The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead

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The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead Novel Chapters

List of most recent chapters published for the The Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead novel. A total of 134 chapters have been translated and the release date of the last chapter is Apr 02, 2024

Latest Release: Chapter 1 : The Belief in Immortality and the Wors.h.i.+p of the Dead.by Sir James George Frazer.PRE
The Belief in Immortality and the Wors.h.i.+p of the Dead.by Sir James George Frazer.PREFACE The following lectures were delivered on Lord Gifford's Foundation before the University of St. Andrews in the early winters of 1911 and 1912. They are printed n

134 The power which Maori chiefs possessed of imposing, or at all events of enforcing, a taboo seems not to have been quite so absolute as might perhaps be inferred from the statement in the text.[1] We are told that the power of the taboo mainly depended on 2024-4-23
133 In 1809, some five years after Lisiansky's visit to Hawaii, the Scotch sailor Archibald Campbell witnessed one of these Saturnalia held on the occasion of the death of the king's brother. He says: "The public mourning that took place on this occasion w 2024-4-23
132 When a new temple was about to be dedicated, some of the people used to flee into the mountains to escape being sacrificed. The last human sacrifices are said to have been offered in 1807, when the queen of the islands was seriously ill.[117] Whenever war 2024-4-23
131 [88] J. J. Jarves, _op. cit._ p. 48.[89] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ iv. 97.[90] L. de Freycinet, _Voyage autour du Monde, Historique_, ii.596.Distinct from the regular priests were the diviners or sorcerers who formed a sort of lower priesthood or clergy. Their 2024-4-23
130 The great Polynesian G.o.d or hero Maui was known in Hawaii, where the stories told of him resembled those current in other parts of the Pacific. He is said to have dragged up the islands on his fis.h.i.+ng-hook from the depths of the ocean, and to have b 2024-4-23
129 In Hawaii, as in other parts of Polynesia, the taboo formed an important and essential part both of the religious and of the political system, of which it was at once a strong support and a powerful instrument. The proper sense of the word taboo (in Hawai 2024-4-23
128 -- 2. _The Natives and their Mode of Life_ The natives of the Sandwich Islands are typical Polynesians. In general they are rather above the middle stature, well formed, with fine muscular limbs, open countenances, and features frequently resembling those 2024-4-23
127 NOTE.--We possess no thorough account of the native Marquesan society and religion as these existed before they were transformed by European influence. Some of the writers who have described the islanders and their customs spent only a few days or at most 2024-4-23
126 [119] Langsdorff, _op. cit._ i. 134.[120] Melville, _Typee_, p. 206.[121] Clavel, _op. cit._ p. 47.After ten months or a year the obsequies were concluded by another funeral feast, which might last from eight to thirty days according to the rank of the de 2024-4-23
125 [90] Clavel, _op. cit._ pp. 43 _sq._ The soul of the dead was believed not to abandon the corpse definitely for two days after the death. In the interval it was thought to haunt the house, watching the conduct of the survivors, and ready to act as a frien 2024-4-23
124 [59] Lisiansky, _op. cit._ p. 80.[60] Lisiansky, _op. cit._ pp. 79 _sq._; Clavel, _op. cit._ p.62.A powerful instrument in the hands of the n.o.bles was the taboo or _tapu_, which, though it seems to have been originally a religious inst.i.tution,[61] was 2024-4-23
123 The Marquesans built canoes of various sizes, the smaller for fis.h.i.+ng, the larger for war. These latter might be from forty to fifty feet long.They were fitted with outriggers. The prow had an ornamental projection rudely carved to represent the head 2024-4-23
