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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA bAN UifcGO
822 02201 3049
m
LIBRARY
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CALJPORNIA
SAN DIEGO
THE LIBRARYOF
JOHN
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3 1822 02201 3049
Social Sciences
& Humanitiesis
Library
University of California,
San Diego
Please Note: This item
subject to recall.
Date Due
DEC
1 9 1997
OEC 19
1996
'
CI 39 (2/95)
UCSDLb.
Digitized by the Internet Archivein
2007 with funding fromIVIicrosoft
Corporation
http://www.archive.org/details/folkloreinoldtes03fraziala
FOLK-LORE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
St.
MACMILLAN ANDLONDON
CO., Limited
BOMBAY CALCUTTA MELBOURNE
MADRAS
THE MACMILLAN COMPANYNEW YORK BOSTON CHICAGO
DALLAS SAN FRANCISCO
THE MACMILLAN
CO.
OF CANADA,
Ltd.
TORONTO
FOLK-LORE IN
THE OLD TESTAMENTSTUDIES IN COMPARATIVE RELIGION
LEGEND AND LAW
BY
SirHON.D.C.L.,
JAMES GEORGE FRAZERoxford; HON. LL.D., GLASGOW; HON. LITT.D,, DURHAM FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE
IN
THREE VOLUMESVOL.Ill
MACMILLAN ANDST.
CO.,
LIMITED
MARTIN'S STREET,1919
LONDON
COPYRIGHTFirst Edition 1918
Reprinted 1919
CONTENTSPARTIII
THE TIMES OF THE JUDGES AND THE KINGS{Continued)
CHAPTER XnTHE KEEPERS OF THE THRESHOLDPAGE
The Keepers of the Threshold in the temple at Jerusalem Modern Syrian superstition about treading on a thresholdKeepers of the Threshold
I
2.
Not
to tread
at Peking in the Middle Ages on the threshold of a Tartar prince's hut
23
Respect for thresholds of caliphs of Baghdad and kings of Persia
Respect
for thresholds of Fijian chiefsin Africa
Respect for thresholds
....
4 45 5
Respect for thresholds among aborigines of India and the KalmuksConditional prohibitions to touch the thresholdPractice of carrying a bride over the threshold Practice of carrying a bride over the threshold
6 6peoples
The
practice not a relic of marriage
Sanctity of the thresholdBelief that the thresholdis
....by capturespirits.
among Aryan
8
lOII II
haunted by
Custom
of burying the dead at the
doorway
1313
Stillborn children buried under the threshold to ensure rebirth
Abortive calves buried under the threshold in EnglandSanctity of the threshold and the theory of rebirthSacrifice of animals at thresholds
1415 t6 1617
Brides stepping over blood at the thresholdSacrifices to the
dead
at the threshold
Sacrifices to the sun at the threshold
among the Bambaras among the Gonds
17
Sacrifices at the threshold
among
the South Slavs
17 18
Sanctity of the threshold in relation to spirits
FOLK-LORE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
CHAPTERBirds nesting on the altars at Jerusalem
XIII
THE BIRD-SANCTUARYPAGE.
19
Birds unmolested in the sanctuary of Apollo
19
Aesculapius and the sparrows
The Syrian goddess andImmunity of birds
the pigeons.
in sacred places
20 20 20
CHAPTER XIVELIJAH AND THE RAVENSElijah and the ravens at the brook Cherith
2222
The The The The
scenery of the
Wady
Kelt, the traditionary Cherith.
ravens at Jerusalemravens at the
2425 25
Dead Sea
Prophetic power ascribed to ravenssagacity of the raven
26
Popular respect for a raven in ancient
Romevoice.
2627 28 28 29
The raven's power of imitating The raven as a bird of prey
the
human
Hyenas revered as devourers of the dead in Africa Kinship of men with beasts and birds of prey
CHAPTER XVSACRED OAKS AND TEREBINTHS.
The oak and
the terebinth in Palestine
.
Three species of oaks in Palestine The oak woods of Sharon, Tasso's Enchanted Forest
30 30 3233
The The The The The The
oak woods of Zebulun and Asher oak woods of Banias at the springs of the Jordan oak woods of the Decapolis and Bashanoak woods of Gilead oak woods of Mahanaim.ruined castle of Hyrcanusfor
33
3435 36 37
Absalom and the oak
Veneration
oaks in Palestinein Palestine
.
Abundance of oaks
.
37 38
Sacred oak groves in Northern SyriaSacred oaks beside the tombs of
38saints
Mohammedan
The Wely or reputed tomb of a saint under a sacred tree These shrines (Mukdms) the real objects of worship in PalestineDescription of these shrines
....
39 4041
41
CONTENTSModeof worship at the shrines.
vii
PACK
42 43 43 43 45 46 4647 48
Sanctity of the trees at the shrines
Antiquity of the worship at these " high places "
Modern examples of
these local sanctuaries.
Sacred oak trees hung with votive rags
Daughters of Jacob associated with oaks Hebrew words for oak and terebinthTerebinths in Palestine.
.
Sacred terebinths hung with votive rags
.
The spirit or saint ( Wely) in the tree The oak predominantly the sacred tree of Palestine Worship of oaks denounced by Hebrew prophets-Bloody sacrifices to sacred oaks.
4951
52 5353
Bloody
sacrifices to sacred trees in Africa
Jehovah associated with sacred oaks or terebinths
5455 56
The oracular oak or terebinth at Sh^chem The oak associated with the king The oak or terebinth of Mamre The three angels worshipped at the tree The three gods in the holy oak at Remove.
57 57
.
Church Annual
built
by Constantine
*'
at the
oak of
Mamre"Mamre
58 5859
festival at the terebinth or
oak of Mamre
The end
of the Jewish nation at the terebinth or oak of
60
CHAPTER XVITHE HIGH PLACES OF ISRAELThe highGreenplaces formerly legitimate seats of worship.,
.
Abolition of worship at the high placestrees a
.
.
.
prominent feature of the high placesstill
.
.
.62 .63 .64.
Wooded
heights
seats of religious worship in Palestine
.
6565 67
Sacred groves, Sacred groves,
relics
of ancient forests, on high places
relics
of ancient forests,deities to the
among
the.
among Mundas.
the
Akikuyu.
.
Analogy of the groveSacred groves, Sacred groves,relics relics
Baalim
.
.6868
of ancient forests, on high places of ancient forests, on high places
among the Afghans among the Cheremiss.
69
The Baalim of Canaan probably old woodland deities The sacred pole [asherah) and its analogue in Borneo
. .
.
.70 .70
CHAPTER XVHTHE SILENT WIDOWRestrictions laid
on mourners
for fear of the ghost
71
Silence perhaps imposed on
Hebrew widows
72 72
Silence of widows in Africa and Madagascar
viii
FOLK-LORE IN THE OLD TESTAMENTPAGE
Silence of Silence of
Silence ofSilence of
Silence ofSilence of
widows widows widows widows widows widows
among North Americanin
Indians
7273
some
tribes of
North Australia
among among
the Arunta of Central Australiathe Unmatjera and Kaitish
aijd other
female mourners
among
the Dieri
The motive
for silence a fear of thein
Confirmation from position
younger brother
Similar customs and beliefs perhaps in ancient Israel
......ghost
....amongthe
74 767677
Warramunga
78
which widow stands to her deceased husband's79 80
CHAPTER
XVIII
JONAH AND THE WHALEJonah swallowed by a great fish and vomited up A New Guinea parallel to the tale.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.82 .83
CHAPTER XIXJEHOVAH AND THE LIONSAssyrian settlers in Israel protected against lions by Israelitish priest.
