., are sent by God ; and
there are many people who assert that all diseases are punisliments inflicted upon
mankind by God, and that the gnxin^ when attacking men, only do so by His
command.
A man seized with sudden fear is peculiarly liable to the atta<jks of the
^Tilin. If he then fall a victim to them he is said to have shd'ta (Tax^). If, for
instance, anyone falls ill after being frightened by a cat or a dog in a dark place,
the animal is held to have been a ginn, and the man's illness is explained by
saying that the giiin entered into him and gave him shd'ta. Again, suppose
a boy, whilst eating with his father, misbehaves in some way. If, when his father
punishes him, he begins to weep, the gniln, which are always near people who are
eating, easily seize him and give him shd'fa. It is bad to awaken a man out of
sleep too suddenly. He should be aroused slowly, as otherwise he may be
frightened and get shd'ta. It is also considered bad for a man to look at himself
Jackson, An Account of (he Eiiipire of Morocco (1814), pp. 176 sq. note.
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ilhistrated hy the present beliefs of the People of Morocco, 255
in a looking-glass in the evening, and some people say that, if he does so, a §inn
goes into his eyes and makes them sore. There is held to be something mysterious
about the reflected image in the glass.
There are good ^7iti» and bad ^nti^i, but the latter hold a much more prominent
place in the popular creed. They are shidtan ( A?lj^) devils, and the worst of them
is called Iblis, the devil, who is also termed shitan. The plural ibdlis ((jJjoJ.),
however, is sometimes used for bad ^niin generally. Iblis has seven hairs on his
chin, and a bad scar over one of his eyes. He it is who incites men to fight. If
a man is pugnacious, and his friends say, alld JinndH sh-shitan (^UaxiJl Jjtxj ^\),
i.e., " May God curse the devil," Iblis is frightened away, and tlie man at once
becomes quiet. Iblis tempts brothers to have illicit intercourse with their sisters.
When a man is about to give alms to the poor, Iblis restrains him. Iblis finds
pleasure in seeing men do what is hateful to God. If anybody pollutes a mosque,
or uses unclean liquid for his ablutions, or treats the Koran disrespectfully, he may
be sure of gaining Iblis's favour. Iblis rejoices when a man dies unmarried, and
weeps when a young man takes to himself a wife. He gives people bad dreams,
and when a man yawns, he dirties his mouth.
The bad ^wdn being always ready to attack human beings, various means are
used for keeping them at a distance. The ^n4n are afraid of salt and steel.
Some Moors put salt in their pillows, or take salt in their hands when they go out
at night, and if a man be frightened, it is advisable for him to eat salt. There are
also people who put a knife near their pillow before they go to bed. A boy who
was left alone in a house was attacked by ^nilji. They shut the door and blew
out the light, but by rubbing a knife against the wall the boy succeeded in driving
them out. The best, and, from a religious point of view, the correct preventive
against the attacks of the ^niln is the recital of passages of the Koran. A man
who passes haunted places in the dark will feel safer if he repeat the djatu l-kurst.
When a man pours hot water on the ground, he generally says, bism illdy " In the
name of God." The same words are uttered before every meal : he who neglects
to say them will have ^niin as table-companions. During the holy month of
Eamadan the ^iln are confined in prison until the twenty-seventh night of that
month. They are especially afraid of everything connected with the religion of
the Prophet, and, hence, they have a great respect for his descendants, the shurfa.
When the Moors build a house or dig a well, they always take precautions
against ^niln. The Angera people put some salt and wheat and an egg in the
ground, and kill a goat on the threshold of the new house ; otherwise, they say, the
children of the house would be stillborn or would soon die. In various parts of
Morocco some animal — a goat, or a sheep, or a cock, sometimes a bullock — is killed
both when the foundation of a house is laid, and when the house is ready, or nearly
ready for occupation. In the latter case the sacrifice takes place on the threshold,
and afterwards the slaughtered animal is eaten by the proprietor, his family, and
invited guests. When a well is dug, a goat or a sheep is also killed, especially if
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256 Edward Westermarck —The Nature of the Aral ^Hnn,
there be no signs of water. In Angera T saw a well of which the lining brickwork
was broken, and my native friends told me that it had cracked immediately after
it had been built up, because no animal had been sacrificed to " the owners of the
place." Every place has its ^ntin, its owners, muslin l-rnkdn (^^C^\ ^•^). When
travelling, the Moor asks for the protection of the spirits and the saints of the
place in which he is going to pitch his tent. Every house, too, has its ^inn, good or
bad. If the ^inn be good, the inhabitants will prosper ; if bad, they will have
misfortunes or soon die. When a Moor strikes a light in a dark room, he says,
msa-UJwiir 'alikum jd mwdlin l-mkdn {^JCa^\ ^yo b ^XjJ^ -xiL**.^), " Good
evening to you, oh ye owners of the place." The spirit of the house is frightened
by dogs, by photographs, and by whistling.
When a §inn has got hold of a man, various means are employed for driving
him out. At Laraiche there is a spring near Sidi Boknadel's hamma (a^^J^, or
offering-place, into which people possessed with ^niin throw loaves of saltless
bread. Some tortoises will probably appear and eat the bread, and the man who
has thrown it in, after sprinkling his body with water from the spring, believes that
he has got rid of his complaint. Someone who had tried the cure told me that
he threw into the water two loaves, one cold and the other hot, because, as he said,
his body was shivering with cold and burning with heat at the same time. I was
informed at Marrakesh that a similar cure is practised near Glawi, in the Great
Atlas. The patient throws a saltless loaf into the spring attached to Lalla
Takerkut's sainthouse. Then he takes a bath in the spring, and the tortoises
which eat the bread will rid him of the §n'ilin by biting him. Eelated to this
means of expelling 5'n'iin is the so-called didfa (i—ibupjl), which is subject to many
variations in detail. The following accoimt shows one of the ways in which it is
practised. A dish of fish or meat is prepared, without salt. Part of it, together
with some saltless bread, is eaten by the patient, and another part is put on a plate
and taken by a black woman to some place haunted by ^n'An, She also takes with
her, in her basket, a piece of a looking-glass, a miniature flag in seven colours, some
sort of clumsy doll, and a copper coin, together with some burning charcoal and
incense. Besides the patient, the other members of his family may also partake
of the dish, but, if they partake, they ought to salt what they eat. The woman who
carries the basket must not speak to anybody slie happens to meet, for otherwise
the jwAn may go into her. GeneraUy some hungry dogs eat the food after the
black woman has gone away. In Ebnl Hlu, again, the practice is to kill a cock,
boil it, and to put its boiled flesh into a dish of mksu. The dish, when thus
filled, is surmounted by the feathers of the dead cock, care being taken that
none fall ofll After the patient has tasted the dish, an old woman carries the rest
to some spring wliich is haunted by gwAuy and on the following morning, if the food
has disappeared, the feathers are brought back to the house, and burnt, and the
patient inhales the smoke. If, on the other hand, the food is left untouched, there
is no hope of bis recovery. I have also heard that, in some places, a cock is killed
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illustrated by the present beliefs of the People of Morocco, 257
over the sick man's head, without the orthodox ritual of turning it towards the East,
and without any invocation of God. The cock, which should have the colour of
the §inn that is troubling the patient, is then carried to a place haunted by gwA/iu
But this is called Wdr ( jJl), not d-didfa, which always involves the idea of a meal
with §niXn as guests. Two or three different ideas seem to underlie these
practices. Not only have we the idea of a sacrifice, but we have, also, the idea of
enticing the ^inn to leave the body of the patient, and, yet further, the idea of
transferring the disease into some other body. The killing of the cock is a
sacrifice, and the di^/Jx-meal has the character of a sacrificial meal. At the same
time, there seems to be some hope that the ^niJ7i, being very greedy, will not be
able to resist the temptation of the saltless delicacy. In the haunted place where
the didfa-looA is deposited, they assume the shapes of the tortoises or dogs, which
are seen to eat the food brought there in the patient's behalf. The idea of
transference, again, is indicated by the biting of the patient by the tortoises, by
the doll which is put in the basket together with the food, by the fact that the
woman who carries the didfa-iooA must not open her mouth, and by the belief,
expressly held by some people, that tlie dogs which eat the didfa-iooA are not gn'jOM,
but real dogs, and that, after eating, they will be possessed by the gniXn that
troubled the patient.
The jn'An are divided into tribes, and each tribe has its special day for
attacking human beings, as, also, its special colour. By ascertaining the day when
a §inn lias entered a man, the magician can decide the colour of the ginn^ and can
take his measures accordingly. The so-called Gnawa, who stand in an especially
intimate relation to the gn'An, and wlio are frequently called on to expel them from
people who are ill, are said to dress both themselves and the patient in the colour
of the ginn that is believed to be the cause of the patient's illness, but this I have
not seen for myself. All the seven colours of the rainbow are used for magical
purposes when the tribes of all the days of the week are concerned, and, also, when,
as sometimes happens, the particular tribe immediately concerned cannot be found
out. But a good magician, I am told, does not make frequent use of the seven
colours. The colour of an animal which is oflfered to the §n'A,n generally is black.
The performance by means of which the Gnawa endeavour to expel the jwAn
is often very complicated, and may last for days. They sing and dance ; walk
round the patient, and make wry faces close to him ; take him on their necks and
carry him about, etc., etc. On Saturdays they eat dirt, because Saturday is the
day of the Jewish jwAn^ which are fond of dirt. I saw some of these practices
performed in Marrakesh, when one of my servants feigned sickness, and the
mkaddam, or chief, of the Gnawa, together with an assistant, tried to cure him.
I also called in a magician from Sfls. He pressed my servant's thumb, pinched
his ear, and whispered into it passages from the Koran. He assured me thiit it
was sometimes necessary to continue such whispered recitations for hours before
the evil spirit would take flight. Passages of the Koran are also written upon a
piece of paper, — which is often black, or coloured in accordance with the colour of
New Series, Vol. II, Noa. 3 and 4. S
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258 Edward Westkrmarck. — The Nature of the Arab dinn,
the ^inn, and the paper is then hung round the patient's neck or burnt before his
nose. In the latter case it is the smoke from the burning paper that is supposed
to expel the ^inn.
In cases of disease recourse is frequently had to beings who are sometimes
called sultans, and sometimes saints of the gnda. To this class belong Sidi
Hammu and his son Sidi Hammftda, Sidi Miiimiin, Lalla Maimiina, Lalla Mtra,
Lalla Rkeja, Sidi Mftsa, Sidi Busiihba, Shum Hirush and liis son, stUtdn l-khal, Sidi
Boknddel, etc. All these have their hammat(s), or oflfering places, which are often
nothing more than big stones near or in the sea. Opinions vary, however, about
the nature of these beings. Some of them are said by certain people to be
ordinary human saints, and their master is Mulai 'Abd 1-Kd,der, the sultan of all
the saints. To the ^inn-sultans offerings are made by patients or their families,
to enlist their assistance in driving away the molesting ^nn. Very frequently
cocks are carried to the hammat(s) of these saints, and are either slaughtered there,
or left there alive. One morning at Tangier, I saw several women walk to a large
stone in the sea, the hamma of Sidi MClsa. They kissed the stone, placed on it
some candles and incense, and had a bath on the other side of it.
A regular ^inn-cult is practised by the Gnawa, of whom we have already
spoken. They are usually, but not always, blacks from the Sudan, and they form
a regularly-constituted secret society. They live on more or less amicable terms
with the §niXn, and, as I have already said, are experts in exorcism. The Gnawa
celebrate an annual feast at which they make sacrifices to the ^n'An. I was at Tetuan
this year when the feast took place. The Gnawa went in procession, with noisy
music, to a spring called 'ain f'§dwar, near the Moorish cemetery outside the town.
They took with them a black bullock, a black goat, and a black donkey carrying
several chickens of various colours. When they came near the spring they
danced, burnt incense, and lighted candles. The bullock was then killed, and the
man who slaughtered it sucked blood from its throat The other animals shared
the same fate. Unfortunately I did not arrive at the spot until the proceedings
were just over, but I am speaking. from credible hearsay. When provisions are
dear, the Gnawa go to the hamma of some ginn-snlteinj — Sidi Hammu being a
special favourite, — or to the place where the ^znn-sultans generally reside.
The Gnawa pretend not only to expel ^niJn, but, also, to attract them at their
will. By inhaling the smoke of a certain incense and by dancing, they induce
the gjiiin to enter their bodies, and, when thus possessed, they are able to tell
future events. I have twice been present at a s^nce in the Moorish fashion. The
magician, a black man from S&s, wrote some mystic signs on a sheet of paper
which he fastened to the wall Having thus written a letter to the spirits, he blew
out the light, and demanded absolute silence. After a few minutes a tremendous
noise was heard : the ginn came down along the wall, and ran to the magician.
A dialogue between the ^inn and the magician ensued, after which the ^inn went
away over the roof. Nothing else could be seen in the dark but the vague
outline of a moving body. The ^inn once shook hands with me, and the hand
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ilhcstrated by the present beliefs of the People of Morocco. 259
was that of a man. The magician had no assistant. He was undoubtedly
a good ventriloquist, and endowed with exceptional powers of seeing in the dark.
The gn4n are, generally speaking, lacking in individuality. Their chcurac-
teristics are those of the species and of the tribe. Each tribe has not only its
special colour, but also its special religion. There are Muhammedan, Jewish,
Christian, and pagan gn4n. Moreover, the different tribes attack men under
different conditions. According to a manuscript which was given to me by a
magician belonging to the tribe Ebni 'Anis, the Sunday ^mln will attack a man if
he wash himself whilst perspiring ; the Monday ^nii?i, if he walk on ashes at night ;
the Tuesday ifniln, if he walk on blood ; the Wednesday ^7iti?i, if he walk in a
watery place ; the Thursday ^nilny if he tread upon them in the dark ; the Friday
gniln, if he walk in dirt ; the Saturday gniln, if he go out at night in a state of
perspiration. At the same time, there are, as we have seen, among the ^nilny saints
and sultans who, at any rate, possess proper names, and there is one §innia who
has a very distinct individuality, viz., 'Aisha Kandlsha. She lives in rivers, or
wells, or in the sea. She appears in various shapes, now as a child, now as a grown-
up woman, with long hair and a beautiful face, but with the legs of a goat or an
ass. She knows the name of every man, but when she calls anybody he should
not answer her, for she is very dangerous. Not only does she kill men, she is, also,
sometimes said to eat them. She will, however, disappear at once if a knife, or
even a needle, be shown to her, for, like all gn'An, she is afraid of steel. She seems
to be known everywhere in Morocco. The people of Tetuan say that she lives in
the river, outside the town, at a place where there is a ruined bridge. She seizes
and kills people who bathe there ; and every year three or four men are said to fall
victims to her in this way. In the summer, when it is very warm, she is some-
times seen sitting on the shore. At other places, she is said to dwell in the sea.
A Moorish friend of mine tells me that, in his childhood, his mother used to warn
him against 'Aisha Kandisha when he was going to bathe. She has a husband
called Hammu Kaiu, who is not much spoken of. But in the neighbourhood of
Mequinez a man told me that he had once seen him in a river.
The 'afdrit, (c-jJx) sing. *dfrit (c:^^ Jlc-Y form a special class of §n^n
remarkable for great strength and ferocity, and, consequently, much dreaded. The
Moors also believe in the existence of beings named gudl (J^v^l) sing. g6l (J^\!),
who have black faces and eyes like flaming fire, and are fond of human flesh.
There are, however, no gudJ in Morocco. They live only in the Sudan, and in
Morocco one liears of them chiefly from mothers who want to frighten their
children. I have heard some people say that the gudi are not gn^n, but form a
species by themselves, whereas others are of opinion that they belong to the
^in?i-kind.
These are, so far as I have been able to ascertain, the main features of the
belief in §inn as it exists among the people of Morocco at the present day. My
> In the North of Morocco pronounced ^afariU sing. ^dfriU,
8 2
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2fiO Edward Westermabck. — The Nature of the Arab 6inn,
next object will be to show that this behef, in all its essentials, and in a great many
of its details, is identical with that of the Eastern Arabs, and may be said, in the
main, to represent part of the old Arab religion, iu spite of the great mixture of
race which has taken place on African soil.
It is related in histories that, in ancient times before the creation of man, a
race of ginn " inhabited the earth and covered it, the land and the sea, and the
plains and the mountains."* Human or animal characteristics are imiversally
attributed to them. Of the belief in marriages between men and female §inn,
there are instances recorded both in Arabic literature,* and in Doughty's
description of his recent travels in the Arabian desert.* According to a tradition
from the Prophet, the §inn inhabit the land, the sea, and the air.* They are
stated to live not only in uninhabited places, such as deserts, marshes, dense forests,
and inaccessible mountains, but also in the dwellings of men.* In Mecca houses
haunted by §inn are said to be Toeskun? The modern Egyptians believe that the
ginn "inhabit rivers, ruined houses, wells, baths, ovens, and even the latrina."'
But in the East, as well as in Morocco, their chief abode seems to be the
under- world. In his Travels in Arabia Deserta, Doughty states, "They iuhabit
seven stages, which (as the seven heavens above) is the building of the under-
world.*'® They are frequently supposed to be guardians of hidden treasures.*^ In
Egypt, says Lane, it is a custom, " on pouring water, et<;., on the ground, to exclaim
or mutter, * Destoor,* — that is, to ask the permission or crave the pardon of any
ginnee that may chance to be there."*^ The fact that the chief abode of the ginn is
the under-world is, in fact, a corollary from the belief that they live in the dark
and disappear at daybreak." Everywhere the ginn are feared chiefly in the dark.
Thus, in Upper Egypt, according to Klunzinger, nobody ventures to live in a house
alone, to go out alone late at night, or to remain alone in a room at night. According
to the same authority it is not considered permissible to sweep out a house at night,
because some ginn might be struck and injured by the broom, and, for similar
reasons, people do not care to have anything to do with cats, as these may be ginn
in disguise.*^
In the East, as in Morocco, the shapes which the ^inn assume vary
indefinitely. They appear to mankind not only in the shapes of serpents,
scorpions, dogs, cats, wolves, jackals, lions, and other animals, but also as human
» Lane, Arabian Society in the Middle Ages, pp. 29 sq.
« von Kremer, Ctdturgeschickte des Orients unter den Chalifen^ vol. ii, p. 259 ; Wellhausen,
Reste arabiscken Heidentkums (1897), p. 154.
* Doughty, Travels in Arabia Deseria, vol. ii, pp. 191 sqq,
* von Kremer, loc. cit,, vol. ii, p. 257.
* Wellhausen, loc. cit, pp. 149 «^^. ; von Kremer, Stitdien zur vergleichenden Culturgeschickte
part ii, p. 26.
" Snouck Hurgronje, Mekka, vol. ii, p. 128.
* Lane, Manners and Customs of the Modem Egyptians (1896), p. 232.
» Doughty, loc. cit., vol. i, p. 259. » von Kremer, Studien, part ii, pp. 30 sqq.
'• Lane, Modern Egyptians, p. 232. " The Koran, sur. cxiii, v. 3.
»« Klunzinger, Upper Egypt, pp. 389 sq.
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illustrated hy the preaent heliefs oftlie People of Morocco, 261
beings, in which latter case tliey are sometimes of the stature of men, and
sometimes of a size enormously gigantic.^ An Arab told Doughty that " for a
while he could perceive nearly a half part of all who bear the form of mankind to
be jins."* In the Arabian Nights they are often represented as appearing, first of
all, in a monstrous undefined shape, like an enormous pillar, and as only gradually
assuming a human shape and less gigantic size. The extreme changeability of the
appearance of the gi^m is well illustrated in the twenty-second Night, where we
read of an 'ifi-it who came out of a water-tank in the semblance of a mouse. It
grew and grew, until it became, first a coal-black cat, then a dog, then an ass-colt,
and finally it became a buffalo.
The Oriental giym indicate their presence in very much the same way as their
Moorish brethren. Lane says that it is the general belief of the Arabs of Egypt
that the whirlwind which raises the sand in the form of a pillar is caused by the
flight of one of these beings.' It seems quite probable that the idea expressed in
the Koran* that the ginn were created of smokeless fire was derived from the
strange phenomenon of ignis fatuuSy which the present-day Arabs,* like the Moors,
believe to be lighted by ginn. The superstition with regard to a falling star
finds support in some texts of the Koran, according to which the ginn listen
at the gate of heaven for scraps of the knowledge of futurity, and, when detected
by the angels, are driven off, and pelted with shooting stars.' Many Arabs ascribe
the erection of the Pyramids, and all the most stupendous remains of antiquity in
Egypt, to Gann Ibn-Gann and his servants, the ginn, "conceiving it impossible that
they could have been raised by human hands."' The Eastern ginn as well as the
Western ^n^An are also disease-spirits. They cause asphyxia, lumbago, epilepsy,
epidemics, madness, etc.* "Mankind, after the Arabs' opinion," says Doughty,
" may be vexed in their bodies and minds by possession of the jan . . . Strange
maladies and lunatic affections are ascribed to their influence; scorned and
bewildered persons are said to be 'bejinned,' mejniln, demoniacs."' They also
think that a man who is fiwleep ought not to be awakened ; but the reason Doughty
gives for this opinion differs from that assigned by the Moors. The sleeping man,
he observes, ** is as it were in trance with God."^®
Iblis is, of course, known to all the Muhammedan peoples. In the Koran his
name always appears without the article, as a proper name, whereas the Moors, as
» Lane, Arabian Society^ p. 35 ; von Krenier, Culiurgeschickte, vol. ii, p. 267 ; Wellhausen
loc, cit,y p. 156.
» Doughty, loc, cit., vol. ii, pp. 189 sq,
■ Lane, Modem Egyptians, p. 232 ; cf, WellhauseD, loc, cit., p. 151 ; von Kremer, Studien
part ii, p. 29, note 3.
* 7%« Korauj sur. xv, v. 27 ; sur. Iv, v. 14.
* Burton, in his translation of the Arabian lights, vol. i, p. 398, note 3.
« The Koran, sur. Ixxii, v, 9 ; of, ibid,, sur. Ixvii, v. 5.
' Lane, Modem Egyptians, p. 236.
* Wellhausen, loc, cit,, pp. 155 «^. ; von Kremer, CuUurgetchichte, vol. ii, pp. 257 sqq.
» Doughty, loc. cit., vol. i, pp. 258 sq.
»• Ibid., vol. i, pp. 249 sq. ; cf Wellhausen, loc. cit., p. 163.
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262 Edward Westkrmarck. — The Nature of the Arab dinn,
already said, also have the plural ihalis, though it is rarely used. Al-Buchalry says
that yawning comes from Iblis,^ and the Egyptian fellah believes that " there is
always a devil ready to leap down his throat in case he should happen to gape.***
The Eastern ginn are afmid of iron and salt, as also of sacred words.* Baron
von Kremer suggests that their fear of iron is owing to their fear of a loud
rattling noise, such as that produced by metal, but this view is hardly correct."*
Professor Tyler's explanation seems to me much more satisfactory. The ginn^ he
observes, are essentially creatures belonging to the ancient Stone Age, and the new
metal is hateful and hurtful to them.* It should be remembered that they are not
afraid of any metal but iron or steel, and that they have the same dread of salt,
which produces no noise, but which is also an innovation to the Arabs. There are
Beduin tribes who, up to the present time, know nothing of salt, and find the use of
it ridiculous.* It will perhaps be suggested that the §mn fear salt because salt is
sacred.' But bread is held in equal veneration by all Arabic peoples, and is
nevertheless much liked by the ginn ; and iron is the very reverse of being sacred.
In Morocco, at least, it is regarded as sinful to cleave bread with a knife. Again,
the fear in which the ginn stand of passages of the Koran is easily explicable from
the fact that Muhammedanism was the successful rival religion, which, though
recognising the existence of jinny attributed to them a very inferior position in the
spirit-world. The Arabs of Egypt, according to Lane, believe that, during
the month of Ramadan, the §inn are confined in prison.* In Morocco, as
we have already seen, the imprisonment is thought to last only until the
twenty-seventh night of that month, and the same belief seems to prevail in
Algeria.*
The Beduins of the Arabian Desert sprinkle blood upon newly-broken fallow,
upon the foundation of a new building, and, also, when they open new wells or
enlarge old ones.^® In Al-Hegr, says Doughty, husbandmen "use to sprinkle
new break-land with the blood of a peace-ofifering : the like, when they build, they
sprinkle upon the stones, lest by any evil accidents the workmen's lives should be
endangered."*^ It was the opinion of the early Arabs, as it is of the present Moors,
that particular §inn preside over particular places. It is said in the Koran, " And
there are persons amongst men who seek for refuge with persons amongst the
» Wellhausen, loc. cit., p. 163.
• St. John, Village Life in Egypt^ vol. i, p. 262.
■ Lane, Modem Egyptians, pp. 232, 235 ; von Kremer, Studien, part ii, pp. 36 sq. ; Doughty
loc. city vol. ii, pp. 2 sq.
• von Kremer, Studien, part ii, pp. 36 sq.
» Tylor, Primitive Culture (1891), vol. i, p. 140.
• A. von Wrede's Reise in Hadhramauty edited by von Maltzan, p. 94.
' Cf D'Arvieux, Voyage dans la Palestine (1*71*7), p, 167 ; Burton, Pilgrimage to Al-Ifudinah
and Meccak (1898), vol. ii, p. 112.
• Lane, Modem Egyptians, p. 235.
» Certeux and Camoy, VAlgtie traditionelle, p. 83. The ginn are there said to be confined
in prison " dans les vingt-sept premiers jours du mois de Ramadan."
" Doughty, loc. cit, vol. i, p. 452. " Ihid., vol. i, p. 136
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illvstraied hy the present beliefs of the People of Morocco. 263
^inn"^ In the commentary of Al-GalS,lan we find the following note upon this
passage : — " When they halted, on their journey, in a place of fear, each man said,
* I seek refuge with the Lord of this place, from the mischief of his foolish ones.' "
llie modern Arabs have the same belief in the local lordship of the ^inn.* The
Egyptian fellahs hold that " every place, every part of a house, is inhabited by its
peculiar genius ; "* and in Cairo, according to Lane, each quarter of the city is
supposed to have its guardian-spirit, which has the form of a serpent.*
As for the expulsion of ginii, Doughty observes that there are exorcists in
Arabia who make people believe that, by reading powerful spoils out of the
Koran, they can terrify and expel the possessing demons.* According to Snouck
Hurgronje, transference of disease is practised in Mecca. When a child is ill, its
mother puts seven loaves of bread under its pillow, and then, after the child has
slept on them for a night, gives them to the dogs to eat.* In the literature on the
Eastern Arabs I have found no exact counterpart to the Moorish didfa, but a very
similar custom is reported to exist in Timbuctoo. When a men is sick, we are told,
some saint is asked what animal must be sacrificed for the recovery of the patient,
whether a white cock, a red cock, a hen, an ostrich, an antelope, or a goat. " The
animal is then killed in the presence of the sick, and dressed ; the blood, feathers,
and bones are preserved in a shell and carried to some remote spot, where they are
covered and marked as sacrifice. No salt or seasoning is used in the meat, but
incense is used previous to its preparation. The sick man eats as much as he can
of the meat, and all present partake ; the meat and what else is dressed with it,
must be the produce of charitable contributions from others, not of the house or
family ; and every contributor prays for the patient."' No idea of a transference
of the disease is involved in this practice. Those parts of the animal which are
not eaten by the patient and his friends are expressly said to be covered, which is
certainly not the case in Morocco, where an observant eye can frequently detect
remains of the didfa-iood on the roadside. Considering the important part the
Gnawa play as exorcists in Morocco, it seems more than probable that many
practices connected with the expulsion o'f ^iin have a Sudanese origin.
The Eastern ^inn display no more individuality than the Moorish ones;
rather less. The Moorish belief in ^mn-sultans is evidently local. The
^inn-society is made up after human fashion, and, as the ancient Arabs were
democrats, there can be no doubt that their ^inn were so too. Even Iblis is of
foreign extraction.® On the other hand, as Morocco is a monarchy, it is only
natural that its ifniln also should be monarchists. Exactly the same is the case in
India. From Jaflfur Shurreefs interesting account of the customs of the
» The Koran, sur. Ixxii, v. 6. ' Lane, Arabian Society^ pp. 38 sq,
* St. John, loc, cit.y vol. i, p. 262. * Lane, Modem Egyptians, pp. 235 9q,
» Doughty, loc cit,, vol. i, p. 259. • Snouck Hurgrooje, loc. dt., vol. ii, p. 121.
' Jackson, An Account of Timbuctoo and Houaa . . . by el Hage Abd ScUam Shaheeny,
p. 33.
* von ELremer, Culturgeschichte^ vol. ii, p. 255 ; Weilbausen, loc cit.^ p. 157.
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264 Edward WkstebMAKCK. — The l^aturc of the Arab dinn,
Muhammedans of that country, it appears that their various tribes of ginn have
each their king.* There is, however, in the East, also, one member of the
^inn-species which possesses a distinctly marked individuality. Doughty speaks of
a monstrous creature believed in by some desert Arabs, who call it Sa*lewwah.
" This salewwa is like a woman, only she has hoof -feet as the ass." A desert man
told him that " she entices passengers, calling to them over the waste by their
names, so that they think it is their own mother's or their sister's voice."* Von
Kremer identifies this being with Gule, a female demon often mentioned in Arabian
tales. Gule passes a solitary existence in the deserts, and appears to persons
travelling alone in the night, and, being supposed by them to be hereelf a traveller,
lures them out of their way. She not only converses with the travellers, but
sometimes prostitutes herself to them. She resembles both a woman and a brute.
She has long pendant breasts, and the feet of an ass. Moreover, she is a man-eater.^
This description of Sa'lewwah-Gule recalls all the chief characteristics of the
Moorish 'Aisha Kandisha, except that tlie latter is intimately connected with the
water, whereas the former is a desert demon. But this distinction is hardly
important, considering that the Moorish ^niXn generally have their favourite abodes
in watery places. I believe then that *Aisha Kandisha is Sa*lewwah-Gule,
somewhat modified ; and just as 'Aisha Kandisha is married to Hammu Kaiu, so
Gule has a male pendant called Kutrub.'' The Moorish gtuU, on the other hand,
have retained their Eastern character of residing in the desert, where they keep up
it
their traditional reputation for feeding on human flesh.* The 'afdrit{s), too, have
their home in the East.*
Having thus analysed the belief in ^inn as it is known from direct observation
and written records, we shall now turn to the question of its origin. The most
famous explanation has been attempted by Professor Eobertson Smith. He
maintains that it requires a very exaggerated scepticism to doubt that the ^inn are,
mainly, nothing else than more or less modernised representatives of animal kinds,
or totem animals. " In the old legends," he says, " the individual jinni who may
hapj)en to appear to a man has no more a distinct personality than a beast. He is
only one of a group of beings which to man are indistinguishable from one another,
and which are regarded as making up a nation or clan of superhuman beings,
inhabiting a particular locality, and imited together by bonds of kinship and by
the practice of the blood-feud, so that the whole clan acts together in defending its
haunts from intrusion, or in avenging on men any injury done to one of its
members. This conception of the communities of the jiim is precisely identical
with the savage conception of • the animal creation. Each kind of animal is
regarded as an organised kindred, lield together by the ties of blood and the
* Jaffur Shurreef, Customs of the Mussulmans of India, p. 217.
» Doughty, loc, ciLf vol. i, p. 54.
» von Kremer, Studien, part ii, p. 64 ; Lane, Arabian Society, pp. 42 sq.
* Lane, Arabian Society, p. 43.
» Idem, Modem Egyptians, p. 237.
* Ibid., p. 236 ; Burton, in his translation of the Arabian Nights, vol. i, p. 10, note 2.
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illustrated hy the present beliefs of the People of Morocco, 265
practice of blood revenge." The yinn usually appear to men in animal form,
though they can also take the shape of men. This last feature, however, cannot be
regarded as constituting a fundamental distinction between them and ordinary
animals in the mind of the Arabs, who believed that there were whole tribes of
men who had the power of assuming animal form. The supernatural powers of
the yinn do not dififer from those which savages, in tlie totem stage, ascribe to wild
beasts. They appear and disappear mysteriously, and are connected with super-
natural voices and warnings, with unexplained sickness or death, just as totem
animals are : they occasionally enter into friendly relations or even into marriages
with men, but animals do the same in the legends of savages : finally, a madman is
possessed by the yinn, but there are a hundred examples of the soul of a beast
being held to pass into a man. Like the wild beasts, the yinn have, for the most
part, no friendly or stated relations with men, but are outside the pale of man's
society : they frequent savage and deserted places far from the wonted tread of
men, their special haunts being just those which wild beasts most frequent.
Ultimately, however, the only animals directly and constantly identified with the
§inn are snakes and other noxious creeping things, which continue to haunt and
molest men's habitations after wild beasts have been driven out in the desert.*
We shall see whether these statements are correct, and, if so, whether tliey
have any bearing on totemism. It is true that, among the yinn, the individual has
no distinct personality, and is only one of a group or a clan. It is also true that
each kind of animal is often regarded by savages as analogous to a more or less
organised conmiunity,iu which the individual is lost sight of. But the same holds
good, to a great extent, for savage men. They form tribes or clans, and the
members of each group are "united together by bonds of kinship and by the
practice of the blood feud," whilst the members of the group are hardly taken into
account at all as individuals. It is from this organization of human society that
the idea of animal tribes is derived. Man has a tendency to anthropomorphism.
He models nature after the fashion of his own nature. The Moors believe that all
animals had a language in Sidna Sulejman's days. They also say that the horse
prays to God when he stretches out his leg, and that the donkey which falls down
asks God that the same should happen to its master. Now, as is well known, man
also attributes human qualities to the supernatural beings in whose existence he
believes. He does so to gods, and he does so to demons. Why, then, should we
believe that the similarity between the ^m?i.-clans and the several species of animals
is due to identity, instead of regarding it as the natural result of an analogous
derivation from the common root-idea of human society ? How closely the §inn
imitate men, is shown by the fact that in countries where there are sultans or
kings, as in Morocco and India, each nation of §inn also has its sultan or king.
Professor Robertson Smith attaches much importance to the fact that the
yinn most frequently appear to men in animal form. He does not deny that,
according to Arab beliefs, they also may appear in the shape of human beings, —
t Bobertson Smith, The Reliyion of the Seinitet (1894), pp. 120, 126 9qq,
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266 Edward Westermarck. — The Nature of the Arab Ginn,
although he underrates the frequency of such cases, — but he thinks that he solves
the difficulty by a reference to the tales of men who were transfonned into
animals. Such tales are met with in all Arab countries. The Moors say that the
monkey was once a man whom God changed into his present shape because he
performed his ablutions with milk, and that the stork was a kadi, or judge, who
was made a stork because he passed unjust sentences upon his fellow-creatures.
But such stories are not to the point. Professor Bobertson Smith gives no
instance of an animal assuming the shape of a man. Moreover, the §inn are also
disease spirits. They are believed, both in Morocco and in Arabia, to cause
disease by actually entering into the man who is taken ill, a belief which manifests
itself very plainly in the practices of the exorcists, and I see no reason for not
regarding this belief as equally ancient and genuine as the rest. A totem animal,
it is true, may also cause disease in a similar way, but, so far as I know, only if it
is eaten.* Savages know nothing of microbe totems.
It should be borne in mind that the §inn only incidentally, never
permanently or necessarily, have the shape of certain animals. One of their
chief characteristics is their extreme changeability. They make themselves
visible or invisible just as they like, change rapidly from one form into
another, and, at their pleasure, take up their abode wherever they please. The
totem, on the other hand, is a class of material objects, and a totem animal is
essentially an animal, though assumed to be endowed with some mysterious power.
Further, the animal totem is an animal species, and every member of it is
a representative of the totem, whereas the §inn, when appearing in the shape of an
animal, does so only individually. There is absolutely no connection known
between certain tribes of §inn and certain species of animals, nor is the whole
animal species looked upon as gimiy although these at times assume the form of
individual members of it. Every dog, every cat, every tortoise is not supposed to
be a spirit in disguise. Professor Robertson Smith maintains, indeed, that some
animal species, especially the lion, were objects of actual worship among the
Arabs,* but Baron von Kremer, the learned Arabic scholar, has shown that this
assertion has no foundation.* The Moors avoid killing certain species. He who
kills, and especially he who eats, a crow, they say, turns mad. They account it
a sin to kill a stork, since the stork was once a judge. They maintain that he who
kills a toad will get fever, or die, and they are afraid of destroying tortoises. They
do not like to kill white spiders, because a white spider had once woven its web
across the mouth of the cave where Muhammed was concealing himself from his
enemies. These, when they came to the cave in their search, and saw the web,
thought that no one could have recently entered it, and so passed it by without
examining it, and the Prophet escaped. Many Moors do not eat white chickens,
because they are the birds of Mulai 'Abd l-K&der, the great saint. Near the
» Cf, Frazer, Totemimn, pp. 16 sqq.
« Robertson Smith, Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia^ pp. 192 sqq,
* von Kremer, Studien, part ii, pp. 20 sq.
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illustrated by the present beliefs of the People of Morocco. 267
village Ebnf l5"iiiras, belonging to the tribe Ebni *Ards, dogs and goats are often
seen in the neighbourhood of a haunted spring, and he who beats them is said to
go mad. In the same district, within the precincts of Sidi Heddi's sainthouse,
there are certain fish which are fed by the clients of the saint, and never eaten,
being regarded as sacred. There may thus bo various reasons for abstaining from
killing certain kinds of animals, and one reason is undoubtedly the belief that the
animal might be a ginny which could avenge the injury inflicted on it ; but this
does not indicate previous totemism. It is significant, and it seems almost strange,
that no closer connection exists between the yinn and particular animal species
than what is actually the case. So far as we know, there is only one kind of
animal which, according to ancient Arab beliefs, permanently possesses a demoniacal
nature, viz., the snake. " In every snake," says Wellhausen, " there is a spirit
embodied, now a malevolent, now a benevolent."* Muhammed, whilst commanding
his followers to kill the obnoxious snakes, expressly forbid them to hurt those
innocuous ones which they found in their houses.* In modern Arabia, according to
Niebuhr, harmless snakes "take their refuge in the walls of houses, and are
esteemed agreeable guests by the inhabitants."* There are also traces of veneration
for household snakes in Morocco, where a snake which is seen in a house is
frequently taken for a good §inn, the guardian-spirit of the house.* The fact that
the ancient Arabs regarded snakes as ^inriy however, does not involve that the
snakes were totem animals. Animal worship is not the same as totemism.