122 [8] P. E. Eyriaud des Vergnes, _op. cit._ p. 57. Compare M.Radiguet, _Les Derniers Sauvages_, pp. 304 _sq._ [9] H. Melville, _Typee_, p. 220.[10] A. Baessler, _op. cit._ pp. 222 _sq._ [11] M. Radiguet, _op. cit._ p. 304. -- 2. _Physical Appearance of the 2024-4-23
121 [243] J. Cook, _Voyages_, vi. 152.The fear of ghosts in the minds of the Society Islanders has long survived their conversion to Christianity; indeed, we are informed that it is as rampant as ever. No ordinary native would dare to visit one of the lonely 2024-4-23
120 A dangerous pollution was supposed to be contracted by all who had handled a corpse. Hence the persons employed in embalming a body were carefully shunned by every one else so long as the process lasted, because the guilt of the crime for which the deceas 2024-4-23
119 [182] J. Wilson, _op. cit._ p. 404.They imagined that at death the soul (_varua_) was drawn out of the head by a G.o.d or spirit (_atua_) as a sword is drawn out of its scabbard, and that the spirits of the dead often waited to catch it at the moment when 2024-4-23
118 [152] W. Ellis, _op. cit._ i. 344 _sq._ Human victims were sacrificed on many occasions, as in time of war, at great national festivals, during the illness of their rulers, and at the building of a temple. William Ellis was told that the foundations of so 2024-4-23
117 Again, Captain Cook tells us that after a battle the victors used to collect all the dead that had fallen into their hands and bring them to the _morai_, where, with much ceremony, they dug a hole and buried all the bodies in it as so many offerings to th 2024-4-23
116 A familiar figure of the Polynesian pantheon, who meets us in the mythology of the Society Islanders, was the famous G.o.d or hero Maui.Many stories of his exploits were told in the islands. It is said that originally the sky lay flat upon the face of the 2024-4-23
115 174, "Wherever they go they exercise power to seize what they want from the inhabitants. They smite their hand on their breast and say '_Harre_, give,' whenever they covet any thing, and none dares deny them. They never work; live by plunder; yet are h 2024-4-23
114 Wilson, _Missionary Voyage to the Southern Pacific Ocean_, pp.343 _sqq._; D. Tyerman and G. Bennet, _Journal of Voyages and Travels_, i. 523 (as to Taaroa); J. A. Moerenhout, _Voyages aux iles du Grand Ocean_, i. 416 _sqq._, 436 _sqq._, 442 _sq._ As to Ta 2024-4-23
113 [3] W. Ellis, _Polynesian Researches_, i. 14-18. Compare J.Cook, _Voyages_, i. 172 _sqq._; G. Forster, _Voyage round the World_ (London, 1777), i. 253 _sq._; J. Wilson, _Missionary Voyage to the Southern Pacific Ocean_, pp. 321 _sqq._; D.Tyerman and G. Be 2024-4-23
112 Among the caverns in which, in the island of Mangaia, the dead used to be deposited, two are particularly famous. One of them, at Tamarua, is the chasm called Raupa or "leafy entrance" on account of the dense growth of hibiscus which formerly su 2024-4-23
111 Compare _id._, _Myths and Songs from the South Pacific_, p. 35.[39] W. W. Gill, _Myths and Songs from the South Pacific_, p.35; _id._, "Mangaia (Hervey Islands)," _op. cit._ p. 339; _id._, _Life in the Southern Isles_, p. 70.[40] W. W. Gill, &qu 2024-4-23
110 [8] W. W. Gill, "Mangaia (Hervey Islands)," _op. cit._ pp. 332 _sq._, 338.[9] W. W. Gill, _Life in the Southern Isles_, p. 16; _id._, "Mangaia (Hervey Islands)," _op. cit._ pp. 335 _sq._ [10] W. W. Gill, _Life in the Southern Isles_, p 2024-4-23
109 However, according to the American ethnologist, Horatio Hale, some of the Samoans agreed with the Tongans in taking an aristocratic view of the destiny of souls after death; and as he had good opportunities for acquainting himself with the Samoan religion 2024-4-23