84
In Celebes strangers employ native priests of the land In Senegal the priesthood of Earth held by aborigines
.
.
.
.
.85 -8587
Ceremonies
for repression
of tigers performed by aboriginal priests in India.
Deities to be judged by the moral standard of their time
.
.90
PART
IV
THE LAWCHAPTERTHE PLACE OF THE LAWLate date of Pentateuchal legislation inits
I
IN JEWISH HISTORYpresent form.
Law
a gradual growth
Legislation and codification
Many Hebrew
..... ....Pentateuch
93 9395 95 96 98
laws older than the date of their codification
Historical reality of Moses, the founder of Israel
Three bodies of law
in the
The Book of the Covenant The Deuteronomic Code
.... .....
99 100
CONTENTSJosiah's reformation:
ix
written code substituted for oral tradition..
,
.
PAGE loi
The
religious effect of the substitution
Date of the composition of the Deuteronomic Code uncertain Ethical and religious character of Deuteronomy Theoretical inadequacy and practical inconvenience of the one sanctuary Destruction of local sanctuaries perhaps regretted by the peasants.
.....
.
.102.
103
104105
.
.
106
The reformation powerless to avert the national ruin The second reformation after the Exile, resulting in the
.
.
.107108
Priestly
Code
CHAPTERNOT TO SEETHE A KID IN" Xot to seethe a kid mandmentsin its mother's.
II
ITS
MOTHER'S MILK
...two
milk
"
one of the original Ten
ComIII
The The
original version of the
Ten Commandments
Contrast between the ritual and the moral versions of the Decalogueritual version the older of the
Suggested explanations of the
milk
Aversion of pastoral tribes in Africa to boil milk
.......commandnot to seethe a kid inits
.....
112
"5 "5116
mother';
for fear
of injuring the
cows
.
118 118wine
The
aversion based on sympathetic magic
Parallel superstitions as to oranges
and
lees of
Objection to boil milk
among
pastoral tribes of Central
Traces of similar beliefs in Europe
The Hebrew command perhaps similarly explicable The boiling of flesh in milk thought to injure the cowsMilk-vessels not to be washed with waterPastoral
.....
and East Africa
119 120123
124
124125125 126
Other rules of sympathetic magic observed by pastoral jieoples
Bahima
will not
wash themselvae with water
Cows thought to be affected by the material of milk-vessels Menstruous women not to drink milk for fear of injuring the cows Menstruous women not to approach cattle among the KafirsFear of tainting cows' milk with blood.
127 128
Wounded men
not to drink milk
WomenWomen Women WomenWidow
in childbed not to drink milkfor
Milk of special cows reserved
mothers of twins and
forbidden to milk cows inforbidden to milk cattle
many African tribes among the Todas
allowed to milk cows in some tribesto drink
Mourners not allowed
milk
given boiled milk to drinkboiling cow'sfirst
among
.... .... ....womenthe Bechuanas.
130 130131
131
with child
132 133 134 13s 136
Custom of
milk
in certain cases
Persons in a kraal struck by lightning not allowed to drink milk
139 139 140141141
Conjuring milk from cows
among
the Kabyles.
Sexual intercourse forbidden while cattle are at pasture
VOL.
Ill
a 2
X
FOLK-LORE IN THE OLD TESTAMENTPAGE...
Continence of sacred dairymen among the TodasFresh milk drunk only by the young or very old Rules as to drinking cow'sfirst
.
.
.142 .142.
milk
after calving
Chastity of king's herdsmen and herdboy
among
the Banyoro
Sympathetic relation of king's herdboy to king
The The
use of sour curds
use of butter
among pastoral tribes among pastoral tribes.
......
143147
.
.144.148 .149 .150
of Africa.
.
.
.
.
Objection of pastoral tribes to
let
milk touch
flesh
.
.
Flesh and milk not to be eaten together in pastoral tribes
.
^S'
Jewish rule not to eat
flesh
and milk together
.
.
.
Vegetables and milk not to be eaten together in pastoral tribes
.
-153 .154.
Pastoral tribes discourage agriculture for fear of hurting their cattle
157
Some
pastoral tribes eschew the flesh of certain wild animals for fear of
hurting their cattle
...
.
.
.
.
.157
Aversion of pastoral tribes to game perhaps due to fear of hurting theircattle.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
-158.
Pastoral tribes eat such wild animals as they think resemble cattle
159
Hebrew law
of clean and unclean animals perhaps based on their supposed. . ..
likeness or unlikeness to cattle
.160.161cattle,.
Hebrew customs
as to milk.
and
flesh diet. .
probably derived from pastoral..
stage of society
.
Rules of pastoral peoples as to drinking milk intended to benefit thenot the people.
.
.
.
.
.
162163
Rites of pastoral peoples in regard to cattle originally magical, not religious
CHAPTERBoring the ear of a slave who refused of the custom uncertainears
III
BORING A servant's EARto.
go.
free
.
.
.
165
The meaning
Custom of piercing
and wearing ear-rings
Ear-boring from superstitious motives
Woman's
ears pierced after the birth of her
Ears of child whose elder brothers orAfrican tribes
Children whose elder brothers or sisters have died are thought to be ex
posed to special danger from
Precautions taken to guard such children by disguises, mutilations, bad
names,
etc.
Precautions to guard such children in
Precautions to guard such children in Celebes and Borneo
New-born childrendeceive
Laos Pretence of exposing children and buying them back from strangersoffered toin
demons
Children, whose elder brothers or sisters have died, given to strangers to
...... ...... ......first
....in antiquity
166166167
child
167in
sisters
have died are pierced
some168169
evil spirits
170
Annam and China
.
170172
demons
173
174174
bring up
.
CONTENTSAfrican devices to save the lives of such childrenSiberian devices to save the lives of such children
XI
PAGE
175 176
Indian devices to save the lives of such children by giving them bad names, boring their^noses, etc.
177181
Mock111
sales of such children in
Assam
names given
to such children in India
182183.
Exorcism employed to protect such childrenGoatssacrificed as substitutes for such children
184sisters
Boring the noses of boys to disguise them as
girls
Begging gold or rags
for children
whose elder brothers or.
have died
184 186187 188
Pretence of bur)ing such children
Leaving unshorn the hair of such childrenInterpretation of Afirican treatment of such children
190191191sisters
African custom of boring the ears of such children
Other African devices to save the111
names givendied
in Africa to children
Such children buried in ashes or dung Heads of such children shaved in peculiar waysEars of such children bitten or cutBracelets and rings
.....lives.
of such children
whose elder brothers or
hav191
193.
worn as amulets by such children
194 195 196197 197 198 198 201
Special doorways cut for such children
Faces of such children scarifiedHottentot
.
custom of amputating a
finger-joint of a child
brothers or sisters have died
Conflicting accounts of mutilation of fingers
Amputation of
finger-joints of children
Amputation of finger-joints of children Amputation of finger-joints of girls in Australia The amputated finger-joints thrown into the sea
among Hottentots among the Bushmen in the Gaboon and Madagascar.