Moreover, according to Noldeke, no trace of actual worship of snakes is to be
found in ancient Arabia.*
The statement that the special haunts of ginn are the places most frequented
by wild beasts, is certainly not in accordance with facts. We have seen that
men are surrounded by §inn, that the §inn haunt places where no wild beasts ever
go, even human habitations, that every place has its owners, its ginuy and that
their principal abode is the under-world. Finally, a totem is not only a class of
objects which are regarded with superstitious respect, but one to which man
believes himself to stand in an intimate and friendly relation. The §inn, on the
contrary, habitually appear as man's enemies. Professor Robertson Smith is
aware of this difficulty, but tries to reconcile it with his theory. The general
answer to it, he says, " is that totems, or friendly demoniac beings, rapidly develop
into gods when men rise above pure savagery. ... It is natural that the
belief in hostile demons of plant or animal kinds have given way to individual
* Wellhausen, loc cit,, p. 153.
» Noldeke, Die Scklange nach arabischem Volksglauhem, in Zeitsckrift fur Volkerpsi^ehologie,
vol. i (1860), pp. 415 sq.
» Niebuhr, Travels through Arabia (1792), vol. ii, p. 278.
* Veneration for household snakes seems to be more prevalent among the Berbers than
among the North African Arabs ; see Dr. Brown's note in his edition of Leo Africanus, The
History and Description of Africa (1896), vol. ii, pp. 655-667.
» Noldeke, loc, cit,^ p. 416.
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268 Edward Westermarck. — The Nature of the Arab diim,
gods, whose original totem associatious are in great measure obliterated."* What-
ever else may be said against this reasoning, it is enough here to point out that
Professor Tylor has recently argued, wilh his usual force, against premature
conjectures as to the origin of deities from totem animals, justly protesting against
" the manner in which totems have been placed almost at the foundation of
religion."*
It seems to me, then, that the application of the totem theory to the Arabic
^i7in involves a radical misunderstanding of their nature. Writers on the history
of religion often mould the religious phenomena into too naiTow forms, whether
the form is headed ancestor-worship or totemism. The conception of ginn implies
a generalization on a much larger scale. The ^inn are beings invented to explain
what seems to fall outside the ordinary pale of nature, the wonderful and
unexpected, the superstitious imaginations of men who fear. They dwell under
the earth, not, I think, because they have been driven there by a new triumphant
religion, but because men fear most in the dark. They so frequently assume the
shape of animals, not because there is any intrinsic connection between animals
and gimiy but because the ginn represent active forces, and, among living things,
the animals are the most mysterious. Within the region of wonder, they act as
disease-spirits, as nature-spirits, as guardian-spirits, as animal-spirits, even as
human spirits. But they do not cover the whole field of the supernatural.
There are spirits that have risen to a higher level, that have become objects of
divine worship, gods, and that work miracles either directly or through some medium,
for instance, a saint. The ancient Arabs, so far as we know them, divided the
world of the supernatural between gods and ^inn, also, as it seems, giving some
share of it to the ghosts of dead men. With this restriction the ^tVm are what
their name indicates. 6inn originally means " the secret," " the hidden,"* in fact,
the mysterious.
Discussion.
Mr. Crooke gladly recognised the value of Dr. Westermarck*s contribution to
the knowledge of a very obscure chapter of demonology. He regarded this
refutation of Dr. Eobertson Smith's theory of the connection of the Ginn with
totemism as conclusive. On the other hand, there appears much to be said for
the theory that the Ginn originally represented the wilder and hence unaccounted
for forces of Nature — the spirits of the desert and waste places which are naturally
regarded as the home of mystery. In this view, their identification with animals
seems to be sufficiently accounted for. They are, in fact, survivals of the early
indigenous animistic beliefs, which were at a later date absorbed and developed
under the influence of Islam.
* Robertson Smith, Religion of the Semites, pp. 443 sq,
* Tylor, " Bemarks on TotemiBnii" in Journ. ArUkrop. Inety Aug.-Nov., 1898, p. 144.
* Noldeke, in Zeittchrift fur Vdlkerpsychologiey vol. i, p. 413, note *** ; Wellhausen, loc, cit.
p. 152.
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illustrated by the present beliefs of the People of Morocco, 269
Professor Tylob, in expressing the sense of the meeting as to Professor
Westermarck's study of the Giun in Morocco, remarked that the first sentence of
the paper showed the line along which he had approached the problem. The late
Professor Eobertson Smith, by his work on the Rdigion of the Semites, vastly
improved the method and enlarged the horizon, of current theology by the
introduction of anthropological evidence. But through the influence of his friend
J. F. McLennan 's Primitive Marriage, he was led to introduce too confidently the
doctrine of Totemism as a leading factor on the religious side of ancient society,
and he put forward the idea that the Arab l)eliefs as to the Ginn were evidence of
an early stage of Totemism among the Semitic race. Tliis view appearing to
Dr. Westermarck questionable, he collected during his residence and travel in
North Africa the particulars as to the beliefs as to the Uinn prevailing there,
which are generalised in his paper read to-night. The result tells strongly
against the identification of the ginn-belief with the totem-belief. The collection
of the analogies alleged between the doctrine of ginn-animals with the doctrine of
totem-animals shows, indeed, resemblances in the ideas of Arabs and other peoples,
as to the relation of animals to men, but the word totem indicates the importation
of an extraneous element into the discussion, which would no doubt be better
conducted under the heading of animal worship.
Independently of the question of totemism, the mass of beliefs connected
with the Ginn make us hope that Dr. Westermarck will use his opportunities to
continue his researches in Morocco, and to follow up a line of research of which
he as yet only indicates the need ; namely, that of separating the other native
ideas of Morocco from the imported Moslem beliefs which extend from the Straits
of Malacca to the Straits of Gibraltar. When he points out that the 6inn are
afraid of salt as well as of iron, this is apparently to carry Arab tradition back to
a saltless as well as an ironless antiquity. How they have retained old prejudices
while attaching new meanings to them, seems to come into view, when it is noticed
that they object to waking a sleeper, but not for the usual reason, and that they object
to looking at themselves in a mirror, but seemingly have forgotten the ancient
reason they doubtless had. When Dr. Westermarck resumes his inquiries in
North Africa, he may be able more or less to clear up the intei-esting question
which he has doubtless had often before him, how to distinguish and delimit the
two ways in which men or demons can appear and behave as beasts. Is
transformation of Ginn into cats or tortoises or snakes something related to
transmigration of souls, or is it considered to take place by quite a different
process ?
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( 270 )
ORDINAEY MEETING.
DECEMBER 12th, 1899.
C. H. Bead, Esq., F.S.A., President, in the Chair,
The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and signed.
The President introduced Mr. W. L H. Duckworth, who exhibited some new
foims of Anthropometrical instruments manufactured abroad.
Dr. Garson doubted if they were better or cheaper than some which he had
lately had made in England, which are described in the new edition of Notes and
Queries,
The President thanked Mr. Duckworth, and complimented him on the
neatness and usefulness of the instruments.
He then introduced Mr. Wm. Crooke, who proceeded to read his paper : —
" Survivals in primitive rites of the disposal of the dead, with special reference
to India."
Discussion was carried on by Mr. Wm. Gowland, Dr. Garson, Mr. A. L. Lewis,
and Mr. W. L. H. Duckworth.
Mr. Crooke replied to questions, and the President closed the proceedings
with a vote of thanks to Mr. Crooke for a very valuable paper.
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( 271 )
PEIMITIVE RITES OF DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD, WITH SPECIAL
EEFERENCE TO INDIA.
By W. Crooke, B.A.
[Read at the Meeting, December 12th, 1899.]
Last year in a paper read before this Institute I discussed certain questions
connected with the Hill Tribes of Centred India. I now propose to consider
with somewhat greater detail the methods of disposal of the dead as practised
in India.
Three important groups of custom centre round the three events of birth,
marriage and death. The observances characteristic of these depend upon certain
well-defined principles of savage philosophy, among which that of Taboo is
prominent By this is meant the conception of certain things as dangerous to
handle or to have to do with. And this Taboo, like an infectious disease, is
transmittable. Thus, the enceinte woman, the new-bom child, the youth and
maiden at puberty and marriage, and the corpse, are all more or less taboo. And
the leading intention of the rites performed in connection with these events is to
protect the tabooed individual as well as those brought in contact with him from
the contagion which emanates from him.
Of these three great groups of custom that connected with death is the most
complex and the most interesting. Taboo nowhere exhibits its potency more
clearly than in connection with the dead. It influences raxies who believe that
the gliost is friendly, as well as those who dread its malignity. For our present
purpose this group of customs has this additional interest that we can support our
interpretation of usages now current among savage or semi-savage peoples, by a
great body of archseological evidence, which in the case of the rites of birth and
marriage is necessarily non-existent.
In India, it is true, prehistoric archeology is still in its infancy. But enough
has already been discovered to aid largely in the exploration of the usages of the
existing races, and to prove that we have here a comparatively virgin field, which
is likely to yield an abundant harvest whenever its investigation comes to be
seriously undertaken.
All I propose to attempt at present is to consider the various modes of
disposal of the dead.
These may be roughly divided into two classes — those in which the object is
to preserve the body, or certain relics of it ; and, secondly, those in which the
ruling intention is to put the dead out of sight
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272 W. C^OOKK,— Primitive Bites of Disposal of the Dead,
Of the first class we have a familiar example in the Egyptian custom of
mummification, where the intention was to provide a refuge for the Ka or
separable soul.* In the second division comes the habit of burial, wliich suggested
the belief in an underground world of the dead. Cremation, on the other hand,
was intended to etherealise the ghost and to permit it to reach its abode in heaven.
But everywliere, as we shall see, we find these conceptions overlapping each other,
or one gradually taking the place of the other.
To begin, then, with mummification. We find it in its fullest development
in Egypt and in parts of the American Continent. But in Egypt it was not a
primitive practice. It was unknown to the Pharaohs of the First and Second
Dynasties, and the custom may have been due to the accidental fact that at
El-Kab, opposite the early capital of Upper Egypt, the ground is impregnated with
natron, which would have preserved the bodies buried in it from decay.*
Elsewhere, as in the case of the royal graves at Mycenae, it bears the appearance
of a foreign custom, introduced only tentatively or in some special cases.'* The
references in the Homeric poems to the miraculous preservation from decay of the
bodies of Hector and Patroclus, and the use of fat, oil and honey to preserve the
corpse, suggest that the practice of embalmment may have been adopted to some
extent.*
The evidence from India points in much the same direction. We find the
same folk-belief in the possibility of securing the body from decay in the Deccan
tales of Chandan Edja and Sodewa Bai.* There is, again, the early legend of Nimi,
told in the Vishnu Purana, whose corpse was preserved in oil ; in the E^melyana
King Dasaratha is embalmed in oil ; in the Mahabharata the corpse of Pandu is
smeared with sandal paste.*
In modern India the evidence is equally fragmentary. Thus, in Kanaka, in
Orissa, the corpse of the local chief is preserved in oil, and not cremated until his
successor is installed ; the throne, they say, must never remain empty.' In other
cases, the practice seems to be based merely on convenience, as when the Khasiyas
of the Himalaya preserve in honey those who die in the rainy season till the
weather clears sufficiently to admit of cremation being performed.® But the
practice assumes a clearer ritual significance among the Maghs of Bengal, whose
custom it is to dry and embalm the bodies of their priests and persons of high
* The connection of the practice of mummification with the theory of the Ka is disputed
by Professor F. Petrie, whose view is opposed by Professor Sayce, Folk-lore y ix, 339. The common
view is held by Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt^ Wil,
* Sayce, loc. cit.
* Schuchhardt, Schliemann*s Excavatimis, 158 ; Frazer, Fatisanias, iii, 107, 155.
* Iliad, vii, 86 ; xvi, 465, 674 ; xix, 38 ; xxiii, 168, 187, 244.
» Miss Frere, Old Deccan Days, 227, 242.
* Wilson Hall, Vishnu Purdna, iii, 328 ; Rdmdyana, Book ii, 68 ; MahdbMrata, Adi Parva,
sec. 66 ; Joum. Anthrop. Soc,y Bombay, i, 39 seq.
' JoufTi, Anthrop, Soc, Bombay, iv, 311.
* Hooker, Himalayan Journal (Minerva Library), 486 seq. ; Risley, Tribes and Castes ol
Bengal, ii, 34.
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social position, and keep them for a year, when the funeral rites are done, or
among the KAkis of Assam, who smoke dry the bodies of chiefs and
headmen, keeping them for two months, after which they inter them with great
respect.^
"We may, perhaps, suspect that the same idea imderlies the practices of some
of the modern ascetic bodies. Thus, by the M&nbhav, religious beggars in
Bombay, the grave is filled up with salt and earth ; the lingayats of Pflna place
round the corpse as much salt as they can afford, and then fill in the grave ; the
GS-vlis, a class of shepherds in Sholapur, fill in the grave with earth up to the
level of the neck of the corpse ; the head being sacred, it is covered with salt and
then earth is piled over it : in Upper India the Gusain mendicant is buried in salt.*
The Persians employed wax and the Assyrians honey in preserving the
corpse, and it is possible that the practice may have reached India by this route.
The Eajputs, among whom in particular the usage prevailed, are the result of a
Yu-echi invasion from Central Asia. By the adoption of polyandry they are
linked with the Himalayan races among whom it is still an institution. Among
the Assam tribes usages of the same kind are suggestive of Mongoloid influence.
At the same time, it is not impossible that the custom may have been
independently evolved.
Next comes the custom of platform burial, which was possibly based on
various converging lines of thought. Fii^t, came the desire to protect the corpse
from profanation, and with this was possibly combined the idea of preventing
the corpse, which is taboo, from touching the ground, and thus affecting the
productive powers of the soil. Thirdly, there is the intention of preserving the
bones as relics or charms. Many primitive races object to break the bones of
animals, which they have eaten or sacrificed, from a belief in the resurrectibn of
beasts, from a fear of intimidating other creatures of the same kind, or offending
the ghosts of those which are slain.* The opinion, in short, underlying the
various customs of preservation of remains was, to use Dr. Brinton's words,
" that a part of the soul, or one of the souls, dwelt in the bones : that these were
the seeds, which planted in the earth, or preserved unbroken in safe places,
would in time put on once again a garb of flesh and germinate into living human
beings."*
The habit of platform burial is widespread. We find it, for instance, in Fiji,
where the body is placed on a platform, round which a child is passed to baffle
the ghost, and the corpse is eventually buried : in Timor Laut those who die in
> Risley, Tribes and Castes of Bengal, ii, 34 ; Journ. Anthrop. Inst., xzvi, 195 ; Hunter,
Statistical Account of Assam, ii, 187 ; Dalton, Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal, 47, 56. Compare
similar rites in the case of African chiefs, Featherman, Nigritians, 110, 156, 427, 441.
* Bombay Oasetteer, xvii, 183 ; xviii (1), 272 ; xvii, 214 ; xx, 151 ; Crooke, Tribes and Castes
of the North- Western Provmces, ii, 469 ; Logan, Malabar, i, 130.
' Frazer, O olden Bough, ii, 124 seqq,
< Myths of the New World, 257. On bones kept as a palladium, see Frazer, Pavsanias,
iv, 95.
Nbw Series, Vol. II, Noe. 3 and 4. T
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274 W. Ckooke. — Primitive Bites of Disposal of the Dead,
war or by violence, or in other words, the tabooed dead, are buried, while those
who die a natural death are placed on rocks or platforms.^ Among the Damaras
it is combined with house burial. The chief sometimes requests that instead of
being buried, his corpse may be placed in a squatting position on a platform
erected in his hut, which is surrounded by a hedge or palisade."
We have, perhaps, a variant of the same practice in the custom of burial on
high places, as among the Tipperahs of Bengal, who place the ashes with the arms
of the dead man on a hill, or the Khyens and KirSntis of Assam, who bury their
dead on a sacred mountain, with the implied confidence that they are thus nearer
their deified ancestors, who have gone to heaven.*
One explanation of the practice, to which reference has already been made,
comes out in the case of the Aleuts, who, after clothing and masking the corpse,
place it in a cleft of the rocks, or swing it in a boat cradle from a pole in the
open air ; for, they say, the corpse must not touch the ground, obviously because
it is taboo and may injure the growth of the crops.* It is possibly for the same
reason that the Burmese swing the coffin backwards and forwards before lowering
it into the grave ; they do this, they say, as a salute to the spirits of the dead who
may Jiere represent the chthonic powers which control vegetation.* So the Todas
lift up the corpse and swing it three times from side to side before laying it on
the pyre face downwards, in which the idea of baffling the ghost is possibly the
predominant motive.*
Platform burial in India seems to be confined to the N&gas of Assam, who
continue this among other archaic practices in connexion with death.^ They
wrap the corpse in mats and dispose it on a platform raised and fenced in, while
those who die by violent deaths, and are thus specially taboo, are tied up to trees
on the spot where they fell without covering or ornament.'^ Special taboo is thus
marked by the corpse being left nude, as among the Dravidians of Madras, the
MhS,rs, a menial tribe in Western India and the Gonds of the Centml Hill
Tract : it shows itself in a modified form even among the Chitpavan Br&hmans of
Pftna, who at the time of cremation remove and throw aside the head-shroud and
the cloth covering the feet of the corpse.*
In the custom common among the Northern Mongolians, the Parthians, the
Hyrkanians, the ancient Persians, and the modern Pftrsis, who are, or were, in
the habit of deliberately exposing the corpse to be devoured by birds of prey, we
reach a practice the origin of which is directly associated with Central Asia.*
» Jaum, Anthrop. Inst, O.S., x, 146 ; xiii, 13, 298 ; xxiv, 309 ; xxvii, 431.
« Feathennan, NigriHans, 670.
* lUsley, loc, cit., ii, 325 ; and compare Dalton, loc, city 104 seq, ; Yarrow, Report of Ameriecm
Bureau of Ethnology, 1879-80, p. 125 ; Bancroft, Native Races, i, 132 ; iii, 148
* Bancroft, loc, cit, i, 93. » Bwrmah Gazetteer, i, 386.
* Grigg, Nilagiris, 198. » Joum, Anthrop, Inst,, O.S., xi, 203 ; xxii, 247
» Folk-lore, v, 25 ; Bombay Gazetteer, xxii, 114 ; Hislop, Papers relating to the Aboriginal
Tribes of the Central Provinces, 19, App. vi.
» RajendralAla Mitra, Indo-Aryans, ii, 160.
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The dog was regarded as the sacred animal of the tribe — the totera, a member of
the clan itself, as Dr. Jevons^ chooses to call him, and the future happiness of the
soul was regarded as conditional on absorption by, or communion with, the sacred
beast. If this be so, the practice would be a survival of the earlier custom, when
the deceased was eaten by the kin. But the practice seems to have been always
repellent to the Hindu mind, and in the Mahabh^rata the horror felt at the dead
being devoured by animals and fowls of the air is as well marked as in the
Homeric poems.* It is within the Buddhist area that the custom shows itself
most clearly.. In Siam, for instance, if a person have ordered that his corpse
shall be delivei^ed to vultures and crows, a functionary cuts it up and distributes
it to birds of prey.* In other places the custom is intended to honour the more
distinguished dead. The minstrels of the Woloffs, for instance, are placed in a
hollow tree as a prey to hyaenas or vultures.^ Elsewhere, again, the opposite
feeling prevails, as when the Wagunda bury chiefs and expose slaves to wild
beasts, and the habit of leaving warriors slain in battle to be devoured is common
to the Latukas of East Africa, and the Pericuis of Mexico, who suppose that
a future life was accorded only to those dying by a natural death.*
I venture to suggest that we may find a survival of rites of this class in the
modem Hindu custom of feeding crows on the Pindas, or sacred balls, at the
grave or place of cremation. The balls are laid out, and the mourners cannot
leave the spot till the crows deign to eat them. It seems clear that the ball is
supposed to be a part of the dead man, or to represent his flesh, because some
castes, like the ParSjiya Br9.hmans, and OswSl M&rwaldis of Western India, tie
one of these balls on the chest of the dead man as he is being removed for
cremation, and this ball is given to the crows.*
The sacrificial motive of the offering is also marked by the fact that, if the
balls are not consumed, the ghost is supposed to become angry and uneasy. The
Sundxs of Ahmadnagar in this case suppose that the ghost will haunt the living ;
the Berads, jungle folk in Bijapur, think that the ghost is uneasy about the
future of its family, and the chief mourner has to promise to provide for them.^
If the crows refuse to touch the balls, other precautions are adopted. Thus,
among the menial tribes, the D&vris prepare an earthen crow and make it touch
the offerings with its beak ; the Bhois touch the ball with a crow made of the
sacred Kusa grass, and the Ghisftdis give the ball to a cow ; while among people
of a higher grade, the Shenvi Br^mans of Eanara touch the ball with a blade of
sacred grass.®
The order in which the balls are eaten is also a matter of importance. The
» Introduction to the History ofBdigion, 203 9eq, ; Hartland, Legend of Perseus, ii, 305.
« MahdbhdratOy trans. Ray, v, 271, 468 ; vi, 34.
' Bowring, Siam, i, 122 seq, * Featherman, Nigritians, 368.
• Featherman, loc, eit,, 103, 81 ; Bancroft, loc. cit,, iii, 642.
• Bombay Ocuetteer, xvi, 70 ; xviii (IX 424. * Th^'^., v 46 ; xvii, 81.
• Ibid., xvii, 136, 207 ; xxiii, 96,
T 2
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276 W. CiiooKK— Primitive Bites of Disposal of the Dead,
right ball should be eaten first, and it is in this connection important that the
Parais, when they expose a corpse in their Towers of Silence, rejoice if a bird pecks
out the right eye first, and mourn if the left be selected.^ The rite is still further
degraded in the case of the K&mis of Bengal, who after laying out the food for
the dead man, watch anxiously till a fly or other insect lights upon it." Here,
however, the dominant idea probably is that the fly represents the soul of the
dead man.
At any rate, we find this custom of feeding the crows at death among the most
degraded tribes, like the Kftthkaris, Berads, Bhils, and Kftmis, and it seems
possible that it may have arisen among them quite independently of foreign
influence.*
• In some cases the corpse is exposed not with the direct intention that it may
be devoured by beasts and birds. Mountain burial prevails largely along the
Himalaya. The Kiv^ntis bury their dead on a hill-top in a loosely constructed
stone tomb ; in Spiti the dead are exposed on hills or sometimes cut up and
exposed to beasts and birds.* Many authorities record similar customs among
the Mongols and Tibetans, while the Kafirs of the Hindu Kush expose their dead
in coffins on mountains, and this up to quite recent times was the habit of the
Bushkariks of the same region.* Here they follow a custom known to prevail
among the dwarf race of the Paggi Islands, the Nias and Dayaks of Borneo.* On
the whole, it seems doubtful whether such customs are racial ; they seem, in many
cases, to depend merely on caste or social changes.
The river-drift hunters and other early tribes do not seem to have disposed
,of their dead by interment,' and this is characteristic of some of the ruder tribes
in India to this day. Thus, the Berads of Pftna bury their dead only in the very
rudest way, or, as they say, " leave them in the bush to become spirits."® Some-
times, again, we find simple bush burial, as among the Anus of Burmah and the
Khotils of Khandesh, who bury their dead in the jungle without form or ceremony,
merely piling a few stones to mark the grave, while the Chalikata Mishmis of
-Assam bury the dead man with his arms and clothes in the forest.' The custom
is slightly advanced among the jungle folk of Mirzapur, like the Ghasiyas and
Agariyas, who perform the farce of cremation, often merely singeing the face and
feet of the corpse and exposing it in the forest.'** We have, I conjecture, a survival
of this exposure of the corpse in the bush in the habit common in India of laying
1 Bombay Gazetteer, xxi, 181 ; xvii, 157 ; xxiii, 192 ; xv (1), 167. « Risley, loc, cit,^ i, 395.
« Bombay Gazetteer, xiii (1), 164 ; vi, 32. * Settlem/mt Report, 204.
• Yule, Marco Polo, i, 188 ; Joum, Anthrop. Inst, iii, 356 ; Biddulph, Tribes of the Hindu
Kush, 71.
• Yule, loc. cit., u, 241 ; Both, Natives of Sarauoah, i, 139, 291.
' Keaiie, Ethnology, 143.
• Bombay Gazetteer, xviii (1) 406 ; compare the Zulu custom, Featherman, Nigritians, 600.
» Burmuh Gazetteer, i, 186 ; Bombay Gazetteer, xii, 95 ; Dalton, loc. cit,, 21 ; compare the
custom of the R&jis, North Indian Notes and Queries, iii, 117.
«» Crooke, loc, cit., i, 7 ; ii, 417.
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the corpse on the ground as the funeral leaves the town or village; but here
the rite often merges into a device for baffling the ghost.
In such matters conservatism is an active force, and we may suspect that the
custom of corpse exposure prevailed more widely in former times when we find it
to the present day applied to persons dying in a special state of taboo. Thus, the
Savaras of Ganjam and the M&les of Bengal deal in this way with persons dying
from small-pox or snake-bite.^ If one of the Madras KSxiirs dies in the forest, in
other words, as they think, if he has fallen a victim to the angry jungle spirits, his
corpse is placed in a crevice of the rocks and covered with stones.^ Little
children, again, ^re universally regarded as taboo because they have not undergone
initiation, and hence all through Upper India their bodies are flung into water
or exposed to animals. The same rule in some cases applies to priests who are
under a permanent taboo. On the Northern frontier the corpses of such holy
persons are cut in pieces and dispersed on the summits of mountains as . food for
birds, and the Pahariyas of Bengal simply leave the body of one of their Demanos
or sorcerers under a tree.*
It seems to be generally admitted that in Europe inhumation preceded
cremation and the latter seems to have arisen contemporaneously with the
development of the potter's art In India the course of development of custom
appears to have been similar. The earlier Troglodytes buiied their dead in the
caves which formed their dwellings. Later on, the underground hut suggested cist
and dolmen interment. The change in practice marks a new conception of the
state of the dead, who no longer live in a gloomy underground world, but join
their dead kinsfolk in the sky. The leading impulse may have been suggested by;
the greater mobility of some of the prehistoric races. As they abandoned their
original settlements there may have arisen a natural desire to convey to a distant
home the relics of the nobler dead; or, again, it may have been considered
dangerous to leave such relics in a foreign land, because some evil-minded witch
might work black magic by means of them. In fact, there is some evidence that
these modes of disposal of the dead were racial peculiarities, inhumation being
habitual to men of the long-headed type, while to the short-heads belongs the
practice of incineration, following on that of contracted buriaL*
In Europe inhumation seems to have lasted through the first two-thirds of
the Neolithic Age, and in England and France various forms of interment seem to
have co-existed with cremation, as was the case in the Homeric Age, when
cremation, complete or partial, seems to have gone on side by side with inhuma-
tion.' " All the stages of such a transition can be seen in the Hallstatt burials at
the dawn of the Iron Age in Central Europe : the Dipylon cemetery of the ninth
* LemaD, Oanjanty 88 ; Bisley, lac. cit., ii, 59.
» Thurston, Btdletins Madras Oovemment Miueum, ii, 141.
* OaDningham, Ladakh and Kwiawur, 188 ; Dalton, loc cii., 274.
* Borlase, Dolmens of Ireland^ ii, 575.
* Borlase, loc cit,^ ii, 673 ; iii, 741 seq. ; Joum, Antkrop, Inst., O.8., v, 130, 132 ; iv, 128,
265 ; zzii, 7 ; zxvi, 255 ; Du Chaillu, Vihing Age, i, 84 seq. ; Nadaillac, Prehistoric Peoples,
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278 W. Crookr — Primitive Rites of Disposal of the Dead,
century, or thereabouts, at Athens, shows inhumation in its older graves, incinera-
tion in its later. There are many instances of a corpse being inhumed, but its
furniture and food supply burnt, and of the two practices long co-existing, though
not being interchangeable in one community. The discrepancy, therefore, between
the Epics and the remains of the great Mycenaean period in this respect also need
be due to nothing more than a slight difference in their respective periods."^
The same modification of custom appears in Japan as well as in China. Here
in the time of Marco Polo cremation was general, whereas it now survives only in
the case of Buddhist priests.'
As for India — in the Vedas earth burial and cremation with subsequent burial
of the bones and ashes are found to exist together, and in the period represented
by the great Epics, the Mahabharata and Kamayana, among the higher classes, at
least, ci-emation with burial of the ashes or consignment of them to some sacred
river seems to have entirely replaced inhumation.*
The same modification of custom has persisted up to our own times. Thus,
among the tribes of the Hindu Kush cremation used to be the common form, the
ashes being collected in rude wooden boxes or in earthen jars and buried.* Now
Muhammadanism has taught them to bury the corpse, and this change of practice
is, of course, common to all converts from Hinduism, one tribe in Northern India,
the Garas having, it is said, gained their name from their adoption of this novel
custom.* Another line of similar influence is that of the Lingayat worship in
Southern India, which was the result of a reversion in the direction of phallic
beliefs in opposition to official Brfthmanism. Thus the Ilgeru, a jungle tribe,
tappers of the toddy-palm, in Dharwar, used to cremate their dead, but quite
recently under Lingayat influence have reverted to cremation : the Khatik butchers
when they become Lingayats, bury, when Marhatas following Hindu rules they bum
their dead.*^ On the other hand, it is one of the first indications of a jungle tribe
being adopted into the Hindu fold that they replace burial by cremation. The
KomsLrpS-iks, palm-tappers of Kanara, up to sixty or seventy years ago used to
bury ; now they cremate adults and bury children ; and the Dhimals, a menial
race in Bengal, are rapidly replacing burial by cremation.^
Two lines of evidence tend to corroborate the conclusion that in India earth
burial preceded cremation. One is, that now-a-days it is only the most backward
of the jungle tribes, like the Irulas and Koravas of North Arcot,® who habitually
resort to inhumation. It may also be assumed that the same rule prevailed in
372 ; Lubbock, Prehistoric Times,^ 49 seq. ; Folk-lore^ iii, 246 ; vi, 15 ; Ealston, Songs of the
Russian People, 324 seq, ,
» Hogarth, Authority and ArchoBohgyj Sacred and Profane, 248 ; Frazer, Pansanias^ v, 663.
« Yule, Marco Polo, i, 187 ; ii, 96 ; Rein, Japanf 433.
' Rig Veda, x, 15, 14 ; 18, 11 ; i, 174, 7 ; x, 16, 1 ; 15, 14 ; Dutt^ AnderU India, i, 279
* Biddulph, loc, cil,, 113. * Crooke, loc, eit, ii, 391.
« Bombay Oazetteer, xxii, 109 ; xxiii, 172.
' Ibid., XV (1), 292 ; Rialey, loc. cit,, i, 228.
• Cox-Stuart, North Arcot, i, 247, 249.
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early times among tribes in the lower stage of culture in Northern India, because
there is a consistent folk . tradition dating from very ancient times that the dead
were not cremated in the great kingdom of Magadha, the modern Bihftr.^
Another line of evidence pointing in the same direction is the general habit
which now prevails of burying, not cremating, people under taboo — young children,
puerpercR, priests and holy men of various kinda As to children, the general rule
seems to be that if a child die within the first twelve days after birth, or before
the naming rite, which is a form of tribal initiation, it is always buried : if it die
between the twelfth day and the third year, or between the naming rite and the
hair cutting, which is also a form of initiation, it is buried, or if cremation be
resorted to, there is no regular funeral ceremony or the recitation of sacred verses.
The question of age also regulates the period during which the relations are impure
or under taboo. Thus, if a boy die before the naming rite and the completion of
teething, the parents are impure for only three days, and other members of the
family for one day. If the body be buried, the parents are taboo for three days,
while the other members of the family can purify themselves by bathing. These
are the rules in Western India,* and with slight modifications generally prevail.
Again, following the same rule of taboo, those tribes which habitually
cremate the adult dead bury those who perish by violent or unexpected deaths,
by small-pox, cholera, or leprosy, and women dying in childbirth. Thus, in
Coimbatore, persons dying of epidemic disease are invariably buried, not burnt,
and if possible by the edge of water. Music is essential to an ordinary cremation,
but it is not allowed in the case of those dying in an epidemic, " because the
Amman (divine mother) would be offended."^ The Kaikaris, a forest tribe in
Th9,na, bury anyone who dies of cholera, by drowning, or suddenly without any
apparent cause, while those perishing from protracted disease are cremated.* The
Varlis, another tribe of the same class, bury all corpses that have sores on them,
and cremate the others.* The popular explanation of the habit of burying those
who die from epidemic disease is that the illness is the result of a special
visitation of the disease godling, and that the spirit of the deceased accordingly
does not require the purifying influence of fire to enable it to join its sainted
ancestress. But this covers only a portion of the cases in which we find a
reversion to the primitive habit of inhumation, and it is perhaps preferable to
regard these as cases in which conservatism in ritual appears specially in connec-
tion with taboo. The Gadariyas, shepherds in Upper India, are so particular
in enforcing the rule, that if those dying in a state of taboo be cremated,
they suppose that such a noisome steam rises from the pyre as to blind the
mourners.®
And so with the aged and respected dead. The Gonds are supposed to
cremate all old men : in practice, to avoid mistakes, they burn all who die above
> North Indian Notes and Queries^ v, 186. * Bombay Gazetteer^ xviii (1), 662.
« Nicholson, Coimbatore^ 50. * Bomhaa/ Gazetteer, xiii (1), 176.
» Ibid.<i xiii (1), 182. • Crooke, loc. cit, iii, 364.
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280 W. Crookb. — Primitive Rites of Disposal of the Dead,
the age of fifty.^ The Billuvas, toddy-drawers of Kanara, usually bury the dead,
but cremate their Gurikars or headmen.* The ThsLrus. of the Lower Hhnalaya
bury theii* leading men in the house, and the E&dus, jungle folk in Mysore,
cremate adults and bury children.' The same rule applies to most classes of Hindu
religious mendicants, who are buried either in salt or in a crouching position.
But, as will have been seen, there is no permanence of custom : sometimes burial,
sometimes cremation is regarded as honorific, the more unusual method being
adopted in the case of the tabooed or respected dead. Thus, the Mahftdeo Eolis of
ThSua cremate people who die suddenly or after a lingering illness and bury the
others.*
We have seen that unmarried persons are taboo, and usually buried, not
cremated. Marriage is regarded as a form of initiation : hence unmarried
people are taboo and their ghosts are considered to be specially malignant.' The
Brahmanical explanation of this, adopted by the Banj&ras of Northern India, is
that married people by walking round the sacred fire at their wedding are thus
dedicated to Agni, the god of fire ; and should remain his at death.* The explana-
tion is as valueless as such explanations usually ara
One method of removing the taboo in the case of the unmarried dead deserves
notice. In Malabar an unmarried woman cannot be cremated until the T&li, or
marriage string, is tied round the neck of the corpse while it lies on the funeral
pyre by some relation. Later competent authorities are inclined to doubt that the
disgusting rites on this occasion, described by Abb4 Dubois, really prevail' The
natives of South Malabar certainly marry all dead girls to a young Br&hman or to
a cocoa palm, and this custom oipost mortem marriage is recorded in the Russian
province of PodoUa as well as in China.®
One of the leading motives which regulate death rites is the desire to
propitiate the ghost, which becomes offended at any ill-treatment of the corpse.
Sit tibi terra levis is a common form of early monumental inscription, and the
head is often specially protected from the pressure of the earth because it is the
seat of life.® Hence probably arises the practice of what may be called shelf or
niche burial. Thus, the Jogers, a tribe of vagrants in Bijapur, bury their dead in
a shelf hollowed out on one side of the grave.'** In the burial of a Jangama
Lingayat priest at Sholapur, after the grave is dug, a second hole is excavated in
the bottom and facing it, either East or North, a niche is dug with an arched top.
The whole is covered with cow-dung or whitewash, and the dust of the holy man's
» Central PvoviTices Gcuetteery 278. * Sturrock, 8. Kanara^ i, 173.
» Kisley, loc, cit., ii, 318 ; Rice, Mysore^ i, 213. * Bombay Oazetteer, xiii (1), 172.
• Frazer, FausaniaSf v, 389 ; Crooke, Popular Religion and Folk-lore of Northern Indiay
i, 261.
• North Indian Notes and Queries, v, 143.
' Dubois. Hindu Manners (edited by Beaucbamp), p. 17 seq. ; Logan, Malabar, i, 128.
« Bombay Gazetteer, xv (1), 196 ; Ralston, loc, cit., 310 seq. ; Folk-lore, ii, 247 ; Yule, Marco
Polo, i, 234 ; Gray, China, \, 2lQseq.
• Frazer, Golden Bough, i, 187 seqq, ^« Bombay Gazetteer, xxiii, 196.
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vnth special reference to India. 281
feet thrown into it. The corpse is seated in the niche dressed only in a loin-cloth,
and in the hands of the dead man is placed the Lingam amulet which he wore in
life. The grave is filled up to the level of the face of the corpse, and a piece of
gold is laid on the mouth. Finally, the main grave is filled up with earth and
stones, and a mound is raised over it.^
Here we have a very primitive form of burial, because we find it among the
degraded Yeravas of Coorg, who bury their women in a sitting posture in a hole
scooped out sideways from what should have 'been an ordinary grave, so that the
earth overhead does not touch her body.* The custom among the Jugis of Bengal,
who, like all the ascetic classes, retain many primitive practices, is similar.' The
custom extends far beyond India. Thus, some of the Australian tribes bury their
dead standing, and an empty space is left above the head so that nothing may
touch it ; others make a side chamber at the bottom of the pit into which the
tightly corded corpse is thrust.* "We have numerous instances of the same practice
among the Indian tribes of North America, and Miss Kingsley and other travellers
describe somewhat similar customs in Africa.'
In fact, the custom is a link between the ordiuary grave interment, where the
earth is piled immediately over the corpse, and the dome or vault burial adopted
by more cultured races. Thus, in Africa, one of the centres of shelf or niche inter-
ment, the King of the Fiot is jjlaced in a vault with goods and images representing
the fetish gods and ofiBcers of the deceased monarch.' It also reminds us of some
of the ancient forms of Dolmen or Kistvaen burial, as in what are known as
Camere tombs in Italy/ Many of the Irish megalithic monuments have an outer
and an inner chamber, on the analogy of the Antae and Cella of classic shrines
the outer room being probably devoted to some form of culture of the dead, and
we find the same form in the beehive tombs of Mycence, where the inner chamber
was probably the original tomb, and the outer room a chanicl house for the bones
of less honoured members of the royal family.'