108 However, another experienced missionary, J. B. Stair, who knew Samoa a good many years before Dr. Brown arrived in it, speaks apparently without hesitation of the _tupua_ as being "the deified spirits of chiefs, who were also supposed to dwell in Pul 2024-4-23
107 Spirit-houses (_fale-aitu_) or temples were erected for some, but not all, of the cla.s.s of deities (_aitu_) which we are now considering. It was chiefly the war G.o.ds who were thus honoured. Such temples were built with the same materials and in the sa 2024-4-23
106 [88] G. Brown, _Melanesians and Polynesians_, p. 229.Annual feasts were held in honour of the G.o.ds, and the season of the feast was often in May, but sometimes in April or June.[89] In some cases the feasts were regulated by the appearance of the bird w 2024-4-23
105 [60] J. B. Stair, _Old Samoa_, pp. 74 _sq._; G. Brown, _Melanesians and Polynesians_, p. 432.[61] G. Turner, _Samoa_, p. 173.The villages of the Samoans were practically self-governing and independent communities, though every village was more or less loo 2024-4-23
104 [38] Ch. Wilkes, _op. cit._. ii. 145 _sqq._; J. E.Erskine, _op. cit._ pp. 45-47; T. H. Hood, _Notes of a Cruise in H.M.S. "Fawn" in the Western Pacific_ (Edinburgh, 1863), p. 32; Violette, "Notes d'un Missionnaire sur l'archipel d 2024-4-23
103 Decaying rapidly under the ardent rays of a tropical sun, it exhales a poisonous miasma. But the heat, oppressive and exhausting at times, is nevertheless tempered by the sea and land breezes, which blow daily, alternating with intervals of calm between t 2024-4-23
102 One very remarkable peculiarity in the mourning for a Tooitonga was that, though he ranked above the king and all other chiefs, the mourners strictly abstained from manifesting their grief by wounding their heads and cutting their bodies in the manner tha 2024-4-23
101 [199] Lord Avebury, _Prehistoric Times_, Seventh Edition (London, 1913), pp. 132 _sqq._; Sir Norman Lockyer, _Stonehenge and other British Stone Monuments astronomically considered_ (London, 1906); C. Schuchhardt, "Stonehenge," _Zeitschrift fur 2024-4-23
100 [174] Above, pp. 74 _sqq._ Mariner has described for us the wors.h.i.+p paid by the king and his chiefs to one of the sacred graves at Mafanga. One morning Finow the king, accompanied by several of his chiefs and their ministers (the _matabooles_), landed 2024-4-23
99 5-1/2 feet. PROFILE OF THE STEPS._____________ 4 feet.Some thirty years later the tombs of the Tooitongas were visited and described by the French explorer, J. Dumont d'Urville. His description is worth quoting. He says: "I directed my steps to 2024-4-23
98 [131] E. E. V. Collocot, _op. cit._ p. 239.The statement of Miss Farmer, which I have quoted, that among the Tongans the souls of the dead were the princ.i.p.al object of wors.h.i.+p and received the most sacrifices, is interesting and not improbable, tho 2024-4-23
97 [98] Sarah S. Farmer, _Tonga and the Friendly Islands_, pp. 132 _sq._ As to Hikuleo and his long tail, see also Charles Wilkes, _Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition_, iii. 23, "Hikuleo is the G.o.d of spirits, and is the third in orde 2024-4-23
96 [72] W. Mariner, _op. cit._ ii. 221.-- 6. _Priests and their Inspiration_ Priests were known by the t.i.tle of _fahe-gehe_, a term which means "split off," "separate," or "distinct from," and was applied to a man who has a pe 2024-4-23
95 Some thought that the _mooas_, who ranked next below the _matabooles_ in the social hierarchy, also went after death to Bolotoo; but this was a matter of great doubt. As for the _tooas_ or commoners, who formed the lowest rung in the social ladder, they h 2024-4-23
94 Intellectually the Tongans are reported to "surpa.s.s all the other South Sea islanders in their mental development, showing great skill in the structure of their dwellings and the manufacture of their implements, weapons, and dress."[26] They a 2024-4-23