.....
whose elder
women
Navel-strings of children thrown into the sea for the same purpose Navel-strings of children
.......to
203 203 206 206207 208
make
girls
good
fisher
hung on
trees to
make them good
climbers
Australian amputation of finger-joints a magical rite
African amputation of finger-joints for other purposes
Amputation Amputation Amputation Amputation
of finger-joints in Africa as a cure for sickness
of finger-joints for the benefit of others of finger-joints for sick relatives in
208 209 210211
TongaMysore.
of finger-joints for sick relatives in Fiji and Futunafinger-joints as a religious rite in
Amputation of
Various accounts of the custom
The The
occasion of the amputation
scene of the amputation
Finger-joints of mothers amputated, ears of children bored
Substitutes for the amputation of finger-joints
Legend
told to explain the origin of the
The amputationher child
.... ... .... ... ....custom.
212213 215 217 218
219 220 221
of the mother's finger -joints perhaps a sacrifice to save
xii
FOLK-LORE IN THE OLD TESTAMENTPAGEfinger-joints of sick people in
Amputation of
TongaIndians
222/
Sacrifice of finger-joints Sacrifice of finger-joints Sacrifice of finger-joints
Amputation ofIndians
Amputation ofIndians
....*..finger-joints in
.....finger-jointsin
among among among
thethe
Mandan
Crows and other Indians
the Blackfoot Indians
mourning among the North American
mourning among the South Americanin Africain the
Amputation of Amputation of
finger-joints in finger-joints iniiffitead
mourning
mourning
Nicobar Islands
Notching house-pillar
of destroying house in mourning
House destroyed
or deserted after a death for fear of the ghost.
Camp
shifted after a death for fear of the ghost
Nicobarese mourners disguise themselves from the ghost
Amputation of finger-joints in mourning in New Guinea Amputation of finger-joints in mourning in Polynesia Amputation of finger-joints in mourning in Fiji Sacrifice of foreskins in mourning in Fiji Amputation of finger-joints in mourning perhaps a sacrifice.
to the ghost
Orestes and the Furies of his murdered mother
.
Mutilating dead children whose elder brothers or sisters have died
Custom
in
Bengal of cutting
similar births
....off
nose or ear of stillborn child after several
West African custom
of mutilating or destroying dead children
whose elder
brothers or sisters have died
Idea of reincarnation associated with such mutilations
Bambara custom of mutilating dead children whosehave diedincarnation
These mutilations intended to induce the soul to remain.
Mutilation of dead children to prevent their reincarnation in
North America
Mutilation of living children, whose elder brothers or sisters have died
..... ..... ......its
elder brothers or sisters
in life at its next
Annam and
perhaps intended to prevent them from dying
Piece of child's ear swallowed by mother, perhaps to secure
her
womb
European treatment of children whose elder brothers or sisters have died Pretended exposure and sale of such children in MacedoniaDevices to save the lives of such children in Albania, Bulgaria, andRussia
Expedient to save the
....... ......lives of
rebirth in
such children in Scotland
.
Esthonian mode of burying such children
Saxon and German treatment of such children at baptism Blood drawn from ears as offering to the dead Pieces of ears cut off by mourners Blood drawn from ears as an offering to the gods in Mexico Ears and noses bored to secure happiness in the other world Noses bored from superstitious motives in Australia
All customs of mutilating thestition
Ears of animals cut
Ewe
custom to prevent a slave from running awayof cutting the ear of a
........ .....human body probablyoff in sacrifice. . .
CONTENTS
xiii
PAGE
originated in super-
261
Magical intention of boring a servant's ear
Wolof custom
new master
.... ..... .
262263 264 265 266 266267
Intention of the custom perhaps to form a blood-bond
.
Toradja custom of burning the hair of a new master's child Magical use of blood or hair in these customs Toradja custom of cuttingfrom straying.
.
.
.
.
.
.
off a piece of a buffalo's ear to. .
keep the buffalo. .
.
.
268
Hebrew custom
of boring a servant's ear perhaps a magical
rite
.
.
269
CHAPTERHebrew customs
IV
CUTTINGS FOR THE DEADof cutting the body and shearing the hair in mourning
Similar Philistine and Moabite customs
The customs forbidden The customs forbidden
....
270271
in the
Deuteronomic codecode
271
in the Levitical
272273 273
Both customs common in mourning throughout the world Arab custom of scratching the face and shearing the hair in mourning Similar mourning customs in ancient Greece Assyrian, Armenian, and Roman custom of scratching faces in mourning Faces gashed and hair shorn by mourners among Scythians, Huns, Slavs and Caucasian peoplesBodies scratched and hair shorn by mourners in Africa
Bodies lacerated and hair shorn by mourners in Indian tribes of North
America
Bodies lacerated and hair shorn by mourners in Indian tribes of South
........ .. .
.....the
274 274275 276
277 282
America
Bodies lacerated by mourners
among
Turks and
Guinea, and the
New
Hebrides
Hair shorn and offered to the dead by mournersBodies lacerated by mourners in Hawaii Bodies lacerated by mourners in Tonga
Bodies lacerated and hair shorn by mourners in Tahiti
Bodies lacerated in mourning in Samoa, Mangaia, and the MarquesasIslands
Bodies lacerated and hair shorn by mourners
Bodies
lacerated
aborigines
Blood of mourners applied
....... .......amongthe Maoristo the corpse or the
.... .... ....tribes in in
Sumatra,
New283 284 28s 287 288
Halmahera
289
.
290291
and hair shorn by mourners among the Australiangrave
296297 297 297
Severed hair of mourners applied to the corpseBodies lacerated and hair shorn by mourners
among
the
Tasmanians.
Body
lacerated and hair shorn perhaps as di.sguise against ghost
xiv
FOLK-LORE IN THE OLD TESTAMENTPAGEin Australian
mourning customs Desire to propitiate ghost shown in Australian mourning customs Offerings of blood and hair to the dead.
Fear of ghost shown
298 298 299 300302 303
How How
the blood the hair
may be thought to benefit the dead may be thought to benefit the dead
Customs of cutting the body and shearing thea worship of the dead
..,.,.hair in
mourning evidence of
CHAPTER VTHE BITTER WATERI.
The Ordeal of the Bitter Water in Israel
Hebrew ordeal for the trial of an adulteress The mode of procedure in the ordealProbable antiquity of the ordeal
.....
304305 306
2.
"The Poison Ordeal in Africa
The
ordeal by drinking poison in Africa
307307 308
Bark of Erythrophleum guineense usedDiffusion of the poison ordeal in Africa
in the poison ordeal.
Different species of Erythrophleum in Africa Diffusion of Erythrophleum
compared with
diffusion of the poison ordeal
309 310 312 316 316 318 319 319321321
The poison ordeal among the Balantes of Senegal The ordeal among the Bagnouns of the Casamance River The ordeal among the Sereres of Senegambia The ordeal among the Landamas and Naloos of Senegal The ordeal among the Mossi of Upper Senegal The water of the ordeal tinctured with sacred earth Ordeal of poisoned arrows among the Kassounas-Fras Use of a sacred bough to detect a culprit Ordeal of poisoned arrows among the Bouras Use of a sacred bough and hair to detect a culprit.