Another interesting point in connection with this form of interment is that it
has been adopted as the normal rule among Muhammadaus. Thus, in India, in
what is known as the " simple " (sddi) grave, there is a Lahd or niche made in the
base of the grave, arched over so that the dead man may be able to sit up when
visited and examined by the death angels, Munkar and Naktr. In what is known
as the haghli grave {haghl = the side or armpit) the niche is made in the side of
the grave facing the Qiblah or holy city of Mecca. So in Turkest&n the grave
* Bombay Oazetteer, xx, 84 ; xxiii, 237.
» Oppert, Original InAabitanti of Bharatavarsa, 207 ; quoting Bichter, Ethnographical
Compendium of the Castes and Tribes of the Province of Coorg ^ 9 ««j.
' Rialey, loc. cit., i, 359.
* Joum. Anthrop, Inst.^ O.S., ii, 271 ; xiii, 170
* Yarrow, loe, cit,, 97, 98, 102 ; Miss Kingsley, West African Studies, 484 seq. ; Feathernian,
Nigritians, 233, 345, 549.
* Featherman, loc, cit.y 444. ' Jottrn, Anthrop. Tnsty xxvi, 2.')9.
* Borlase, loc, cit.^ i, 135, 147 ; ii, 432 ; Fi-aaser, Pausanias, iii, 126, 141.
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282 W. Crooks— Primitive Rites of Disposal of the Dead,
consists of a deep ditch in one end of which an underground chamber has been
hollowed out into which the corpse is shoved and the grave filled.^ It is difficult
to conjecture whence the early Mussulmslns derived the practice ; they probably
merely perpetrated a general custom of the pre-Islamitic paganism.
It will have been noticed that in this shelf burial the corpse is usually
interred in a crouched or sitting position. This, too, is a very primitive mode of
interment, of which India supplies many instances. We find it among the Irulas,
a very degraded jungle tribe of the Nilagiris ; the Dev&nga, weavers of North
Arcot: the Lepchas of Assum: the scavenger tribes of the North- Western
Provinces and Bombay : the Hatkars of Berftr : the Madigs, vagrants of Bijapur :
the Mh3,rs, a race of degraded outcasts in Western India : the Gidbudki, beggars
of Kanara : the Dhor, menials in Bombay, and many other depressed and vagrant
tribes, among whom it is the normal form of interment.' Besides actual crouched
burial there are many cases in which the body is carried to the grave in a sitting
posture. Thus, the Bh&radis, dancers of Ahmadnagar, carry the corpse to the
burial ground rolled up in a bag : the Bilejddars, weavers of Dharw&r, remove the
married dead in a seated posture in a cart:* many of the Banya and other
mercantile castes of Northern India convey the corpse to the cremation ground in
a sort of cage in which it is bunched up like a balL
This custom of crouched burial is widespread. It is characteristic of the
interments in the Neolithic Age, and is common in the burrows of Great Britain
and other parts of Europe.^ Evidence of it has been traced in the royal burials
at MycensB,'^ as weU as in ancient ChalddBa.' In some of the early Irish entomb-
ments the corpse was seated in the grave on a chair, and the dead were buried
in a crouched posture both in ancient Spain and in Scandinavia.' The custom
seems to have been general in ancient times in North America, and prevails
among the ruder races of that continent to the present time.* We find it in
Botuma and New Georgia, in the Gilbert Islands, among the Botocudos of Brazil,
the Peruvians, Andamanese, and Nicobarese, the Australians, Fijians, and the
people of New Britain, and Sarawak.' At Accra, the corpse of the dead man is
» Schuyler, Turhistan^ i, 161.
* Grigg, Nilagiris^ 217 ; Cox-Stuart, North Arcot, i, 227 ; Risley, loc cU., ii, 10 ; North
Indian Notes and Queries, i, 118 ; Bombay Gazetteer, xviii (1), 439 ; xxii, 216 \ xii, 62 ; xviii (IX
435 ; xxiii, 167 ; xii, 173 ; xviii (1), 478 ; xxiii, 137, 201.
» Bombay Gazetteer, xvii, 170 ; xxii, 164.
« Borlase, loc. cit., i, 112 ; Nadaillac, loc, cit., 361 ; Joum. AtUkrop, Inst., O.S., xxii, 6 ;
viii, 378 ; vi, 282 ; xii, 194 ; iv, 378 ; xx, 12 ; v, 146 ; Folk-lore, iii, 244.
» Frazer, Pausamas, iii, 106, 126.
' MajBpero, Datcn of Civilization, 686.
' Borlase, loc, dt, iii, 800 ; Joum, Anthrop. Inst,, O.S., xvii, 128 ; Du Chaillu, Viking Age,
i, 70, 73, 326.
• Bancroft, Native Races, i, 206, 248, 289, 357, 396, 420 ; ii, 612, 800 ; Yarrow, loc. ciU, 75,
99, 111.
> J(mm. Anthrop. Inst., O.S., xxvii, 464 ; xxvi, 403 ; xiii, 208 ; vii, 499 ; ii, 281 ; xiii, 153,
2S)8 ; X, 145 ; xii, 141 ; x, 365 ; xv, 450 ; xxi, 353 ; Both, Uk. cit., i, 143 seq, ; Featherman,
Nigritians, 128, 242, 713.
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vnth special reference to India. 283
seated, his name is called, he is invited to eat and drink, and implored not to
forsake his friends.^ In East Africa to this day children are cremated in a sitting
position.* There are even instances in comparatively recent times of a similar
custom in England, and to this day the Patriarch of the Coptic Church is burned
sitting.'
Passing on to India — it is interesting to find that this custom is again closely
associated with taboo, and is specially prominent in the case of ascetics and holy
men. In the monasteries of Spiti in the Lower Himalaya, the traveller is shown
masonry pillars which contain the bodies of abbots entombed in a sitting position
dressed in their full canonicals.* When a Guru, or religious teacher, of the Shenvi
Brahmans of Kanara dies, his corpse is seated in a chair and worshipped, and in
his chair he is seated in the grave; while in Northern India ceremonies of a
similar kind are practised in the case of holy men of the Dadupanthi and
SannySsi orders and many other classes of ascetics.*
The usual explanation of this custom of sitting or crouched burial is that it
symbolises the prenatal posture in the womb. This, in some cases, perhaps
explains the practice. In others it seems to be purely honorific — the chief is
interred in the dignified position he adopted in life, the teacher in the attitude
in which he addresses his pupils. Thus, among the Niam Niam and Wahuma
of Western Africa, chiefs and men of rank are interred in a sitting position.^ But
in most cases it may merely be meant to suggest the posture in which the savage
snatches uneasy sleep round the camp fire, or in his narrow cave or hut. He
lives, in fact, in the grave as he lived on earth. And so in the passage graves
of Scandinavia, the dead sit along the walls, young and old, men and women, the
chin resting on both hands, and the knees drawn up, their favourite posture in
Ufe.'
With this mode of burial in some cases is connected the habit of binding up
the corpse before interment. In Fiji this tying of the corpse is distinctly attributed
to a desire to prevent the ghost from walking.^ This feeling also accounts for the
very common habit of mutilating dead enemies, and for the custom of burying
the tabooed dead face downwards. The corpse is, thus, often bound up either
with the intention of barring the return of the ghost, or to prevent it from being
occupied by some evil spirit of the vampire type while on its way to the grave.
In Turkestd.n, for instance, the corpse is tied round and round with a long bandage,
and that of a Kimbondo chief is wrapped up in a hide.^ We find the same custom
* Featherman, loc. cit.y 157, 713. * Joum, Anthrop. Inat.y O.S., xxi, 368.
* 2nd Series, Notes and Queriea, ix, 513 ; 3rd Series, i, 38 ; iii, 264 ; 7Ui Series, viii, 158.
« Settlement Report^ 204.
* Bombay Gazetteer , xv (1), 149 «ej. ; xx, 184 ; xii, 62 ; xxiii, 237 ; Funjdb Notes and Queries^
ii, 20; iv, 51 ; Bisley, loc, cU,^ ii, 342.
* Featherman, loc. cit.j 24, 116.
' Du Chaillu, loc. cit., i, 73 ; compare Bancroft, he. cit.^ i, 205 ; Yarrow, loc. dt., 146.
* Joum. Anthrop. Inst., O.S., x, 145.
* Schuyler, loc. dt., i, 150 ; Featherman oc. cU., 470.
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284 W. Crookb.— Pn'iwt^tre Bites of Disposal of the Dead,
among many tribes of American Indians, among Australians, and in Hispaniola,
while in Mashonaland the limbs of the male dead are tied up, toes and fingers
each in a separate piece of cloth before burial, while a woman is bound up in a
hide.^ In other cases we find an advance of custom, as among the Aleuts and
Peruvians, in Australia and ancient Egypt, where the corpse or mummy is
enveloped in ornamental netting.*
In India similar customs are common. Thus, the Havig Brahmans of
Xanara tie the corpse tightly to the bier with a coir rope : the Deshasth Brdhmans
of Bijapur, obviously in a spirit of religious conservatism, which shows the
antiquity of the practice, require that this rope should be cut with a stone, the
apparent intention being to give the ghost release when the funeral reaches the
place of cremation : the degraded Mhftrs of Kh&ndesh tie the arms over the breast
with a silver wire : the Burmese tie the great toes of the corpse, apparently to
prevent the ghost from walking, and swathe the body in an ample shroud : the
Mangars, a menial tribe in Bengal, tie it with three pieces of rope to a pole and
thus convey it to the grave : some of the tribes in Burmah combine this custom
with the common rite of hair sacrifice at death, and use the hair of the dead man's
son or daughter to tie his corpse : if this hair be not forthcoming, strips of cotton
cloth are used.*
Another remarkable custom is that of disinterring the dead after decom-
position has wholly or partly ceased, cleaning his bones and either wearing them
as relics or consigning them to an ossuary. This practice is common in India in
the case of persons dying in a state of taboo, in other words from epidemic disease.
The corpses of such people are constantly disinterred and rebumed when the
plague is over. Thus, the K&thkaris, a jungle tribe in Kanara, buiy those dying
of cholera, exhume them when the epidemic has ceased, and burn the bones.* A
more remarkable development of the same custom is found among the Eastern
KuUens of Madras, who, sometimes after a corpse has been buried, bring a bier to
the grave. The brother of the widow of the deceased digs up the body, removes
the skull, which he washes and smears with sandalwood powder and spices. This
man, whose relation to the deceased is an indication of the matriardiate, is seated
on the bier, and holding the skull in his hands is carried to a shed erected in front
of the dead man's house. The skull is set down and all the relations mourn over
it till the next day at noon. The following twenty-four hours are given over to
drunken revelry. Then the brother-in-law is again seated on the bier, skull in
hand, and is carried back to the grave. The son or heir of the deceased then
» Featherman, loc. cit, 21 ; Joum. Antkrop, Inst, 0,8., xiii, 190 ; xiv, 363 ; xxiv, 170 ; xvi,
277 ; xiii, 418 ; xix, 402 ; Bent, Ruined Cities, 264 ; Bancroft, loc. cit., i, 245 ; Shea-Troy er,
Dahistan, i, 141. For rites originating from burial in hides, see Lef6bvre, Proc Society of
Biblical Arckcedlogy, xv, 433 seqq.
« Jowm, Anthrop. Inst, O.S., x, 366.
« Bombay Oazetteer, xv (1), 127 ; xxiii, 88 ; xii, 118 ; Burmah Gazetteer, i, 386,386 ; Risley,
loc. cit., ii, 76.
* Bombay Oazetteer, xiii (1), 163 ; xiv, 264.
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vrilh special reference to India. 285
burns the skull and breaks au earthen pot, apparently with the object of releasing
the ghost. This custom prevails also among the Pullers, one of the most
primitive races in that part of the country.^
Among other tribes v^hich practise inhumation similar customs are found.
The Agariya of Central India, a race of iron-smelters in the jungle, dig up their
dead when the bones are dry and send the skull and chief parts to the Ganges."
The Bhotiyas who die except in the month of KSxtik, or December, are disinterred
in the following KS,rtik and burnt, as in Russia the bodies of unknown or uncared
for dead are buried hastily in winter, disinterred in the spring and reburied." Similar
practices are recorded among the Tlinkeets of Western America, and the Latukas
of East Africa.*
It is needless to say that the custom of disinterring the corpse and cleaning
the bones is common to many savage races. The practice prevails in Motu, in
Goazacoalco, in Melanesia, Sarawak, the Loochoo Islands, Torres Straits, Ashanti,
and many other places.* The custom of maintaining tribal ossuaries is equally
common.* The Todas have what are called " the green " and " the diy " funeral,
the foimer carried out immediately after death, the latter, which is now fixed at
about a twelvemonth after death, when the obsequial rites of all who have died in
the interval are performed.'^ It may be suspected that the Todas, who now cremate,
once buried their dead, and that " the dry " funeral marked the time for the removal
of the bones to the tribal ossuary. The same custom also possibly accounts for
" the small " and " great " festival of the dead among the Azteks.®
In fact, the custom may have suggested the special death rites, which, as
among the Hindus, are performed on the anniversary of the death. They have
invented the fiction that during this period the ghost wanders, and will continue
to wander unless by the pious care of his relations he is provided with a new and
spiritual body. The period of a year probably marks the period at which it was
supposed that decomposition was complete. The Indians of North America, for
instance, make gifts at the grave so long as it is supposed that there is any part of
the perishable matter remaining, and the Dakotas inter the bones in about a year
after they have been placed on the platform.* The soul, it was believed, could not
rest in peace so long as it was surrounded by the products of corruption. As the
> Folk-lorCy V, 36. For other cases in which the skull i*epresent8 the deceased, see Hartland,
Legend of Perseus^ ii, 307 »eq,
« Dalton, loc cU., 323 ; Rialey, foe ci^., i, 4.
• Traill, Statistical Report on the Bhoftiya MahdUy 85 seq. ; Ealston, Songs of the Russian
PeopUy^SS,
• Bancroft, loe. city i, 113 ; Featherman, NigrUianSy 81.
» J&wm. Anthrop. Inst., O.S., vii, 485 ; x, 300 ; xxiv, 58 ; xii, 416, 421, 427, 436 ; xiv, 231 ;
XXV, 357 ; xv, 397 ; xiii, 13. Gray, Chinas ii, 304 ; and see Hartland, Legend of Persms, ii, 327.
• Bancroft, loc. cU., iv, 776 ; Burckhardt, iS^WO) 564 ; Featherman, NigriHanSj 153 ; and see
Hartland, loc cit., ii, 332.
» Marshall, A Phrenologist among the Todas, 170 seq. ; Grigg, Nilagiris, 197.
• Bancroft, loc. cit.,u^ 61&
• Schoolcraft in Drake, Indian Tribes of the United States, i, 216, 234.
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286 W. Crooke. — Primitive Rites of Disposal of the Dead,
Dayaks of Borneo say, " All unknown and unexpiated sin is wiped away by the
burning of the bones, and then the spirit is as clean as though washed in gold."^
The annual death rite of the Hindus may then be a survival of practices antecedent
to the adoption of cremation.
But we may go even further and conjecture that this habit of disinterring the
bones is a survival of a more primitive and more disgusting rite. In its crudest
form we find it among the tribes of the Amazon, who, according to Dr. Wallace,
about a month after the fimeral, "disinter the corpse, which is then much
decomposed, and put it in a great pan or oven over the fire till all the volatile
parts are driven off with a most horrible odour, leaving only a black carbonaceous
mass, which is pounded into a fine powder, and mixed in several laige couchh (vats
made of hollowed trees) of a fermented drink ccudri: this is drunk by the
assembled company till all is finished: they believe that the virtues of the
deceased will be transmitted to the drinkers."^ The practice then in its crudest
form carries us back to the rite of sacramental cannibalism.
"We meet many traces of this practice of disinterring the bones in early
European interments. In some of the English long barrows the bones appear to
have been flung in pell-mell. The space is often too small to hold a complete
corpse, so that before inhumation the flesh must have been separated from the
bones, or the bodies were disinterred and reburied when decomposition had ceased.
Instances of this are found in connection with mswiy of the megalithic monu-
ments.*
In modem Hinduism of the higher type the rite survives in the Asthi-
Sancaya, or " bone collecting ceremony," when a day or two after cremation the
bones and ashes are swept up and buried there and then, or reserved for consign-
ment to some holy river.
Lastly, in dealing with these survivals of early burial rites in India we come
to the custom of jar and urn burial. I quote in the appendix to this paper
a valuable note on the subject, hitherto, I believe, unpublished, by the late
eminent antiquary, Bishop CaldwelL
Practically the only instances of this form of interment come from Southern
India. In Salem, "the large urns invariably contain human bones and small
vessels, and very often some urn implements and ornaments. I do not think that
any of them are large enough to contain the body of a full-grown man, though
placed in a sitting posture, with the legs and thighs drawn up, as is sometimes
found in the tumuli of Europe : " in fact the position of the bones in layers seems
to indicate that the body must have been either cut up or partially burnt before
interment.* In Tinnevelly the ancient race used to bury their dead in earthen
> Koth, loc. cit^ i, 163.
« Wallace, Narrative of Travels on the Amazon, 346 : with other references in Hartland, loc
/!iV., ii, 286 seq.
* Nadaillac, loc. cit.y 214, 346 ; Borlase, loc. cit,, i, 188 ; ii, 463,456,
* Le Fanu, Salem, ii, 284 ; Nicholson, Coimhatore, 86,
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ivith special reference to India. 287
urns, varying in size from a foot to six feet in height. In them skulls and bones
are often found in a complete state of preservation, the body being placed in the
urn in a sitting posture, or, when the urns are small, still more forcibly fitted to
its size.^ In Malabar, again, we find curious burial caves, probably of the same
age as the megalithic monuments: some are of a later type, containing large
sepulchral urns.* In Nellore, in the laterite deposit, were found several coflins,
apparently made of burnt clay, embedded in quartz. Some contained more than
one body, spear-heads, and other implements.* Some of the urns in Malabar have
a hole in the bottom, which, it has been supposed, may be connected with the cult
of the earth goddess and the return of the person buried to the bosom of mother
earth :* more probably they were intended merely as outlets for the products of
decomposition on the principle already mentioned that it was desirable to purify
the bones so as to provide a happy home for the ghost. In Mysore, jars of the
same kind have been found in the Kistvaens, and in South Arcot there are cases
of pot burial in stone chambers, the jars containing bones and fragments of iron.*
In Malabar, again, jars and fragments of iron have been found in cromlecha* In
the Nilagiris, funeral jars have been found with lids curiously shaped in the form
of animals, such as birds, pigs, deer, dogs, horses, buffaloes, trees, men, and
women, while in the barrows bones are found in a bronze vessel enclosed in an
earthen jar.' The jar in Malabar is often buried with its lid on a level with the
surface of the soil, and the whole covered with a massive slab of stone.*
Jar burial is thus a well-established form of interment in Southern India.
From the articles discovered with the bones they would, in most cases, seem to be
not earlier than the discovery of iron. How long ago that may be or to what race
the custom may be attributed, it is at present diflScult to say. It seems to have
gone on continuously up to quite recent times. Probably in some cases the corpse
was cut up or dislocated and thus forced into the jar : in other cases cremation,
either complete or partial, preceded the placing of the bones in the jar : or possibly
the jar may have been used occasionally for bones disinterred some time after
inhumation.
This early custom of urn burial has left some survivals in the current Hindu
death ritual. In the first place, the potter as the maker of the shrine or spirit
house which contains the ghost, is subject to many taboos, and among certain of
the lower castes discharges priestly functions. The household water pots are,
again, subject to a rigid taboo. After a death they are all broken or replaced,
because the ghost may have found its natural home in one of them, and all must
be broken that the restless spirit may be released. So when the mourner marches
round the pyre he breaks with the life-stone, which is supposed to represent the
> Stu&rt, Tinnevelly, 67. • Logan, Malabar, i, 180.
» Boswell, NeUorey 689. « Logan, loc. cU,, i, 181.
' Rice, Mywr^y i, 607 ; Garstin, South Arcot, 330 wq,
* Logan, loc, eit., i, 180.
Qrigg, NUagiriB, 233, 235 9eq, J<mm. Anthrop. Inst., zi, 416.
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288 W. Crookb. — Primitive Biteg of Disposal of the Dead,
dead, a water pot with the same intention, and a water jar is hung on the sacred
Pipal tree for some time after death to provide a home and refreshment for the
homeless spirit. The line of pots piled during the marriage rite is supposed to be
the home of the guardian deities who bless the union, and a Kalasa, or sacred jar,
is found at every rural shrine and on the spires of Hindu temples, because it ]&
distinctively the abode of the deity. This leads to a great chapter in folklore, the
binding of a god in a jar, which I have discussed elsewhere.^
Though the habit of actual jar burial has practically disappeared in the
northern part of the Continent, it has left many traces of its existence. All over
Northern India dead babies, because they are specially taboo, are put away in jars.
In the Panj&b, among the tribes which practice infanticide, the body of the child
is placed in a water-pot and buried. The same vessel is used as the place of
deposit for the umbilical cord, to which many curious beliefs attach, all based on the
belief that it acts as the Life Index, or refuge for the separable soul of the child.
More important \& the use of the jar for holding the bones and ashes collected from
the cremation ground. Here it directly represents the jar used in earlier times for
purposes of inhumation, and we can see the exact stages of the evolution of custom
in practice at Siam, where the corpse of a king or queen is placed, dressed and
ornamented, in a golden jar, and cremated some four or five months afterwards.'
In the disposal of the bones and ashes many variances of practice present
themselves. Some, and in particular those tribes which follow most closely the
primitive usage, bury the jar in the plac>e where the corpse was cremated, the
cremation being here an obvious supplement to the more early use. Others
combine it with water burial and bar the return of the ghost by sinking the
bone jar in the nearest running water, or reserve it for removal to the Granges or
some other sacred stream. Meanwhile, and during the journey, the jar is hung on
a tree, so that the ghost, if so disposed, may revisit its bones, for all ghosts are
subject to a rigid taboo, not to tread upon the earth. Others, like the G^os of
Assam, place the ashes in a jar and enclose it with a bamboo fence near the village,
so that the ghost may abide with them as some North American tribes and savages
in many parts of the world enclose the grave with a pen of sticks and Ic^ to
prevent intrusion on the home of the dead.' Some, like the Ehasiyas, on a special
day selected by the diviner, remove this jar to the tribal burial ground, where the
dead man rejoins his relations ; or, like the Orftons, hang the bone jar on a pole
outside the house of the deceased, and in the next December or January bury it
near a river or tank, covering the remains with a massive stone.^ Here, too, the
delay in disposing of the bones may be a survival of customs connected with the
earlier rite of inhumation. Hence, also, the jar is naturally a sacred object, and in
> Folh-lorey viii, 325 seqq,
s Bowling, Siam, ii, 419.
* Hunter, Statistical Account of Auam^ ii, 364 ; Dalton, loc, cU., 56 ; Yarrow, loc, ciL, 79,
80, 141.
* Rialey, loc. cit., ii, 174 seq.
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with special reference to India. 289
Bihilr to strike one with a jar, or even to threaten to do so, is the most extreme
form of insult.^
But there are survivals of even ghastlier customs in connection with the
form of interment. Many of the primitive burials, as we have seen, supply evidence
that the corpse, before being deposited in the jar, was dismembered, because the
mouth of the vessel was too narrow to admit it. The Dayaks at the present day
sometimes evade this diflBculty by cutting the jar in two, through the middle, in
order to permit the entry of the body, the upper part serving as a lid ; while
in ancient Chaldaea the clay must have been modelled ever the corpse, or the neck
subsequently added to the jar.^
In the light of facts such as these, it is significant that popular rumour credits
tlie Doms, the lowest class of vagrants and scavengers in Upper India, with the
habit of dismembering the corpses of their dead at niglit and placing the frag-
ments in jars, which they sink in some stream or reservoir.^ Mr. Eisley is
inclined to doubt the truth of this story, and suggests that it was based on the
common prohibition against these outcasts burying their dead by daylight. But
the tradition may not be so improbable as it seems, and it occurs just among the
very tribe where we might have expected to meet with a survival of practices such
as this.
I have thus sketched some of the early methods of disposal of the dead in
India, of which survivals more or less obvious may be traced in the current usages
of the present day. But I have been able to touch only the fringe of a subject in
which the evidence is very voluminous and intricate. I have perhaps said enough
to show that in any discussion of the evolution of the methods for the disposal of
the dead the prehistoric and contemporary evidence from the Indian Peninsula and
its border lands cannot safely be ignored.
» Journ. Anthrop, Soc.^ Bombay ^ ill, 365.
« Roth, loc. city i, 152 ; Yarrow, loc. cit., 137 ; Maspero, loc. cit.y 684
• Eisley, loc. dt, i, 248 ; Crooke, loc. cit.j ii, 325 ; compare Borlase, loc. cit., ii, 466.
New Series, Vol. II, Nos. 3 and 4, U
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290 W. Crooke. — Primitive Rites of Disposal of the Dead,
APPENDIX.
Sepulchral Urns in Southern Inddl
The following note by the late Dr. Caldwell, Bishop of Tinnevelly, and author
of the Grammar of the Dravidian Languages, has been kindly placed at the disposal
of the writer of this paper by Mrs. Athol Macgregor and deserves reproduction.
" I am anxious to obtain some information as to the extent of the area within
which sepulchral urns, like those to which I am about to refer, are found.
" The urns I refer to are large earthenware jars, containing fragments of human
bones, generally in a very decayed state. They are of various sizes, corresponding
with the age of the person whose remains were to be disposed of. The largest I
have found was 11 feet in circumference, and the smallest have been between
4 feet and 5 feet. The shape varies a little within certain limits, so that I have not
found any two perfectly alike : but the type generally adhered to is that of the
large earthen jars (in Tamil Kilnai) with which the people in this neighbourhood
draw water from wells for their cultivation. The urn is without handles, feet, rim,
or cover. It swells out towards the middle and terminates in a point, so that it is
only when it is surrounded with earth that it keeps an upright position. The urns
do much credit to the workmanship of the people by whom they were made, being
made of better tempered clay, better burnt and much stronger than any of the
pottery made in these times in this part of India. They would contain a human
body easily enough in a doubled-up position, if it could be got inside ; but the
mouth is generally so narrow that it would admit only the skull ; and one is
tempted to conjecture that the body must have been cut into pieces before it was
put into the urn, or that the bones must have been collected and put in after the
body had decayed. Generally decay is found to have advanced so far that these
theories can neither be verified nor disproved. Fragments only of the harder bones
remain, and the urn seems to contain little more than a mass of earth. In one
instance I found the bones partially petrified and therefore almost perfect, though
they had fallen asunder, but this was the large 11 feet urn referred to above,
discovered at Korkoi ; so that in this instance it was conceivable that the body had
been placed in it entire. At Ilanji, near Courtallum, on opening an urn some
traces of the shape of a skeleton were discovered. The skull was found resting on
the sternum, and on each side of the sternum was a tibia. It appeared, therefore,
as if the body had been doubled up and forced in head foremost, though it was not
clear how the shoulders could have got in. The bones were of the consistence of
ochre, and crumbled to pieces when they were taken out. Nothing could be
preserved but a piece of the skull and the teeth, which were those of an adult.
Dr. Try, Surgeon to the Eesident of Travancore, who was present at the find,
pointed out that the molars had been worn down by eating grain, and that the
edges of the front teeth had also been worn down by biting some kind of parched
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with special refercTice to India, 291
pulse. Afterwards, on examining the mouths of some natives, I found their front
teeth worn down a little in the same manner, and, as they admitted, from the same
cause. I have not noticed any distinct trace of the bones in these urns having
been calcined.
" In addition to human bones, a few small earthen vessels are found in most
of the jars. Sometimes such vessels are arranged outside, instead of being placed
inside. These vessels are of various shapes, all more or less elegant, and all
appear to have been highly polished. At finst I supposed they had been glazed,
but I have been informed by Dr. Hunter, late of the Madras School of Arts,
that what I noticed was a polish, not a true glaze. Whatever it be, I have not
noticed anything of the kind in the native pottery of these parts and these
times. In some cases the polish or glaze is black, and the decay of these
blackened vessels seems to have given rise to the supposition that the bones had
sometimes been calcined.
" On a plate published in the Indian Antiquary for October, 1877, are sketches
of five of these little vessels. When these have been shown to natives, they say
that No. 4 seems to have been an oil-vessel, and No. 5 a spittoon. The use of
No. 2, the vessel with the lid, is unknown. In these times such vessels would
be made of bell-metal, not of pottery. We may conclude that the object in
view in placing these vessels in the urn was that the ghost of the departed might
be supplied with the ghosts of suitable vessels for eating and drinking out of in
the other world. Small stones, about the size of a cocoa-nut, are generally found
heaped up round the mouth of the urn, and the discovery of such stones ranged
in a circle, corresponding to the circular mouth of the urn, will be found to be a
reason for suspecting the existence of an urn underneath.
" The natives of these times know nothing whatever of the people by whom
this singular mode of interment was practised, nor of the time when they lived.
They do not identify them with the Samanas, that is to say, the Jainas and the
Buddhists lumped together, about whom tolerably distinct traditions survive, nor
does there appear to be anything in or about the jars distinctively Jaina or
Buddhistic. There is a myth current among the natives, it is true, respecting the
people who were buried in these jars, but this myth seems to be merely a
confession of their ignorance. They say that in the Treta Yuga, that is about a
million of years ago, people used to live to a great age, and that however old they
were they did not die, but the older they grew the smaller they became. They
got so small at length that to keep them out of the way of harm it was necessary
to place them in the little triangular niche in the wall of a native house, in
which the lamp is kept. At length when the younger people could no longer
bear the trouble of looking after their dwarf ancestors, they placed them in
earthen jars, put with them in the jars a number of little vessels containing rice,
water, oil, etc., and buried them near the village.
" The name by which these urns are called in the Tamil country does not
throw much light on th^ir ori«^in. This qauiQ assumes three forms. In the Tamil
U 2
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202 W. Crookb. — Primitive Kites of Disposal of the Dead,
Dictionary it is rnadamadalckattdli. A more common form of this is maddama-
dakkan-ddli, the meaning of both which forms is the same, viz., ' the tdli or large
jar, which boils over/ The meaning attributed to this by some natives is rather
far-fetched, viz., that the little people who were placed in them used sometimes to
come out of the jars and sit about, as if they had boiled over out of them. The
form of this word in use among the common people seems capable of a more
rational interpretation. This is vuidamattan-ddli, 01* more properly madonmaitan-
ddli, M(u1onmntta (Sansk.) (? madvanmata) means 'insane'; but it is sometimes
used in Tamil to mean * very large,' as in the Tamil version of the Panchatantra
where it is used to denote a very large jungle. The great size of the urn being
its principal characteristic, it would seem that the name in use amongst the
common people is, after all, better warranted than that which is used by those
who are regarded as correct speakers.
" Who the people were who buried their dead in these urns is a problem yet
unsolved. The only points that can be regarded as certain are those which have
been ascertained by the internal evidence of the urns and their contents
themselves. From this it is clear that the people buried in them were not
pygmies, but of the same size as people of the present time. How they were put
in may be mysterious, but there is no doubt about the size of their bones. The
skulls were similar to those of the present time. The teeth also were worn down
like those of the existing race of natives, by eating grain. In a jar opened by
Dr. Jagor of Berlin, a head of millet was found. The grain had disappeared, but
the husks remained. The unknown people must have lived in villages, the jars
being found, not one here and another there, but arranged side by side in
considerable numbers, as would naturally be done in a burial-ground. They were
also a comparatively civilised people, as is evident from the excellence of their
pottery, and the traces of iron implements or weapons which have sometimes
been found in the jars. The conclusion from all this which seems most probable
to me is that they were the ancestors of the people now living in the same
neighbourhood. If this were the true explanation, it is singular that no relic,
trace or tradition of such a mode of sepulture has survived to the present day.
And yet, if we were to adopt the supposition that they were an alien race, it
would be still more difficult to conjecture who they were, where they came from,
and why they disappeared.
" I have myself seen those urns both in the Tinnevelly and Madura districts
and in northern and southern Travancore — that is, on both sides of the Southern
Ghats, and I am anxious to ascertain in what other districts of India they are
foimd. If the area within which they are found can be accurately traced some
light may thereby be thrown on their history."
Discussion.
Mr. W. GowLAND said he had hoped to find in the Indian burial customs, which
had been so ably dealt with by Mr. Ciooke, some parallels with those practised in
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ivith special reference to India, 293
Japan and Korea in early times. They were not altogether absent, but were
confined solely to Buddhist times, which, in Japan, only dated from the sixth
century of our era. The exposure of the dead in waste places to be devoured by
beasts of prey, or to be destroyed by the action of the elements, as mentioned by
the author, is certainly recorded in the traditions of the Japanese as being the
earliest practice of the race, but how far these records are trustworthy on this
point it is impossible to say, and we have no proofs, nor can we have any, that
such a custom was actually followed.
The first mode of burial, of which we have any evidence, is that which was
practised by them in those remote times when they first migrated from the
mainland of Asia, viz., interment in low mounds or burrows. In these mounds
stone ornaments are found, but the weapons, swords, halberds, and arrow heads
are of bronze. Somewhat later in time, burial in dolmens, or large megalithic
chambers covered by mounds, was introduced. In these the characteristic
weapon was a formidable iron sword. These dolmens, however, have nothing in
common with those of India. As regards the methods, mentioned by the author,
in which the object was to preserve the body, he would point out that mum-
mification was unknown in Japan, but, in very early times, vermilion was
frequently placed in the sarcophagus with the body. He had found this substance
in several sarcophagi, and in one large tumulus of a forgotten emperor or prince,
which had been rifled, a considerable quantity was disseminated through the
earth where the interment had taken place. It was generally stated by Japanese
archaeologists that the vermilion was used in order to preserve the corpse from
decay. He did not think, however, that it could have this effect, but that there
was some other reason for its use which was not obvious. He might mention
incidentally that the custom of embalming is practised by the Chinese at the
present day, in the cases of persons who had died in a distant country. The body
was then embalmed in order that it might be transported to the native province
of the deceased for interment there.
As regards inhumation, this mode of burial alone was practised by the
Japanese in early times. Cremation was unknown until it was introduced with
Buddhism, and it was not until about the seventh century, when that religion
had been established in the country, that it seems to have come into use.
The first of the imperial line to be cremated is said to have been the Empress
Jito (a.d. 702). There is some doubt about this, but the body of the Emperor
Junna, who died in A.D. 842, was undoubtedly cremated. In these early
cremations of important persons, it is important to note that the body was not
burnt near the burial mound. Thus in the case of the Emperor Junna, the
cremation took place about three miles from the tumulus proper ; and in all cases
two mounds commemorated the death, one being erected on the actual spot where
the cremation was carried out, and the other where the urn containing the ashes
was buried.
Inhumation was not given up but still continued to exist side by side with
cremation, especially in burials of followers of the Shinto cult, and both are
practised at the present day.
No traces of the custom of crouched burial in early times have been found in
Japan, but after the introduction of cremation, the bodies of the dead were usually
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294 W. Crookb. — Primitive Sites of JtHsposal of the bead,
placed in a squatting position in the wooden cofifer or tub in which they were
placed on the funeral pile.
Burial in jars, mentioned by the author as coufiaed to Southern India, was
occasionally practised in Japan, but only during the last two or three centuries.
In one example he had found, when excavating for the foundation of a building in
extending the mint in Osaka, the body, which was that of a priest, had been
interred in a large earthenware jar, the top of which was closed by a slab of stone
bearing the date of the interment. The size of the jar and the width of its mouth
were amply sufficient to admit the body without mutilation.
Finally, it is noteworthy, from what has already been said, that the only
ancient buritd custom which Japan owes to India was cremation.
Mr. W. L. H. Duckworth thought that one eflfect of Mr. Crooke's researches
would be to diminish the value to be attached to the consideration of identity in
the method of disposal of the dead, as evidence of racial identity. In the case of
the so-called Mediterranean Bace in particular, a good deal of stress has been laid
on this criterion by Sergi and others.
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( 295 )
SEQUENCES IN PREHISTORIC REMAINS.
By Professor W. M. Flinders Petrie, D.C.L., LL.D.
[with plates XXXI TO XXXIIl.]
The conveniently vague term, " prehistoric," has been generally thought to excuse
our ignorance, and to render further inquiry needless beca^use it would be incon-
clusive. To attain to a broad division into widely distinct periods and styles, such
as palaeolithic and neolithic, was perhaps a tolerably safe venture; but the utmost
that has been yet attempted is a division into a few well-marked varieties, as
Mousterien, Acheullien, etc., or Mykenaean, Dipylon, Hallstattian, etc., for later
ages. It has been, perhaps, the result of careless and incomplete observation and
registration of discoveries, that the habit has arisen of defining only large periods
without subdivisions, and describing a period by the name of a locality, which
conveys no idea of relation to other periods.
But it may be said that in dealing with ages before any written record of years
no reference to time or dates is possible. In the narrowest sense this may be true.
Yet the main value of dates is to show the sequence of events ; and it would matter
very little if the time from Augustus to Constantine had occupied six centuries
instead of three, or if Alexander had lived only two centuries before Augustus.
The order of events and the relation of one country to another is the main essential
of history. Indeed, the tacit commonsense of historians agrees in treating the
periods of great activity and production more fully than the arid ages of barbarism,
and so substituting pmctically a scale of activity as the standard rather than a
a scale of years.
It would be, therefore, no fallacy to portion out the past by the ratio of events
rather than by the seasons ; and to measure history by the stages of thought and
action of man rather than by inanimate celestial motions. In this truest sense,
then, we may have a possibility of reducing the prehistoric ages to a historical
sequence, and defining them as readily as historic times. If some scale and ratio
of human activities can be adopted, we may measure the past by means of it as
definitely as we do by years b.c.