93 Wilken, _Verspreide Geschriften_ (The Hague, 1912), iv. 125 _sqq._ [126] G. F. Angas, _Savage Life and Scenes in Australia and New Zealand_, ii. 67.[127] W. Yate, _An Account of New Zealand_, p. 142.-- 6. _Conclusion_ If now we attempt to sum up the effec 2024-4-23
92 [96] E. Dieffenbach, _Travels in New Zealand_, ii. 40.[97] J. Dumont d'Urville, _Voyage autour du Monde et a la recherche de la Perouse, Histoire du Voyage_ (Paris, 1832-1833), iii. 685; W. Yate, _An Account of New Zealand_, p. 86; E.Dieffenbach, _Tr 2024-4-23
91 On the day after a burial the priest used to perform a ceremony to facilitate the pa.s.sage of the soul to its final rest. For this purpose some men would go out in the morning and kill a small bird of the swamps called _kokata_ and pluck up some reeds of 2024-4-23
90 [48] J. L. Nicholas, _Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand_ (London, 1817), i. 61 _sq._, "The New Zealanders make it an invariable practice, when a child is born among them, to take it to the _Tohunga_, or priest, who sprinkles it on the face with wa 2024-4-23
89 The Belief in Immortality and the Wors.h.i.+p of the Dead.by James George Frazer.Vol. II PREFACE The first volume of this work, which comprised the Gifford Lectures given by me at St. Andrews in the years 1911 and 1912, dealt with the belief in immortalit 2024-4-23
88 MYTH OF THE CONTINUANCE OF DEATH[785] The following story is told by the Balolo of the Upper Congo to explain the continuance, if not the origin, of death in the world. One day, while a man was working in the forest, a little man with two bundles, one lar 2024-4-23
87 [Footnote 742: C. Snouck Hurgronje, _Het Gajoland en zijne Bewoners_ (Batavia, 1903), p. 313.][Footnote 743: Aurel Krause, _Die Tlinkit-Indianer_ (Jena, 1885), p.225; Franz Boas, in _Sixth Report of the Committee on the North-western Tribes of Canada_, p. 2024-4-23
86 [Footnote 702: Th. Williams, _Fiji and the Fijians_, i. 216.][Footnote 703: Th. Williams, _op. cit._ i. 216, 218 _sq._; Basil Thomson, _The Fijians_, p. 112.][Footnote 704: Hazlewood, quoted by Capt. J. E. Erskine, _Journal of a Cruise among the Islands o 2024-4-23
85 [Sidenote: The dead taken out of the house by a special opening made in a wall. Examples of the custom among Aryan peoples.]When a certain king of Fiji died, the side of the house was broken down to allow the body to be carried out, though there were door 2024-4-23
84 _Internationales Archiv fur Ethnographie_, ii. (1889) pp. 254-266), and Mr. Basil Thomson (_The Fijians_, pp. 146-156). As to the interval between the initiatory ceremonies Mr. Fison tells us that it was normally two years, but he adds: "This period, 2024-4-23
83 [Sidenote: Sacrifices of foreskins and fingers in honour of the dead.Circ.u.mcision performed on a lad as a propitiatory sacrifice to save the life of his father or father's brother. The rite of circ.u.mcision followed by a licentious orgy.]A curious 2024-4-23
82 [Footnote 651: Th. Williams, _op. cit._ i. 60 _sq._][Footnote 652: Basil Thomson, _The Fijians_, pp. 338, 389 _sq._ The Fijians are in the main vegetarians, but the vegetables which they cultivate "contain a large proportion of starch and water, and 2024-4-23
81 [Sidenote: Fijian doctrine of souls.]Like most savages, the Fijians believed that man is animated by a soul which quits his body temporarily in sleep and permanently at death, to survive for a longer or a shorter time in a disembodied state thereafter. In 2024-4-23
80 [Footnote 622: R. H. Codrington, _The Melanesians_, pp. 205 _sq._][Footnote 623: R. H. Codrington, _The Melanesians_, pp. 209 _sq._, 218-220.][Footnote 624: R. H. Codrington, _The Melanesians_, pp. 210.][Footnote 625: R. H. Codrington, _The Melanesians_, 2024-4-23
79 [Sidenote: Black magic working without any personal relic of the victim.The ghost-shooter.]Unfortunately, however, an adept in the black art can work his fell purpose even without any personal relic of his victim. In the Banks'Islands, for example, h 2024-4-23