322
Corpse questioned as to the cause of
its
death
322 322 323 325 326 328329 329
The poison The The The
ordeal in Sierra
Clothes and nails of the corpse used in interrogatoryred water
Comparison with thepoison ordeal
.....bitter
Leone
water of the Hebrews
poison ordeal in Liberia
among among
the
Kru negroesNeyaux of.
Hair and
nails of the
corpse used in ititerrogatorythe the Ivory Coast
The The The The The
poison ordeal
330 330331
poison ordeal on the Gold Coast poison ordeal in Togoland
333
poison ordeal on the Slave Coastpoison ordeal at Benin
334335
Calabar bean in the poison ordeal in Southern Nigeria
335
CONTENTSThe poisonordeal at Calabar
XVPAGE..
Devastating effects of the ordeal
Action of the poison on the
human body
The
poison ordeal
among
General account of the
Kagoro of Northern Nigeria poison ordeal in Upper Guineathe..
...... ...... .
.
-336336337 338
.
.
.
.
338
Intelligence ascribed to the red water
.
.
.
,
The poison ordeal on the Cross River in Cameroons The ordeal among the Bayas of French Congo The ordeal among the Fans of the Gaboon Power of divination thought to be conferred by the poison.
.
.
340 340342343
.
.
.
.341...
Personification of the poison
The ordeal among the Otandos of the Gaboon The test of dropping poison in the eye The poison ordeal in the Congo valley The poison ordeal in Loango The universal belief in witchcraft.
Drinking the poison by proxy
Merolla on the poison ordeal in Congo
Proyart on the poison ^rdeal in Loango and Congo The poison ordeal in the Congo State The two poisons employed in the ordeal in LoangoSuperstitions about the poison-tree
The The The The The The The The The
poison ordealordeal ordeal ordealordeal
among
ordeal ordeal
among the among the among the among the among the among theamong
Bangala Ababua, Nyam-nyam, and Mambuttus Bambala Ba-yaka, Ba-huana, and BangongoBashilange and Baluba
Balunda
ordeal in Angola ordeal
the Songos of
General absence of the poison ordeal in South Africa
...... ..... ...... ..... ..... ..... ...... ...... .... ...... ....... .......
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
345 345 348 348
.
.
.
.
.
348 350
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
35* '351.
.
.
352 353
.
.
.
356356 358 359362
the
Bakongo
.
.361363 364365 366
.
.
Angola
369
.
.
.
370Zl^
The poison ordeal among the Zulus The ordeal among the Bawenda of the Transvaal The ordeal among the Thonga The ordeal in Sofala and Manica The ofdeal on the Zambesi The ordeal in British Central Africa The ordeal among the Tumbuka. . .
.
.
.
-370
.
.
.
.
.
.
Sorcery, poisoning, and cannibalism associated
The ordeal among the Awemba of Rhodesia Ceremony at obtaining the bark from the poison-treeof British Central Africa
Sorcery, poisoning, and cannibalism associated in Nyanja-speaking tribes
The poison
ordeal in these tribes
Native Nyanja account of the poison ordeal
The medicine-man's song The ordeal among the Bantu
..... ..... .... .... ...... ..... ......... ..
.372 -375.
.
.
.
.
377
379 382 382383 383 385 386
.
.
.
.
*
.
.
.
tribes of
German East
Africa
.
.
387 389 393
FOLK-LORE IN THE OLD TESTAMENTThe The Theordeal ordeal
ordeal
among among among
the the
Wanpa
Wanyamwesi, Wagogo, and Wahehe
....the Masai and
PAGE
394395 396397
the tribes of British East Africa
Ordeal by drinking blood
among
Suk
The The The The The The
poison ordeal
poison ordealpoison ordeal
poison ordeal poison ordeal poison ordeal
among among among among among among 3.
the Bantu tribes of Kavirondo
397
the Basoga the
Baganda the Banyorothe
Wawira
399 399 400 400401
the Gallas
The Poison Ordeal in Madagascar
The poison extracted from the tagena The procedure in the ordealAnimals as proxiesin the ordeal
Prayers addressed to the god in the poison
4.
Judicial ordeals in ancient Indian law
Various kinds of ordeal
.... .... ....tree_
401
402 402
404
The Poison Ordeal in hidia
The laws
of Vishnu on the poison ordeal
4^3 405 406 407 407 408
Prayer addressed to the poison
Other ancient Indian accounts of the poison ordealPrayer addressed to the poison. ..
Aconite the poison employed in the ordeal
409
5.
The Geographical Diffusion of the Poison Ordeal.
The poison
ordeal seemingly confined to Africa, Madagascar, and India
410
The
poison ordeal apparently assumes the personality and intelligence ofthe poison
Written curses washed off into the bitter water
Practice of drinking water into which writing has been
The The
practice in Africa
practice in Madagascar, Tibet, China,
........ .... ....... 7.
6.
The Meaning of the Poison Ordeal
411
The Drinking of the Written Curse
412 413 413 414
washed
Annam, and Japan
CHAPTER
VI
THE OX THAT GOREDto death
Homicidal ox
to
be stoned
Blood revenge extended by Kukis to animals and trees
415 415
CONTENTSTrees that have caused a death felled by Ainos
xvii
PAGE
416417 418 418
Homicidal weapons destroyed or rendered uselessRiver that has drowned a
man
stabbed by the Kachins
Homicidal buffaloes put to death in Malacca and Celebes Arab treatment of homicidal animals Punishment of worrying dog in the Zend-Avesta.
Trial of animals and things in ancient Athens Trial of animals Trial
419 419 420421 422
and things recommended by Plato
and punishment of things in Thasos Statues punished at Olympia and Rome
.
Animals punished in ancient Rome Trial and punishment of animals in modern EuropeEcclesiastical jurisdiction over wild animals
and vermin
Mode
of proceeding against animals in ecclesiastical courtsin
Examples of the prosecution of animalsLawsuit brought byLawsuit againstrats at
Europe
St. Julien against coleopterous insects
423 423 424 424 425 427 428 429 430 431 432433 434 435 437 438 438
Autun
Proceedings taken by the Stelvio against field-mice
Proceedings taken by Berne against vermin called z'uger
Proceedings against Spanish
flies at
Coire and leeches at Lausanne
Proceedings against caterpillars at Villenose and StrambinoProceedings against caterpillars in Savoy Proceedings against ants in Brazil Proceedings against rats and mice in BourantonTrial.
.
and punishment of domestic animals by the civil power Trial and execution of a homicidal sow at SavignyExecution of sows at various places,
Execution of other animals in FranceExecution of a cockat
439 440441
Bale for laying an egg
Execution of dogs in
New
EnglandSavoyfor
Animals
cited as witnesses in
442 442heresy
The bell of La Rochelle punished The English law of deodand
AdamThe
Smith on the punishment of
lifeless
objects
primitive personification of things reflected in primitive law
443 443 444 445
CHAPTERJewishpriest's
VII
THE GOLDEN BELLSrobe hung with golden bells
Sound of the
bells
perhaps intended to drive
off"
demons.