Supposing our information were complete, it is clear that we might, for
instance, assign one degree in an arbitrary scale for every hundred objects of man's
past that have survived to our time, and so obtain a reasonable series of " sequence
dates'* — as we may call them — for any period hitherto unmeasured. Such
sequence dates would have varying relation to a scale of years in different parts of
the scale, but would be, at least, a reasonable system of denoting the past, which
would give that power of exact expression in commonly understood terms, which is
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296 Prof. W. M. Flinders FKniiK—Seqicences in Prehistoric Remains,
the necessary basis of any scientific treatment. The sequence dates of one country
would have to be correlated to those of another country by discoveries of con-
nections ; but it would at least be a great gain to be able to express such a relation
in a simple system of dating instead of some elaborate definition of a period named
from one place being equivalent to the earlier or later part of a period named from
some other.
So far we have only been looking at the desirable, without any statement of
the practical ; and sequence dates in prehistory may seem to be merely a " pious
wish." Yet this abstract view of the matter has arisen from a very practical
treatment of a large mass of material, out of which it has grown.
The most practical scale of sequence dates in Egypt, and perhaps in most
other prehistoric civilisations, is the proportion of burials. The number of burials
in each century will, of course, vary with the population ; yet so does the import-
ance -of a country vary, and also our interest in it, to some extent. Nothing can
be so readily ascertained as the proportions of burials if our researches are fairly
spread, and if we find each cemetery to Ije largely overlapping others in relative
age. For the period covered by a series of overlapping cemeteries the number of
tombs may be taken as a most rational basis of sequence dates. Thus each unit of
dating represents an equal number of persons above a certain low standard of
wealth and culture. If, then, we could treat a large number of tombs — a thousand
or more — which had no blank periods between them, and arrange them in their
original order, we should have a rational basis for sequence dates ; they might be
divided into units of twenty tombs, for instance, and so broken up into fifty equal
divisions ; then any fresh tomb like some other in the scale could be simply and
exactly defined as being of some sequence date, such as 23 or 38, as the case
might be.
Further, every product could be dated in its relation to others, by saying that
it began in, say, 18 S.D. and went out in 25 S.D. This would be just as valuable
for a relative history of a civilisation as being able to write 5400 to 4800 B.C. for
the age of some weapon or ornament. This result is what we have actually
attained from such an amount of material as I have suggested above ; and this
system is from no abstract view, but has been really worked out. I now turn to
the methods for extracting such results.
The first step is to form a corpus of drawings, each class of objects by
themselves. For practical purposes it is well to work only from pottery to begin
with ; for it is less likely to be intentionally copied from earlier examples than
work which is in more valuable material, and it is much less likely to be handed
down from generation to generation than are the weapons of metal or carving in
hard stone. In coimtries where pottery is insufficient, in variety or quantity,
then other objects must be taken into consideration. It seems best in such a
carpus to denote each class of pottery or objects by a letter (an initial letter of the
class, if possible) ; and then all the forms by numbers added to that letter, as
H 16 for the hanging stone vase No. 16, D 73 for the decorated pottery No. 73.
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Prof. W. M. Flindeks VETKH^^^Seqitences in Prehistoric Remains. 297
It is preferable to spread all the types over not more than 99 numbers in each
class so as to avoid three figures ; where there is much difiference between types
one or more numbers may be left blank for marking later discoveries of inter-
mediate forms ; where there are many subvarieties of a type letters may be added,
as P 28a, P 28b, P 28c ; thus if the type cannot be exactly distinguished, P 28
alone can be used for it. The cay-pus of prehistoric Egyptian pottery contains 917
forms.
Having, then, a full coiyuSy numbered in a systematic order, the contents of
every grave should be registered in this notation. And then a card catalogue of
graves should be made, each grave-group being written on a narrow slip ^ inch
wide. Practically the slips are best ruled in columns for different classes of
pottery; each column wide enough to take in the number of types in any one
grave. Actually the slips are 7 inches long, ruled in ten columns, for the pre-
historic Egyptian. About 900 slips have been used together, representing the
best graves selected from among over 4,000.
The next work is to place these as far as possible in the original order of the
graves. For this there are five methods, based on the following considerations : —
1st. Actual superposition of graves or burials ; but rarely found.
2nd. Series of development or degradation of form ; veiy valuable if
imimpeaxjhable.
3rd. Statistical grouping by proportionate resemblance; the basis for
classifying large groups.
4th. Grouping of similar types, and judgment by style ; giving a more
detailed arrangement of the result of the 3rd method.
5th. Minimum dispersion of each type, concentrating the extreme
examples.
We will now illustrate these methods as applied to usual prehistoric objects.
Ist. Later interments in tumuli will be invaluable for proving the relative
order of age. The superposition in caves and in lake deposits is equally valuable ;
and the common consent in the sequence of stone, bronze, and iron may render the
deposits of those successive ages equivalent to local superposition. This evidence
gives a basis of broad divisions, which serve to prove the order of sequence from
early to late, and prevent our mistaking it for late to early. As we shall see, it is
starting from such broad divisions that we refine to lesser periods.
2nd. A series of changes of gradual growth or decay in form and style
of a single type, where they are all of one locality and unquestionable in their
connection, is of the highest value. It enables a long period to be ranged in
approximate order, and serves as a scale for noting the rise or disappearance of
other types. Thus contemporary graves, which may not contain this fluctuating
type, can be classified into the series, and so take their true place. When a series
of one type is arranged, and all the slips containing it are placed in order, then
when a fresh slip is to be placed in the series each type on it is looked for in the
series, and the first and last example noted. (This is conveniently done by laying
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298 Pkof. W. M. JFlinders Pjs^mK,^Seque7ic€s in Prehistoric Itemains.
a pen nib pointing forward from the first example, and another backward from the
last.) When each type on the card thus has its beginning and end in the series
marked, it is easy to see that the card ought to be placed after all the beginning
and before all the endings of the types. Often it does not so fall, and we find that
the range of one type must be extended at one end or other so as to include the
new card in the series. Thus new material is built into a series already marked
out by the development of some one type.
3rd. A large group of graves may not contain any already datable material,
but may fall between two more definite classes. Such in Egypt are some hundreds
of graves which are later than the cups with white line decoration and earlier than
the series of wavy-handled jars. The cards of these graves are then to be marked
with the proportion of types of pottery that they have in common with the class
best-known at either the beginning or the end of the series, those with types most
like tliose of a terminal class coming naturally nearest to that class. This
statistical sorting by resemblance to some definite class is the only way to break
up a large indistinct mass. Thus graves of the early iron age should be sorted
according to their proportion of objects in common with late bronze age graves.
4th. When a general statistical sorting has thus broken up a mass into vague
stages, the next step is to refine this by grouping together similar types that come
near each other, and so improve the order by more individual evidence. Thus, for
instance, fibulae might be roughly classed by the proportions of pottery types that
were found with them ; but the similarities of form would enable them to be
put more exactly into order. Or decorated vases could be more closely arranged
by designs, after their general distribution was vaguely settled statistically.
I^astly, 5 th. There must be sought the minimum dispersion of each type. It
is clear that if we had a series of graves put really in the original order, any
disturbance of that would be likely to spread the ranges of some of the contents.
Hence the order which gives the shortest ranges of the types is probably the
truth. Of course the ranges are not of the same length. Some types — especially
the more simple forms — range over many centuries ; other types — especially
peculiar and complex decorations — were perhaps only made for a few years, or
even for a single furnace load.
When we come to search the extreme instances — early and late — of each
type, it is seen that they can be shortened up and concentrated until a point
comes where there is tension between two types, and the card must contain either
the first example of one type or the latest of another. Which is to give way is
determined by seeing whether the extension of one type or the other will be
most in accord with similar types related to these.
Thus finally the collection of card slips — each representing a grave — is reduced
to the nearest approximation to the original order of the graves. When that is done
the total slips are divided into equal groups — in the Egyptian case 900 slips were
divided into 50 groups of 18 slips each — and the boundaries of the groups may be
slightly modified so as to include the boundaries of well-marked types just within
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pROV. W. M. Flinders Petrie. — Sequences in Prehistoric Remains. 299
a group. These groups are then to be numbered, and these numbers are the
sequence dates of the groups. For the preliistoric Egyptian I have formed 50
groups, and leaving 29 stages for earlier groups that may be found, and 19 stages
at the other end for later connections with historic times, I have numbered the
groups used from 30 to 80. In the practical working the doubt about the position
of a type rarely extends to 10 stages, and that only in case of rare types but little
known ; for ordinary well-known types a change of 3 or 4 stages is seldom caused
by revision, and often a change of a single stage would distinctly upset the arrange-
ment for the worse. The scale of fifty stages is therefore none too detailed. We
know nothing yet of the years covered by these fifty stages ; but looking at the
number of graves in relation to those of the historic age, and the changes of style,
we can hardly suppose it to be less than a thousand years, very possibly double
that. The presumption of slower changes and fewer gi-aves in more barbaric
times would lengthen rather than shorten the estimate.
Then the lists of the range of each type can be drawn up, stating between
what limits of sequence dates it is found. Such a division in stages and such a
list of ranges is useful for working purposes at earlier parts of the proceedings,
especially if many hundreds of graves have to be dealt with.
In dating any class of objects, such as spears, adzes, fibulae, combs, etc., the
process is to look out the age or the range of age of each of the graves in which
such objects are found ; such a list will run somewhat thus : — s.D. 43, 52, 47, 46,
between 37 and 51, 42, between 49 and 60, and so on. Here the graves with
badly defined age, as 37 to 51, and 49 to 60, do not afifect the result, as the other
examples all fall within those limits, and we can date the object as varying from
42 to 52 in sequence date. Sometimes we only have badly defined graves as
evidence, and find such ranges as 26 to 49, 33 to 70, 42 to 60 ; here all we can
say is that it must be from 42 to 49, and may extend farther.
On thus working out the sequence dates of the prehistoric Egyptian we can
trace the course of that barbaric civilisation. Eemembering that 30 to 80 is the
range that we are dealing with, we can say that the finest serration of straight
flint knives and lances is at 32 and extends down to 43 (see Fig. 5) in common
use, and was kept up as grand specimens to 65. The forked lances with a wide
fork (32 to 43) precede those Math narrow cleft fork (38 to 61), and those with a
definite tang for hafting go as late as 70. The curved knives with rounded butt
are the earliest, beginning about 39 ; they are followed by the sickle-shaped
knives at 45 to 65 ; and the very regular surface flaking on wide flat knives does
not come in before 57, and becomes coarse by 65, continuing down to 78, and thus
on into the early historic flaking. The large triangular flakes with partly worked
edges were not very early, beginning about 41, and large ones ending at 61, while
smaller flake knives last on to the end. The square-ended flake begins at 63, and
lasts on till it is the main type in the early historic times.
Of the slate palettes (see Fig. 2) the rhombs and well-formed animals are the
earliest, from 31 to 40 or so. The fish and turtle forms begin at 36 and become
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300 Prof. W. M. Flindkrs Petrie. — Sequences in Prehistoric Reviains,
degraded by 50, lastuitj: on in very rude shapes to the end. The bird slates begin
mainly iiL 44, and becuuie degraded at 60, while the plain squares run fi'om 37 to
70, when they were ornamented with border lines on to 80.
In the use of metals, gold and silver are commonest about 42 to 46, which is,
perhaps, the age of most prosperity and foreign connections, when the decorated and
later styles of pottery were coming into use. Copper was used from the earliest
age, 30, when only a few simple types of cups in one kind of pottery were made
(see Fig. 6). Harpoons and small chisels came in about 34, needles about 48,
adzes for wood-work about 52, while a large square chisel and plain square axe
blade only appear at 78. Foil and bands seem to have been made before wire
was hammered out. In weapons the disc-shaped mace head is the earlier (Fig. 5)
and disappears when the pear-shaped mace came in, which lasted into early histor}'.
Thus this chaos of over nine hundred types of pottery, hundreds of stone
vases, weapons and tools of flint and of copper, ivory work, and beads, extending
over many centuries, perhaps one or two thousand years, has now been reduced by
this system to an orderly series, in which we can not only state exactly the relative
order of the objects, but also the degree of uncertainty and the extent of range
which belongs to each object. We have here a new and exact method for dealing
with all those vague ages as yet unfathomed, and for extracting all that is possible
about their history. Prehistoric arclucology has made another step toward be-
coming an exact science. And now the responsibility of those who excavate is
tenfold increased, as the extent of their care and exactitude will more than ever
restore or ruin the history of the ptist.
Illustrations of Sequence Dates in Prehistoric Egypt
Fig. 1. Types of pottery of seven successive stages, the sequence dates of each being at the
right. In each stage are shown forms which are peculiar to that stage, together
with two forms which pass through into an adjacent stage. Thus the pottery of
each stage may be regarded as what would be most typical and important in a tomb
of that period. It will be readily seen how impossible it would be to invert the
order of any of these stages without breaking up the links between them. Thus if
there be sutficient variety of pottery in any tomb its true position in sequence with
others is exactly fixed, and it cannot be displaced without stretching the range of
some of the types of pottery. At the left ends of the five lower rows is the wavy-
handled type, in its various stages ; the degradation of this type was the best clue
to the order of the whole period.
Fig. 2. Having dated all the pottery types, it is possible to date all other objects by their
association with pottery. Thus it is possible to trace the history of the slate palettes.
The forms of these slate palettes, used for grinding face paint, are very varied. The
rhomb is the earliest type, but died out by 37, except in rude forms, which lasted
till 47. Quadrupeds are well worked at first, but become rough by 40, and rarely
recognisable later on. Fishes and turtles begin at 36, become rude by about 50, and
were ovals and discs by 70. Birds only begin at 46, and double birds at 38 ; they
also become very rude before the end of the period. The squares begin at 37 ; but
at 67 notched bordei*s appear, and from 70 to 80 line borders.
Figs. 3, 4. The genealogies of some forms of pottery from beginning to end of the whole
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Prof. W. M. Flinders Petrie. — Seqiiences in Prehistoric Remains, 301
period. These forms pass through two or three different fabrics, showing that
form is more important than material.
Fig. 5. The history of flint-working can be traced in the same way as that of the slates. In the
earliest graves the notching of the saw edge is delicate and regular, but the surface
flaking is not in any pattern. The fine ripple flaking with regular ridges, on the
face, belongs to the middle period of 57 to G6. The knives begin curved with
rounded butt, become long and sickle-shaped, then wide and flat with straight edges,
and lastl}' rough and thick. The forked lances are wide and flat-ended at first, then
deepen to a V groove, and lastly have tangs.
Fig. 6. The copper tools begin with small pins to fasten the skin cloaks. Tlien liarpoons
modelled on the forms carved in bone. Small cliisels appear at 38 ; wide adzes for
wood-work at 52, rounded at the top in 78 ; and a deep, stout chisel and simple axe
at 78. Thus metal is found in the oldest graves known ; it becomes varied in use by
about 50, and further improved at the end of the period.
In all of these series of changes in slates and tools we see a regular pro-
gression, yet this dating results solely from the pottery with which they were
found ; and thus this regularity of results is the strongest proof of the true and
solid basis of the classing by sequence dates
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( 302 )
ON THE DISCOVERY OF NERITINA FLUVIATILIS
WITH A PLEISTOCENE FAUNA AND WOKKED FLINTS
IN HIGH TERRACE GRAVELS OF THE THAMES VALLEY.
By H. Stopes.
[Presented at the Meeting or Mat IOth, 1900,]
On April 27th last I made the welcome and loiig-sought-for discovery at
Swanscombe, Kent, of a rich deposit which should establish the geologic date
of these Terrace gravels of the lower reaches of the Thames Valley. I found
the workmen had cut into a deep and exceedingly fossiliferous band of stratified
sands and gravels, capped with a thin layer of tough clay. Since then I have
obtained many shells, bones, teeth, and worked stones, some of the latter being
well-made implements. All these occur in the shell bed which rests upon the
chalk at a level of 78 feet CD. The thickness of the whole series to the surface
is 14 feet, of which 10 feet yields shells.
This pit occupies relatively the same position on the left shoulder of the
Ingress Valley as it rounds into the slope of the south bank of the main Thames
Valley, as does the opposite pit at Galley Hill, some 500 yards distant. Twelve
years ago at this point, in one of the chalk pits owned by Messrs. Bazley White
and Co., was found, together with other parts of the skeleton, a human cranium
of very primitive type, which has been described by Mr. E. T. Newton,* F.R.S.
This was on tlie right bank, just at its mouth, of a small but well-defined tortuous
valley which, starting from the centre of the great wood at Swanscombe and
passing by Alkerdene and Ingress Abbey, runs into the Thames, after a course
altogether of nearly two miles. The enormous drain by man upon the water
in the chalk has now caused the little stream which eroded this valley to disappear,
but when Swanscombe Wood was occupied by a large and very splendid fort
it probably was a sparkling stream that washed round two sides of a later
(so-called) Neolithic settlement of much interest."
The Terrace gravels on both sides of this small valley range from 78 feet
to 102 feet CD. On the Galley HiU or north side they have been worked for
forty years, and during nearly the whole of this period they have enriched many
collections with tools of fine foi-m and size. The levels of the two sides are
the same. The whole of the deposit is embraced in the N.E. corner of the
6-inch sheet IX, Kent, and in the 25-inch sheet IX, 4.
> Quart. Joum, GeoL Soc., Aug. 1895, vol. li, pp. 505-527, 2 plates,
« Froc, Brit. Assoc, 1894, p. 785.
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H. Stopes. — On the discovery of Neritina Fluviatilis, etc.
303
Doubt has often been thrown upon the age of these deposits, as hitherto
only five mammals and four molluscs have been recorded by Mr. Newton, and
some of these were taken by Mr. Spurrell from the lower brick-earth. Careful
examination of the numerous species represented by the vast numbers of sheUs
and the fragments of bones, etc., now exposed should enable their position to be
determined with fair exactitude. The problem will require prolonged examination
and study, which must be speedily undertaken, as the whole deposit is now being
rapidly removed.
The association of Neritina fluviatilis with so many extinct species and at this
altitude in British gravels has not hitherto been recorded.
Mr. A. S. Kennard has thus far determined the following species : —
Elephas primigenius.
Planorbis nautileus.
^Ehinoceros leptorhinus.
„ marginatus.
Bos primigenius.
glaber.
Equus caballus.
„ spirorbis.
Cervus elaphus.
„ contortus.
Canis lupus.
^Paludestrina marginata.
Helicella caperata.
Bithinia tentaculata.
Helix nemoralis.
Neritina fluviatilis.
Pupa muscorum.
^Unio littoralis.
Pyramidula rotundata.
„ tumidus.
Ancylus fluviatilis.
^Coibicula fluminalis.
Limnaea auricularia.
Sphaeriiim corneum.
peregra.
Pisidium amnicum.
„ truncatula.
^ „ astartoides.
Pisidium fontinale.
Now extinct in Britain.
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( 304 )
ANTHROPOLOGICAL REVIEWS AND MISCELLANEA,
Readers of the Journal are invited to communicate any new facts of especial interest
which come under their notice. Short abstracts of, or extracts from, letters toill he
pullished at the discretion of the Editor. Letters should he marked ^^Miscellanea** and
addressed to The Secretary, 3, Hanover Square, W.
New Zealand Kotahas or Whip Slings, for Throwing Daets, in the British
Museum. (With Plate XXXIV.)
Mr. Hamilton in his work on Maori Art (PJate XXX, Fig. 2) figures a native
using a kotaha in the act of throwing a kopere or dart.
Among the very earliest acquisitions in the British Museum are four specimens
of the kotaha, one of which I figured in the Ethnographical Album (Plate 380, No. 2).
At that time the use of this implement was unknown to me, and although I had
photographs taken and sent out to New Zealand, I was unable to obtain any
information until I was out there myself in 1897. By the courtesy of Mr. Cheeseman,
the Curator of the Auckland Museum, who takes the greatest interest in everything
affecting the Ethnography of the Maori, I interrogated, through the Government
interpreter, two old Maori chiefs, who happened to be in Auckland at the time of my
visit, and was enabled to go through with them not only the specimens in the Museum,
but also the drawings in the album, as well as those in General Robley*s work on Moho,
and to gather some valuable information and corrections. Of tbe kotaha there is not, as
far as I was able to learn, a single specimen iu New Zealand. The use of this imple-
ment was to throw darts into besieged camps, and from the description given me by the
Maori chiefs it could be thrown to a very considerable distance. Now to do this
it is evident that the shaft of the kotaha must be both longer and more pliant than the
one figured by Mr. Hamilton.
The early writers speak of throwing darts into besieged camps as well as
throwing bunches of lighted leaves, but do not describe the means by which this was
done. It is evident that the kotaha was the implement used. Mr. Hamilton speaks
of the cord being made of dog*s skin and passing through a hole at th6 end of the
kotaha. It will be seen that in none of the four specimens here figured is this the
case. The cord is of twisted fibre and is lashed on to the end of the shaft which
terminates in a knob to prevent the cord from slipping. (Fig. 2c.)
Mr. Hamilton describes the dart " as a rough stick, fairly straight, from four to
five feet long, with one end sharply pointed, and the point charged in order to
harden it, it was moreover cut nearly through about two inches from the point, so
that it might easily break and leave the piece in the body of the wounded enemy."
The darts, he says, were stuck loosely in the ground pointing iu the direction to
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Journal of the Anthropological Itutitute {X.S.), Vol. II, Plate XXXIV.
I
8'
lb
2b
. INCHES FOR.l.Z
J^ INCHES POR la, za,
.... ^ I
'3a, 4a, i6, zc,zb,i
NEW ZKALAM> KOTAIIAS OK WIIIP-SLINCiS.
FOR THEIOWINO DARTS : IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.
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Journal of the Anthropological Institute (X.S.), Vol. II, Plate XXXV,
113
43
7~
FIGUKK-IIEAI) OK A WAK CAXOE, NEW ZEALAND.
Uritish Museum. Scale in inches = j\; natural.
A CIUEK'S I-MPLK.MENT of WAU ("TOKI"), NKW ZEALAND.
BritisU Museum. Scale in inches = J natural.
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■t
Anthropological Reviews arid MisceUanea. 305
which they were intended to be thrown, the cord was then looped ronnd the dart as
shown in Fig. 5, copied from the illnstration in Mr. Hamilton's work.
I do not know of a specimen of the kopere in this country, nor did I see one when
in New Zealand. Jjlmes Edge-Partington.
^'
Note on a Carted Canoe Head prom New Zealand. (With Plate XXXV, 1.)
Mr. Hamilton in his work on Maori Art, p. 12, in describing this particular type
of canoe head, speaks of it as being very scarce, and that it appears to have been
almost confined to the Noi*th, more especially to Auckland and the district of the
Waikato Riv When complete, he says, it consisted of four parts, instead of a
single piece carved from the solid as in the case of the commoner type (Hamilton,
Maori Art, Part T, Plates I, IV).
Our illustration shows the central portion, the three remaining parts consisting
of (i) a fiat base, grooved along its centre and across its broadest part to receive the
two upright portions, (ii) A cross piece on which is carved the little human fignre,
(Hnaki) which looked into the interior of the canoe, and (iii) a realistic hnman head,
sometimes movable, and without the usual protruding tongue, affixed to the front of
the base. (Hamilton, Part I, Plate X.J
Mr. Hamilton speaks of this central portion, both in the case of the composite
form, and of the type carved from the solid as being alike, called by the natives
" Manaia." He does not give a reason for the name, but it is, I think, taken from the
ornamentation op the composite form, which is clearly derived from a snake (manaia) .
This form was, I believe, only used on the ancient canoes, each of which was known by
a particular name.
The ordinary war canoe is the product of a later date. When the Maories took
to carving the figure-heads from the solid, they still gave the name of manaia to the
central ridge, though the original style of carving was now completely altered. In
this sense the name would appear to be a survival.
In speaking of the ornamentation, Mr. Hamilton says that the whole of the art
work of the Maories comes under the head of ornament ; there are no representations
in the solid of plant or animal forms, other than human, with a few exceptions, of
which the manaia, a lizard or snake, is a remarkable example ; of this there are several
varieties, that having a snake's body with an eagle's (?) head being one of the most
interesting, and carrying us back to some of the older mythologies. Specimens of
these figures, which are so clearly represented in the subject of this note, are of
considerable rarity. Mr. Hamilton figures two on Plate V, and another in the
complete form on Plate X, and in the third series of the Ethnographical Album (Plate
CLX) I have figured one in the Auckland Museum. In this Museum is preserved one
of the ancient war canoes, nearly 80 feet long, the figure-head of which is in the
possession of H.R.H. The Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, and was exhibited for some time
at the South Kensington Museum. Fortunately they have been al)le to replace it
with one almost as good. The specimen here figured is at present in my possession.
C. H. Read.
Note oir a Stone Battle-axe fbom New Zealand. (With Plate XXXV, 2.)
The subject of this note was, I think, a weapon and not an implement, and
ranked with the meri pounamu as a chief possession. It was known as a tohi-pu-tangata^
or warrior's stone battle-axe. (Polack, Narratives of Travels in New Zealand, 1838,
II, p. 25.) Aiyai in her New Zealanders figures one in the hands of a warrior going to
battle. (Plate LVIII.) In many cases the butt of the handle was pierced for a wrist-
Nsw Series, Vol. II, Nos. 3 and 4. ^
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306 Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea,
cord, aa is the case in this particular specimen, tbas showing that it was used as a
weapon.
Although there are many specimens in masenms and private collections, there
are a very few indeed which are in their original condition, like that now in question
with this. It was obtained by Mr. Charles H. Read at the sale of the Wallace
Collection at Distington, near Whitehaven, and so highly did the late owner prise it
that he had a replica made, using fine Tahitian sennet for the lashings. This replica
was sold at the same time, and I am afraid will turn up in some collection as an
original.
The specimen here figured is at present in the possession of Mr. Bead, but it
is hoped that some day it may find a resting place in the British Museum.
James Edoe-Pirtinoton.
Notes on the Roman Origin of a Medlsval Charm.
The charm : —
ROTAS
OPERA
TENET
A R E P O
S A T R
is well known. It was used throughout the middle ages, and I am told is still
employed in some parts of the world to-day. I here wish to notice only one point
about it — its origin. Most writers call it medieval, and in the latest discussion of
ancient charms, by R. Heim (in Fleckeisen*s Jahrhucher, xix Suppl., pp. 463-576), it
is explained as constructed out of a monkish rule, SAT ORARE POTENfew ET
OPERAre 'RatiO TuA Sit. This is not a convincing theory : it is not even good monkish
Latin, and I think the charm can be traced back beyond the monks. In 1868, some
Roman remains were found at Cirencester near the Victoria Road. These remains
included coins, tiles, and painted wall -plaster, and among them was a piece of painted
wall-plaster with the charm scratched on it through the paint (see full-size illus-
tration). The object was taken out of the ground under the eyes of Captain Abbott,
then Curator of the Cirencester Museum, and deposited in the Museum, where I have
seen it. Professor A. H. Church has published it in his Guide to this Museum
(Cirencester,, eighth edition, 1894), but it seenis otherwise to have escaped the notice
of many who would naturally be interested in it. The following reasons seem to me
to confirm its Roman origin. In the first place it was found in the presence of a
competent witness, and no one. Professor Church tells us, had any interest in forging
it, or gained any money by its discovery. Secondly, the plaster and the lettering seem
to me to be Roman, in particular the shape of the \ for A, and the guiding-line drawn
under ROTAS is familiar enough on Roman inscriptions, especially those of a late
date. Thirdly, the object was found among Roman remains, and would naturally be
considered as a bit of wall-plaster from the same walls as those from which came the
other wall-plaster then discovered — some of which is also in the museum, and, as it
seems to me, is ordinary Roman wall -plaster. I emphasise these reasons, for I know
no other Roman example of this charm. One was found in the south of France
which has sometimes been considered Roman (C. I. L., xii, 202*), but it appears
really to be medicBval. Nor do I know of any exact parallel of Roman date. The
nearest, perhaps, are some *' Palindromes '* such as, for instance, we meet two pave-
ments of Christian date ornamented with the words Sancta Ecclesia and Marinus
Sacerdos in very elaborate anagrammatic fashion. These, however, are devices and
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Anthropological. Revieics and Miscellanea. 307
not charms. Despite, however, the absence of exact parallels, I venture for the
reasons given above to ascribe this object to Roman times. It would be rash to date
it more nearly. The lettering seems to me to agree with a late date, but I should not
like to base anything on twenty-five letters. I wonld rather follow the indications
afforded by the imperfect parallels just mentioned. These and others like them are
hardly known till the fourth and fifth centuries. As to the word Arepo^ I venture no
observation. It may be connected with the Celtic arepennis, a measure of land, and
arare, to plough. Or it may be opera reversed to make the recurrence of the letters
perfect. If it is the former, we may be inclined to fancy that the charm or device was
invented in Celtic lands, in Gtiul or in Britain.
The following references on the same subject may be added : — B. Heim : Incan-
tamenta magica graeca et laiina, in Fleckeisen's Jahrhucher xix, Supplement, pp. 463-
676. ZeiUchrift fur Ethnologies xix (1887), p. 72 : Verhandlungen der Berliner
GeselUchaft fur Anthropologic in Z. f, Ethn, 1880-4. Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum,
viii, 9710-9711, and xii, 202*. Holder, AU-keUischer Sprachschatz, s.v. Arepo, and
Archaeological Journal^ Dec. 1899, where the Cirencester inscription is further described.
Since writing the above. Professor Sayce has told me that he lately detected the
charm, written in Greek letters, among some inscriptions on a tomb, converted into a
Coptic church, in Nubia. These inscriptions he thinks to belong to the eighth
century, to which period one of them is actually dated. See liis article in the
Recueil de Travaux relatifs a la Philologie et a VArcheologie Egyptiennes et Assyriennes,
XX (1898), p. 176. F Haverfibld.
X 2
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308 Anthropological Beviews and Miscellanea.
Pbehibtoric Cheonoloot. By Profeasop Oscar Montelius.
The asnal course of lectures on tbe Yates foundation at Uni^ersitj College,
London, was delivered this year by Professor Oscar Montelius, of Stockholm, who has
kindly famished the following summary of his conclusions : —
" The determination of a chronology is of the greatest importance for prehistoric
research. Chronology may be (a) relative, determining only the succession of the
several periods; or (h) absolute, giving a date B.C. or a.d. for each period of a
series.
" A Belattve Chronology is possible for every age and every country, if only we have
a sufficient number of good finds. A ' good find ' is composed of antiquities found
together in such a way that they must have been placed there at the same moment.
Objects found in a lake-dwelling or any other dwelling-place, however, cannot be
considered as a good find, because they do not conform to this condition, and so do
not necessarily date from the same time. Similarly, if all we know is that certain
antiquities have been found in a barrow, or in a grave-chamber, they cannot be used
as a good find for chronological researches, because a barrow often contains several
graves, and in a chamber we often find more than one body. The best finds are
(1) graves containing only one body ; (2) hoards.
^^ When a great number of good finds have been made in different countries, it is
possible to divide the course of the prehistoric civilisation of each country into many
periods. The succession of these periods is proved either by the relative position of
the graves, or by the typological evolution of their contents. Typological series were
illustrated in the course of the lectures by lantern diagrams showing (1) axes of
stone, copper, bronze, and iron from Italy, and from Central and Northern Europe ;
(2) fibulas from Italy and Scandinavia ; (3) sword hilts in Scandinavia ; (4) bronze
vessels in Scandinavia, etc. Other diagrams exhibited the most characteristic types
for the Copper Age, and for each period of the Bronze Age and Iron Age in Central
and Northern Italy, in Central Europe and France, in Great Britain and Ireland, in
North Germany, and in Scandinavia.
" The various types which are characteristic of any one period are very often met
with in the same find; but types belonging to different periods are seldom found
together. If, however, the types of any two periods are occasionally found together,
these two periods are immediately successive in the series. Exceptions to this rule are
remarkably rare, if not altogether absent. This proves that each period must repre-
sent a considerable length of time ; for if the time had been short, the remains from
different periods ought to have been much more confused than is found to be the case.
" An Absolute Chronology also can now bo given for all these periods of the
prehistoric civilisation of Europe ; because not only the Iron Age and the Bronze Age,
but also the Copper Age in Europe is contemporaneous with a historic period in
Egypt and in Western Asia ; and because numerous points of connection are known
between the different parts of Europe and the East from the beginning of the Copper
Age onwards.
" The date of each period is indicated in the table on p. 309."
In a discussion which followed the last of these lectures. Professor Flinders
Petrie observed with reference to Professor Montelius* view of the relations which
could be detected between the dolmens of N.-W. Europe, and those of N. Africa
and Syria, that the probability that the dolmens belong to one continuous series,
passing from Syria, along N. Airica, and up Spain to W. Europe, gives some clue
to their age. There are no dolmens in Egypt, although they are in the lands on
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Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea.
309
B.C.
Central Italy.
Central Europe.
Great Britain and
Ireland.
Scandinayia and
North Germany.
2600
^
2400
2800
2200
•Copper (and Stone)
Copper (and Stone)
Copper (and Stone)
Copper (and Stone).
2100
2000
J
1900
1800
Bronze Age
Sronze Age
Bronze Age
99 » 1
Bronze Age
>> 99 J-
1700
1600
99 j> 2
jj » 2
» » 2
1600
1400
n » 3
» >j 3
» » 3
» » 2
1300
j> >> ^
;* » 3
1200
1100
1000
900
800
700
Iron Age 1
» » 2
» » 3
Iron Age
(MalUtatt 1) 1
Iron Age
{LaU Celtic 1) 1
600
600
400
HiBtoric Time
{Hallstatt 2) 2
(Za<« Celtic 2) 2
Transition to Iron
Age.
Iron Age 1
800
» >>
(Za r^iw 1) 3
200
>> >>
{La THe 2) 4
j> » 2
100
» >j
{La Thne 3) 5
(Xa^e CcZ^ic 8) 3
>> » 3
A.D.
either side ; and neither the pyramids nor other monuments are structurally descended
from dolmens, but from wooden prototypes. This points to the dolmen-wave having
passed Egypt when that land was a sandy waste, before Nile deposits had made it
a fertile and inhabitable region. From the depth of the deposits, that cannot be after
about 8000 d.c. ; hence it would seem that the dolmen type passed from Syria to N.
Africa before that date.
Professor Ernest Gardner said he wished to ask Professor Montelins two
questions, arising directly out of the lectures.
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310 Anthropoloyiatl Reviews and Mistrllanea,
The firsfc affected the relations between the north of Earopc and the Mediterranean
in the time of the Cromlech builders. Was Professor Montelius of opinion that the
relations at this time were of inflnence rather than of commerce P The importance
of the distinction lay in the fact that while inflnence might be all in one direction,
and the time it took to spread from one region to another might varj considerably,
commerce must be reciprocal, and most, as Professor Montelias had shown in the case
of the amber traffic, imply an almost, if not quite, contemporary development.
Professor Montelius replied that the relations at this time were certainly of
inflnence, not of commerce.
Professor Ernest Gardner's second question was about the absolute chronology
of Professor Montelius' periods, especially of the series that runs from the Mycenean
age to the Persian wars. The limits at each end appear to be fixed with certainty, bat
some of the dates given to intermediate periods, e.r/., that of the Regulini-Galassi
tomb, are extremely difficult to reconcile with other archax)logical data. In view of
the well-known fact that fifty years at one time often contain as much progress as two
centuries at another, did Professor Montelius think it possible that some of the
earlier periods might be longer, and the later ones siiorter in actual duration of time,
so that the middle periods would fall rather lower in the chronological scale ?
Professor Montelius thought that this was hardly possible, at least to any con-
siderable degree. His chief reason for thinking this was that good finds never
contained objects belonging to periods that were not consecutive ; while, if any of the
periods were shorter, some objects from the pi-eceding period would be almost sure to
have survived into the succeeding one, and so we should find objects with a range of
three or more periods in a single find.
On the Judicial Oaths used on the Gold Coast.
During my stay on the Gold Coast I was able, through the kindness of friends
and by personal observation, to collect some interesting facts as regards the judicial
oaths sworn in the native courts. The use of these oaths is undoubtedly slowly, but
surely, dying out, partly owing to European legislation forbidding the use of those
implying a curse on the native kings, or endangering their lives, and also because the
people are more and more abandoning their native chief's courts for those held under
European officials which they recognise as being uninfluenced by bribes or local
intrigues. Some even bring their cases from great distances to be tried in Accra.
It will be noticed that the names of the oaths, in the districts to which I shall
refer, recall almost invariably the memory of some disaster, or are associated with
some disagreeable or painful reminiscence.
The oaths in use or recognised in the native courts of the Akwapims are three
in number.
1st. WukudUf commonly called the Wednesday (Wukudu) oath, also called
Sokoda, from the name of the place where on a ** Wukudu/' or Wednesday, a former
King of Akwapim was defeated in battle and lost his life. This oath when sworn on
anybody may be tried by the chief of the village or town and a portion of any fine
imposed by him usually remitted to the King of Akwapim.
The second oath ** Mtankese Miensa " is of much higher importance than Wukudu
and can only be dealt with by the King himself, and not by local chiefs. ** Mtankese
Miensa " means " three great oaths " which are not allowed to be mentioned
individually by name. The expression used is *' Meka Mtankese Miensa," "I swear by
the three great oaths/'
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The names of these are Saresu, Kwabrenjan, and Kwanjako.
1. Saresn, is the Tehi word for a prairie, and refers to the prairie where a king
of Akwapim was killed in battle with the Accras.
2. Kwanbrenjan, is the name of a village where a king of Akwapim sought
refuge during a civil war, but was discovered and killed by his adversaries.
3. Kwanjako, is a place' in Fanti, where a king of Akwapim fled and committed
suicide after a defeat by the Accras. When this oath is sworn, the whole community
of the village or town mourn on account of the sad memory it recalls.
Nshira, the third form of oath, means " blessing," but is applied to the oath sworn
by the life of the King (i.6., " May he, the King, die if my cause be not avenged or
substantiated "), and then means cursing.
*^ Wa shira," '^ they have blessed," is the expression used and signiGes that the
King's life has been invoked by a party calling on his Fetish, say ** Tofie Katawere "
or " Kofi oui Somanka," the last-named Fetish being the most dreaded, to kill the
King if the party on whom the oath is sworn refuses to attend or fails to substantiate
his case. When a third party reports to the chief of a district that he has heard this
oath sworn, he simply says, A. or B., has " blessed " on C. or D., meaning really has
*' cursed '' the King.