78 [Sidenote: Private ghosts. Fighting ghosts kept as auxiliaries.]In addition to the public ghosts, each of whom is revered by a whole village, many a man keeps, so to say, a private or tame ghost of his own on leash. The art of taming a ghost consists in k 2024-4-23
77 [Footnote 554: R. H. Codrington, _op. cit._ p. 248.][Footnote 555: R. H. Codrington, _op. cit._ pp. 255 _sqq_., 264 _sqq_.][Footnote 556: R. H. Codrington, _op. cit._ 253 _sq_.][Footnote 557: R. H. Codrington, _op. cit._ pp. 254, 258, 261; compare _id._, 2024-4-23
76 [Sidenote: Ghosts of the great and of the recently dead are chiefly regarded. Supernatural power (_mana_) acquired through ghosts.]From this account of Dr. Codrington we see that it is only the ghosts of great and powerful people who are wors.h.i.+pped; t 2024-4-23
75 The natives also ascribed sickness to the arts of white men, whom they identified with the spirits of the dead; and a.s.signed this belief as a reason for their wish to kill the strangers.[551][Footnote 517: F. H. H. Guillemard, _Australasia_, II. _Malays 2024-4-23
74 [Sidenote: Prayers for sugar-cane.]Again, in order that a sugar plantation may flourish, the medicine-man will lay a sugar-cane beside the ancestral skulls, saying, "This is for you. We beg of you to ward off all curses, all tricks of wicked people, 2024-4-23
73 [Footnote 494: A. Goudswaard, _op. cit._ p. 78.][Footnote 495: F. S. A. de Clercq, _op. cit._ p. 632.][Footnote 496: F. S. A. de Clercq, _op. cit._ p. 632.][Footnote 497: F. S. A. de Clercq, _op. cit._ p. 632.][Footnote 498: A. Goudswaard, _De Papoewa 2024-4-23
72 [Sidenote: Restrictions observed by mourners. Tattooing in honour of the dead. Teeth of the dead worn by relatives.]The family in which a death has taken place is subject for a time to certain burdensome restrictions, which are probably dictated by a fear 2024-4-23
71 But while the Tami believe in G.o.ds and spirits of various sorts, the superhuman beings with whom they chiefly concern themselves are the souls of the dead. On this subject Mr. Bamler writes: "All the spirits whom we have thus far described are of l 2024-4-23
70 [Sidenote: Kai lads at circ.u.mcision supposed to be swallowed by a monster. Bull-roarers.]Before quitting the Kai tribe I will mention that they, like the other tribes on this coast, practise circ.u.mcision and appear to a.s.sociate the custom more or le 2024-4-23
69 [Footnote 449: Ch. Keysser, _op. cit._ p. 83.]LECTURE XIII THE BELIEF IN IMMORTALITY AMONG THE NATIVES OF GERMAN NEW GUINEA (_continued_) [Sidenote: Offerings to appease ghosts.]In the last lecture I gave you some account of the fear and awe which the Kai 2024-4-23
68 Another equally effective cure for sickness caused by ghosts is this.You take a stout stick, cleave it down the middle so that the two ends remain entire, and give it to two men to hold. Then the sick man pokes his head through the cleft; after that you r 2024-4-23
67 [Footnote 414: R. Poch, "Vierter Bericht uber meine Reise nach Neu-Guinea," _Sitzungsberichte der mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Kla.s.se der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften_ (Vienna), cxv.(1906) Abteilung 1, pp. 901, 902.]LECTURE 2024-4-23
66 But even when the ghosts have departed to their island home, they are by no means strictly confined to it. They can return, especially at night, to roam about the woods and the villages, and the living are very much afraid of them, for the ghosts delight 2024-4-23
65 [Footnote 373: Erdweg, _op. cit._ pp. 288-291.][Footnote 374: Erdweg, _op. cit._ pp. 297 _sq._][Footnote 375: Erdweg, _op. cit._ p. 291.][Footnote 376: Erdweg, _op. cit._ pp. 291-293.][Footnote 377: Erdweg, _op. cit._ pp. 298, 371.] [Footnote 378: Erdweg, 2024-4-23
64 [Sidenote: Beliefs of the Tumleo people as to the fate of the human soul after death.]The people of Tumleo firmly believe in the existence of the human soul after death, though their notions of the disembodied soul or _ms_, as they call it, are vague. The 2024-4-23