446 446447 448
Clash of bronze to drive away
spirits in antiquity
Use of church
bells to drive
Longfellow on church bells in T/ie Golden Legend
The Passing The Passing
Bell
....demons.
away
evil spirits
Bell rung to banish
449 450 451
FOLK-LORE IN THE OLD TESTAMENTDante on the Vesper BellBret Harte on the Angelus
Renan onChurch
the bells of
Rome and
.... ....Venice.
Importance of the emotional side of folk-lorebells
rung to drive away witcheshis benediction.
.
The bellman andChurchbells
.
.
Milton, Herrick, and Addison on the bellman
rung
to drive:
away thunderstormsonbells
Consecration of bells
inscriptions
Delrio on the consecration and ringing of church bells
Bacon on the ringing of
Famous bells The bells of CalotoBells used
......bells in
thunderstojms
in
South America
by the Bateso to exorcize thunder and lightning Gongs beaten by the Chinese in thunder-storms Church bells thought by New Guinea people to ban ghosts.
Bells used
by the Pueblo Indians in exorcism Gongs beaten by the Chinese to exorcize demons Bells used by the Annamese.in exorcism.
Religious use of bells inBells
Burma
and metal instruments soundedprimitive folkbells used in
.... .....
at funerals
and
in
mourning among
Gongs andBells
Borneo to drive
off
Bells attached to an honoured visitor
among
demons the Dyaks
worn by priests in India and children in China worn by children in Africa to keep off demons Bells rung to keep demons from women after childbirth The infant Zeus and the Curetes Evil spirits kept off at childbirth by armed men among the Tagalog;s ofBells
Philippines
Evil spirits kept off at childbirth by
Burmapeoples
Evil spirits kept off at childbirth by clash of metal, etc.,
Precautions against Silvanus at childbirth
Tinkling anklets worn byBellsBells
among the Romans among the Sunars used by girls at circumcision among the Nandi used to ward off demons on the Congo and the Victoria Nyagirls
..... ...... .......
th
armed men among
tlie
Kach ins of
among
Use of
bells
by
priests, prophets,
and medicine-men
in Africa
Function of the Jewish
priest's
golden bells
INDEX
481
PART
III
THE TIMES OF THE JUDGES AND THEKINGS(^CONTINUED)
CHAPTERU
XII
THE KEEPERS OF THE THRESHOLDat Jerusalem there
In the templeently priests,
were three?
officials,
appar- The^fThe^*^^
who
bore the
title
of Keepers of the Threshold.^
What
precisely
was
their function
They may have been
Threshold["j^p^g at
mere doorkeepers, but their title suggests that they were somefor many curious superstitions have gathered thing more round the threshold in ancient and modern times.' The prophet Zephaniah represents Jehovah himself saying, " And in that day I will punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their master's house with violence and deceit."^;
Jerusalem,
^
Jeremiah xxxv.9, xxii. 4,xxiii.
4,
lii.
24
;
2 Kings18.
In all these passages the English Version, both Authorized and Revised, wrongly substitutes "door" for "threshold."xii.
4,
xxv.
wrongly renders "over the The phrase is rightly threshold." translated in the Authorized Version.Version
The English revisers and E. Kautsch in his German translation of the Bible(Freiburg i. B. and Leipsic, 1894) have done violence to the proper senseof the preposition '?};("ently for the
The number of these officials is mentioned in Jeremiah lii. 24, and 2 Kings xxv. 18. That they were priests seemsto follow-
upon
"),
appar-
from 2 Kings
xii.
9.
of such superalong with some untenable theories, by H. Clay Trumbull in his book The Threshold Covenant, Second Edition, New York, 1906. See also G. Tyrrell Leith in Panjab Notesfullest collection
The
stitions is given,
andTod
Queries,
ii.
Ernst
Samter,;
75^^., 459, 460; Geburt, Hochzeii und
(Leipsic and Berlin, 191 1), pp.^ 136-146 F. D. E. van Ossenbruggen, " Het primitieve denken," Bijdragentot
de Taal- Land- en Volkenkunde van A'ederlandsch- Indie, Ixxi. {19 1 5) pp. 2 1 1 sqq. As to the threshold in Ger-
man
folk-lore, see C. L. Rochholtz, Deutscher Glaube und Branch (Berlin, 1867), ii. 156 sqq. ^ Zephaniah i. The Revised 9.
purpose of harmonizing the passage with i Samuel v. 5. S. R. Driver also thought that the prophet is here denouncing a heathen practice of jumping over the threshold (note on Zephaniah i. 9 in The Century Bible), and Professor R. H. Kennett writes to me that he inclines to take the same view. Similarly W. Robertson Smith held that the men whom the prophet referred to were the Philistine bodyguards, who leaped over the threshold in conformity with Philistine custom (The Old Testament in the Jewish Church, Second Edition, London and It Edinburgh, 1892, pp. 261 sq.). plight be a nice question of casuistry to decide whether a jumper who clears a threshold has committed a more or less
VOL. HI
B
2
THE KEEPERS OF THE THRESHOLDthis
part hi
Fromand
denunciation
it
would appear that to jump on asin,
threshold was viewed as adeceit,
which, equally with violence
drew down the divine wrath on the jumper. At Ashdod the Philistine god Dagon clearly took a similar view
of the sinfulness of such jumps, for
we read
that his priests
and worshippers wereModernfupwstition abouta7hresiK)id"
careful
not to tread on the thresholdpertells
sisted in the
when they entered his temple.^ The same scruple has same regions to this day. Captain Conderof a SyrianInbelief " thatall
it is unlucky to tread on a mosques a wooden bar at the door obliges those who enter to stride across the sill, and the same custom These rustic shrines are is observed in the rustic shrines." ^ the chapels of the saints which are to be found in almost every village of Syria, and form the real centre of the peasant's " The grqatest respect is shown to the chapel, religion. where the invisible presence of the saint is supposed always The peasant removes his shoes before entering, to abide. and takes care not to tread on the threshold." ^
us
threshold.
KeepersThreshold Peking
iTiodern timcs suggests that in the
at
This persistence of the superstition in Syria down to temple at Jerusalem the Keepers of the Threshold may have been warders stationedthe entrance of the sacred edifice to preventall
MiddleAges.
^.t
whois
entered
from treading on the threshold.
The
suggestion
confirmed
by the observation that elsewhere Keepers of the Threshold When have been employed to discharge a similar duty. Marco Polo visited the palace at Peking in the days of the famous Kublai Khan, he found that " at every door of the hall (or, indeed, wherever the Emperor may be) there stand a couple of big men like giants, one on each side, armed with Their business is to see that no one steps upon the staves.deadly sin than one who lights on the In either case many people top of it. will find it hard to understand the indignation of the deity on the subject. In the Babylonian I Samuel V. 5. Talmud ('Abodah Zarah *i ^) it is said that " they let alone the Dagon [the statue of the god] and worshipped the miftan [the threshold], for they said his'
revered the threshold more than the Dagon (statue). See Martin A. Meyer, History of the City of Gaza (New York, 1907), p.- 123 {Columbia University Oriental Studies, vol. v.), from which I borrow these references to the
Talmud.Q. R. Conder, Heth and Moab (London, 1883), pp. 293 sq. ^ C. R. Conder, Tent Work in /"iz/f^/m^, New Edition (London, 1885),"^
princes [genius] had
left
the
Dagon andmiftan,'']
had come to
sit
upon theit
And
in the Palestinianiii,
Talmud {^Abodahis
p.