As soon as the chief hears of it, he sends out and arrests the litigants, has sheep
sacrificed on the spot where the swearing took place, and the mutton packed in
hampers and carried by the litigants to the King.
The chief's messengers on arrival report what has occurred to the King's linguist
who brings the matter to the King saying " Olis Aye," * Somebody has done,"
leaving the rest to be implied.
Thereupon the King assembles his chiefs and headmen, has two more sheep
killed, and the blood sprinkled on the sacrificial stone to appease the Fetish.
Originally the penalty of swearing this oath was imposed on both parties, and their
families had to pay all the expenses of sacrifices, etc. ; afterwards only the unsuccessful
party was executed, and British legislation led to the penalty being reduced to a
fine of 1500 herds of cowries, i.e., £75, then to a further reduction to £6 8«., or £8,
2 sheep and 4 bottles of rum, and councillors' fees of £2. The unsuccessful party had
also to pay for the sheep killed on his arrest and for those killed by the King to
appease the Fetish. It is no longer allowed by English law. The penalties imposed
in swearing Mtankese Miensa are the same, but tho attendant expenses are not so
heavy. For swearing Wukudu the fines vary, from two bottles of rum to £3 68. Sd.
and sheep must be killed. In Akwapim, where formerly human sacrifices prevailed,
and later on sheep were sabstituted, rum is now often used instead, the King's
person and stool being bathed and sprinkled with it when ^' Making Custom," as the
expression used in bix)ken English is.
In the Attabubu district, south-east of Kuucarri between it and the Volta river
there is the " Tiquah" or King's oath. The King alone tries "Tiquah." A. accuses
B. of a crime, viz., theft, and swears ^' Tiquah " on the accused. The accused may or
may not swear '* Tiquah " that he is innocent ; if he does not, he is considered gailty,
and pays the King from £2 to £8 according to circumstances, and has to give his
accuser a large sum over and above the value of the stolen property in compensation.
If the accused too swears " Tiquah," he did not commit the crime, both are taken to
the King's Court and the one on whom " the case falls " has to pay the cost of the
*^ Tiquah." If the accused is found innocent he can in turn bring an action for
damages against his accuser.
The oath ** Tram " is of the nature of Nshira, and is not used now. It begins
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312 Anthropological Ef views and Miscdlanca,
" Ohencimeo " "May the King die " if T.A. did so and so, or if B. did not do so and
so. It recalls the memorj of the King's ancestors, perhaps killed in battle, and the
king fasts. There are also Fetish oaths, i.e., swearing by various Fetish, viz., may
" Kodakrah ** (Attabnbu fetish) kill me if I don't speak the truth, or if I hide anything,
an oath commonly sworn by witnesses.
They also swear by various Fetishes against an accused, but unless Tiquah is also
sworn the matter is not brought into Court, but left between the Fetish and accuser
or accused, whichever swears by them. If he is not killed by the Fetish, or does not
die in the ten or twenty days or other time specified in his oath he is considered innocent.
The ground, i.e., what is eaten out of it like yams, plantain, etc., is invoked as
Fetish, also water. Towards Krache pyramidical heaps of earth are built and made
Fetish.
I have also heard of another curious form of oath. During a case being tried
one man said to another, " I swear by this woman's foot that you did so and so," in
this instance it was committed theft. The accused swore by the woman's foot that he
was innocent, and that his accuser had committed the offence. Now the woman
was a leper and her foot much diseased, the men swearing by her foot recalled to her
the trouble and expense her foot had caused her in trying to cure it, and in the King's
Court she would be entitled to damages from the one swearing falsely in consideration
of the unpleasant remembrance brought to her mind, — and this principle seems to
apply to all oaths sworn in the King's Courts.
A. Clare.
Astrology and the Divining Rod.
In Pennant's Tour in Woks (London, 1778, pp. 53-4) the following remarks on
the Divining Rod occur : —
" I have mentioned above the casual detection of our mineral wealth. It will
perhaps amuse the reader, by informing him, that in this country, [Flint] within my
memory, recourse was had to the virgula divinatoria or divining rod ; which by
powers sympathetic with the latent ore, was to save the usual expenses of search, and
to point out the very spot where the treasure lay. A foreign adventurer, half knave,
half enthusiast, made the trial ; but it proved as unfortunately unsuccessful to himself
as to his admirers. The instrument of the attempt was no more than a rod forked at
one end, *to be cut in a planetary hour on SATURN'S day and hour; because
SATURN is the significator of lead ' Jupiter, VenuSy Sol and Mercury were also
concerned in the time of the operation. * Jupiter or Pars Fortunce, was to be in
Conjunction, Sextile or Trine to the LORD of the ascendant or second ; and the
better, if any reception happen ; but BEWARE it be not by Square or Opposition ;
for that spoils all.'^ Thus cut it is laid by for use on a heap of wheat or barley ; and
from the rod of Moses was also profanely called the Mosaical rod. This was to be
held by the forks in both hands ; and carried over tlie grounds suspected to contain
the ore. It went unaffected over all the barren spots ; but no sooner did it impend
over a vein, than it pressed strongly down, and seemed to feel the same attraction as
is between iron and the magnet. The sensible Agricola speaks of this practice
incidentally, and gives a long account of the process, but places no kind of faith in
it, assuring us that the skilful miner should follow the natural signs of the mineral
veins, and despise the use of these enchanted sticks. He traces their origin from
imposture."
Mr. Andrew Lang notes in his Essay on the Divining Rod in Custom and Myth
* Hooaon's Miner^s Dictionary, art. " virgula divinatoria."
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that while Bloton, the great water finder of the eighteenth century, declared that the
physical sensations of the searcher oommnnicated themselves to the wand, the African
theory is that the rod is inspired, and that its holder is inflaenced wholly hy the rod.
The African theory is evidently the more ancient and primitive of the two, and is that
indicated by the astrological directions for choosing a rod which are here given. The
ascent of man, not merely to the position of predominant partner, but to that of sole
indispensable agent, is shown not only in Ble ton's case but on the practice of the most
advanced dowsers of onr own day, to most of whom the rod is but a ceremonial
accessory with which they frequently dispense altogether. T. V. H.
The Bicycle and Crime.
In the Pall Mall Magazine for March, 1900, there is an article with the above
title by Professor Lombroso. He remarks that " no modern mechanism has assumed
the extraordinary importance of the bicycle, either as a cause or as an instrument of
crime." Four examples are given of youths, two of them of good family but all with
more or less natural tendency to crime, who resorted to theft, and in one case to
murder, in order to obtain bicycles for their own riding. Then instances are given of
cycles stolen that they might be sold again, and of the facilities afforded by cycles for
the commission of crime. It is, however, admitted on the other hand, that the
bicycle can also be used as an additional means for the suppression of crime, and that
cycling is a healthy exercise, a passion for which is incompatible with the excessive
use of alcohol. And as to health, Prof. Lombroso remarks : — " As a mental specialist
I have seen the gravest forms of neurasthenia and melancholia yield before this
marvellous machine, and I am sure that your great English specialists will bear me out."
Though the article is headed " The Bicycle and Crime," it is obvious that the
remarks on the bicycle as a health restorer form the chief contribution to our
knowledge of bicycle influences. For the desire to possess a bicycle may become a
source of crime, but only as a desire to obtain an umbrella, a watch, or a diamond ring
may become criminal, every object of desire becoming a " cause of crime " in the
proportion of its popular attractiveness. Prof. Lombroso, however, admits that *' the
healthier men are, the better they are ; and in so far as the bicycle makes for health
it indirectly diminishes the causes of crime." The ape-like attitude of the " scorcher "
and his habits generally, can, however, hardly make for health, and it would be
interesting to learn whether the appearance of a hunted pickpocket which the scorcher
presents is often, or not, the outward and visible sign of inward criminal tendencies.
Perhaps this, with the influences of skirts and bloomers on the other sex — who
almost invariably sit upright on their cycles — may be noticed in some future
contribution of the great criminologist to this subject. T. Y. H.
Note on Anthbopometbical Instbuments devised by Pbopbssob Rudolph Martin.
At a meeting of the Anthropological Institute held on December 14, 1899,
Mr. Duckworth exhibited some instruments devised by Professor Hud. Martin
(Honorary Fellow of the Anthropological Institute) of Ziirich. The instruments
consisted of a new stand for carrying skulls, and of a set of anthropometric
instruments for travellers. Of these a full description will be found in the Archiv
fur Anthropologies 1899 (Bericht der III gemeinsamen und XXX allegemeinen Yer-
sammlung in Lindau.)
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314 Aivthrcypological Reviews and Miscellanea,
Note on the Congress of the German and Viennese Anthropological Societies
HELD AT LiNDAU FROM THE 4tH — 7tH OP SEPTEMBER, 1899.
The thirtieth annual Cougress of the German Anthropological Society was
combined with the third Congress of the German and Viennese Anthropolo^cal
Societies, and was held at Lindan on Lake Constance. Many circnmstances combined
to render the selection of this town an exceptionally happy one. For while it is the
frontier town between Bavaria and the Austrian Tyrol, Lindan is situated in a
district, which, as the excellent local museums (especially that at Constance) sliow,
has proved a rich field for archaBologfical research. If additional attractions were
needed, they were amply provided in the form of beautiful lake and mountain
scenery; and lastly visitors had the benefit of the great experience and foresight of
the General Secretary, Professor Banke of Munich, whose able management was
seconded by an energetic local Committee.
It is not intended to gpive anything approaching to a detailed account of the
Congress, of whose proceedings a full report appears in the Correspondeiiz-hldtter of
the German Anthropological Society ; but it may suffice to mention that the general
programme consisted of a series of sessions at which papers were read, and secondly
of a number of excursions to various places of interest in the neighbourhood. After
a preliminary social gathering in the town theatre, the official opening of the Congress
took place on September 4, in the Council Chamber of the Town Hall. The list of
communications was so heavy that it became necessary to hold an additional session.
Though it is impossible to describe or even enumerate all the papers read, special
reference seems to be called for by the valedictory address of the retiring president,
Professor Waldeyer of Berlin, who before giving place to Frei herr Audrian, briefly
reviewed the position of Anthropology as a subject of University teaching. It is
interesting to notice that the University of Munich (Professor Kanke) leads the way
in Germany in this direction. It is to be hoped that Professor Waldeyer 's earnest
appeal for the fuller recognition of the value of the subject will be responded to both
widely and appropriately.
Of the succeeding communications, the most important were those of Professor
Virchow (especially on the progress of Anthropology), of Montelius and Banke (on
Prehistoric Archaeology) and on the physical side, those of Kollmann, Hagen, Martin
and KlaAtsch call for particular mention.
The excursions took the form of a series of visits to local museums where the
evidence of prehistoric inhabitants of the shores of the lake is shown abundantly in
the form of portions of the piles on which their dwellings rested, in addition to a
great variety of objects, pottery, weapons, etc., representing their particular degree of
culture and manner of life. At the termination of the Congress at Lindau a visit was
made to Robenhausen in Switzerland, where Dr. Messikommer, so well known
for his researches on the Lake dwellings of Switzerland, conducted members
of the Congress to a newly discovered lake-dwelling; at about half a mile from
Wetzikou is a flat swampy plain occupying the bottom of a valley, and evidently in
former times the site of what must have been a lake of considerable extent. The
piles were discovered about three feet below the surface of the peaty soil, and on the
occasion of our visit, these blackened trunks of trees were exposed in an excavation
about twenty feet in length by twelve in breadth and half full of peat stained water.
I thus had the opportunity of photographing Professor Virchow and the principal
members of the Congress standing with Dr. Messikommer at the edge of the newly
discovered settlement, and this photograph I am now able to exhibit. After the day
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at Bobenhansen, the remainder of the original programme was carried on at Zurich
and in other parts of Switzerland.
It may be mentioned that the number of members of the Congress amounted to
242, and lastly, that many of his old friends had the opportunity of welcoming
Professor Sir William Turner, when he joined the Congress for an afternoon at
Zurich. W. L. H. Duckworth.
The Athenian Birth Ceremony of Amphidromy.
Thanks to the labours especially of lexicographers and scholiasts we know with
some degree of exactness the ceremonies which were associated with the birth of
Athenian children. The first of these ceremonies, the amphidromy, has been carefully
studied by Salomon Beinach in V Anthropologie (1899, x, p. 663). There has been
misapprehension as to the details of the ceremony by some authors, but Beinach
adopts the view that it consisted in the father running round the family altar in a
nude condition and carrying the new-born infant in his arms. The running and the
nudity of the runner appear to the author to haye no relation to the cult of the
domestic altar, nor to the idea of purification by fire. The new-bom has need of
repose and nurture, hence the couvade ; but he should also become as soon as possible
an active, enduring, and useful member of society. Thus the rite of amphidromy is
performed by a man in the elementary costume of the stadium, who gives an example
and, as it were, impulse to the new-born. A. C. H.
Rude Stone Implements from Gwalior : a Correction.
Mr. F. Swynnerton writes from Simla (29 March, 1900) : ** I notice in the brief
summary of my paper on the Gwalior implements, which appears in the last part of
the Journal of the Institute " (p. 141 of the present volume) " that it is stated that
* the implements * occur in the gravel of the Sourrka River, and throughout the
alluvium on the banks to a height of 20 feet, and are altso found scattered over the
surf 04^ far from the river. ^^ The italics indicate what I consider is not what I conveyed
in my paper, at any rate not what I intended to convey. What I meant to show was
that fiakes and implements are also found on the surface, but differ from those in the
alluvium by being sharp and fresh looking, their age being only indicated by their
time-polish. Those from the alluvium are generally much waterworn and discoloured,
and when they occur among beds of gravel must bo of the same age as the alluvium
itself and therefore very much more ancient than the surface implements, more
especially if the alluvium is of Pleistocene or even Post-Pleistocene age, I trust you
will pardon me for pointing out this difference, for though it is likely enough that
some surface-recent-implements may sink a few inches into the ground, they are not
to be confounded with those found deep in the alluvium."
A Correction.
Mr. G. Clinch writes as follows (14th December, 1899): — "In the newly issued
part of the Jou/mal of the Anthropological Institute (N.S. II, p. 123) I see I am reported
to have expressed my obligation to Professor Rupert Jones for help in the
preparation of the paper I read at the Institute on June 13th last. This is entirely
erroneous and rather unfortunate. As a matter of fact, I had never met Professor
Jones until the evening of my paper. I cannot conceive how the mistake can have
arisen, and I shall be much indebted if you will kindly insert a correction in the
next issue of the Journal. As far as I can understand the error arose from some
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316 Anthropological Reviews aivd Miscellanea,
confasion between Professor Bapert Jones and Mr. G. W. Smith, who first found
the neolithic remains at Mill field, and to whom I did refer with expressions of thanks."
The Editor of the Journal desires to express his sincere regret that snch an error
should inadyertentlj have been made.
The Huxlst Mimobul Statue in the Natural Histobt Museum.
The memorial statue of the late Professor T. H. Huxlej was formally unveiled
on Saturday, April 28th, 1900, by H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, the Honorary President
of the Huxley Memorial Committee, and received by him on behalf of the Trustees
of the British Museum. The ceremony took place in the Great Hall of the Natural
History Museum at South Kensington, where the statue has been placed opposite
that of the professor's fellow worker, the late Sir Richard Owen, and to the right of
the front entrance to the noble hall of the museum.
The proceedings were opened by Professor E. Ray Lankester, who stated that
subscriptions had been received for the Huxley Memorial from every State of Europe,
from India and the Colonies, and from the United States of America, amounting in
all to more than £3,380. These had been devoted to the objects selected by the
Committee, namely, the foundation of a Huxley Medal and the execution of a memorial
statue. Three years ago the Committee commissioned and obtained the execution
of a medal bearing the portrait of Huxley, and had established its presentation as a
distinguished reward in the Royal College of Science. The republication of the
complete series of Huxley's scientific memoirs, which was proposed as one of the
memorials to be carried out by the Committee, have been undertaken by Messrs.
Macmillan, without assistance from the Committee ; and two large volumes of these
richly-illustrated contributions to science have been already published. The
Executive Committee also secured the services of Mr. Onslow Ford, R.A., to execute
the statue, which has been regarded as the chief object of the subscriptions. On the
completion of the statue, the Trustees of the British Museum agreed to receive it and
to place it in the Great Hall of the Natural History Museum.
The memorial statue of Huxley was the expression of the admiration, not only
of the English people, but of the whole civilised world, for one who, as discoverer,
teacher, writer, and man, must be reckoned among the greatest figures in the records
of our age.
Sir Joseph Hookeb was deputed by the subscribers to transfer the statue to his
Royal Highness, on behalf of the Trustees of the British Museum, with the intent
that it should be retained in that noble hall as a companion to the statues of Professor
Huxley's distinguished predecessors, Sir Joseph Banks, Mr. Darwin, and Sir Richard
Owen. Sir Joseph Banks, Mr. Darwin, and Professor Huxley all entered upon
their effective scientific careers by embarking on Yoyages of circumnavigation for the
purpose of discovery and research, under the flag of the Royal Navy. Sir Joseph
Banks and Professor Huxley were both Presidents of the Royal Society, and Trustees
of the British Museum ; and the scientific services of both were so highly estimated
by the Crown and their country, that they both attained to the rare honour of being
called to seats in the Privy Council.
Sir Michael Fosteb, M.P., added that there were many ways in which Huxley
worked for his fellow-men, other than the way of quiet scientific research. The truths
with which he enriched science were made known in his written works ; but that
was a part only of what he did for science. No younger man coming to him for
help and guidance ever went away empty ; and they all came to him — anatomists,
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Anthropological Reviews and Miseellariea. 317
zoologists, geologists, physiologists, botanists, and anthropologists. The biologists of
to-day, not of this conntrj alone, but of the whole world of science, forming, as they
did, a scattered fleeting monument of that great man, all of them were prond at the
unveiling of that visible lasting statue.
The DcTKE OF Devonshire reported that the labours of the Huxley Memorial
Committee were terminated, and that the whole of the subscriptions had been received,
and came, he believed, from every civilised country in the world. But Professor
Huxley's real memorial wa« to be found, not in that statue only, but in his published
writings, and still more in the work which he did in promoting various scientific
achievements.
The PBracB then unveiled the statue, which is of white Carrara marble, and
rests on a pedestal of yellow Verona marble, upon which appears in gilt lettering the
simple inscription : — ^** Thomas Henry Huxley. Bom May 4th, 1825. Died June 29th,
1895." The figure is of heroic proportions, and represents the Professor seated in an
academic chair, and wearing his Doctor's robes. His right hand rests on the side of
the chair, and the left hand is clenched, and this attitude, coupled with the expression
on the face, which is an admirable likeness, is suggestive of the idea that the statue
is meant to represent the Professor as being engaged in some absorbing argument.
The Protection op Ancient Monuments.
A Bill to amend the Ancient Monuments Protection Act of 1882 has been
introduced this session at the instance of the National Trust for Places of Historic
Interest. Under the care of Lord Balcarres and Lord Avebury it has passed through
the House of Commons, and been read a second time and referred to Committee in the
House of Lords.
The object of the Bill is to assimilate the law respecting historic monuments in
Great Britain and in Ireland. Thanks to the amending Act passed in 1892, which
applies to Ireland only, and to a provision (section 19) of the Local Government
(Ireland) Act of last year, in Ireland at this moment either the Commissioners of
Public Works or the County Councils can accept the guardianship of any historic
monument, whereas, in Great Britain, County Councils outside London have no power
with respect to any monument, and the action of Her Majesty's Office of Works under
the Act of 1882 is confined to Megalithio remains. It can hardly be suggested that
the circumstances of Ireland render exceptional legislation on the subject of historic
monuments necessary.
The Irish Board of Works has done most excellent service in the preservation of
ancient monuments, and it is to be hoped that both the central and the local authorities
in England will make an equally good one of the powers now entrusted to them.
H. B.
SoiiNCE et Foi. L'ANTHBO?OLoaiR BT LA SciENOE SocuLE. Par Paul Topinard.
Paris: Masson, 1900. 8vo,pp. x, 578. (Presented by the Author.)
Science and Faith ; or^ Man as an Animal, and Man as a Member of Society, with a
Discussion on Animal Societies, By Dr. Paul Topinard. Translated from the
Author's Manuscript by Thomas J. McCormack. 8vo, pp. 600. Chicago, The
Open Court Publishing Company ; London, Kegan Paul, 1899.
From the leading, and, it must be added, misleading, title of this most informing
and suggestive book, the reader might be led to suppose that it was one of those
numerous essays which aim either at the reconciliation of science and religion, or else
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318 AnthropolorficaJ Beviews and Miscellanea,
at showing that the problem is inBolable, like those concerned with the squaring of
the circle or the flattening of the earth. Bnt its purport is far different, and the
nnfortanate title wonid appear to be dae to the fact that the work is the response of
one of the most eminent living anthropologists to an invitation issued in 1895 by the
editors of The Monist to a number of leading European and American thinkers to
discuss, from their several standpoints, the main problems of the philosophy of
science and of the reconciliation of science and faith. In a somewhat characteristic
way the author disposes of the " faith " element by leaving it severely alone, dismissing
it with a few words at the end of the volume, to the effect that science and faith are
mutually destructive, that the one is knowledge, the other belief, that those who seek to
establish a harmony between them " only shatter the latter," because " a faith •which
is examined and shown to bo in accord with facts ceases to be faith."
Even the long sub-title indicates but awkwardly the essential object of the
work, which still aims at a " reconciliation," but a reconciliation between man as an
animal and man as a social being, due regard being taken of the accepted principles
of organic evolution. Thus come again under consideration the di£Bcult questions
raised by Mr. Herbert Spencer in his Data of Ethics, by Huxley in Evolution and
Ethics f by Max Nordau, Dr. Paul Carus, Yves Guyot and others on the conflicting
interests, rights and duties of the individual and society, involving a certain
antagonism between the laws of the cosmic evolution itself. In his preface
to the English edition, Mr. McCorraack aptly remarks that while the book is
essentially a contribution to sociology, it has the rare merit of being written by an
original inquirer of the first rank in a branch of science which itself constitutes the
groundwork of sociology, and that its conclusions flow from a direct and creative
contact with the facts, and not from derivative and secondary theories about those
facts. Hence, however little we may feel disposed to agree with many of the
inferences, and some are certainly startling, we feel that we are in the hands of a
competent seeker after truth, an investigator whose utterances claim all the more
respect that even when apparently paradoxical they are still illuminating and always
instructive.
This is especially true of the highly original analysis of the ego, which is from
first to last animalistic, subjective, self-seeking, " ego-centric," the disturbing element
in the social system. Then in the course of its normal evolution it acquires higher
qualities of a moral order, which become fixed and accumulative by heredity, and to
these are added others of a more personal nature, earned, so to say, by each and all
for themselves. Thus are evolved the three egos — animal (** egoism incarnate ") ;
ancestral (bequeathed as " predispositions ") ; and individual (the results of personal
experience, early training, association and the like) — on which Dr. Topinard greatly
insists, and in which he finds salvation. The first, though powerf nl, lies dormant ;
its interference is not obligatory, but optional, acting wheu its attention is sufficiently
aroused, and when it is determined to have full sway. The two other egos, on the
contrary, " enter into action mechanically." Combined " they constitute the semi-
unconscious ego which answers spontaneously to the demand of the individual when
the real or perfectly conscious ego is not moved to intervene. The conduct of man,
neglecting the purely medullary reflexes, is the outcome now of the one and now of
the other. The conscious ego is the author of reasoned and directly willed acts, the
unconscious ego is the source of instinctive and more or less spontaneous acts which
are termed impulses."
It was due to Dr. Topinard to let him speak here for himself, and the reader will
notice how he glides from the three primary to two secondary egos (the " conscious "
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and " nnconscious " of the schoolmen), and how all are treated almost as separate
entities, acting mechanically, spontaneonsly or even independently under varying
conditions. Bat it will he ohjected that all are now merged in one, and that the
individual, in the old sense of the word, is an irreducible unit, with nothing more
than varying and distinguishing tendencies. But the outcome is the same, and all
will readily assent to the general inference that the animal ego, the tendencies, the
impulses, are capable of control, or direction, so as to bring them into due sub-
ordination to the higher (reasoning) faculties.
Here enters the role of society, of the state, which is society personified, and as
such assumes the educational and other functions needed for the well-being both of
the whole and of its individual constituents. Thus arise the different current views
regarding the duties of society towards the members of the community — communism,
collectivism, opportunism on the one hand, laisser jaire^ Mr. Herbert Spencer's
individualism on the other. Here the author is full of compromises and apparent
contradictions. Except in abnormal cases (idiots, cripples, etc.) non-interference is
loudly proclaimed, and after fair play is established, as in duelling, " the rest is left to
the valour and skill of the combatants " in the social struggle. Hence free trade,
competition between capital and labour and between capitalists themselves, and so
forth, because of " the impossibility of reconciling everything. Whatever may be
the solution, justice is wrecked on the one side or on the other.'* A middle course,
that is, a compromise, is proposed, as the only escape, and despite his repugnance to
non-interference, the author goes the length of advocating the reversion of
" bequeathable property to the state," and thus ** enable the state to abolish all taxes
which now press so heavily on the labour of man in society." The obvious objections
to such interference with personal rights, primogeniture, etc., are not touched upon,
and in general it may be said that the book is rather overcrowded. So many grave
social, political and economic topics are dealt with that justice is done to few, and
whether it be due to faulty translation or to over-condensation, there is certainly a
lack of clearness in the treatment of several important subjects.
One point, however, is clear enough. Dr. Topinard is hopeful for the future of
human societies, and while agreeing with Mr. Herbert Spencer on the necessity of
developing altruism and certain hereditary habits, he rejects the profound pessimistic
note struck by that great thinker towards the close of his monumental work.
Spencer ends in pessimism because he rejects intervention while holding that
individualism must result in failure. Topinard is an optimist because he thinks the
inherited moral qualities, if properly controlled and directed by society, will suffice to
realise a happy future for man. " We find that there is no choice : either we have to
abandon ourselves to the laisser faire^ which is nothing but the cosmic process itself
and can only lead to anarchy and the rule of the strongest ; or we must, by
taking our stand on the nature of man, direct the ethical process." In this way
alone can the primeval ego-centric be replaced by future altruistic, socio-centric,
tendencies.
The foregoing remarks apply exclusively to the English edition, which, as stated
on the title page, is a translation of the author's original manuscript, and in fact was
issued about a year before the appearance of the French volume. It should now be
stated that in this volume the original manuscript has been subjected to so many
additions, suppressions and changes in the surviving text, that the French edition
must be regarded as practically a new work. It is nearlj^ double the size of the
English book, of which M. Topinard tells us that it is *'a revised and considerably
^nlar^ed French re-edition, the fourth part especially being entirely recast/' with a
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new sub- title (L^Anthropologie et la Science Sociale), " whioh answers better to the
contents."
It is this fourth part which will now probably attract most attention, and be
most severely handled by the critics. In it the ethic process, regarded as a corrective
of the cosmic process, is applied, not merely to the individual as a member of society,
but to societies themselves taken as ethical units in their inter-relations one with
another. A wide scope, still within the legitimate province of anthropology, is here
given for the treatment of such international questions as war and peace, free trade
and protection, universal suffrage, all the higher functions of the state, diplomacy, and
so forth, all studied from the fundamental standpoints of egoism and altruism. The
same principles which regulate the conduct of the animal ego, as a social being, are
also applicable to communities taken, let us say, as so many individual members of
the cosmopolitan body politic. M. Topinard does not put it quite in this way, but that
is what it comes to, and he accordingly devotes a special chapter to nations grouped,
like the ego, in two categories — " Nations ^goistes et nations altruistes." Here of
course is an ample field for the play of national sentiment or prejudice, which some-
times runs so strong as to warp the judgment even of the most eminent thinkers.
That our author has not escaped from the sabtle influences of this feeling is obvions
enough, not so much because he groups England amongst the '* nations 6goistes," as
because he supports his views by what must be called a reckless disregard of historic
truth. For the moment, of course, he entirely overlooks the altruistic tendencies of
the English people in recent times, as shown in their many philanthropic movements,
their attitude towards slavery and the slave trade, their societies for the protection of
the aborigines, of women and children, and even of dumb beasts, their advocacy of
free trade principles tending more than aaght else to a universal comity of peoples,
and so on. But he goes much further than this mtppressio veri, and tells us that their
very philosophy, arts and science ai*e all alike limited by utilitarian bias, and that in
England ^* ethnography for instance is cultivated because it leads to a knowledge of
the natives, and thus prepares the means of turning them to account" (p. 641). We
are, in fact, asked by M. Topinard to believe that his illustrious fellow- workers in this
field — the Pitt Rivers, Lubbocks, Tylors, Prichards, Lathams, Evanses and a host of
others past and present — have given their lives and often their treasure to the study
of the peoples of the earth, in oi'der to enable British capitalists to exploit them to
their own advantage. Such an unworthy imputation could not be allowed by our
Institute to go unchallenged, especially when made by one of its most distinguished
Honorary Members. A. H. Keake.
Mission eh Cappadocb 189^1894. Par Ernest Chantre. Paris : Leroux, 1898.
M. Chantre, the author of this book, is well-known for his researches, archaao-
logical and anthropological, in the Caucasus, Armenia, and elsewhere. Those who
are familiar with his five quarto volumes on the Caucasus will be prepared for the
lavish exterior of the present work. It was a happy thought to send an anthropologist
rather than a classical antiquarian upon this mission, and it was perhaps also a happy
instinct which determined M. Chantre to adopt a novel method of exploration. Few
countries have been submitted to so careful a surface study as Asia Minor ; in no
country has excavation been so slight. Accordingly, M. Chantre devoted himself to a
series of small tentative excavations, seven or eight in all, upon the "Eayuks"or
** Tells " (artificial mounds) which are so common in this country, i.e., instead of a
single exhaustive undertaking, on the scale of those to which we are accastomed in
other classical lands, he has been content to carry the roving surface exploration of his
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predecessors a few feet beneath the gronnd. The results of these tentative borings are
presented in a nnmber of splendid illustrations, and they are in themselves sufficiently
valuable to justify the wisdom of the author in pursuing a method, which could hardly
be commended in other places, though the future alone can decide whether he has
really skimmed the cream or whether the best has sunk yet deeper.
This book embodies the results of two expeditions ; in each M. Chantre wisely
confined himself to a single province, the district which in pre-Gtilatian times was
known as Kappadokia, the seat, according to Herodotus, of the White Syrians, the
cradle, according to some, of the Hittites. Among the latter writers we must number
M. Chantre. The book is appropriately dedicated to M. Perrot, and the theory round
which the author groups his discoveries is the theory of the " Histoire de TArt."
The Hittite hypothesis is described as " la plus accr^dit^e et celle qui est g^neralement
admise actuellement " : almost at the same time as this book was published, an anthro-
pologist not less distinguished for bis researches in the same area, I mean Dr. von
Luschan, felt obliged to apologise for describing an ancient bow as Hittite — " da aber
das ' Modevolk ' der Hethiter jetzt so arg in Misscredit gekommen ist." Indeed, the
Hittites have probably received less than their rights of late, but of all this M. Chantre
gives no hint. On the other hand, his book has all the merits of the work of the
Hittologists ; he treats his subject with the same genial breadth, regarding nothing as
common or unclean, approaching the question from every side. And so even
sceptics will find a brilliant light thrown upon the early material culture of
Kappadokia, for M. Chantre is not only a fortunate discoverer and a patient observer,
but also, as it seems to me, deals very justly and truly with the more important
racial and archadological questions at issue in this sphere.
E!appadokia is happily situated between the great salt desert, which fills the
centre of Asia Minor, and the more barren mountains of Armenia. It is well watered
by the Halys and other rivers, and was famous especially for its horses and its wine.
These products and its geographical position brought it into early contact with
the great empires of the East, and created a prosperity which has left abiding
monuments. Before M. Chantre's expedition we possessed photographs of the early
sculptures of the land, several cylinders and seals belonging to the same circle, a few
small figurines and plans of two or three important sites, practically nothing more. M.
Chantre has discovered several new sites, he has brought back a g^eat deal of pottery,
many new seals, figurines, inscriptions, and such a full description of the general
appearance of the land, that we are almost able to attempt a distinct valuation of early
Kappadokdan culture. Pre-Hellenic antiquities here fall into two main divisions.
First, there are several traces of the polished stone age, none at present of anything
earlier ; the form of the axeheads and knives and the material, jade, diorite, obsidian,
etc., point immediately to Syria, Armenia, and the Caucasus and thence further East.
Only one settlement has been as yet found, but the various places from which M.
Chantre obtained axeheads, etc., show how much must still lie buried, some of it in
caves perhaps, beneath the rich civilisations which succeeded this. To the first of
these later cultures, connected by M. Chantre, as by other savants, English, French,
and Italian, with the Hittites of Syria, the bulk of this volume is devoted, and we need
not apologise for passing over other periods in a summary fashion. In this " Hittite "
civilisation we can already distinguish different epochs, but for the present we may
follow our author in treating it roughly as a single whole, and ask to what centuries
it is to be referred. Here I must differ from M. Chantre. He is tempted by Hittite
theories to carry it back to the fifteenth century b.o. at least, i.e., to the Tel-el-
Amarna age in Syria and Egypt and the Mykenesan age in Greece, but although some
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of his finds may belong to this period, and the " neolithic ** remains obTionsIy belong
to a much earlier one, the flower of this Kappadokian culture seems to me to fall
rather within the centuries 1100-600 B.C. In the first place, we are definitely in the
age of iron (p. 67). Secondly, with these remains fibnlas have been found, which we
know of at Sendjirli and Ivriz only after Assyrian influence had become powerful.
Next, the pottery and the sculpture, though Chantro loosely calls the former
Mykensdan, appear to be synchronous rather with the sub-MykenaBan and first Graaco-
Phoenician art of Cyprus and the sub-Assyrian Chaldic or Vanuic art of Armenia.
And, lastly, we know that Pterion (Boghazkieui) was a great centre in the time of
Croesus (550 B.C.) and must therefore have been a flourishing town with extensive
buildings; how then are these "Hittite" remains, which Chantre assigns to the
fifteenth century or earlier, still left not a foot beneath the surface P Arguments from
accumulation are often fallacious, but I do not see how this particular fact can be
explained, unless we refuse to identify Boghazkieui with Ptenon, which few are
inclined to do. To the evidence of the new inscriptions I will recur later. With
this one criticism I turn to the great positive results of the mission.
M. Chantre traversed two important roads running from north to south and one
or two minor cross-roads : upon all of these he found extensive traces of the same
civilisation, and I have by me evidence, at present unpublished, of yet additional sites.
We have to deal therefore with a culture spread over the whole land, its different
centres connected by a regular network of communication, not as was once supposed
following two great military roads. A site of this period now consists of a series of
large mounds, grouped more or less systematically, but often at a considerable distance
fi-om one another and generally in the neighbourhood of a river. At Dedik there are
no less than seven of these mounds all belonging to the same circle : M. Chantre
suggests that they may represent military stations or simply a group of villages;
tumuli^ they certainly are not. In some cases I venture to suggest they may have
arisen out of the Orientars love of building : every petty monarch must build, even
if he could not finish, a new palace for himself on a different site from that of his
predecessor, and so a number of mounds are created in the same area, while the
common people are throughout living for the most part in a single region near, flying
only from their mud and wood houses to the royal citadel in times of danger. For
the style of building we must turn to M. Chantre's accounts of Euynk and
Boghazkieui. The citadels were defended in the Oriental fashion by wall within
wall, entanglement after entanglement (compare Sendjirli) and the construction is
eastern also, sun-dried bricks upon a course or two of large stones. The plans of
Kappadokian palaces are chiefly remarkable, because they show no trace at present
of the most characteristic of all Syrian Hittite buildings, the " Hilani."
Our knowledge of the life which once stirred in these citadels is based upon the
sculpture and smaller works of industry which have still survived. To the sculpture
this mission has added nothing of the first importance ; far otherwise is it with the
pottery, the figurines in bronze and terra cotta, the cylinders, etc. The art of the
figurines is, as Chantre says, neither Assyrian nor Qreek : so far it may be regarded
as individual, though there are distinct Chaldeaan and Egyptian echoes in it, much like
the faint reminiscences of classical art which snrvivo in our barbaric Norman. But
Kappadokian art is in character quite infantile : its products very seldom rise above
» A certain tumulus, however, was opened at Schar-Komana (p. 142) with interior
buildings, like those in Lydia, Karia and elsewhere. Those in Lydia have been fancifully
connected by Professor KOrte with Phrygian influence, but for this there is no suflicient
evidence, as we cannot take the Phrygian to Karia or to Komana.
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the rank of antiquarian curiosities. Animals are better treated than men, bat thej do
not compare with Assyrian works. The haman figures are realistic and extremely
ugly : the " Armenoid " type which they present being characterised by a huge nose,
a high but receding forehead and no chin, hage ears magnified by heavy ear-rings.
The pottery is equally rude and resembles Mexican or Peravian ware quite as much
as the MykensBan to which M. Ghantre compares it. Tt differs from the most
primitive Cypriot and Rhodian painted ware chiefly in the greater use of free spaces
and in the colours — red, white, and black being all applied in thick coj^ts : so far as
they can be held to point to any external region, both these characteristics seem to me
to point to the earliest post-MykenaBan art of Cyprus. Long spouted jugs and huge
pithoi, presumably to contain the famous wiue of the country, are the commonest
forms.
In truth, however, the importance of Kappadokia is not to be estimated by its
achievement in the spheres of art or crafts. The genius of the ancient Kappadokians,
as of their descendants the modem Armenians, was pre-eminently mercantile. This
is clearly shown by the cuneiform inscriptions which M. Ghantre has brought back.
These fall into two groups, those from Boghazkieui (Pterion) discovered first by the
keen eyes of Madame Ghantre who accompanied her husband, and those from Kara
Euyuk which the writer identifies with great probability as the earliest site of
GaBsarea-Mazaka. The tablets from Boghazkieui, published by M. Alfred Boissier,
another member of the mission, are mostly in an unknown tongue, presumably
" Hittite " ; the few decipherable are in Semitic Assyrian (Sayce), one contains a list
of towns, the others appear to be charms, and not much is to be made out of them.