63 [Footnote 339: C. G. Seligmann, _op. cit._ p. 655.][Footnote 340: C. G. Seligmann, _op. cit._ pp. 655 _sq._][Footnote 341: C. G. Seligmann, _op. cit._ p. 610.][Footnote 342: C. G. Seligmann, _op. cit._ p. 611.][Footnote 343: C. G. Seligmann, _op. cit._ pp 2024-4-23
62 Fighting and stealing are unknown, and all are united in a common brotherhood."[348][Sidenote: The names of the dead not mentioned.]In the south-eastern part of New Guinea the fear of the dead is further manifested by the common custom of avoiding th 2024-4-23
61 LECTURE IX THE BELIEF IN IMMORTALITY AMONG THE NATIVES OF BRITISH NEW GUINEA [Sidenote: The two races of New Guinea, the Papuan and the Melanesian.]In my last lecture I dealt with the islanders of Torres Straits, and shewed that these savages firmly belie 2024-4-23
60 A widow wore besides a special petticoat made of the inner bark of the fig-tree; the ends of it were pa.s.sed between her legs and tucked up before and behind. She had to leave her hair unshorn during the whole period of her widowhood; and in time it grew 2024-4-23
59 383.][Footnote 263: Maximilian Prinz zu Wied, _Reise in das Innere Nord-America_ (Coblenz, 1839-1841), ii. 235.][Footnote 264: T. de Pauly, _Description Ethnographique des Peuples de la Russie, Peuples de l'Amerique Russe_ (St. Petersburg, 1862), p. 2024-4-23
58 [Footnote 218: P. Beveridge, in _Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales_, xvii. (1883) pp. 29 _sq._ Compare R. Brough Smyth, _Aborigines of Victoria_, i. 100 note.][Footnote 219: (Sir) G. Grey, _Journals of Two Expeditions of Disc 2024-4-23
57 [Footnote 210: P. Beveridge, "Of the Aborigines Inhabiting the Great Lacustrine and Riverine Depression of the Lower Murray, Lower Murrumbidgee, Lower Lachlan, and Lower Darling," _Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales_ 2024-4-23
56 [Footnote 163: W. E. Roth, _North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No.5_ (Brisbane, 1903), p. 29. -- 116.][Footnote 164: W. E. Roth. _op. cit._ p. 18, -- 68.][Footnote 165: W. E. Roth, _op. cit._ pp. 17, 29, ---- 65, 116.][Footnote 166: W. E. Roth, _op. c 2024-4-23
55 [Sidenote: Belief of the Australian aborigines that their dead are reborn in white people.]I have mentioned the belief of the Cape Bedford natives that the spirits of their dead are sometimes reincarnated in white people. A similar notion is reported from 2024-4-23
54 In all these ceremonies you will observe that the action of the drama is strictly appropriate to the totem. In the drama of the Hakea flower totem the actors pretend to make and drink the beverage brewed from Hakea flowers; in the ceremony of the fish tot 2024-4-23
53 [Footnote 125: Spencer and Gillen, _Northern Tribes of Central Australia_, p. 273.][Footnote 126: Spencer and Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central Australia_, p. 141.][Footnote 127: Spencer and Gillen, _op. cit._ p. 140][Footnote 128: Spencer and Gillen, _Na 2024-4-23
52 [Sidenote: Backward state of the Central Australian aborigines. They have no idea of a moral supreme being.]Accordingly, in attempting to give you some account of the belief in immortality and the wors.h.i.+p of the dead among the various races of mankind 2024-4-23
51 [Footnote 75: A. W. Howitt, _Native Tribes of South-East Australia_ (London, 1904), pp. 428 _sq._][Footnote 76: Antoine Cabaton, _Nouvelles Recherches sur les Chams_ (Paris, 1901), pp. 18 _sq._][Footnote 77: Baldwin Spencer and F. J. Gillen, _Northern Tri 2024-4-23
50 The Wemba of Northern Rhodesia relate how G.o.d in the beginning created a man and a woman and gave them two bundles; in one of them was life and in the other death. Most unfortunately the man chose "the little bundle of death."[100] The Cheroke 2024-4-23