306.
As
to these chapels see below,
Zarah,
42
^)
said that they
pp. 39 sqq.
CHAP. XII
THE KEEPERS OF THE THRESHOLDif
3
threshold in entering, and
this
does happen they strip the
offender of his clothes, and he must pay a forfeit to have
them back again or in lieu of taking his clothes they give him a certain number of blows. If they are foreigners;
ignorant of the order, then there are Barons appointed to introduce them and explain it to them. They think, in fact,luck if any one touches the threshold. it brings bad Howbeit, they are not expected to stick at this in going forth again, for at that time some are like to be the worse for liquor and incapable of looking to their steps." From the account of Friar Odoric, who travelled in the East in the early part of the thirteenth century, it would appear that sometimes these Keepers of the Threshold at Peking gave offenders no choice, but laid on lustily with their staves whenever a man was unlucky enough to touch the threshold." When the monk de Rubruquis, who went as ambassador to China for Louis IX., was at the coiirt of Mangu-Khan, one of his companions happened to stumble at the threshold in going out. The warders at once seized the delinquent and caused him to be carried before " the Bulgai, who is the chancellor, or secretary of the court, who judgeth those who are arraigned of life and death." However, on learning that the offence had been committed in ignorance, the chancellor pardoned the culprit, but would never afterwards let him enter any of the houses of Mangu-Khan.^ The monk was lucky to get off with a whole skin. Even sore bones were by no means the worst that could happen to a man under these circumstances in that part of the world. Piano Carpini, who travelled in Tartary about the middle of the thirteenth century, a few years before the embassy of de Rubruquis, tells us that any rTone who touched the threshold of the hut or tent of a 1 artar prince used to be dragged out through a hole made for the purpose under the hut or tent, and then put to death without mercy.** The feeling on which these restrictions were basedthat^ 1
Capital
^l^'tfor treadingthreshold^ ^ Tanar prince's hut
or tent,
lated
The Book of Ser Marco Polo, K.X2LVi%by Colonel Henry Yule, Second
^
quis,"
"Travels of William de RubruGetteral in John Pinkerton's
-
Edition (London, 1875), ' SS^2 Colonel Henry Yule, Cathay and the H'^ay thither (Hakluyt Society,travels
Collection of Voyages (London, 1808-1814),*
andvii.
Travels
65-67.
London; 1866), i. 132. The friar's began between 12 16 and 12 18, and ended in 1230.
des Mongoles ou Tartares, ed.(Paris,1
Jean du Plan de Carpin, Relation D'Avezac838), cap.iii.
2.
THE KEEPERS OF THE THRESHOLDis
part hi
tersely expressed in a;
Mongolthis
saying, " Step not on the
thresholdRespectfor the
it is
sin,"
-^
But
in
the Middle
Ages
respect for the threshold
thresholds of the caliphs of
was not limited to Tartar or Mongol peoples. The caliphs of Baghdad " obliged all those who entered their palace toprostrate themselves on the threshold of the gate, where they
Baghdadand thekings ofPersia.
had
inlaid a piece of the black stone of the
temple at Meccah,
in order to
render
it
more venerable
to the peoples
who had
The been accustomed to press their foreheads against it. threshold was of some height, and it would have been a crimeto set foot
upon
it."^
At
a later time,
when
the Italian traveller
Pietro della Valle visited the palace of the Persian kings at
Ispahan early in the seventeenth century, he observed that utmost reverence is shewn to the gate of entrance, so much so, that no one presumes to tread on a certain step of wood in it somewhat elevated, but, on the contrary, people Any kiss it occasionally as a precious and holy thing."" the
criminal
who
contrived to pass this threshold and enter the
palace was in sanctuary and might not be molested.Pietro della Valle was in Ispahan, thereliving in
Whenof rank
was
a
man
the palace
whom
the king wished to put to death.
But the offender had been quick enough to make his way into the palace, and there he was safe from every violence, though had he stepped outside of the gate he would instantly " None is refused admittance to the have been cut down. palace, but on passing the threshold, which he kisses, as I havebefore remarked, he has claim of protection.in short, is in
This threshold,is
such veneration, thatfor the court
its
name of Astane
the
denominationRespectfor the
Atouch
similar respect forit
and the royal palace itself" ^ the threshold and a reluctance toas
thresholds of Fijianchiefs.
are foundInFiji, "
among barbaroustosit
well
as
civilizedis
peoples.
on the threshold of a temple
tabu to any
but a chief of the highest rank.
All are careful
not to tread on the threshold of a place set apart for the
gods persons of rank stride over others pass over on their hands and knees. The same form is observed in crossing:;
1
The Book of Ser Marco
Polo, trans-
lated by Colonel
Henry Yule, Second
Edition (London, 1875), i- 3722 B. d'Herbelot, Biblioihlque Orientale,i.
" Bab," citing as his authority Khondemir, in the Life of Mostasem. ^ Pietro della Valle, "Travels ins.v.
Persia, "in J. Pinkerton's
Generalix.
Collec-
(The Hague, 1777)
p.
306,
tion of Voyages
and Travels,
26, 31.
CHAP,
x'li
THE KEEPERS OF THE THRESHOLDIndeed, thereis
5
the threshold of a chief's house.
very
little
difference between a chief of high rank
and one of the second
order of
deities.is
The former
regards himself very
muchright
as
a god, and
often spoken of as such
by
his people, and,
onofRespect[hreshoidin Africa,
some
occasions,^
claims for himself publicly the
divinity."
way
is
often
West Africa " at the entrance to a village the barred by a temporary light fence, only a narrowInleft
arched gateway of saplings beingis, is
open.
These saplingsfence, frail
are wreathed with leaves or flowers.
That
as
it
from those arched When actual war is coming, saplings hang fetich charms. this street entrance is barricaded by logs, behind which real fight is to be made against human, not spiritual, foes. The light gateway is sometimes further guarded by a sapling pinned to the ground horizontally across the narrow threshold. An entering stranger must be careful to tread over and not In an expected great evil the gateway is sometimes on it. ^ sprinkled with the blood of a sacrificed goat or sheep." Among the Nandi of British East Africa, nobody may sit and a man at the door or on the threshold of a house may not even touch the threshold of his own house or anything in it, except his own bed, when his wife has a child In Morocco similarly nobody is that has not been weaned.^ allowed to sit down on the threshold of a house or at the entrance of a tent should any person do so, it is believed that The he would fall ill or would bring ill luck on the house.'* Korwas, a Dravidian tribe of Mirzapur, will not touch the The Respect threshold of a house either on entering or on leaving it.^ Kurmis, the principal class of cultivators in the Central Pro- ,hreshoid vinces of India, say that " no one should ever sit on the among the this is the seat of Lakshmi, the goddess ^ribes^oT threshold of a houseintended as a bar to evilspirits, for; ;;
of wealth, and to
sit
on
it
is
disrespectful to her."
The
India
and
Kalmuks think1
it
a sin to
sit
on the threshold of a
door.'
Thomas
Fijians,
Second
Williams, Fiji and the Edition (London,
W.