" Le plus sage est de rien specifier," writes P^re Scheil, and M. Boissier's arguments
for a very early date do not carry conviction. The inscriptions from Kara Euyuk are,
like those from Pterion, disappointing in themselves to those who hoped to read ofE the
annals of forgotten monarchs, but they have an importance of their own. For a long
time specialists have known of a peculiar type of cuneiform writing, and Mr. Pinches
nearly twenty years ago pointed to Kappadokia as the probable provenance of these
tablets : this conjecture has now been confirmed and the actual site, from which the
majority come, certainly identified. Those which have been deciphered consist mostly
of contracts, loans of money (shekels and minaa) with the interest specified, dealings
in clothes, lead, etc., the records clearly of a commercial community. The weights
and the script point to the East, but we surely need not drag in the name of Sargon
of Agade (3800 B.C.) to explain this : we have here a new manifestation of that
commercial enterprise which planted Phoenician colonies over three continents, which
subsequently in the early middle ages, carried Persian and Arabian merchandise across
the steppes of Russia, and which at this day drives Jews and Armenians even across
the Atlantic. The great conquerors, Sargon possibly among them, did but follow and
consolidate from tinlb to time a trade which existed long before and long after them :
we must not press the military side into undue prominence. But is it not a striking
thing to find a clumsy pictographic system arising in a land so long familiar with
wedge- writing P We might account for it, if we assumed that the traders who used
the latter were aliens, living perhaps in Ghettos like the Jews in Mediaeval Europe,
but we must wait for more evidence. Besides the cuneiform tablets M. Ghantre
discovered some new Phrygian inscriptions at Pterion. M. de Saussure comments
npon these very judiciously : now that we know that Phrygian of some form or
another was spoken right across the northern half of Asia Minor, the much debated
Thracian " dogma " becomes a matter of secondary importance. The Aryan- Armenian
and Phrygian invaders came from the north of the Black Sea, and it does not matter
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324 Anfhropologieal Reviews and Miscellanea.
BO much whether they entered the land from the east or the west; some entered
probably from each side.
Upon the religions or political organisation of Kappadokia at this period M.
Ghantre*8 researches have thrown no fresh light. The old Hittite theory of a single
great empire does not receive any fresh confirmation, and some of the details by which
it was supported are losing their probability. At the same time it appears more
likely that the old inhabitants of Pterion were actually called Hittites, and belonged
no doubt to the great Armenoid stock. I shonld be personally inclined to regard the
organisation as consisting rather of a number of petty kingdoms or khanates : now
one, now another, might exercise a comparatively wide suzerainty, the extent of
which another more perfect list of towns will enable ns to gauge. Gradually these
principalities were first mediatized and then absorbed by the great Eastern Empires,
Assyrian, Mede, and Persian, and upon their sites a series of priestdoms arose, until
these were finally changed into municipalities by the Romans. We should thus have
a history parallel to that of the Jews. The full publication of the results of Messrs.
Lehmann and Belck's explorations in Armenia will probably elucidate many of these
problems. For the present we must accept as the chief datum of M. Ghantre*s mission
the commercial basis, with its eastward index, on which this early culture was
founded.
M. Ghantre also publishes some later monuments and a few inscriptions of the
Roman and Byzantine period: further sundry geological, zoological, and botanical
notes, the latter especially full, will also be found.
The book is written in the agreeable style which we expect from a French
savant, and with an amiable freedom from all bitterness and personal recrimination
which is beyond praise. J. W. Growpoot.
Antbopometbia. By Budolfo Livi. Milan : Ulrico Hcepli, 1900. Sm. 8vo, pp. 238,
with diagrams. Price 2.50 lire. (Presented by the Author.)
Antropometria, by Dr. Livi, is a small volume of 201 pages, dealing with the
present state of the science and art of Anthropometry (of which Dr. Livi has shown
himself so thorough a master in the two bulky volumes, entitled Antropometrta MUitare^
which have made his name a familiar one in the literature of anthropology). In the
smaller work now under consideration, the subject is presented under the three
headings of, I. Methods ; II. Gertain Anthropometric Rules ; III. Anthropometrio
Identification; and finally an Appendix will be found to contain useful tables of
cephalic and other indices. The following notes will give some idea of the treatment
adopted in the consideration of the several methods : — the varieties of measurements
are at first treated of under the headings of linear, cubic, and other measures, the
various linear dimensions are then reviewed in detail, and the modifying factors,
such as the relation between the total height of the intervertebral discs and the stature
are indicated; measurements of the limbs, the trunk (sitting height), and the span are
then considered, and two methods for measuring the head are discussed ; one whereby
the measurement is of the nature of a projection, whereas in the other case the absolute
maximum is recorded. The dimensions of the nose, and the circumference of the
thorax and the abdomen, form the subjects of the ensuing discussions, and this section
teiminates with instructions for the determination of certain physiological factors, d.^.,
of weight, of grip, and of the cubic capacity of the thorax.
In the next place comes the treatment of results and the formation of indices ;
two classes of index are mentioned, consisting of (a) indices of the relations of two
homologous quantities, e.g., two linear dimensions of a body, and (6) indices wherein
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Anthropological Heviews and Miscdlanea. 325
quantitiea which are not strictly homologous, e.g., weight and stature, are compared.
Descriptive notes on methods of recording the colour and other characters of skin,
hair, and eyes, and the shape of the nose constitute the next section of this part of
the work.
On page 56 commences a further discussion of the treatment of observations, and
in this place the statistical method is fully explained. After the advantages and the
fallibility of the study of the simple average obtained from a series of observations
has been discussed, the method of seriation is described, and the character and
properties of the binomial curve enumerated. Such a curve, remarks the author, was
furnished by observations on stature in the department of Emilia. This result being,
however, comparatively rare, the various influences to which irregularities in the
form of the curve may be ascribed, are then discussed. We may here note that the
chief of these appear to the author to be (a) paucity of data, and (h) an inexactness
in measurement, which is sometimes practically unavoidable, depending as it does on
the selection which must be exercised by the observer when a measurement actually
lies between two divisions on the scale. The value of the form of the curve, as
indicative of the character of a population, forms the next subject of discussion, and
herein some important sources of error are demoustrated, the particular example selected
being again the stature in certain parts of Italy, the investigation being directed to
testing the value of the curve as indicative of the presence of two types in a popula-
tion, and the conclusion arrived at amounting to a demonstration that a certain minimal
difference (in the case of stature equal to 12 cm.) must exist between the two mean
dimensionSj'.before such a curve can give evidence of the existence of the two types side
by side. Moreover, the fallacy underlying the results published by Bertillon on this
subject in reference to the population of the department of the Doubs, is exposed in the
succeeding section (p. 85) . We have not space for more than a reference to methods
for facilitating the calculation of averages from long series, on the number of examples
considered desirable in order to firmly establish generalisations from observations in
detail, and for the graphic representation of results.
Part II gives an insight into the results of such work as is suggested in the
foregoing pages : we find, accordingly, generalisations (which follow from the study
of individuals) in the form of laws which regulate the rate of growth in stature and in
thoracic circumference. A short section deals with the artistic canons of proportion in
comparison with the anthropological canon, and we are given some interesting results
on the nature of the distribution of the colour of hair and eyes, according to age,
physical constitution and locality. In this section, too, will be found some interesting
data as to the relation between stature and weight.
Part III deals with anthropometric identification on the principles ordinarily
associated with the name of Bertillon, of whose method a resume is given ; there will thus
be found paragraphs dealing with the necessary measurements, and the precautions to
be taken in ensuring accuracy in obtaining them. The form of the ear and the
recording of scars or other marks are discussed, and a form of stenography specially
adapted to these purposes is indicated. (Such a stenographic method is in constant
use under Dr. Garson in our own country.)
Finally, as we have already said, a long table of indices will be found appended
to the descriptive part of this work.
We think Dr. Livi is to be congratulated on having successfully condensed the
subject of anthropometry into the limits of a pocket book, and we believe that this
volume will prove of very great use to practical students of that subject in all
countries. We notice that there is evidence that the lack of consistency in the system of
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326 Anthropological Hevinos and Miscellanea,
raeasnrements adopted in difiPerent coantries, has cansed mnch nnnecessary difficulty in
comparing results in time past (we refer especially to the adherence to measurement bj
feet and inches as contrasted with the metric system), and we hope that this state of
affairs will soon be at an end. There is a slight lack of definiteness in describing one or
two measurements, and in particular we are not certain as to the particular thoracic
circumference (i.6., in relation to the respiratory phases) which should be recorded. Bat
beyond this, there can only be approval of what appears te us te be a thoroughly
sound work. W. L. H. D.
Statistical Mbthods : With Special Reference to Biological Varution. By
C. B. Davenport, Ph.D. New York, John Wiley and Sons. Small 870, pp. 148.
(Presented by the Publisher.)
Dr. Davenport's work is designed with a view to furthering the statistical study
of the data obtained from biological observations of whatever kind. The first part of
the book deals with the usaal methods of recording results and with the most appro-
priate forms of illustration. In the section which deals with the records of tho
dimensions of plane figures, we notice the adoption of a number of terms used origin-
ally by botanists as descriptive of the shapes of leaves ; these terms are believed to be
much more generally applicable, and there is appended to them a list of indices
formed similarly te the better known cranial indices (and like these expressive of
the relation between two diameters of the object), but remarkable for the lack of
grace which characterises their distinctive names, though it must be admitted that
compensation is made by the consistency of the proposed nomenclature (c.jr..
Index of Truncatedness, Index of Betuseness, ete.).
In the second chapter, instruction is given in the methods of seriation and in the
graphic representation of results in the form of a ** frequency polygon." A classifi-
cation of curves is provided in the next chapter, and instructions are laid down for
referring the constructed curve to its proper class. Chapter lY deals with correlation
in variability ; a method for determining the degree of correlation of two characters
(as denoted by the value of the " coefficient of correlation ") is described, and the
application of this to the study of heredity is indicated.
Further applications of the preceding methods te the elucidation of other
biological problems are suggested in Chapter Y, and the work ends with a number of
tables (logarithmic, ete.) for purposes of reference.
While not originally designed for special application to anthropological studies,
it is becoming evident that the use of elaborate statistical methods will become more
general in that science than has hitherte (with certain notable exceptions, e.gr., in the
work of Galten, Stieda, et alii) been the case. There exists, however, the difficulty
that the adequate treatment of results by the means indicated in Statistical Methods
presupposes a degree of mathematical proficiency which is hardly attained to
by the average student of biology at the present time ; so that these methods of dealing
with data are likely to possess lighter claims on the interest of the student than the
work of observing and recording. W. L. H. D.
Occasional Papers or the Berkicb Pauahi Bishop Museum of Polynesian
Ethnology and Natural History. Vol. I, No. 1, Director's Beport. Honolulu,
1898. 72 pp.
In these pages Professor Brigham gives an account of a tour of inspection among
the Ethnographical and Natural History Museums of the Continent, the United States
and Australia, in the year 1896. His chief objects were to discover what material
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Anthropological Beviews and Miscellanea. 327
from the Paoifio Islands is preserved in the various cities he visited, and how this
material was exhibited. A large proportion of the book is thus taken up with the
enumeration of specimens, and this part need not here detain us. Special interest
attaches to the criticisms which Professor Brigham has to make of the different
establishments which he passes in review. Of the European Museums, that at Berlin
naturally receives the highest praise, both for its extent and for its educational value ;
the Australian Museums are also deservedly commended. In speaking of our own
national collections in London the writer is not unnaturally severe: one long gallery in
a gloomy building subject to a London atmosphere is indeed inadequate to the needs
of a maritime nation. " It is unfortunate for ethnology " says Professor Brigham
" that so rich a nation as England should not find the means to build a palace worthy
of the treasures her explorers have brought home, which are now laid aside for want
of room in a museum where ethnology is of very secondary importance." A word of
praise is given both to the Pitt-Rivers Museum at Oxford and the Fijian Collections
at Cambridge, but the author laments the scattering of the material in different
centres which enhances the difficulties of students. Professor Brigham returned
from his voyage convinced that American Museums are better installed than any
others, the American Museum of Natural History at New York being almost beyond
competition. He shows a legitimate pride in the arrangements and scientific
advantages of his own museum, which was visited two years ago by a Fellow of the
Institute and found to be all that its Director claims for it, and more. One cannot
fail to be profoundly impressed by the energy and the resource which has produced
such great results in the far Pacific. The American people ore showing an interest in
ethnology which is making even the G-ermans look to their laurels, and which should
make us doubly deplore the apathy and indifference which still reigns in the British
Islands. The report contains a number of interesting reproductions of ethnographical
specimens, and views of the Bishop Museum, and the Museums of Berlin and Vienna.
0. M. D.
The Oneida Community. A Record of an attempt to carry out the principles of
Christian Unselfishness and Scientific Race-Improvement. By Allan Estlake.
Member of the Oneida Community. London : George Redway, 1900.
In most cases our knowledge of the history of Societies like those of the
Mormons, the Shakers, or the Oneida Community is derived from writers like the
late Hepworth Dixon, whose "New America," though written in a spirit so
sympathetic as to bring forth some playful remarks thereon from Matthew Arnold
in " Anarchy and Culture,*' was yet the work of an outsider. In this instance the
author is a man convinced that the Oneida experiment is ** the most valuable
enterprise which has ever been undertaken since the foundation of Christianity,"
and that of the messengers of Christ John H. Noyes was the most important and
central.
As a narrative this book is somewhat wanting in arrangement. Its interest lies
in its presentation of the doctrines and practices of the Oneida Community from a
staunch believer's point of view. The founder, John H. Noyes, originated the sect of
Perfectionists, or Bible Communists, at Putney in Vermont in the year 1838.
Leaving Putney in 1847, about 50 men of the sect, with as many women and children,
settled at Oneida Creek. For thirty years the Community prospered in its new home.
Then, in 1879, in deference to the public opinion of the people around them, they, on
the advice of their founder, abandoned their communistic marriage system. In 1880
their communistic ownership of property was also given up, and Mr. Estlake tells us
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that '' the joint stock companj (Oneida Commanity, Limited) which has sacceeded to
the businesses of the Oneida Commnnitj, is still in existence and prospering greatly."
We learn that in abandoning the practice of what outsiders called '^ free-love,"
but the Community " complex marriage/' Mr. Noyes proposed a return " not to the
principle but to the practice of monogamic marriage." Our author remarks that
Noyes felt that *^if a man cannot love a woman and be happy in seeing her loved by
others, he is a selfish man, and his place is with the potsherds of the earth. There is
no place for such in the Kingdom of Heaven." The departure from monogamy had
been intended as a " dividing line between selfishness and unselfishness," not as an
indulgence in licentious freedom. But we learn that many persons " knew so little
about themselves, that while their great anxiety had been lest their wives sboald be
unable to adapt themselves to the new relations, it turned out that they were
themselves the first to become jealous and dissatisfied with the circumstances they
had pleaded so hard and so long to get into." Then the extraordinary development
of Criticism as a leading institution of the Community may have largely contributed
to a backsliding towards monogamy. Our author remarks that only a man very
earnestly desiring to improve his character welcomes criticism, and adds that
" Criticism revealed all secrets, so that nobody was tormented with a skeleton in the
closet ; even lover's secrets that are usually considered too private for the light were
freely considered in criticisms if they contained anything that shunned the light of
truth .... Many well-meaning people, with the utmost consideration for
others and the best of intentions, who through ignorance or innate obtuseness were
unable to adapt their ways to the sensibilities of otheri, learned through criticism,
much to their surprise and gratification, what they could not have acquired in any
other way."
Thus it happened that " Many were ready to give up everything but the petty
authority that they had been accustomed to exercise in their family circles ; one may
have been I'eady to have an enlargement of affectionai happiness himself but could
not concede the same freedom to other members of his family. Another could not
cease to be the little autocrat and listen to his wife while, with others, she joined in
criticising him."
Tobacco was tabooed in the Community in any form. Women did not like it as
the " flavour of tobacco in any form was not conducive to the magnetism of a kiss."
The alternative, that women also should smoke, was regarded as *' not to be tolei-ated."
Thus it becomes obvious that to many male members of the Community a return to
monogamy would seem to have its compensation. For, as our author remarks (p. 42),
" Criticism, which was the bulwark against the influx of selfishness, would
become unavailable with the introduction of worldly marriage, for the wife would no
longer feel free to criticise her husband publicly, nor would she tolerate his being
criticised by others. The difficulties of the changed conditions may be enlarged upon
almost indefinitely ; suffice it to say that criticism must die when worldly marriage
begins, and that it ceased under the changed conditions of the Oneida Community."
We do not gather from Mr. Est lake that the women of the Community were
prominent in opposing the change from " complex marriage " to monogamy, though
the first-named state " constituted each male member of the family husband of all the
females, and each female the wife of every man," and women were permitted, and
almost expected, to take the initiative in love-making. We have the following
attractive picture of the complex man*iage period : —
" Where women were left free to accept or decline approaches from men, life
became a state of continuous courtship, both seeking to attract each other by
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commending themselves to tlie highest ideal of the other by loyalty to truth and to
community principles " (p. 90).
Possibly, however, the women who more or less appreciated the above state of
things when the Community was founded, felt, twenty to thirty years later, that more
was to be said for monogamy than they had once thought possible. It would seem
indeed probable — to an outsidei* — that, as a rule, the privileges of complex marriage
would be more appreciated by the elderly men than by the elderly women, where they
were not a matter of indifference or of aversion to both.
Mr. Estlake thinks that the history of the Oneida Community will one day be
studied '^ as a handbook and guide to communism, and the pages of history will
portray John H. Noyes as a prophet of the new dispensation.** No communistic
scheme can succeed, he remarks, in which selfishness in any form appears, and he
adds that : — ** The sexual relationship of communists being pregnant with influences
that are antagonistic to the first principle of communism, it should be one of the first
subjects to be most carefully canvassed and satisfactorily disposed of before attempting
to launch a socialistic enterprise." Those who do not " fearlessly follow the sexual
problem to its logical solution deceive themselves and their followers while seeking to
form a community with communism left out."
In short, this book is of unquestionable interest to anthropologists as the honest
account of a thorough believer in the soundness of the principles on which the
Onoida Commxmity was originally based. This gives it a value of a somewhat rare
kind, and one which the work oi a much abler outsider oould not possess.
T. V. H.
The Botal Public Library of Malta : a brochure by Dr. A. A. Caruana. Printed
by authority of H.B. the Governor. Fcp. 15 pp., price Zd. Malta Government
Printing Office, 1898. (Presented by the Author.)
This is a brief account of the historic buildings and collections of the Royal
Public Library of Malta, which was founded in 1555, and continuously developed
under the administration of the Order of St. John. The following extracts are
characteristic: from 1800 — the date of the British Occupation — to 1812, "the new
edifice,*' built for the library and museum by the Knights of St. John, '* was employed
as a public coffee room for the British Officers,*' while in 1809 " several thousand
volumes, belonging to that valuable collection, were rotting from want of accommoda-
tion '* (p. 7), with the result that whereas in 1798 there were 60,000 volumes, there
were only 30,000 left when Sir Henry Oakes, the Civil Commissioner, succeeded in
installing them in their own building in 1812. The present collection contains some
53,000 volumes, including a considerable number of manuscripts. There is an inter-
esting collection of local antiquities which is well worth a visit, as it includes the
results of excavation in the prehistoric buildings of Hagiar Elim, etc., and the contents
of a number of tombs of prehistoric, Greeco-PbcBnician, BomaD, and Bomano- Christian
periods. J. L. M.
Ancient Pagan Tombs and Chkistun Cemeteries in the Islands of Malta, explored
and surveyed from the year 1881 to the year 1897 ; by Dr. A. A. Caruana (late
Director of Education and Librarian). Printed by order of H.E. the Governor.
Fcp. 4to, pp. 129, many lithographed plates, price 8«. Malta Government Printing
Office, 1898. (Presented by H.M. Secretary of State for the Colonies.)
Dr. Caruana is well known for the devoted study which he has given to the
antiquities of the Maltese Islands ; and he is greatly to be congratulated both on the
appearance of these monographs, in which the results of some part of his work are
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330 Anthropological Rev^ieics and Miscellanea,
made accessible, nnd on the pablic-spirited way in which the Government of Malta
hns shown its appreciation of his Hervices, both to anthropologists and archaeologists
at large, and to the edacation of his own countrymen.
The soft limestone of which Malta consists lends itself admirably to the excavation
of chamber tombs ; and though as much tomb-digging has gone on here, even in
antiquity, as anywhere else in the Mediterranean, Dr. Caruana has been able to secure
for the Malta Museum the contents of a number of unriQed tombs, as well as a most
elaborate and careful series of ground plane and sections, which are here published in
admirable lithographed plates. A number of types of " Phoenician " tombs are given,
varying from a simple grave of tiles (Plate IV, 3) — in one instance a body is bnried
in two large clay jars set mouth to mouth — to the common cave-tomb closed by a slab,
and approached either by a short dromos, or by a vertical shaft with or without steps
or footholds : in one instance (Plate II, 4) the shaft comes down through the roof of
the chamber. Chambers clustered round a central vestibule are not uncommon, and
often bear, in ground plan, a striking resemblance to the arrangement of the megalithic
monuments of Hagiar Kim, Mnaidra, and Gigantea. The bodies lie either on a shelf,
or in stone coffins ; or in a grave sunk in the floor ; or simply on the ground, as in
Cyprus. In this " Phoenician " class Dr. Caruana includes the great cliff-face necropolis
of Ben Gemma (Plate VTII), which was recklessly rifled in 1874; he does not give
any account of the fragments of their contents which may still be picked up on the
site, and which suggest that some at all events are of the same type as tho iombe a
fenestre of Sicily, and the cave-tombs of Chaouacli and other Tunisian sites, and
therefore of indigenous type, and probably of earlier date than the Phoenician settle-
ment in Malta.
The " Graeco-Roman " tombs follow the same general plan as the "Phoenician";
but are, as elsewhere, more regularly cut, and better flirished. Plate XIII gives a
good example, with its funeral equipment intact. There is a curious series of bell-
shaped chambers, with an orifice in the summit of each (Plates XV, XVI), the type of
which can hardly be that of a tomb originally. They look more like a common type
of cistern or store-house, which again may be paralleled on the African coast opposite.
But the three-storied example on Plate XVI was certainly used for burial.
The Christian tombs (among which probably are included some late Roman
examples), develop out of the clustered- chamber type into regular catacombs
with narrow-resting places and columbaria. Of these the best examples are found in
and near the Roman and medisBval capital of Molita, at CittA Vecchia or Rabato (of
which a useful plan is given on Plate XXI), and wander under the town for consider-
able distances. A few inscriptions and traces of painting occur, and are duly
recorded by Dr. Caruana.
The only matter for regret is that so few detailed descriptions are given of objects
found in the various classes of tombs. It is always exceedingly difficult to date rock
tombs merely by their form ; and a few well-drawn — or better, photographed—
examples of the pottery and other tomb-furniture would have been invaluable. But
perhaps we may be allowed to hope that this aid is only postponed, and that Dr.
Caruana will some time be able to give us a companion volume on the contents of the
Valetta Museum. J. L. M.
The Harmonic Structure of Indian Music. By John Comfort Fillmore. New
York : G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1899.
This pamphlet is an ingenious and interesting defence of a wholly untenable
position. It is written with evident conviction ; it is supported by examples drawn
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from ten years' study of the North American Indians ; it deserves all the
consideration which belongs to first-hand evidence ; but, unfortunately, the
interpretation of the evidence is not borne out by the known facts of Musical
History and Ethnology.
Professor Fillmore's thesis may be stated in the following propositions (see pp.
304, 315, 318) : (a) That " Folk-melody is always and everywhere harmonic melody " ;
(b) That " the first harmonics to be displayed are those of the tonic and its chord " ;
(c) That the primitive scale, all the world over, was the pentatonic, and that from
this, by natural growth, our diatonic scale was developed ; (d) That " in every stage
of its development the harmonic sense is the determining factor in the production of
folk-melody," the harmonies being those proper to our diatonic major and minor
scales ; (e) That " in short there is ouly one kind of music in the world."
We fear that every one of these propositions is demonstrably incorrect. Our
diatonic scale is a highly artificial and civilised product : it is derived not from the
pentatonic but from the Greek tetrachord, and every stage in its development is
historically traceable. There is no evidence that the '* tonic chord " had ever been
heard of until long after our scale was established : there is conclusive evidence that
the Ghreeks at any rate knew nothing about it. Many known scales are not diatonic
at all, e.g., the Persian ; some, e.g., the Siamese, do not contain the perfect fifth which
is necessary to Professor Fillmore's " first harmony " : others, like the two Javese
gamelans, contain no single interval on which an intelligible harmonic system could
be based. Indeed, the harmonic sense is so far from being the determining factor in
the production of folk-melody, that even among European nations it is a late growth,
and among many non-European nations it is absent altogether.
In his citation of Indian folk-songs Professor Fillmore has implicitly snrrendered
his own case. The harmonic treatment of one example (pp. 309, 310) reqaires five
modulations in twelve bars — modulations being virtually unknown in Europe three
hundred years ago. Another (p. 309) contains a note foreign to the diatonic scale
which has to be explained on a system so elaborate that it could not have existed in
civilised music before the time of J. 8. Bach. That " the Indian prefers the
harmonised to the unharmonised version of his songs " is no conclasive evidence.
Experience has shown that this is true of other primitive nations, and that the
pleasure derived from the mere fulness of sound, is in no way impaired if the
harmonies are manifestly incorrect, or even if they are in a dilEerent key from the
tune. We have seen an audience in Sarajevo listening in rapt delight to a folk-song
of which the melody was played in F and the bass in Bb* And in any case it would
appear incredible that the Indians should recognise, or specially prefer to their own
music, the unprepared sevenths and thirteenths with which some of Professor
Fillmore's examples are harmonised. If their acceptance of these was due to any
intelligent selection they must be wholly exceptional among primitive nations.
Indeed, the whole case for the primitive harmonic sense must be regarded, at best, as
not proven. A far stronger body of testimony is needed before we can disallow an
induction that has been established on facts from almost every quarter of the world.
W. H. H.
Text-book of Paljiontoloqt. By Karl A. von Zittel. Translated and edited by
Charles B. Eastman, Ph.D. Vol. I, with 1,476 woodcuts. London : Macmillan
and Co., 1900. 8vo, pp. 706. (Presented by the Publishers.)
Soon after Professor von Zittel had completed his magnificent Handbuch der
PaloBontologie he prepared a smaller work giving, in a single volume, an admirable
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332 Anthropological Reviews mid Miscellanea,
epitome of the sabject. This appeared, in 1895, nndor the title of Orundzuge der
Palceontologie. Dr. Eastman, of Harvard, at one time a stndent nnder von Zittel, at
Mnnich, undertook the preparation of an Engliflh edition of this excellent work ; bat
he soon modified his original plan of a literal translation, and was led, with the
author's consent, to enlarge the scope of the work and to remodel a large part of it.
In this labour ho has been assisted hj a staff of specialists. But it has not been
possible for the editor to secure uniformity in the work of his contributors; some
being content to adhere to the original, whilst others have taken great liberties 'with
the text, and have introduced radical departures from the primitive plan. Hence, some
chapters of the translation follow closely the Oerman, whereas others have been
completely recast; thus, the section on the Cephalopoda has been rewritten bj
Professor Hyatt, and though his views and thoso of von Zittel are sometimes at
variance the German professor has graoiously bowed to the American authority.
The present volume, extending to 706 pages, deals only with the Invertebrata,
and the student of anthropology will anxiously await the appearance of the second
volume, which will be devoted to the Yertebrata. Meanwhile, he may read with
advantage the admirable introductory chapter dealing with the scope of Palteontolog^j
and its relations, on the one hand to Geology and on the other to Biology. Professor
von Zilters work is admitted to be our best guide to a knowledge of the varied forms
of life which existed on our planet in the past. F. W. R.
The Cephalic Index. By Dr. Franz Boas. (Reprinted from the American
Anthropologist, N,S., I. July, 1899, pp. 448-461.) (Presented by the Author.)
In this paper the anthor discusses the biological significance of the cephalic
index; he finds it greatly influenced by causes other than the length and breadth of
the head. Thus it appears that the length of the head is more influenced by stature
than the breadth of the head. '' Correlation between breadth of face and horizontal
diameters of the head shows the transversal diameters to be very closely correlated,
while the length of the head is more closely correlated with height of face." The
influence of cranial capacity on the form of the skull is next considered, and the
author concludes that Virchow's law of compensation applies equally to normal as well
as to pathological skulls. The correlation between the length and breadth of the
skull is not an expression of a biological relation between the two measurements, but
an effect of the changes which both undergo when the capacity of the skull increases
or decreases. " It follows from these considerations that while the cephalic index is
a convenient practical expression of the form of the head, it does not express any
important anatomic relation. On the other hand, the relation between capacity and
head diameters is found to be of fundamental importance, and among these the
relation between transversal diameters and capacity is most significant. Since
in measurements on the living we are unable to measure the capacity of the head,
it is necessary to find a substitute. It would seem that circumferences are the most
available means for judging cranial size. Therefore such circumferences should be
included in all anthropometrical schedules designed to investigate racial characters.
A. T.
A Study of the Normal Tibu. By Ales Hrdlicka. Reprinted from the Pro*
ceedings of the Association of American Anatomists. XI Session. New York City.
Dec. 1898. 6 pp. (Presented by the Author.)
The material at the disposal of the author comprised 2,000 bones of whites, 80 of
negroes and 620 of North and Central American Indians. The principal diflEerences
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observed were those affecting the form of the shaft, these the author tabulates under
six varieties, and promises further information regarding the significance of the
various shapes, though he admits that the enquiry is beset with difficulties, for he
found equal variety in the form of the bone in women and young adults, and met with
quite as many different types on weak as in strongly developed bones. Advanced
platycnemy was very rare in both the whites and negroes, but frequent in the Indians,
whilst a pronounced backward inclination of the head is common in Mexican Indians.
A. T.
Desceiption of an ancient American skeleton pbom the Vallet op Mexico ; with
special reference to Supernumerary and Bicipital Bibs in Man. By Ales
Hrdlifika. (Reprinted from Bull Am. Mus, N.H. xii. 81-107. New York.
May, 1899.) (Presented by the Author.)
The skeleton which Dr. Hrdli6ka describes was discovered about three metres from
the surface in an adobe deposit at St. Simon Tonaqnac, a small suburb of the city of
Mexico. The principal points of interest in connection with it were the occurrence
of a pair of supei*numerary ribs, the very high relative lengths of the bones of his
forearm and leg, and the peculiarity of the lower jaw. The cranial capacity was small,
the humeri were pierced at the olecranon foss$9, and the head and articular facets of
the tibiee were much recurved. After discussing the significance of these structural
features, the author admits that in the present state of our knowledge it is impossible
to say whether the skeleton be that of a Toltec or an Aztec. A. T.
A BiBLIOGRAPHT OP PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY.
Jdhresherichte der Anatomie und Entwicklungsgeschichte. By Professor Dr. Emil
Schmidt. Physische Anthropohgie. 1898. XII. pp. 567-646. (Presented by
the Author.)
All who work at the subject of physical anthropology owe a debt of gratitude to
Professor Schmidt, for here not only do we find a marvellously complete reference to
the articles, to the number of 542, which have appeared during the year, but we are
also furnished with a series of abstracts which practically embody all the recent
advances made in this subject. A. T.
Kathetometry. Weitere Kathetometrische Studien. Von Professor Dr. Moriz
Benedikt. Archiv,f. Anat u. Phys. (Anat. Ahth, 1899) 353-388. (Presented by
the Author.)
This paper embodies the results obtained by the author through the use of a
modification of the stereograph. The subjects particularly dealt with refer to tho
growth and form of the tibia and femur, with especial reference to the movements of
the knee and hip joints. A. T.
On some Flint Implements, pound in the Glacial deposits op Cheshire and North
Wales. By Joseph Lomas, F.G.S. 8vo, pp. 14, with one photographic plate.
Liverpool. Thos. Brakell, Ltd., 1899. (Preseated by the Author.)
This paper was read before the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, and
the Liverpool Geological and Biological Societies, on December 9th, 1898. It contains
an account of chipped flints found (1) at Spital Sandpit Cheshire, (2) at Prenton,
near Birkenhead, (3) at Moel Tryfaen, N. Wales ; and two opinions of their origin.
Sir John Evans is reported as saying — '^ No. 7 may be artificial. Of the others, Nos.
2 and 3 look the most possible; bat the signs are not such as can confidently be
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334 Anihropological Reviews and MisceJlaiiea.
relied on. Tf man existed in pre-glacial times in Britain, it is, I think, probable that
his tools would have been of larger proportions." Mr. W. J. Lewis- Abbott, after a
detailed discassion of each fracture, sums up in favour of an artificial origin. The
photographic plate gives two views of No. 7, above quoted, two of No. 2, and one
each of No. 3 and No. 1. J. L. M.
Explorations in Patagonia. By Dr. F. P. Moreno. 8vo. pp. 54 : map and photographic
views. Imprinted from the Geographical Journal^ September-October, 1899.
(Presented by ihe Author.)
A detailed sketch of the physical geography of Patagonia by a pre-eminent
authority. Pages 46-47 {= 0, J., XIV, 370-2) contain notes on the population. ** The
whole of this vast region is very thinly peopled : even the Indians, never very
numerous, are dying out, and colonization has not progressed as it should have done.
. . . Here and there the traveller finds a Tehuel chian, or Qennahen encampment,
but natives of pure race are now very scarce. It would be difficult to gather together
fifty-five Tehuelches, and the number of Gennahens cannot be much greater. The
remaining native population is composed of the ancient Araucanian race, or a mixture
of the three races. But these do not represent the only type of human beings which
have dwelt in Patagonia. In ancient burial-places I have collected the remains of
other — ^now totally disappeared — races, which were quite distinct from the present
ones, but which greatly resembled the primitive types met with more to the north,
in the Chaco and in Brazil, while others strongly resemble some Pacific races,
possessing ethnic characteristics which have not been observed in South America.
Among these remains, every type of artificial deformity of the skull hitherto known
is found ; while to-day the natives only preserve the occipital deformation. This
variety of extinct human types should of itself form the subject of a serious
investigation. Patagonia is the extremity of the American continent, and has been
the last refuge of more than one people in their forced exodus.'* May we perhaps
hope that Dr. Moreno, who is an Honorary Fellow of this Institute, may find the
opportunity of continuing and publishing the valuable observations which he has
thus briefly summarized. J. L. M.
A Preliminary Revision of the Evidence relating to Auriferous Gravel Man in
California. By W. H. Holmes. 8vo. Reprinted from the American Anthro-
pologist, N.S. L. pp. 108-121 and 614-645, with plates and diagrams.
These two papers review critically and in great detail the evidence now available
(1) for the reported discovery, at various times, of implements, etc., of advanced
workmanship in the auriferous gravels of Tertiary Age in California, (2) for the
discovery and subsequent history of the well-known ** Calavera skull " from the same
district. The case against the view that the objects in question were really found in
the auriferous gravels is put with great skill and apparent cogency ; and we shall
await with interest the reply of those who hold the other opinion. J. L. M.
ViNLAND AND ITS RuiNS. Some of the evidences that Northmen were in Massa-
chusetts in pre-Columbian days. By Cornelia Horsford (reprint from AppleUm's
Popular Science Monthly, Dec. 1899. Presented by the Author),
Miss Horsford considers that Vinland, the Wineland of the first European
discoverers of North America, was round the harbour on which Boston now stands,
and prefers this site to Rafn*s chosen position of Mount Hope Bay, and to others that
might be suggested by the texts of the two versions of ihe discovery that Icelandic
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MSS. have preserved for us. She next proceeds to compare the resnlts of recent
excavations in Iceland with the results of explorations made at Cambridge, Mass.,
near Gerry's landing ; and she adduces the testimony of Waltyr Gudmundson and
Tborsteinn Erlingsson, experienced Icelandic antiquaries, to the likeness between the
Cambridge remains of houses and paths and the remains of old houses and paths in
Iceland. They agree that, as far as regards ** construction, both the house . . . and
the two paths . . . could be of Scandinavian origin," and says Tborsteinn
Erlingsson " what is left of the walls here nobody could distinguish from Icelandic
walls " . . . " though some of the stones seem rather small." That neither of
those gentlemen will say absolutely '* This is an Icelandic house ! *' is owing to the
fact that " pieces of pottery and bricks have been found beneath the stones which
had fallen down from the walls and on the floor itself," and that bricks have been
found between the stones that form the paths, bits of evidence that ^* seem rather to
speak for a post-Columbian origin." Miss Horsford considers that the characteristic
walling of stones and turf, the peculiar paving, resembling the Icelandic sjdvar gata
(quite unlike those found at Fort Wm. Henry near Pennequid, Elaine, and many other
places in the New England States), make strong evidence for her theory : the presence
of the brick fragments in house floors and paths may be accounted for by the presence
of cattle that have trodden them in, and she further points out that the square
cooking-place discovered here is entirely different from the round Indian firehearth, and
entirely like those discovered in Iceland. Her thesis is not proven, but there is
nothing impossible in it as far as it goes. The illustrations she gives, processed from
photographs, are helpful. F. York Powell.
Hawaii Nbi. By Mabel C. Craft. 8vo. Price Qs, San Francisco : published by
William Doxey, 1899.
This work is the outcome of a lady's visit to the Hawaiian Islands " on the eve
and immediately following " the formal transfer of the group to the United States.
A few chapters have been abridged from contributions to the American press. The
writer may be said to " hold a brief " for the monarchy as against annexation, which
she compares to a successful Jameson raid. Hawaii Nei makes an excellent sequel to
Mr. C. G. Nottage's In search of a OUmate, In addition to this vexed question,
Miss Craft gives a very interesting account of the islands and of the natives, ending
up with a chapter on *' Legends and Folk-Lore." The work is well illustrated with
photographic i^eproductions of ethnographical interest. J. B. P.
A DiCTTONAEY OF THE PaTHAN TrIBES OP THE NORTH-WeST FRONTIER OP InDIA.
Calcutta, 1899. Small 8vo.
This useful little book, labelled " Political and Secret Department," has found
its way from the India Office to the Anthropological Institute.
No important secrets are, however, contained in it. It is simply a reference to
the innumerable clans, tribes, and tribal sub-divisions of the great Pathan community
of the North- West Indian frontier, with a map to show where to locate the principal
sections into which they are divided.