49 In my last lecture I shewed that many savages do not believe in what we call a natural death; they imagine that all men are naturally immortal and would never die, if their lives were not cut prematurely short by sorcery. Further, I pointed out that this 2024-4-23
48 [Footnote 17: Albert A. C. Le Souef, "Notes on the Natives of Australia," in R. Brough Smyth's _Aborigines of Victoria_ (Melbourne and London, 1878), ii. 289 _sq._][Footnote 18: (Sir) George Grey, _Journals of two Expeditions of Discovery i 2024-4-23
47 His remarks apply to the Australian aborigines in general but to the tribes of Victoria in particular. He says: "The natives are much more numerous in some parts of Australia than they are in others, but nowhere is the country thickly peopled; some d 2024-4-23
46 [Sidenote: The question of immortality is a fundamental problem of natural theology in the wider sense.]Hence if we are to explain the deification of dead men, we must first explain the widespread belief in immortality; we must answer the question, how do 2024-4-23
45 [Sidenote: Hence the need of studying the beliefs and customs of savages, if we are to understand the evolution of culture in general.]If this conclusion is correct, the various stages of savagery and barbarism on which many tribes and peoples now stand r 2024-4-23
44 The Belief in Immortality and the Wors.h.i.+p of the Dead.Volume I.by Sir James George Frazer.PREFACE The following lectures were delivered on Lord Gifford's Foundation before the University of St. Andrews in the early winters of 1911 and 1912. They 2024-4-23
43 [Footnote 762: Ch. Gilhodes, "Naissance et Enfance chez les Katchins (Birmanie)," _Anthropos_, vi. (1911) pp. 872 _sq._][Footnote 763: A. W. Nieuwenhuis, _Quer durch Borneo_ (Leyden, 1901-1907), i. 91.][Footnote 764: Ch. Hose and W. McDougall, _ 2024-4-23
42 [Footnote 724: Ch. Wilkes, _op. cit._ iii. 101; Th. Williams, _op. cit._ i. 197 _sq._; Lorimer Fison, _Tales from Old Fiji_, p. 168; Basil Thomson, _The Fijian_, p. 375.][Footnote 725: Th. Williams, _op. cit._ i. 197, 198.][Footnote 726: Ch. Wilkes, _op. 2024-4-23
41 Again, there is a very terrible giant armed with a great axe, who lies in wait for all and sundry. He makes no nice distinction between the married and the unmarried, but strikes out at all ghosts indiscriminately. Those whom he wounds dare not present th 2024-4-23
40 [Sidenote: Oracles given by the priest under the inspiration of the G.o.d.Paroxysm of inspiration.]The princ.i.p.al duty of the priest was to reveal to men the will of the G.o.d, and this he always did through the direct inspiration of the deity.The revel 2024-4-23
39 Truly a religious revival of a remarkable kind![Sidenote: Description of the _Nanga_ or sacred enclosure of stones.]To conclude this part of my subject I will briefly describe the construction of a _Nanga_ or sacred stone enclosure, as it used to exist in 2024-4-23
38 [Footnote 674: W. H. R. Rivers, "Totemism in Fiji," _Man_, viii. (1908) pp. 133 _sqq._; _Totemism and Exogamy_, ii. 134 _sqq._][Footnote 675: U. Lisiansky, _A Voyage Round the World_ (London, 1814), p. 89.][Footnote 676: Ch. Hose and W. McDougal 2024-4-23
37 [Footnote 630: Rev. G. Brown, _op. cit._ pp. 270 _sq._, compare pp. 127, 200.][Footnote 631: Rev. G. Brown, _op. cit._ pp. v., 18.][Footnote 632: G. Brown, _op. cit._ pp. 141 _sq._, 144, 145, 190-193.][Footnote 633: G. Brown, _op. cit._ pp. 142, 192, 385, 2024-4-23
36 [Sidenote: Disposal of the dead among the Moa.n.u.s of the Admiralty Islands. Prayers offered to the skull of a dead chief.]Among the Moa.n.u.s of the Admiralty Islands the dead are kept in the houses unburied until the flesh is completely decayed and not 2024-4-23
35 [Footnote 599: R. H. Codrington, _op. cit._ p. 139.][Footnote 600: "Native Stories of Santa Cruz and Reef Islands,"translated by the Rev. W. O'Ferrall, _Journal of the Anthropological Inst.i.tute_, x.x.xiv. (1904) p. 223.][Footnote 601: &qu 2024-4-23