Crooke, Tribes and Castes of
the
North-Western Provinces and Oudh
i. 233. R. H. Nassau, Fetichism in West Africa (London, 1904), p. 93. 3 A. C. Mollis, The Nandi {OySoxA,
i860),-
(Calcutta, 1896), iii. 333. ^ R. V. Russell, Tiibes
and
Castes
of the Central (London, 1916),"'
Provinces of Indiaiv.
89.
1909), pp. 17, 66.*
Edward Westermarck, Marriage
Benjamin Bergmann, Nomadische Streifereien unterden Faltniiken{K\g3L,1804),ii.
Ceremonies in Morocco (honAon, 1914), p. 220, note '.
264.
THE KEEPERS OF THE THRESHOLDConditional
part hi
prohibitions to
touch thethreshold.
Practice of carrying
a brideover the threshold at her first entrance into her
new home.
Practice of carrying a bride over the threshold inPalestine,
China,Russia, Java, andAfrica.
sit on nobody, so far as appears, is ever allowed to touch or sit on it at any time or under any circumstances. Only in one case is the prohibition temporary and conditional. Among the Nandi it seems that a man is only forbidden to touch the threshold of his own house when his wife has a child at the breast but in that case the prohibition is not confined to the threshold but extends to everyHowever, thing in the house except the man's own bed. there are other cases in which the prohibition expressly refers only to certain particular circumstances, though it might be unsafe to infer that its scope is really so limited, and that under all other circumstances people are free to use the For example, at Tangier, threshold at their discretion. when a man has returned from a pilgrimage to Mecca, it is customary for his friends to carry him over the threshold and deposit him on his bed.' But from this usage it would be to infer that in Morocco, wrong at all other times and under all other circumstances, a man or a woman may be freely deposited, or may seat himself or herself, on the threshold of a house for we have seen that in Morocco nobody is ever allowed under any circumstances to sit down on the threshold of a house or at the entrance of a tent. Again, in Morocco a bride at marriage is carried across the threshold of her husband's house, her relatives taking care that she shall not This practice of carrying a bride across the touch it.^ threshold on her first entrance into her new home has been observed in many parts of the world, and the custom has been discussed and variously interpreted both in ancient and modern times. It may be well to give some instances of it before we inquire into its meaning. In Palestine at the present time " a bride is often carried over the threshold that her feet may not touch it, to do so being considered unlucky." ^ The Chinese precautions to prevent a bride's feet from touching the threshold are more Among the Hakkas, for example, when the bride elaborate.
In most of these cases the prohibition to touch oris
a threshold
general and absolute
;
;
;
^
Edward Westermarck, The Moorof Holiness [YieXsingiors,
ish Conception
pp. 219 sq., 324; id.. The Moorish Conception of Holiness, p. 134.^
1916), p. 134.2 Edward Westermarck, Marriage Ceremonies in Morocco (London, 1914),
Holy Land {London, 1906),
C. T. Wilson, Peasant Life in the p. 114.
CHAP.
XII
THE KEEPERS OF THE THRESHOLDis
7
arrives at the door of her husband's house, she "
assisted
from her chair by an old
woman
acting in the man's interests,is
and
is
handed by her over the threshold, where^
placed a
red-hot coulter steeped in vinegar."varies
The usage perhapsAccording to
somewhat
in different
parts of China.
another account, which probably applies to Canton and the neighbourhood, when the bride alights from her sedan-chairat the door of the bridegroom's house, " sheis placed on the back of a female servant, and carried over a slow charcoal fire, on each side of which are arranged the shoes which were borne in the procession as a gift to her future husband. Above her head, as she is conveyed over the charcoal fire,
another female servant raises a tray containing several pairs ofchop-sticks,
some
rice,
and
betel-nuts."is,
^
Among
the
Mord-
vins of Russia the bride
or used to be, carried into the
bridegroom'sparty .^
house
in
the arms of
In Java and othercarries his
groom himself
some of the wedding of the Sunda Islands the bridebride in his arms into the house.*
when the bridal party approaches the bridegroom's town, the bride is taken on the back of an old woman and covered with a fine cloth, " for from this time she is not allowed to be seen by any male person, till after consummation. Mats are spread on the ground, that the feet of the person who carries her may not touch the earth in this manner she is carried to the house of her intended husband." ^ Among the Atonga, a tribe of British Central Africa, to the west of Lake Nyasa, a bride is conducted by young girls to the bridegroom's house, where he awaits her. At the threshold she stops, and will not cross it until the bridegroomIn Sierra Leone,;
* " Hakka Marriage Customs," China Review, viii. (Hongkong, 1879-
mentioned by
J.
N. Smirnov
in his ac-
1880)2
p.
320.
-
H. Gray, China (London, 1878), i. Compare J. F. Davis, The 205. Chinese, New Edition (London, 1845J.
1851), i. 267, "The bride is carried the house in the arms of the matrons who act as her friends, and lifted over a pan of charcoal at the door."into
count of the marriage customs of the Mordvins, thoughhenoticeswhathesupposes to be traces of marriage by capture among the people {Les Populations Pinnoises des bassins de la Volga et de / Aawa, Premiere Partie, Paris, 1898, pp. 341 sqq.). * G. A. Wilken, " Plechtigheden en Gebruiken bij Verlovingen en Huwelijken,"
De
verspreide
Geschriften
Hon. John Abercromby, "Marriage Customs of the Mordvins," Polk^
lore,
i.
seems now
The custom (1890) p. 442. to be obsolete, for it is not
(The Hague, 1912), i. 498. ^ John Matthews, A Voyage to the River Sierra-Leone (London, 1791),p.
118.
THE KEEPERS OF THE THRESHOLD
part in
has given her a hoe. She then puts one foot over the threshold of the doorway, and her husband gives her two yards of cloth. After that, the bride puts both feet within the house and stands near the doorway, whereupon she receives apresent of beads orPractice of carrying a bride over the threshold
some
equivalent.^
In these latter accounts the avoidance of the threshold at
the bride's entrance into her
new home
is
implied rather than
amongAryanpeoples
fromIndia to Scotland.
But among Aryan peoples from India to Scotland it has been customary for the bride on such occasions carefully to shun contact with the threshold, either by stepping over it or by being carried over it. Thus, for example, in ancient India it was the rule that the bride should cross theexpressed.
threshold of her husband's house with her right foot foremost,
Exactly the same by the southern Slavs at Mostar in Herzegovina and the Bocca di Cattaro.^ Among the Albanians, when the bridal party arrives at the bridegroom's house, the members of it take care to cross the thresholds of the rooms, especially that of the room in which the bridalbut should not stand on the threshold.^ruleis
said to be
still
followed
crowns are deposited, with the right footSlavonia the bridethe best man.^is
foremost.'*
In
carried into the bridegroom's house
by
modern Greece, the bride may So in ancient not touch the threshold, but is lifted over it.*^ Rome, when the bride entered her new home, she was forSimilarly, in.
bidden to touch the threshold with her feet, and in order to In recording the avoid doing so she was lifted over it. custom, Plutarch, like some modern writers, interpreted it asarelic^
of a practice of forcibly capturing wives.'^Harry H. Johnston, British (London, 1897), p.