To the ordinary reader of Indian frontier current history tribal designations must
be a severe stumbling block in the way of intelligent comprehension of the course of
events ; and a dictionary of this nature, if it is to be placed in the hands of the public,
will do much to remove the difficulty. But there is no reason why it should not be
niade more comprehensive. The Pathan, or Pukhtu-speaking communities include
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peoples of most diverse nationalities and wide-spread origins ; and it would not l>e
difficnlt to differentiate between them — ^to separate those of Afghan from those of
noD- Afghan origin, for instance. In some cases this is attempted. The Mohmands
are relegated to the " pure Afghan " communities, but there is no record about the
Tnsupzais, who are a larger tribe and who claim to be as pure Afghan as the
Mohmands. A few lines about the Afghans generally would have been useful, biii>
nothing is said about them as a distinct nationalitj. On the other hand, the Ghilzais
are called ''a large and wide-spread Afghan tribe;" with which designation no
modem authority will agree. The Ohilzais are of Turkish extraction. It is
impossible to apply the name "Afghan" to the dwellers within the political
boundaries of Afghanistan — for there are large numbers of Duranis and of Mohmands
who live on the British side of the boundary, to say nothing of the Tnsupzais.
As regards the numbers which are quoted after the names of the clans, it is
difficult to say whether they refer to the fighting strength, or to the entire population.
What does (15) mean after Ghazizai for instance P Or (10) after Kasam Ehel P As a
Quarter-Master-GFeneral's publication it probably refers to the fighting strength of the
tribe or section ; and yet the numbers in many cases appear to be impossibly large ;
as in the case of the Afridis, who certainly cannot maintain a population which
would put 26,000 fighting men into the field within the restricted areas which they
cultivate.
The dictionary is hardly compiled on scientific principles ; still it is the first of
its sort which has been made public, and we hope it is the precursor of a larger and
more complete work of the same nature. It is only lately that we have acquired
sufficient knowledge of the frontier tribes to justify any attempt at classification ; so
that we must not expect too much. A similar dictionary of the Parsiwan or Persian
speaking tribes (which would include all Baluchistan) would be almost equally
valuable. T. H. H.
On the Orientation of Temples, being the Results of some Observations taken in
Greece and Sicily, in the month of May, 1898, by F. C. Penrose, M.A., F.R.S.,
F.R.I.B.A., etc. Proc. Roy. Soc, Ixc, pp. 370-375 (1899).
This paper is supplementary to those which Mr. Penrose contributed to Philo-
sophical Transactions^ vol. clxxiv, pp. 806-834 (1893), and vol. cxc, pp. 43-65
(1897). Arguing on the assumption that the axis of each temple was made to point
to the rising sun on the day of the principal function in the temple, and that a date
was chosen for that function when the heliacal rising or morning setting of a star,
also in a line with the axis of the temple, might serve to give warning of the Sun's
approach, he has attempted to fix the dates of foundation of a number of Greek
Temples, and also the time of year when the principal religious function took place
in each. The present paper begins by setting forth the results of some confirmations
or corrections of the author's former observations. The only case in which these
necessitate a material alteration in his conclusions is that of the Temple attributed
to Juno Lucina, at Girgenti, which he had assigned to 690 B.C., but now assigns to
490 B.C. This is followed by a calculation of the date of the Temple of Neptune, at
Calauria, and by some details of other calculations of which the author had hitherto
published only the results. Finally he attempts to fix the exact dates of foundation
of the Theseum and the new Erechthenm at Athens, and to confirm the traditional
name of the former by finding a correspondence between the dates astronomically
discovered for the principal functions in those temples, and the calendar dates of the
festivals of the Thesea and the Nioeteria.
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Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea^ 337
Tlie chief diffionlty in the way of accepting Mr. Penrose's conclnsions is the
want of evidence to support his fundamental assumption. The calculations have
been made with great care, and one cannot praise the author too highly for the pains
he has fcaken to collect local data, such as the altitude of the visible horizon and the
conditions of visibility of different stars in the climates of Greece and Italy, data which
are of the highest importance in such nice calculations. The only material error in
the calculations appears to be in the conversion of the Sun's declination and right
ascension into a calendar date, where Mr. Penrose would appear to have followed
some recent almanack without making the necessary corrections for a distant date.
His dates in the fifth century before Christ are in consequence from six to eight days
too early, and the synchronisms between the astronomical and calendar dates of the
festivals do not therefore hold for the years which he suggests. Elsewhere this error
would appear to be of no importance. J. K. F.
Descbipcion Histobia t Bxposicion del Codioe Piotobico db los Antiguos Nauas
qne se conserva en la Biblioteca de la Gamara de Diputados de Paris, por
Francisco del Paso y Troncoso, Director del Museo Nacional de Mexico.
Florence, 1898. 368 pp. 8vo. (Presented by the Author.)
In this work Senor F. del Paeo y Troncoso gives a commentary of a singularly
interesting pictorial MS. on agave-paper preserved in the library of the Ghamber of
Deputies at Paris. The manuscript is a ceremonial calendar, treating of the feasts
proper to different seasons of the year, and Senor Troncoso discusses each of the
thirty-seven pages in detail. His commentary will be read with additional interest
as soon as the reproduction now promised us has been issued. As a compliment to
the learned Director of the Trocad6ro, Senor del Troncoso proposes to name the MS.
the Godex Hamy. In some interesting prefatory remarks, the author relates the
history of the MS. which was formerly in the Escnrial and was probably removed to
France in the early years of the nineteenth century. About 1780 it was discovered
by the Bev. Mr. Waddilove, Chaplain of the British Embassy at Madrid; he
communicated his discovery to the historian Robertson, who noticed it in one of the
later editions of his History of America, Senor Troncoso suggests that the communi-
cations of Waddilove may still exist among the papers of Bobertson, and that if this
is the case, further information as to the facts of the discovery may yet be forth-
coming. He commends the search to any of our countrymen who are interested in
the study of American Antiquities. O. M. D.
Rbpeoductions op Nahua Mantjscbipts. By Francisco del Paso y Troncoso.
The attention of all Anthropologists interested in the ancient civilisations of
America should be drawn to the magnificent series of reproductions of Mexican manu-
scripts now being issued by Senor del Paso y Troncoso and Professor Hamy, under the
auspices of M. le Due de Loubat. The codices already issued are five in number,
namely the Vatican MS., 3773, known as the Godex Fabr^gas ; the Borgian MS. in
the Museum of the Propaganda; the Godex Gospianus in the Library of the
Uniyersity of Bologna; the Codex TeUerio-Bemensis in the Biblioth^ue Nationale,
Paris ; and the Vatican MS., 3738, known as the Codex Bios, the two last being
posterior to the Conqaest, and provided with a commentary in Spanish. This series
of facsimiles is of quite remarkable excellence, the most minute peculiarities of
material and colour being reproduced with surprising fidelity.
The advance made since Lord Kingsborough's time is enormous, and students
can now consult facsimiles on the accuracy of which they can confidently rely.
New Series, Vol. II, Noe. 3 and 4. Z
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338 Anthropological Bemews and Miscellanea.
Through the munificence of M. le Due de Lonbat, who has in this matter proved a
veritable Maecenas, the principal libraries of the v^orld have been provided with each
nnmber of the series as it appears. From many points of view the MS. first
mentioned is the most interesting, for it is still contained in its original wooden
covers, formerly set with tnrqnoises, of which only one now remains. The
reprodnction in this case gives ns therefore an exact idea of the books from which
the Nahna priests derived their ritual and astronomical lore, before Cortes overthrew
the Empire of Montezuma. It may be added that M. le Duo de Loubat baa himself
rediscovered and published the *' Clave (General de Zeroglificos Americanos " of Don
Ignacio Borunda, lost to sight in the archives of Notre Dame de Ouadaloupe for a
hundred years.
A
B
The accompanying illustration will give some idea of the appearance of the smallest
MS. — the Vatican Codex, 3773. It is on skin, painted on both sides, and opening like a
folding screeu. It is inclosed between two wooden covers, of which that which is shown
in the photograph is the front. In the right-hand top comer of this cover can be seen
inlaid a small stone resembling turquoise, while in the left-hand bottom comer is the
cavity left by a similar stone ; the marks seen in the middle of the cover are in all
probability also those of other stones now lost. The other cover is left unomamented,
from which it may be gathered that the end of the MS. is at this side a matter of
some importance, for without some such clue it is difficult to say where some of
these MSS. begin. The length of the covers is six inches. The line A B marks a fold
in the manuscript. O. M. D.
Decades Americanje, Mi^moibbs d'Abgh^ologib et d'Ethnoobaphie Am^bioainbs. Par
le Dr. E. T. Hamy, 3« and 4« Decades. Paris, 1898, 4 Plates. 23 illustrations,
211 pp. (Presented by the Author,)
The above work is the second instalment of a series of papers on American
ArchsBology and Ethnography, arranged as the name implies in groups of ten. The
greater number have already appeared in various publications, chiefly in the Beviie
d'Anthropologie and in the Jowmal de la SociStS des AmSricanistes de Parts. Dr.
Hamy has conferred a distinct service on students of American ethnology by
bringing together in one volume these useful essays. The subjects treated are very
various and deal with almost all parts of the Continent. We have the history of
explorations, ethnographical papers on Alaska, on the Jivaro Indians, on ancient
Mexico, on Huron Wampum, etc., and on a memoir on the prominent part played by
France in investigating the ancient civilisations of Mexico and Central America.
The volume is provided with an index and table of contents. O. M. D.
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Anthropological Reviews and MisceUanea, 339
Tanoweera : Life and Adventiires among gentle Savages. By G. Napier Bell,
M.Insfc.C.E. London : Arnold, 1899. 8vo. (Presented by the Author.)
The author of this book, now employed as a Civil Engineer in New Zealand, has
given us a very interesting and gi*aphic account of his adventures as a youth among
the Mosquito Indians. He tells us that he was in the habit of writing all that he
saw or heard, and these notes he has now arranged in his old age. It is certainly
remarkable that a mere boy should have so patiently recorded his varied experiences,
and to an ordinary reader some suspicion must inevitably arise, which the form of
the narrative does not completely dispel. There is a remarkable absence of dates, and we
have no map defining the routes of the author's wanderings. It might, as the author
admits, have taken the shape of a boy's book, and obviously the form in which it has
now been compiled robs it of some of the authority which it would have otherwise
secured for scientific readers. With these reservations it is certainly a most
interesting account of a people of whom we have little trustworthy information.
The Mosquito Indians are a maritime race, a colony sprung from the Garibs of
the West Indies. Their country extends " from the Black River, 100 miles west of
Gracias k Dios, to the river San Juan del Norte, which flows into the Caribbean Sea
at the port of Greytown, where the Nicaragua Canal is to commence." They call
themselves Tangweeras (" straight -hair ") to distinguish them from the half-breed
Sambos who speak the same language. Like all savage races confronted with the
higher culture, they show a decided tendency to decrease in numbers, a process
facilitated by the abandonment of British control over them in 1856, since when they
have come under the dominion of the republics of Nicaragua and Honduras.
We have no detailed account of their religion and customs. They display the
usual animistic beliefs characteristic of savage life, the only conception of a god being
Alwaney, the great spirit of thunder, at whose bidding alligators, iguanas, tortoises,
and sea-turtle, all hasten out of the egg,
I can barely refer to some of the anthropological facts which the author
incidentally mentions. Like many savages they salute their relations on their return
after protracted absence, with a dirge-like song; but it is thought improper for
women to display any emotion on the arrival of their husbands. The dead are buried
in a canoe, which is cut in half to form the top and bottom of the coffin. Food,
weapons, etc., are laid with the dead, and periodical offerings are made at the grave.
They have a well-organised feast of the dead. ^'Very frequently, when a man
dies, they cut down his fruit-trees, bum his house and clothes, split up his canoe, and
sell his wife ; that is to say, if another man takes her, he must pay the relatives of
the late husband for .the expense and labour he has devoted to her. Thus, the
children inherit nothing but the debts, which are not forgotten to the second or third
generation. In addition to this, the bereaved relatives are urged to give feasts of the
dead, and an entire plantation of cassava may be consumed in a single night's
debauch " (p. 95).
The dress is gaudy. '* The bracelet round the leg below the knee is sacred to love,
and it is bad manners to allude to a young man's knee-clasp or to question him about
it. Yet, when young men meet, those who know of this custom can always see them
glance at each other's knees ; and often a girl is seen hurriedly to conceal a piece of
bead-work she is engaged in plaiting " (p. 128).
Morality is of the easy-going type, and both prenuptial incontinence and
intertribal immorality seems to be lightly regarded.
Many are adepts in charming the wind and controlling storms. Killing the
Coongcoong monkey is sure to bring rain. " That monkey belongs to the water
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340 Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea.
spirit and it will be very angry if the beast is slain " (p. 183). The forest owl baa
demoniacal characters, and its claws are hung roand the necks of children as a charm.
The red-hnmp blackbird is the guardian of love, and whoever molests theni will
never be fancied by any girl. The forest birds are the poultry of the spiirits and if
molested something awfal will happen. The rock-snake cannot abide an enceinte
woman, bat attacks her at once. Spirits have a like repugnance, " so that a Sookia, or
medicine-man, while communicating with spirits or preparing incantations, must on
no account see a woman in such a condition, the inference being that this snake is
connected with spirits " (p. 225 seq,).
Rheumatism is caused by thorns which evil spirits have stuck in the flesh and
these are pulled out by the sorcerer (p. 240). W. Cbookk.
The Natural History op the Musical Bow. A Chapter in the Devblopmkntal
History op Stringed Instruments of Music. By Henry Balfour, M.A. Curator
of the Pitt-Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. Oxford Clarendon Press,
1899. Price, 4*. 6i. 8vo. 87 pp. 61 illustrations.
This is the first part of a monograph, and is concerned with the primitive types ;
the second part, which is not yet published, will deal with more highly developed
instruments. The writer shows how the first stringed instrument was the bow ^th
its twanging string, and how gradually additions and improvements were made, by
means of which the original weapon was transformed into an instrument with, no
other function than to make sweet music. The numerous cuts which illustrate the
text, make the nature of the transformation abundantly clear, and the localities in
which the musical bow is actually in use, or in which it is recorded as a legendary
prototype, are carefully noted with numerous references to the literature of the
subject. A coloured map at the end exhibits at a glance the distribution of these
interesting objects, showing their occurrence in Africa, India, the Asiatic Islands,
Melanesia and Polynesia, and Central and South America. It is unnecessary to point
out the importance of studies of this kind which retrace the phylogenetic development
of instruments of art or industry, and enforce the lesson that almost everything we
use in daily life is the product of an infinitely slow growth. The Pitt-Rivers
Museum is a school which exists for this purpose ; and its accomplished curator, by
publishing in an attractive literary form any of the admirable series under his control,
is fulfilling in the best possible manner the desires of the founder and of all students
of ethnographical science. 0. M. D.
Memories of the Picts. By D. MaoBitchie. Reprinted from the Scottish
Antiquary^ January, 1900. (Presented by the Author.)
The writer insists on what may be termed the fairy aspect of .the Pechts,
especially their living underground in rooms so small that the occupants must have
been men of very small stature. So he argues partly on the ground of the ascertained
dimensions of some of those rooms and partly also on the statements of Thomas
Tulloch, who appears to have been governor of Orkney in 1422-48, under the
Scandinavian monarch Eric VII. of Denmark. He cites other authorities also, and
we feel far from certain that the Pictish underground dwellings did not have
something to do with Oi Idas' picture when he wrote " emergunt certa;Hm de
curicis, quihus sunt trans Cichieam vallem recti, quasi in alto Titafte incalescenteque
caumate de arctissimis foraminum cavernuUs fusd vermiculorum cuneif teiri Scotorum
Pictorumque greges^** etc.
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Anthropological Reviews arid Miscellaiwa. 341
This is not the first time that Mr. MacRitchie has toached on the Pechts ; but we
noto with satisfaction that he has now dropped certain argnments which seemed to
us, so far from helping him, to have been prejadicial to his position. J. B.
The Ethnography op the North- We stern Solomon Islands. By R. Parkinson.
Herr R. Parkinson has an unique knowledge of several districts of Melanesia,
and he has recently contributed a very valuable paper on the Ethnography of the
North- Western Solomon Islands to the AhhandL u, Berichte d. K. Zool. u. Anthrop,
Mu8, zu, Dresden, Bd. YII, 1899. In Buka there are two clans which take the name of
their totems. These are the Fowl and the Frigate-bird ; one clan must marry into the
other. In North Bougainville the same obtains, but in South Bougainville and in the
neighbouring islands there are a number of bird clans ; here a member of a clan may
marry a member of any other clan except that to which he or she belongs. In all
cases the children belong to their mother's clan.
Interesting information is given about ceremonies in which masks are employed.
The important Rukruk custom (sometimes also called hurri) is described ; it takes
place in a tabued clearing in the bush, where there is a sacred hut ; here the ball-
roarer is whirled, and the women believe that the initiates (matasesen) have con-
verse with the male and the female spirit (ruk).
The long hair of the initiates is cut off, but as a rule a long lock is left on the
nape, the end of which is decorated with beads or a shell. After the ceremony the
matasesen may choose a wife. Parkinson compares the Solomon Island rukruk with
the dukduk of the Gazelle Peninsula of New Britain, where, however, the bull-roarer is
unknown. Cannibalism is not so universally spread as is believed. Scarification occurs
all over the district; it enhances personal attraction in both sexes. As Parkinson
deals with music, houses, clothing, ornaments, money, utensils, weapons, canoes,
fishing, etc., it will be apparent that this memoir is of considerable importance,
especially when one remembers that the author has peoaliar facilities for gaining
trustworthy information. A. C. H.
Beitrage zur Anthropologie Elsass-Lothringens. Herausgegeben von Dr. G.
Schwalk, Professor der Anatomic an der Universitat Stra^sburg. Erstes Hept.
Die Schadelformen der Elsdssichen Bevolkerung in Alter und Nei^r Zeit. Yon Dr.
Edmund Blind. Zweites Heft. Die Korpergrosse der Wehrpflichtigen des
Reichslandes Elsa^s-Lclhringen, Von Dr. S. Brandt.
This work, of which the first two instalments are now available, will comprise a
complete inquiry into the physical characteristics of the inhabitants of the German
frontier provinces. Such a work comparable to that done by Ammon and Ecker in the
Rhine Provinces, by Ranke in Bavaria, and by Topinard, Collignon, and many others
in France, is of the utmost value to the anthropologist. Elsass-Lothringen having
been from time immemorial one of the great battle grounds of Europe, it is sur-
prising that the anthropological landmarks should remain as distinct as they do.
In the first part Dr. Blind gives a detailed account of some 700 skulls, mostly
dating from the 14th-16th centuries, obtained from various ossuaries in Elsass. He
concludes that in the main they indicate that at this period a brachycephalic, leptor-
rhine, and raegaseme population was spread out over the Yosges, mixed here and there
with long-skulled elements coming from across the Rhine valley. The skulls of this
people closely resemble, if indeed they are not identical with, those of Celts from
Auvergne described by Broca, and those of the broad band of brachycephalous
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342 Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea.
individaals which stretches across the Alps from the lake of Geneva to the borders
of inner Austria.
In the hills a nearly pnre black-haired, dark- eyed, small-built people, with a
peculiar patois can still be distinguished, though in the plains and towns the populace
is very mixed. His paper is illustrated by tables, reproductions of skulls, and a
useful sketch map.
In the second part Dr. Brandt has worked out a lengthy series of investigations
into the height of the population, canton by canton, comprising altogether observa-
tions on 105,561 individuals.
In his summary he shows that the highest average height is met with to the East
in the Rhine Valley and to the south, while in the centre, near the summits of the
Vosges, the average cantonal height falls considerably. A sudden rise in average
height in the cantons of Miinster and Wruzenheim he explains by the comparatively
recent immigration of Swiss dairj farmers into the fertile pasturage of the valley of
the Fecht.
The author concludes that in the northern part of this district one meets traces of
Franks, in the Rhine Valley of Alemanni, and to the south of Burgundians, who have
forced their smaller and weaker predecessors to take refuge in the inhospitable depths
of the forests clothing the slopes of the Vosges mountains.
Dr. Brandt traces the history of Elsass-Lothringen from the stone age to the
present time, and has profusely illustrated his monograph by maps and tables.
F. G. Shbubsall.
Public Museum of Wanoanui, New Zealand. Fourth Annual Report of the Hon.
Gurator. 8vo, pp. 32, photographic illustrations. Wanganui, N.Z., 1899. (Pre-
sented by the Gurator.)
The Trustees of this Institution are to be congratulated on the rapid progress
made during the last twelve months. In this period the size of the Museum has been
doubled, and much valuable material added by presentations. The Gurator, however,
complains that want of funds prevents him from adding to the already valuable
Maori collections by purchase, but at the same time, where possible, he is anxious to
make exchanges with other museums.
The Report contains illustrations of the new buildings and of some of the Maori
exhibits, together with a full list of donors, numbering 140, from Ist July, 1898, to
30th June, 1899. J. E. P.
International Gonqress of Pbehistobic Anthropology and Abchjbolooy.
The twelfth International Gongress of Prehistoric Anthropology and Archaeology
will be held in Paris at the Gollege de France between August 20th and 25th, and the
opening session, in the Palais des Gongr^ of the Paris Exhibition.
The President of the Gongress is M. Alexandre Bertrand, member of the
Institute, and Keeper of the Museum of National Antiquities at St. Germain-en-Laje ;
the General Secretary, Dr. R. Verneau, of the National Museum of Natural History,
(Rue Broca 14s8) ; and the Treasnrer, M. Henri Hubert, to whom application for
membership, and payments of subscriptions should be addressed.
It is hoped that the Anthropological Institute may be fully represented in the
proceedings of the Gongress, and in the numerous excursions which are contemplated
to French sites in Brittany, and Gentral and Southern Prance.
The following provisional programme of discussion has been issued by the
Organising Gommittee : —
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Anthropological Reviews and Miscellanea, 343
I. Applications de VAnatomie comparee et de la PaUontologie a la question de
Vorigine de Vhomme. Malgr6 la valeur des travanx d^ja publies sur la question, les
docnments ne sont pas assez nombreax pour permettre d'^tablir on mSme d'esquisser
la phylogenie de I'esp^e hamaine. Aussi convient-il de signaler toate d6coayerte
nonvelle de L^mnrien on de Singe fossile et to as les faits anatomiqnes de nature a
6tablir des relations entre le L^mnriens, les Singes et rHomme.
II. Vawrore du paleolithique. Dans ces derni^res annees, des publications ont ete
consacr^es a des silex taill^s provenant dn Pliocene de I'lnde, dn Forest-bed de Cromer,
de dep6ts donnas comme preglaciaires de I'Angleterre, des alluvions inferieures de
Mesvin on de la valine de la Somme, etc. II serait important d*examiner si ces
d^couvertes on d'antres analognes, qui pourraient ^tre commnniqnees, remontent a nne
epoque ant^rieure k celie des esp^ces dites chaudes (Hippopotame, !^lephant antique,
Khinoc^ros de Merck, etc.).
III. Comparaison des ohjets dHndustrie humaine trouves dans les alluvions qua-
temaires de Vouest de V Europe avec les ohjets analogues recueillis dans les autres pays du
monde. La d6couverte en "^gypte et dans d*antres contr^es de Tancien et dn nouvean
monde d'instruments en pierre reprodnisant tout k fait les formes des silex taiil6s
recneillis dans les alluvions quaternaires de TEurope occidentale, soul^ve une question
des plus int^ressants : on doit se demander si tons ces objets sont sjnclironiques.
Pour r^soudre cette question, il est n^cessaire, non seulement de comparer morpho-
logiquement les objets dont il s'agit, maiB surtout d'6tablir Tage exact des gisements
nouvellement d^couverts.
IV. Passage du paleolithique au n^.olithique, Les recberches faites an Mas-d'Azil,
k Campigny, dans I'Yonne, en IBcosse, etc. ont convaincu beaucoup d'arcb^ologues que
le passage du pal6olithique au n6olitbique s'est fait d'une fa9on insensible. Les
harpons cylindriques en bois de renne ont 6t^ remplaces par des barpons plats en bois
de cerf ; des galets en partie us^s ont fait leur apparition, de mSme que le pic et le
tranchet; la poterie se montrerait avant la bache polie. Ces faits ont besoin d'etre
confirmes par de nouvelles observations ; la stratigraphie et la paleontologie doivent
venir au secours de Tarcbfologie. Enfin, le passage a du se faire de differentes fa9ons
et si. des ^poques diverses suivant les lieux. II est done necessaire de mettre en oeuvre
toutes les metbodes de rechercbes, toutes les trouvailles nouvelles pour r^soudre cette
importante question.
V. Description des Sdifices su/r pilotis comparahles aux habitations lacustres ou
palafittes des AlpeSy decouverts dans les diverses regions de V Europe. En dehors de
r^tude de ces edifices et des objets qui y ont 6t4 recueillis, il serait interessant de
determiner quelles sont les sepultures contemporaines des habitations sur pilotis.
Pour la Suisse, en particulier, est-il possible d'etablir un parall61isme exact entre les
trouvailles faites dans les lacs et sur leurs rives ?
VI. Passage du nSolithique aux metaux. Les objets en cuivre pur sont-ils assez
nombreux et presentent-ils des formes assez speciales pour faire admettre I'existence
d*un veritable age du cuivre ayant prec6d6 Vkge du bronze ? II est k desirer que de
nouvelles observations, accompagn^es d'analyses chimiques, soieut apport^es au Congres.
VII. Uapports de la civilisation dite m^diterraneenne : 1° avec les civilisations
4geenne et mycenienne; 2** avec les civilisatiotis analogues de V Europe centrale, II
n'existe pas encore de travail d*ensemble tenant compte, par exemple, des r^sultats
decoulant des recherches faites r^cemment en Egypte. Le point essentiel serait de
pouvoir determiner le centre de diffusion (europ^n ou asiatique) des formes indust-
rielles et artistiques dont on constate Tapparition vers la fin de Tepoque neolithique.
VIII. Aire geographique, divisions et chronologic du deuxieme age fer du. —
Digitized by
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344 AnthropologicaJ Enneirs and Miscellanea.
L'aire geograpbique do la civilisation da deuxidmo &ge dn fer est encore mal
d^limitee, en particulier vers le Sud-Oaest et le Nord-Est. II serait tr^s utile d'in-
diqaer snr nne carte les stations de cette epoqae. II serait non moins ntile d'apporter
des observations nouvelles snsceptiblcs de confirmer on de modifier la classification
de Tischler. Enfin, la cbix)nologie du denxi^me %e da fer a besoin d'etre precisee
poar chaqae region. Nc poarrait-on pas, dans ce bat, tirer parti des troavailles de
vases grecs k figures roages et de monnaies gaaloiscs ?
IX. Caracteres anatomiquBS de Vhomme primitif et des races humaznes pre-
historiques. — II convient non sealement de decrire les caracteres des races pre-
bistoriqaes, mais encore de les interpreter. Tons les faits noaveaox relatife aa
Pitbecanthropas, en particalier, presenteraient an int^ret considerable.
X. Survivancts ethnographiqnes pouvant jefer quelqne lumiere sur les mosurs et
Vetat social des populations prehistoriques. — La Melanesie en general, TAastralie en
particulier, TAmerique du Sud, les Pays Barbaresques, etc., ont foami, dazis cses
derniers temps, la matiere d*observatiojis tr^s interessantes dans cet ordre d'idees.
Ce serait faire oeavre fort utile que de classer et de comparer les donnees nouvelles
ainsi recueillies.
XI. Jusqu*a qtiel point les analogies d^ordre archSologique ou ethnographique
peuvent-elles autoriser Vhypothese de relations ou de migratioTis prehistoriques ? — II est
indispensable de distinguer les faits qui 8*expliquent par les m6mes ^tats sociaux
ou les memos milieux de ceux qui sont de nature ^ autoriser Tbypotb^se d'une identite
de race.
International Gongbess on the History of Bbliqion.
On tbe initiative of the Professors of tbe Section of tbe Science of Religion at
tbe Ecole des Hautes fStudes, an International Congress on tbe History of Heligion
will be beld at tbe Sorbonne in connection with tbe Paris Exhibition from September
3rd to 9tb inclusive.
The President is M. Albert Reville, Professor in the College de France ; the
Secretaries are M. L6on Marillier and M. Jean Reville, the editors of the B^vue de
VHistoire des ReligionSj and the Treasurer, to whom subscriptions should be addressed,
is M. Philippe Berger, Member of the Institute, and Professor in the College de
France, Quai Voltaire 3.
The work of the Congress will be divided into eight sections as follows : —
I. The religions of uncivilised peoples ; and of the pre-Columbian civilizations of
America.
II. The history of the religions of the Far East : China, Japan, Indo- China, the
Mongols, and the Finns.
III. The history of the religion of Egypt.
IV. The history of the so-called Semitic Religions, (a) in Cbaldeea, Assyria, and
Asia Minor ; (6) Judaism and Islam.
V. Tbe history of the religions of India and Siam.
VI. The history of the religions of Greece and Rome.
VII. The religions of the Germans, Celts, and Slavs : and tbe data of prehistoric
arcbsBology in Europe.
VIII. The history of Christianity (a) in the first centuries a.d. ; (b) in the middle
ages ; (c) in the modem world.
The discussions contemplated by the Congress are of an exclusively historical kind,
and questions of dogma or sectarian belief are entirely prohibited. Communications
are admitted in English, French, German, Italian, and Latin.
Diaitized bv
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( 345 )
INDEX.
A.
Abaw-Efik, Higli Priest of Egbo
Society, 21.
Accaid, significance of the name, 13.
" Across the Border," written by Oliver
(rev.), 17.
Afa Society in Little Popo, Togoland,
24.
Afridis (Pathdn Tribe), Col. Sir T. H.
Holdich on, 2.
Aggiy Beads, Levins' Collection of, 119.
All mad Shah, Founder of Dnrani
Empire, 3.
Aikon, Religions Play in West Africa,
24.
Al Mahfnza, Syrian Settlement in
Sindh, 19.
Alldridge (J. T.), on Mr. F. Marriott's
paper, 26; on Sien-a Leone and the
Protectorate, 50, 64.
Alligator Society, see Secret Societies of
W. Africa, 21.
Aniiferons Gravel Man in California,
by W. H. Holmes (rev.), 334.
Ambela, 4.
Ainphidromy, by A. C. Haddon, 315.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Customs
Himilar to those of the Niger, 63.
Andaman (South) Laiiauages, by M. V.
Fortman (rev.), 181.
Antropometria, by Rudolfo Livi (rev.),
324.
Arab Tribes of our Indian Frontier, by
Col. Sir T. H. Holdich, 10.
Arabic, our Naval Terms Derived from,
14.
Arabs Inhabiting Makran, 11.
Arch, Entirely Unknown in Mexico, 40.
Astrology and the Divining Rod, by
T. V. Holmes, 313.
Aurnngzebe, 4.
' Australian Tree Carvings, by Herbert
Perkins, 152.
Authority and ArchoBology, edited by
D. G. Hogarth (rev.), 187.
Axe Currency in Dr. Sologuren*s Col-
lection, Oaxaca, 46.
Ayaka, a Society of the Ibibeo Tribe,
22.
Aztecs, see Comer (W.), " Mitla," 31.
B.
Babar, Founder Mogul Dynasty, 4.
Bagli, Centre of the Maidan Plain, 7.
Bajaor, Country North of the Khaibar,
3.
Balfour (H.), Natural History of the
Musical Bow (rev.), 340.
Baluch Khan, a Notorious Freebooter in
Makran, 17.
Baluchi, of Arab Origin, 15.
Barakzai, Present Dynasty of Kabul, 3.
Bar Rohi, see Brahui, a Mountaineer, 13.
Barotsi (Kingdom of), by Alfred
Bertrand (rev.), 188.
Bazid, Afghan Adventurer, 7.
Beddoe (J.), on Col. Holdich's paper,
18 ; on the Mediaeval Population of
Bristol, 142.
Beginnings of Currency, by Col. R. C.
Temple, 99.
Bela, Medi89val Arab City in West
India, 15.
Bell (C. Napier), Tangweera (rev.), 339.
Bende, 30 miles from Long Ju Ju, 52.
Benedikt (Moriz), Kathetometry (rev.),
333.
Ben-i-Israel, Descendants of Babylon
Captives, 2.
Z 3
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846
Index.
Bennett (A. L.), elected, 1 ; Ethno* |
graphical Notes on the Fang, 66.
Bennett (Mrs. 6. Nevill), elected
March, 1899, 28. j
Benson (Miss M.)? the Temple of Mut |
in Asher (rev.), 191. \
Berry (R. A. J.), elected, 98.
Bertrand (Alfred), the Kingdom of the
Barotsi (ret?.), 188.
Bicycle and Crime, by T. V. Holmes,
313.
Bird Gods, by Charles de Kay (rev,),
186.
Blind (Edmnnd), EIsass-Lothringens,
Anthropologie (rev.), 341.
Boas (Franz), the Cephalic Index (rev.),
382.
Bodio, the Fetish King, 62.
Boledi, W. Indian Tribe Spoken of by
Ptolemy, 13.
Bora Rites, Initiation of Tenths into
Manhood, Australia, 153.
Borfima, a Fetich Medicine in Sherbro,
26.
Bozdars, an Arab Confederation, 15.
Brabni Tribe Inhabiting East and West
of Kalat, 12.
Brandt (S.), Elsass-Lothringens, Anthro-
pologie (rev.), 341.
BrintoD (D. G.), on Toltecs and Maja
Cnltare, 47, 48.
Bristol, MedieBval Population of, by J.
Beddoe, 142.
British Association, Dover, 1899,
Anthropology, 198.
Brown (J. Allen), on G. Clinch's paper,
139; Stone Implements, Pitcaim
Island, 210.
Buddhism among Dilazaks, 4.
Buln, a People in German West Africa,
67.
Bunds, Dams to form Water ReseiToirs,
14.
Buner, Country North of the Khaibar, 3.
Buimah, Nats or Spirits of, by R. C.
Temple, 217.
Buschan (G.), Centralblatt fiir Anthro-
pologic (rev.), 196.
Bugti, a Frontier Arab Tribe, 18.
Bugtis, an Arab Confederation, 15.
Caldwell (Dr. Bishop of Tinnevelly),
Sepulchral Urns, S. India, 290.
Cambridge Expedition, S. H. Raj on
Linguistic Results of, 219 ; New
Guinea and Torres Straits, 211.
Canada, British Associatdoii Committee
on, 210.
Cappadoce, Mission en, by Bmest
Chantre (rev.), 320.
Cardi, Comte de, on Fitzgerald
Marriott's paper, 27; Jaja Liaws and
Customs, 51.
Carnana (A. A.), Ancient Pag^an Tombs,
etc., of Malta (rev.), 329; Boyal
Public Library of Malta (rev.% 329.
Central African Vocabularies, see Juba
Expedition, 244-9.
Centralblatt fur Anthropolo^e (rev.),
196.
Cephalic Index, by Franz Boas (rev.),
332.
Chadwick (H. M.), the Cult of Othin
(rev.), 189.
Chakdara, in the Swat district, 6.
Chaldeans inhabiting Makr&n, 11.
Chamkanni, a Tribe on Borders oi
Tirah, 7.
Chandrabans, the Lunar Race of Rajput?,
3.
Chantre (Ernest), Mission en Cappadoce
1893-94 (rev.), 320.
Chengis Kban, the Destroyer, 4.
Chichen Itzd, ruin in Tucatan, 47.
Christian (P. W.), elected November,
1899, 225.
Chronology, Prehistoric, by O. Monteh'ns,
308.
Church (Col. George Earl), on Comer's
paper on Mitla, 48.
Circnmcision, a Sign of Freedom, 56.
Clark (A.), Judicial Oaths used on Oold
Coast, 310.
Clemens (E.), Vocabulary of GkkUuma
Tribe, 192.
Clinch (G.), Prehistoric Man in Kent
and Surrey, 123 ; Correction of Error
in last Journal, 315.
Clitoridectomy, used in Niger Delta, 59.
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Index.
347
Codice Pictorico de los Antiguos Naaas,
F. del Paso j Troncoso {rev.), 337.
Coffey (George), Copper Celts in
Ireland, 206.
Cole (J. A. Abayomi), Writer on Poro,
21.
Copan, founded by Toltecs, 47.
Comer (Wm.), Mitla, 29.
Craft (Mabel C), Hawaii Nei (rev.),
335.
Crooke (Wm.), on Col. Holdich's paper,
20 ; on Dr. A. L. Bennett's paper on
the Fang, 97 ; on Col. Macdonald's
Juba Expedition, 243; on Dr.
Westermarok's Arab Ginn, 268;
Primitive Bites of Disposal of the
Dead, India, 271.
Cult of Othin, by H. M. Chadwick
(rev.), 189.
Cursing-stick, used in Niger Delta, 58,
60.
D.
Damba Koh, Hills on which Dambs are
built, 12.
Damb, Stone Hats on hill sides at
Makran, 12.
Davenport (C. B.), Statistical Methods
(rev.), 326.
Deane (Major), 64,
Decades AmericansB, by Dr. E. T. Hamy
(rev.), 338.
Defiled by touching a corpse — by earth
from a grave — by Long Ju-Ju men,
53.
Dialect Changes in Polynesian Lan-
guages, by Bev. S. Ella, 154.
Dilazaks, Extinct Tribe of Western
India, 4.
Disregard for Death in Niger Delta, 55.
Dolmens and Burial Mounds in Japan,
by W. Gowland (rev.), 183 ; of Japan
and their Builders, by W. Gowland
(rev.), 183.
Duckworth ( W. L. H.), elected, 1 ; on a
Skull from Syria, 145 ; Anthropo-
metrical Instruments, 270, 313 ; Ger-
man Congress at Lindau, September,
1899, 314.
Duranis, modem name of Afghans, 2.
E.
Eaglebawk and Crow, by John Mathew
(rev.), 197.
Eddowes (Alfred), on Stouehenge, 209.
Egbo, Tiger or Leopard, Society on
Niger, 21.
Elliot (Sir H.), 15.
Elmslie (W. A.), Among the Wild Ngoni
(ret;.), 191.
Elsass-Lothringens, Anthropologie, ed.
by Dr. G. Schwalk (rev.), 341.
Estlake (Allan), the Oneida Community
(rsv.), 327.
Ethiopians, inhabiting Makrdn, 11.
Ethnology, by A. H. Keane (rev.), 184.