A
Cala-
Sir
Central Africa 4132
* G. von Hahn, Albanesische J. Studien (Jena, 1854), i. 146. ^
Ida von
The Grihya-Stitras, translated bypartii.
Freiherr
Otto Diiringsfeld und von Reinsberg - Diiringsfeld,alte Griechenp. 97.
H. Oldenberg,
(Oxford, 1892)
I/ochzeitshtch {Leipsic, 1871), p. 84.^
pp. 193, 263 {The Sacred Books of the East, vol. XXX.) ; M. Winternitz, Das altindische Hochzeitsrituell nach detn
C.
Wachsmuth, Das
land im neuem (Bonn, 1864),''
Apastambiya
(Vienna, 1892), pp. 23, 72 {Denkschriften der Kaiser. Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, Philosoph.-HistorischeClasse,-
Grihyasiitra
Plutarch,;
29
Quaestiones Rovianae, Catullus Ixi. 166 sq., with Robin;
Plautus, son Ellis's commentary Casina, iv. 4. i ; Varro, cited by Servius
xL). F. S. Krauss, Sitte tnid Branch der Siidslaven (Vienna, 1885), pp. 430,3
on
Virgil, Eclog.ii.
viii.
29
;
Lucan,
Pha7-salia,
quardt,
Das
Compare J. Mar359. Privatleben der Rumer"^
431-
(Leipsic, 1886), p. 55.
CHAP.
XII
THE KEEPERS OF THE THRESHOLD
9
day is careful not to stumble on the when she enters her husband's house, for such a mishap would be deemed of evil omen.^ In some parts of Silesia the bride is carried over the threshold of her new home.^ Similarly, in country districts of the Altmark it is, or used tobrian bride at the present
threshold
be,
customary
for the bride to drive in;
a carriage or cart to her
husband's house
on her
arrival the
bridegroom took her
in
his arms, carried her into the
house without allowing her
feet
In and set her down by the hearth.^ French Switzerland the bride used to be met at the door of her husband's house by an old woman, who threw three handfuls of wheat over her. Then the bridegroom took her in his arms, and so assisted her to leap over the threshold, which she might not touch with her feef* The custom of carrying the bride over the threshold into the house is said to have been formerly observed in Lorraine and other parts of France.^ In Wales " it was considered very unlucky for a bride to place her feet on or near the threshold, and the lady, on her return from the marriage ceremony, was always carefully lifted over the threshold and into the house. The brides who were lifted were generally fortunate, but trouble was in store for the maiden who preferred walking into the house." The usage seems to have been similar in Lincolnshire, for we read that " on this same bride being brought by her husband to his home in Lincolnshire, at the end of the honeymoon, the custom of lifting the bride over the threshold was observed the bride and bridegroom got out of the carriage a few yards from the house, and he carried her up the steps, and into the hall." In some parts of Scotland, as late as the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the wedding party arrived at the bridegroom's house, " the young wife was lifted overto touch the ground,*" ;'
1
Vincenzo Dorsa,
La
Tradizioue
Hochzeitsbuch (Leipsic, 1871), p. 106.5 i^a von Duringsfeld und Otto preiherr von Reinsberg- Duringsfeld, Hochzeitsbuch, ^y>2S^o ^^ ^S^, '
Greco-LatinanegliUsienelkCredenzePopolari della Calabria CUeriore {Cosenza 1884), p 87 2 P. Drechsler, Side, Branch und VolksglauheinSchlesien{^\^%\c,\()oi1906) i. 264. 2 J. D. H. Temme, Die Volkssagen der Altmark (Berlin, 1839), p. 73. * Ida von Duringsfeld und Otto Freiherr von Reinsberg- Duringsfeld,
^I^rie
Trevelyan,
Folk-lore
and
Folk-stories of Wales (London, 1909),P-
273"^
collected
County Folk-lore, v. Lincolnshire, by Mrs. Gutch and Mabel Peacogk (London, 1908), pp. 233 sq.
lo
THE KEEPERS OF THE THRESHOLDfirst
part in
the threshold, orill e'e
step of the door, lest
any witchcraft or^
should be cast upon and influence her."is
improbathe theory that the
the bride
over thethreshold
isarehc of
rnamageby capture.
custom of lifting a bride ^^ threshold of her husband's house ? Plutarch suggested that at Rome the ceremony might be a reminisccncc of the rape of the Sabine women, whom the early Romans carried off" to be their wives.^ Similarly some ,. modern writers have argued that the rite is a relic or survival of an aucicnt custom of capturing ' wives from a hostile tribe and bringing them by force into the houses of their captors.^ But against this view it may be observed that the custom of lifting the bride over the threshold can hardly be separated from the custom which enjoins the bridethethis^^'',
What
meaning of
...
to steplatter
over the threshold
without
touching
it.
In this
custom there is no suggestion of violence or constraint the bride walks freely of her own accord into the bridegroom's house, only taking care that in doing so her;
feet
should
not
touch the threshold
;
and, so far as
we
know, this custom is at least as old as the other, since it is the one prescribed in the ancient Indian law-books,* which say nothing about lifting the bride over the threshold. Accordingly we may conclude that the practice of carrying a wife at marriage into her husband's house is simply a precaution to prevent her feet from coming into contact with the threshold, and that it is therefore only a particular instance of that scrupulous avoidance of the threshold which we have found to prevail among many races of mankind. If any further argument were needed against bride-capture1
stitious Beliefs in the
James Napier, Folk Lore, or SuperWest of Scotland
within'this Century (Paisley, 1879), p.51. CompareJ. G. Dalyell, Z"/^!? ZJaryl'^r Superstitions of Scotland (Edinburgh,
1834), p. 291, "The bride was lifted over the threshold of her husband's house, in imitation of the customs ofthe ancients."2 ^r)i t \. r\ . n Flutarch, Quaest. Roman. 20. ^ =* '
and L. von Schroeder (^Die Hochzeitsgebrduche der Esten, Berlin, 1888, p. On the other hand, it has been 92). rightly rejected by E. Tyrrell Leith (Panjab Notes and Queries, ii. 76, 460), M. Winternitz {Das IndischeHochzeitsrituell,p.
72),
W. Crooke
("Thexiii.
Lifting of the Bride," Folk-lore, 1902, pp. 242 sqq.), H. C. Trum-
bull (Tlie Threshold Covenant, p. 36),
p^^ioM ^-anVe:,tt
(Weimar, 1858), p. 146. ., imr" ,1 r. 7 . r rr 7l Der deutsche Volks''
2
Manuk Abeghian, Der amienische1
Volksglaube (Leipsic, 1899), P- 913 P. von Stenin, ' Ueber den ^ , f^ o 1 A It ^1 I (jeisterglauben Kussland, Globus, 1 /.o^x - Ivn. (1890) p. 269. 4 \nT o c r> 1 cr j7 * W. R. S. Ralston, Songs of the c1 T7J-.D J.1 Second Russian People, Edition 7t (LonJ o^^\ ^c don, 1872), pp. 136 sq. In Sonnenberg when a child has the cramp it is laid on the door - sill. See August Schleicher, VolkstUmliches aus Sonne-
^^-
^
r.-,
superstition enjoins you to be sure to
"""'^T^.'''
^" ^'^^^'^^
^"""yenteri
m
i.
.
TO
thought that .V otherwise you will not remain in the