Evans (A. J.), Fibulse from North Africa,
207.
Fang, Ethnographical Notes on the, by
Dr. A. L. Bennett, 66 ; Degeneration
of, from Syphilis, 70 ; most com-
panionable People, 71 ; Dancing a
Favourite Amusement, 72 ; Painting,
Tattooing, Cicatrization, 73; Work-
ing of Iron, Fire, Machinery, 76;
Food, Cooking, 81 ; Religion, Fetish
or Biang (medicine), 85 ; are Can-
nibals, 68, 83.
Father-making, Worship of Ancestors,
54.
Ferisbta, 15.
Fillmore (J. C), Harmonic Structure of
Indian Music (ret;.), 330.
Fitzgerald Marriott (H. P.), Secret
Societies of West Africa, 21 .
Flint Implements in Glacial Deposits,
Cbesbire, by J. Lomas (ret?.), 333.
Foreman (John, F.R.G.S.), the Philip-
pine Islands (rev.), 191.
Frazer (J. G.), Golden BoDgh, 63.
Funeral Customs of the Niger Delta, 53.
G.
Galton (Francis), Finger Prints, 199.
Gardner (Ernest), on Montelius' Prehis-
toric Chronology, 308.
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348
Index.
Oarson (J. 0.)> edited drd Edition
" Anthrop. Notes and Qneries," 197.
Qestnre-cnrsefi, in the Niger Delta, 67.
Ghilzais, 3.
Gichki, a Sikh tribe who sacceeded the
Boledi, 13.
Qinn (Arab), Natnre of, in Morocco, 252.
Gourlay (Miss J.), the Temple of Mnt
in Asher (rev.), 191.
Gowland (Wm.), 50, 140; on Wm.
Crooke's Primitive Bites, Disposal of
Dead, India, 292 ; Dolmens of Japan
(rev.), 183.
Grrsaco-Bactrian Coins Bare in Makribi,
19.
Gray (John), Ethnographical Work in
Scotland, 213.
Greg (T. T.), elected, 1.
Greenstone Hammer, Chisel, and Axe,
from Mitla, 46.
Griffith (F. L.), elected March, 1899, 20.
Gaallnma Vocabnlary, by E. Clement,
192.
H.
Haddon (A C), Amphidromy, 315.
Hajjaj despatched 6,000 Syrians to
Sindh from Aleppo, 19.
Hamy (E. T.), Beproductions of Nahna
Manuscripts (rev.), 337; Decades
AmericaD89 (rev.), 338.
Harmonic Structure of Indian Music,
by J. C. Fillmore (rev.), 330.
Haverfield (F.), Boman origin of
MedifldYal Charm, 306.
Hawaiian Langaage, see Bev. S. Ella's
Paper, 157.
Hawaii Nei, Mabel C. Craft (rev.), 335.
Head-dress, Survival of Ancient Type,
in Mexico, 38.
Heckethom (C. W.), writer on Poro
Societies, 21.
Henry (E. B.), Finger Prints, 198.
Hingol Biver Delta, Site of Tomeros, 11.
Hobson (Mrs. M. A.), elected March,
1899, 20.
Hogarth (D. G.), editor of Authority
and ArchfiBology (rev.), 187.
Holdich (T. H.), on Swatis and Afridis,
2,10.
Holmes (W. H.), of Field Columbian
Museum, 36 ; Auriferous Gravel l/lan
in California (rev.)^ 334.
Holmes (T. V.), Astrology and the Divin-
ing Bod, 312 ; the Bicycle and Crime,
313.
Honolulu, Bishop, Museum Ethnology,
No. 1 (ret;.), 326.
Horsford (Cornelia), Vinland and its
Buins (rev.), 334.
Hrdlicka (Ales), Study of the NonmJ
Tibia (rev.), 332; Ancient Mexican
Skeleton (rev.), 333.
Hnastecas, a Maya People of Rio
Panuco, 47.
Human Sacrifices in West Africa, 24;
not usual in Ju-Ju Society, 52.
Huxley Memorial Statue, Beport of
Unveiling of, 316.
I.
Ibibeo, a West African Society, 22.
Ibo or Eboe Tribe, in Hinterland of
Niger Delta, 52.
Ibu Haukal, writer on Arabic, and
Sindhian, 19.
Ichthyophagi, a Bace Discovered by
Nearchns, 19.
Idiong or Idion Society, Higher Branch
of Egbo, 23.
Ife or 1116 Ife, Sacred Place in Yoruba,
25.
Igbo (see Egbo), 21.
Ilaxcaltecs assisted Cortez against
Mexico, 49.
Tiling (K. E.), Der Periplus des Hanno
(rev.), 185.
Imperri, District of West Africa, 26.
India, Primitive Bites of Disposal of
the Dead (Wm. Crooke), 271.
Indo- Scythians, known as Sakas, 19.
International Congress (12th) of Pre-
historic Anthropology and Art-be-
ology (Paris, 1900), 342 ; of Historj'
of BeUgion, 342.
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Index.
349
J.
Jadite found in Mexico, 38.
Jalawdn, West Islands of Kalat, 12.
Jolly-boat, from Arabic ** Jalaba/' 14.
Jones (T. Rupert), on Mr. Swjnnerton's
paper, 123.
Juba Expedition, by Lieut.-Col. J. R. L.
Macdonald, 226.
Judicial Oaths used on Gold Coast, by
A. Clark, 310.
Ju-Ju Laws and Customs, by M. Le
Comte de Cardi, 51.
K.
Kaliph Yejid persecuted Syria, end of
seventh century, 15.
Karamojo (see Juba Expedition), 234.
Katahwiri Society for Men, on Gold
Coast, 21.
Katahwiriba Society for Women, on
Gold Coast, 21.
Kathetometry, by Prof. Dr. Moriz
Benedikt (rev,), 333.
Kay (Charles de), " Bird Gods " (rev,),
186.
Keane (A. H.), "Ethnology," and
*'Man, Past, and Present " (rev,), 184.
Kej Valley, near Mand, in Makran, 15.
Kennedy (Mr. J.), on Col. Holdich's
paper, 18.
Kez Macoran, Saracenic in 1290, 15.
Khalmat, on the Makran Coast, 15.
Khalmat chiefs of Makrdn, 14.
Kingsley (Miss M. H.), on M. le Comte
de Cardi's paper, 61.
Kish, ancestor of Afghans, 2.
Kivo Ibo River, in West Africa, 24.
Kru Coast, Social Classification on, 62.
Kushans, part of the Confederacy of the
Yue-chi, 19.
Labia Pudendi artificially joined in
Niger Delta, 60.
Laghmani, Afghan race of Laghman
Valley, 4.
Lang (Andrew), elected, 1.
Lawrence (G. F.), elected November,
1899, 225.
Lee (Mrs. Kate), elected November,
1899, 225.
Leonard (A. C), of Niger Coast Pro-
tectorate, 52.
Leopard Society, see Secret Societies of
W. Africa, 21.
Levin (M. L.), Agg^y Beads, see Col.
Temple's paper, 119.
Lewis (A. L.), on G. Clinch's Prehistoric
Man, 139.
Livi (Rudolf o), Antropometria (ret;.),
324.
Lomas (Joseph), Flint Implements,
Glacial Deposits, Cheshire (rev.),
333.
Long Ju-Ju Men on the Kivo Ibo River,
W. Africa, 24; in the Ibo Country,
52.
M.
Macdonald (J. R. L.), Notes on the
Ethnology of Tribes met with in Juba
Expedition, 1897-99, 226.
Macalister (A.), Anthropometry, 203.
Maclver (David), elected, 251 ; Anthro-
pometry in Egypt, 202.
Maclagan (R. C), elected November,
1899, 225.
MacRitchie (D.), Memories of the Picts
(rev.), 840.
Mahmandsai, see Mohmands, 5.
Mahmud of Ghazni, Apostle of Islam,
4.
Mahomed Kassim invaded India, 705
A.D., 14.
Maidan, Headquarters of the Afridis, 6.
Makran, Province of Beluchistan, 10.
Malta, Royal Public Library, by Dr.
A. A. Caruaua (rev.), 329 ; Ancient
Pagan Tombs, etc., by Dr. A. A.
Caruana (rev,), 329.
Mand, a District in Makr&n, 15.
Man, Past and Present, by A. H. Keane
(rev.), 184.
Manillas, Iron Circlets worth Id., 23.
Mansura, Arab Settlement in Sindb, 19.
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350
Index.
Marett (B. B.), Pre-animistic Beligion,
217.
Marco Polo in India in 1290, 15.
Mari, a Frontier Arab Tribe, 18.
Marriott (F.), on Bennett's paper on
Fang, 97.
Marris, an Arab Confederation, 15.
Masai, see Jaba Expedition, 232.
Masks, West African, see Mr. H. P.
Fitzgerald Marriott's paper, 25.
Mathew (John), Eaglehawk and Crow
{rev.), 197.
Maudslay (A. P.), Biologia Centrali-
Americana, 36 ; on Wm. Comer's
paper, 46.
Maya Qnicb^ Towns, Utatlan, Izimche,
Chacujal, 47.
Mayne (Col.), Conductor of Campaign
in Makrdn, 17.
'Mbaike Society in the Ibibeo Tribe,
22.
McDongall (W.), Sense of Touch and
Pain, Cambridge Expedition, 222.
Modes, inhabiting Makr^n, 10.
Mediaaval Charm, Boman origin of,
by F. Haverfield, 306.
Meiklejohn (General), 6.
Memories of the Picts, by D. MacBitchie
(rev.), 340.
Mendi Country on West Coast Africa,
65.
Mexican Architecture and Ornament,
33.
Mexican Fortification, 45.
Mexico, Prof. F. Starr's Address on,
141.
Meyer (A. B.), the Negritos (rev,), 191.
Mingal, see Mongul, 12.
Mitla, paper by W. Corner on, 29.
Mockler (Col.), Political Agent at
Makran, 12.
Mohmand country North of the
Khaibar, 3.
Mongols inhabiting Makran, 11.
Montelius (Oscar), Prehistoric Chro-
nology, 308.
Moreno (F. P.), Explorations in Pata-
gonia (rev,), 334.
Morocco, Nature of the Arab uinn in,
252.
Mosaic Ornament at Mitla, 36, 46.
Musical Bow, Natural History of, bj
Henry Balfour (rev,), 340.
Musical Instrument at Fetish Cere-
monies, Plate VIII, 61.
Mut (Temple of, in Asher), by Miss M.
Benson and Miss J. Gonrlay (rev.),
191.
Muzaffarnagar District in North West
Provinces, 20.
Myers (C. S.), Hearing, Smell, Taste,
etc., Cambridge Expedition to Torres
Straits, 222 ; Mnsic.in Torres Straits,
223!
N.
I Nadir Shah, 4.
j Nahua Manuscripts, reproductions of,
by Dr. E. T. Hamy (rev,), 337.
Nalma Baces on Pacific side of Mexico,
47.
Nanam Society for Men, on Gold Coast,
21.
Naoshera, 4.
Naoshirwani, a Persian Tribe of Kharan,
13.
Naval Terms, derived from Arabic, 14.
'Ndem Efik the Great (I)d6m of
Kalabar, 21.
Nearchus discovered the Ichthyophagi,
19.
Negritos, by A. B. Meyer, M.D. (ret?.),
191.
Neolitliic Age, see G. Clinch's Stone
Implements, 124.
Neritvia Fluviatilis, Discovery of, in
Thames, by H. Stopes, 302.
New Guinea and Torres Straits, Cam-
bridge Expedition, 211.
New Zealand, Kotahas or whip-slings,
in British Museum, 304; carved
canoe-head from, 305.
Ngoni, Among the Wild, by Dr. W.
A. Elmslie (rev.), 191.
Nicobar, see Col. Temple's Beginnings
of Currency, 99.
Normal Tibia, by Ales Hrdlicka (rev.),
332.
Notes and Queries, edited by Dr. Garson
and C. H. Bead (rev,), 197.
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351
O.
Odndua, tlie Mother of the Gods, Toruba
Goddess, 61.
Old Kalabar, home of chief Egbo
Society, 21.
Oliver, author of "Across the Border,"
17.
Oloram, Tornba for supreme god, 25.
Oneida Community, by Allan Estlake
(rev.), 327.
Onyckolum Society in the Ibibeo Tribe,
22.
Oracles, by Wise Woman in West Africa,
24.
Orakzais, Path&n Tribe of West India,
2.
Oricha, Yoruba word for Fetich, 25.
Orientation of Temples, by F. C. Pen-
rose, F.R.S. (rev.), 336.
Oshogbo, Jebu name of a secret Society,
Yoruba, 25.
Pahtan, Syriao for Rudder, name of
Kish, 2.
Paktun, see Pathdn.
Paktun-wali, Pathdn Code of Civil
Observances, 2.
Palaeontology, Text Book of, Vol. I, by
K. A. Von Zittel (rev.\ 331.
Palenque founded by Toltecs, 47.
Pandomanagai, Pygmies of India, 12.
Parikanoi, significance of the name, 13.
Parkinson (R.), Ethnography of Solo-
mon Islands (rev.), 341.
Parsiwans, 3.
Partington (J. Edge), New Zealand
Kotahas, 304 ; Note on Stone Battle-
Axe, New Zealand, 305.
Parvez, the last of the Sagsanian
Monarchs, 19.
Patagonia, Explorations in, Dr. F. P.
Moreno (rev.), 334.
Path4n, Inhabitants of Western Borders
of India, 2 ; Dictionary of, Calcutta,
1899 (rev.), 335.
Paul (J. D.), elected March, 1899, 20.
Pehlvi used for inscriptions on Sakas
coins, 19.
Penrose (F. C, F.R.S.) , Orientation of
Temples (rev.), 336.
Periplus des Hanno, by Dr. K. E. Illing
(rev.), 185.
Perkins (Herbert), Some Australian
Tree Carvings, 152.
Persians Inhabiting Makrdn, 11.
Petrie (W. M. Flinders), Sources of tho
Alphabet, 204; Sequences in Pre-
historic Remains, 295 ; on Montelius'
Prehistoric Chronology, 308.
Philippine Islands, by John Foreman
(rev.), 191.
Photographs, British Association Com-
mittee to provide for the collection of,
201.
Physical Anthropology, Bibliography of,
Prof. Dr. E. Schmidt (rev.), 333.
Pitcairn Island, Stone Implements of,
by J. Allen Brown, 210.
Polynesian Museum, Ethnology, Hono-
lulu, No. 1 (rev.), 326.
Poro Societies in Sierra Leone, 21.
Portman (M. V.), Languages of S.
Andaman Group (rev.), 181.
Prehistoric Anthropology and ArchsB-
ology, 12th International Congress
(Paris, 1900), 342.
Prehistoric Man in Kent and Surrey, by
G. Clinch, 123.
Prehistoric Remains, Sequences in, by
Prof. W. M. Flinders Petrie, 295.
Psychology in Torres Straits, by Dr. W.
H. R. Rivers, 219.
Pushtu, Language of Pathdns, 2.
Q.
Quakery, Ju-Ju King of New Calaban,
51.
Quick (A. S.), elected November, 1899,
225.
Races of Europe, by W. Z. Ripley
(rev.), 188.
Rain-makers in West ^Lfrica, 23.
Rajputs inhabiting Makr&n, 11.
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352
Index.
Raj (Sidney H.), LingtuRtio results of
Cambridge Expedition to Torres
Straits, 219.
Read (C. H.), 1, 28, 65, 98, 123, 225,
270; edited 3rd edition "Anthro-
pological Notes and Queries,*' 197;
Note on Carved Canoe Head, New
Zealand, 305.
Rekis, a Desert-Bred Tribe of West
India, 15.
Religion, History of, International Con-
gress on (1900) (rev.), 342.
Ridgeway (Prof.), on Col. Temple's
paper, 121.
Rinds, Arab Confederations, 15.
Ripley (W. Z.), the Races of Europe
(rev.), 188.
Rivers (W. R. H.), Genealogical Statis-
tics, 200; on Skin Colour, 204;
Psychology of Cambridge Expedition
to Torres Straits, 219.
Rob country, inhabited by Rohillas, 2.
Rohillas, W. India, inhabitants of Roh,
2.
Rncker (Miss S. E.), elected November,
1899, 225.
S.
Sacrifice of Animals over dead Chief-
tains, 22.
Saiad Akbar the prophetic Mnllah of
Tirah, 7.
Sakas, Indo-Scythians in Makran, 19.
Sakastene or Sejistan, named by Sakas,
19.
Samoan Alphabet, see Rev. S. Ella's
paper, 155.
Sandeman (Sir Robert), 18.
Sarabur, a branch of the Afghan family,
3.
Sarawan, East Highlands of E^lat, 12.
Sartor Fakir, the bareheaded, 6.
Schmidt (E.), Bibliography of Physical
Anthropology (ret;.), 333.
School Children, Abnormal, British
Association Committee on, 203.
Schwalk (G.), editor of Elsass-Lothrin-
gens, Anthropology (rev.), 341.
Science and Faith, by Dr. Paul Topinard
(rev.), 317.
Secret Societies of West Africa, by H.
P. Fitzgerald Marriott, 21.
Seligmann, Dr. C. G., on New Gainea,
Torres Straits, and Queensland, 212.
Shah Zaman, son of Timur, 4.
Sherbro, West African Coast, home of
Human Leopard Society, 26.
Sikhs inhabiting Makr&n, 11.
Silchester, British Association Com-
mittee on, 209.
Sinjaranis of the Helmund, from Syria,
15.
Siri Society, secret society in Egypt, 24.
Sistan District of W. India, 13.
Skeleton, ancient Mexican, by Ales
HrdliSka (rev.), 333.
Skull from Syria, by W. L. H. Duck-
worth, M.A., 145.
Skyths inhabiting Makrdn, 11.
Smith (Eveleigh), on Mr. F. Marriott's
paper, 23, 25.
Sologaren (Dr.), his collection, Oaxaca,
46.
Solomon Islands, Ethnography of, by R.
Parkinson (rev.), 341.
Starr (Frederick), Address on objects
from Mexico, 141.
Statistical Methods, by C. B. Davenport
(rev.), 326.
Stone Implements from Gwalior, by F.
Swynnerton, 141.
Stone lance-heads from Mitla and
Oaxaca, 45.
Stopes (H.), on discovery of NerUina
Fluvtatilis in Thames, 302.
Swat, country north of the Khaibar, 3.
Swatis, Col. Sir T. H. Holdich on, 2.
Swynnerton (F.), elected, 98; Stone
Implements from Gwalior, 141.
Symbols of Yornba Secret Society, Plate
vni, 61.
T.
Tahitian Language, see Rev. S. Ella's
paper, 156.
Tajaks, husbandmen of S. Baluchistan,
13.
Tangweera, by C. Napier Bell (rev.),
339,
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353
Tatia in Bind, place of the King's
sepnlchres, 15.
Temple (R. C), on C. de Cardi's paper,
63 ; Beginnings of Onrrency, 99 ;
Bnrmese Nats, or spirits, 217.
Thana, in the Swat District, 6.
Timur the Tartar devastates W. India,
4.
Tocher (J. F.), elected November, 1899,
225.
Toltecs (= Bailders), Originators of
Maya Culture, 47.
Tomeros, Hingol River Delta,* 11.
Trial by Ordeal in the Ibibeo Tribe, 22.
Troncoso (F. del Paso y), Mexican
Manuscripts (rev.), 337.
Turcomans confused with Sakas, 20.
Turks inhabiting Makran, 11.
Twin-children, the Mother to be Killed,
57.
Tylor (E. B.), on Dr. Westermarck's
" Arab 6inn," 251, 269.
Tzapoteco, former inhabitants of Mexico,
29.
U.
Uluga, " pig's nose," a W. African Tribe,
22.
United Kingdom, Report of Committee,
Ethnographical Survey, 215.
Van de Poel, his West African masks, 25.
Vinland and its Ruins, by Cornelia
Horsford (ret?.), 334.
Voice of Oro, similar to Australian Bull
Roarer, 61.
W.
Wanganui Museum, New Zealand, 4th
Annual Report (to 30th June, 1899)
(rer,), 342.
Waziris, PathAn Tribe of West India, 2.
Westermarck (E.), Nature of the Arab
dinn, 252.
Williams (J. W.), elected November,
1899, 225.
Wourtsimi, Foretelling Priests or
Prophets, 63.
Y.
Yue-chi, a great Indo-Scythic horde, 19.-
Yusufzai, Branch of Afghan race, 3.
Z.
Zaaxas Hacienda 2^ miles S.E. from
Mitla, 42.
Zain Khan, Kabul tax-collector, 4.
Zakka Khel, a leading Afridi tribe, 7.
Zittel (Carl A. von), Textbook of Palceon-
tology {rev.)^ 331.
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LONDOK :
HARBISON AND 80N8, FRINTBB8 IN OBDINART TO HBB MAJESTY,
BT. VABTIN'S LANB.
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BY-LAWS
Of THE
ANTHROPOlOaiCAL INSTITUTE OF aREAT BRITAIN
AND IRELAND,
DULY CONFIRMED BY THE COUNCIL, AND ORDERED TO BE PRINTED FOR
THE INFORMATION OF THE FELLOWS.
13th MAECH, 1900.
I. THE PEESIDENT. [under Art. 14.
1. The President shall exercise a general supervision over the afifairs of the
Institute ; shall be, when present, Chairman of the Council, and of all meetings of
the Fellows and a Member of all Committees; shall execute, and cause to be
executed, these By-Laws; shall cause to be summoned extraordinary meetings
of the Council, of the Committees, and of the Fellows ; and shall propose from time
to time, to the Council, such measures as may appear to him conducive to the
welfare of the Institute.
2. When prevented from being present at meetings, or from otherwise
attending to the current business, he will be expected to give timely notice to the
Secretary or to one of the Vice-Presidents.
II. THE TKEASUEEK. [under Art. 14.
1. The Treasurer shall have special charge of all accounts, which shall be kept
in proper books to be provided for that purpose ; and he shall see to the collecting
of all sums of money due to the Institute.
2. He shall not make any payment without the previous consent of the
Council ; and no drafts on the Institute's bankers shall be paid unless signed by the
Treasurer, and by the Chairman of the meeting of the Council at wliich such
consent was given.
3. He shall keep, in concert with the Secretary, a complete list of the
Fellows of the Institute, with the name and address of each, accurately set forth ;
which list, with a statement of the financial position of the Institute, shall be
laid on the table at every Ordinary Meeting of the Council
4. He shall be ex officio a member of all Committees.
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2 By-Laws.
III. THE SECRETARY. [under Art. 14.
1. The Seci-etary shall conduct the correspondence of the Institute ; shall
see that the Minute Books are duly posted and kept in proper order, that the
notices of all meetings of the Council and of the Institute are issued at the
proper times, and that the Rooms and Library are kept in proper order; shall
superintend the publications and exercise such other powers as the Council shall
delegate to him from time to time ; and shall use his best efforts that the resources
of the Institute may be readily available both to the Fellows, and to advance the
Study of Man.
2. He shall be ex officio a member of all Committees appointed by the Council,
and secretary of all standing Committees.
3. There shall be an Assistant Secretary who shall be appointed by the
Council, on such terms as the Council may from time to time ordain.
4. The Assistant Secretary shall carry on the current work of the office of the
Institute, and keep the petty cash account, under the supervision of the Secretary,
to whom he shall be primarily responsible ; but he shall hold himself in readiness
to assist all the officers in the performance of their duties.
IV. THE COUNCIL [under Art. 16, 19,
1. The Council shall meet in the afternoon of every day on which an
Ordinary Meeting of the Institute is to be held ; and also not less than a fortnight,
or more than a month, before the first ordinary meeting of each session.
2. Notice of every meeting shall be given to every member of the Council
not less than three days in advance ; and this notice shaU specify, in general terms,
the business to be transacted.
3. No resolution shall be adopted at any meeting of the Council, except such
as may arise out of the business specified in the notice given to every member of
tlje Council ; save that in cases of emergency any two members present may move
the suspension of this By-Law in order to bring before the Council a matter
requiring immediate decision ; but the suspension of this By-Law shall require a
majority of two-thirds of those present and voting.
4. The Council may delegate any part of its powers to a Standing Committee
or Committees, which shall report to the Council at every meeting. In all such
Standing Committees not less than one-third of the members shall retire annually,
and shall not be eligible for immediate re-election.
5. The Council may also refer particular subjects to Committees which shall
report to the Council at or before the ordinary meeting of the Council next before
the ensuing General Annual Meeting. In all such Committees the membera
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By-Laws, 8
shall be nominated half by the proposer of the motion to appoint, and half by the
Chairman of the meeting at which the Committee is appointed ; and all shall be
eligible for re-appointment at the discretion of the next incoming Council.
6. The Council may appoint persons not being members of the Council to
be Salaried Officers or Servants, to carry on the necessary work of the Institute,
and may define the duties to be performed in each case, and may allow to them
such salaries, gratuities, and privileges, as may seem proper ; and may suspend or
discharge any such Officer or Servant from office, whenever there shall seem to be
occasion for so doing.
7. The order of business in the Council shall be as follows, unless the
Council shall on any occasion order otherwise : —
(a) Minutes of the last meeting.
Q)) Financial business.
{c) Elections and nominations.
(d) Reports of Standing Committees.
(a) Reports of other Committees.
(/) Other business specified on the notice of meeting.
{g) Emergency business under Rule IV, 3.
V. THE STANDING COMMITTEE. [under By-Law IV, 4.
1. There shall be one Standing Committee, appointed by the Council, which
shall be called the Executive Committee.
2. It shall consist of the President, Secretary and Treasurer for the time
being, ex officio, and five Fellows, one of whom at least shall be an ordinary
member of Council.
3. The business of the Executive Committee shall be as follows : —
(a) To consider and report upon any business referred to it by the
Council.
{b) To examine all papers submitted to the Institute for reading and
publication, and to decide, with the aid of referees, whose names
shall on each occasion be reported to the Council, whether or no
such papers shall be recommended to the Council for reading or
publication ; in full or in abstract ; whether, and to what extent,
illustrations are required, and generally to help the Secretary in the
production of the Journal and other publications.
(c) To consider and recommend to the Council exchanges of publications
with other Societies.
{d) To act as a Library Committee.
4. The Executive Committee shall meet on the Tuesday next before each
meeting of the Council.
5. The Executive Committee shall report its proceedings to each meeting of
the Council for confirmation.
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By-LawB,
VI. THE HONORAEY MEMBERS. [under Art 15.
1. Honorary Members may be elected, but not more than three in each year.
They shall be nominated at or before the first ordinaty meeting of the Council in
December, and of this special notice shall be given ; and they shall be put up for
election at the next ordinary meeting of the Council
2. Every nomination shall be accompanied by a statement of the
qualifications of the nominee.
3. In the nomination and election of Honorary Members, regard shall be
had to the representation of countries not already sufiSciently represented in the
list of Honoiury Members.
VII. THE LOCAL CORRESPONDENTS. [under Art. 15.
1. The Council may appoint Local Oorrespondents in any part of the British
Empire, or elsewhere, who may, or may not, be Fellows of the Institute.
2. The appointment of any Local Correspondent shall be revocable at the
pleasure of the Council, but shall cease and determine at the expiration of every
successive period of four years ; the first of such periods to be computed from the
General Annual Meeting of 1900, so that the tenure of office of each and all of
the Local Correspondents shall expire with the expiration of every such quad-
rennial period.
3. Every Local Correspondent shall be presented with a diploma of his
appointment, signed by the President and Secretary, and specifying the date at
which the appointment is to cease and determine.
4. Every Local Correspondent shall be entitled, if not already a Fellow, to
receive the JourTial of the Institute during his term of office.
5. It shall be the duty of every Local Correspondent to communicate from
time to time to the Coimcil any matter of Anthropological interest that may come
within his knowledge.
6. Every Local Correspondent shall be re-eligible, provided that in the
opinion of the Council his services to the Institute, and to Anthropological
Science, during his term of office, shall have been sufficient to make his re-election
desirable.
VIIL THE HOUSE LIST. [under Art. 17, 22.
1. Seven of the ordinary Members of Council, and one of the elected Vice-
Presidents, shall retire from office annually by rotation, and shall not be eligible
for re-election to the same office for the space of one year.
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By-Laws. 5
2. A list of the retiring membera shall be laid before the Council at the
first Ordinary Meeting, in December, when the Council shall receive and consider
nominations of Fellows to take the place of these and any other members of
Council, or officers, who may retire.
3. Any member of Council may nominate any Fellow of the Institute for
any vacancy among the officers and in the Council.
4. When more nominations are made than there are vacancies, the selection
shall be by ballot, and shall be made at the next ordinary meeting of the Council.
5. The Secretary shall give notice to every Fellow thus selected for any
vacancy and not already a member of the Council ; and if such Fellow decline
to serve, his place shall be supplied, (a) if the number of nominations shall have
been in excess of that of the vacancies, by the Fellow who shall have received
in the ballot the next largest number of votes; (b) if otherwise, by a fresh
nomination, which shall be made by the Council, and if necessary by ballot as
before.
IX. THE GENERAL ANNUAL MEETING. [under Art. 23.
1. The General Annual Meeting shall be held, if practicable, on the fourth
Tuesday in January, at 8.30 p.m.
2. Notice of this meeting, together with a printed balloting list of the
Officers and Council, shall be sent to every Fellow of the Institute, residing in the
United Kingdom, whose address is known ; and may be inserted in two or more
newspapers, one week at least before the day of Meeting.
3. The following shall be the Agenda for the General Annual Meeting : —
{a) The Minutes of the last General Annual Meeting, and of any Special
General Meeting which may have been held subsequently.
(6) The appointment of Scrutineers, as in § 4 below.
(c) The presentation of the Annual Eeports of the Council and of the
Treasurer.
{d) The Presidential Address.
(e) The election of Officers and Council for the ensuing year.
(/) The installation of the newly elected President
4 No other business shall be transacted but such as may arise out of the
Report of the Council. In the event of any Fellow being desirous of bringing
forward a motion on any point not raised in the Report of the Council, such
motion shall be handed in to the Chairman in writing, read audibly at the
Meeting and referred to a Special General Meeting, which shall meet not more
than one calendar month after the General Annual Meeting ; provided that the
motion to call a Special General Meeting be supported by the major part of the
Fellows present at the Annual Meeting.
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6 By-Laws,
5. The chair shall be taken at the time named in the notice, or as soon
after as seven Fellows shall be present ; whereupon the Chairman shall at once
appoint two or more Scrutineers from among the Fellows present, not being
members of Council, and shall declare the ballot open for cme hour from the time
when the Scrutineers shall have taken their places.
6. Each Fellow present, and voting, shall deliver a balloting list (of which
sufficient copies shall be provided), folded up, to one of the Scnitineere, who shall
immediately put it into the ballot box, and forthwith strike off the name of that
Fellow on a copy of the list of Fellows to be provided by the Secretary.
7. At the close of the ballot the Scrutineers shall report the number of votes
given for each person to the Chairman, who shall thereupon declare the persons
upon whom the election has fallen.
8. If the name of any person is found to have been simply erased in the
majority of balloting papers, without any name being substituted, such person
shall not be elected.
X. THE ORDINARY MEETINGS. [under Art 27.
1. The Ordinary Meetings of the Institute shall be held at 8.30 p.m., on
dates which shall be fixed for the ensuing session at the last meeting of the
Council in June (when practicable) and a list of these meetings shall be sent to
each Fellow at least a fortnight before the b^inning of the session.
2. Additional Ordinary Meetings may be convened by the President at any
time.
3. A notice of each meeting, specifying as far as possible the subject of the
paper or papers to be read and discussed, shall be sent, not less than three days
beforehand, to all Fellows resident in the United Kingdom, whose addresses are
known.
4. At Ordinary Meetings the order of procedure shall be as follows : —
(«) The Minutes of the last Ordinary Meeting shall be read, and if their
accuracy be not questioned, signed by the Chairman.
(6) Elections of new Fellows, and presentations of books, etc., shall be
announced.
(c) Papers and communications shall be read and discussed.
(rf) The date, and so far as possible the subject, of the next meeting shall
be announced from the Chair.
XL THE LIBRARY. [under Art 8, 22.
1. The Library shall be open for the use of Fellows of the Institute daily,
with the exception of Sundays and the holidays hereinafter named, from 11 a.m.
to 4 p.m., except that on Saturdays it shall be closed at 1 p.m
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By-Laws. 7
2. The holidays on which the Library shall be closed shall be the public
holidays, together with Good Friday, Easter Eve, Christmas Day, and such part of
the months of August and September as shall be determined from time to
time by the Council.
3. Every Fellow of the Institute whose subscription shall not be three
months in arrear may borrow out of the library, under the conditions hereinafter
stated, any number of printed volumes, not exceeding ten, and may exchange any
of the borrowed volumes for others as often as he may please ; but so that he shall
not have more than ten in his possession at any one time, and shall not retain any
book for a longer period than one month, if the saime be applied for in the
meanwhile by another Fellow ; nor in any case for more than six months.
4. Every application by a Fellow for the use or loan of any book or books
shall be made in writing, and shall be presented at the Library either by the
Fellow himself, or by an authorised agent therein named.
5. Every application, with the title of the book, the name and address of the
borrower, and the date of borrowing, shall be entered by the Assistant Secretary in
a register which shall be kept in the Library ; and likewise the date at which each
book is returned
6. All expenses of packing and transmitting books borrowed from the
Library shall be defrayed by the borrower,
7- Eveiy Fellow who shall borrow any book from the Library shall be
responsible to the Institute for its safety and good condition from the time of its
leaving the Library until its return ; and in case of any loss or damage he shall
replace the book or make it good, as may be required by the Council.
8. Other persons, not being Fellows of the Institute, may be personally
introduced by a Fellow into the Library for purposes of study : or may, on the
written recommendation of a Fellow, be provided with a ticket of admission to
the Library, which shall specify the name and address of the pei'son so admitted, and
shall be renewable for periods of seven days. But any Fellow who shall introduce
or recommend any person, shall be responsible to the Institute for any loss or
damage which may result from his admission.
9. All persons, whether Fellows or not, who shall make use of the Library,
shall on each occasion enter their names, and the date of their visit, in the
register which shall be kept for the purpose in the Library.
10. The Secretary shall have general control over the working of the Library,
and shall be empowered to confine any book or document to the Library at his
discretion, and to make such further regulations as may seem to him from time to
time desirable ; but shall report all such regulations to the Council at its next
meeting for confirmation. [The Eegulations at present in force will be found
on p. 8.]
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By-Laws.
XII. PAPEIiS AND COMMUNICATIONS. [under Art 29.
1. The author of every paper offered to the Institute shall be requested by
the Secretary to submit the manuscript in full, together with a brief abstract
of its contents.
2. The Secretary shall report the receipt of manuscript and abstract to the
next meeting of the Council
3. The Council shall cause each paper to be submitted to a referee or
referees, and on receipt of the report of such referee, th^ Council shall either accept
it and provide for its discussion and publication, or shall direct the Secretary to
return it forthwith to the author.
4. The Council may order copies of the abstract of any paper to be
distributed to the Press, or to any Fellows who may be present when it is
discussed.
XIII. ALTERATION OF BY-LAWS. [under Art. 22.
1. At the first meeting of the Council after the General Annual Meeting in
every year, these By-Laws shall be laid on the table and afl&rmed \ but so that, if
any alteration is desired, notice of motion to amend may be given at once by any
two members of Council, and such motion shall be taken as urgent business at
the next meeting of the Council
2. For the introduction of a motion to amend, at any other time, the leave of
a majority of those present, and voting, must be obtained.
3. No change in the By-Laws shall be carried except by a two-thirds
majority of those present and voting.
LIBRARY REGULATIONS UNDER BY-LAW XI, 10.
Fellows are responsible for books borrowed, until marked as " Returned " in
the Library Register.
No reader or borrower of a book may mark it, or write in it, or lay paper
upon the pages for the purpose of copying or tracing in ink. Corrections of
errors should be made on a separate sheet, and returned with the book to the
Library.
Books taken out by readers must not be returned to the shelves except
by the Librarian.
BAKKUON AMD lOMB, FBIMTBla IM OBDIMABT TO HBE VAJMTT, IT. MABTDt't L4MB, LOmKMI.
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ANTHROPOLOGICil INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN
AND IRELAND.
This Institute was established in 1871 by the amalgamation of the older
Anthropological Society and Ethnological Society. It has for its object the
promotion of the Science of Mankind — Anthropology — by the accumulation of
observations bearing on man's past history and present state in all parts of the
globe. It investigates, in a rigorously exact manner, everything that can throw
light upon the laws of man's nature: his origin, history, and capabilities of
progressive development and civilisation. It studies him stnicturally and
psychologically, under the several types in which he is found in various regions ;
and comparatively, in relation to the rest of the animal kingdom. Tlie ultimate
o])ject of the Institute, therefore, is to build up a Science of Man on a basis of
well-ascertained fact, and logically deduced inference. As means to this end, the
Council of the Institute has adopted a plan of operations, the principal heads of
winch are as follow : —
1. Meetings for the reading of papers and for discussion of anthropological
questions.
2. The issue of a Journal containing Eeports of the Proceedings at the
Meetings, with other matters of anthropological interest.
3. The appointment of Local Correspondents in all parts of the world,
to collect information, and to aid the Institute in its operations.
4. The maintenance of a library, which contains sets of all the principal
Anthropological Journals published in the United Kingdom or
elsewhere, besides a large and valuable collection of books of
reference, travels and researches, an extensive collection of photo-
graphs and lantern slides, and much unpublished material for the
use of students of Anthropology. Fellows residing in the country, as
well as in London, can borrow books from the library.
5. The appointment of Committees to conduct special investigations, as
occasion offers, in the various branches of Anthropology.
6. Co-operation with the British Association for the Advancement of Science
and with foreign scientific societies in anthropological investigations ;
co-operation with individuals and institutions in aid of explorations
and in the establishment of local centres of anthropological study;
and, generally, the stimulation of individual and local efforts to further
the objects of the Institute.
The annual subscription is Two Guineas, which is due on election (unless
such election takes place in tlie month of November or Dcccmljcr) and on the 1st
of January hi each succeeding year. A Member may at any time comi)OUud his
future subscriptions by the payment of £21.
Persons who wish to become Fellows of the
Institute are requested to communicate with the
Secretary, 3, Hanover Square, W.
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