Introduction to the History of Religions

Chapter 42

[469] A special form of man's relations with animals is considered below under "Totemism."

[470] For example, in Sumatra, offerings are made to the "soul of the rice"; there is fear of frightening the rice-spirit, and ceremonies are performed in its honor; see Wilken, _Het Animisme bij de Volken van den Indischen Archipel_; Kruyt, _De Rijstmoeder van den Indischen Archipel_, 389. It has been suggested that the prohibition of yeast in the Hebrew mazzot (unleavened bread) festival may have come originally from fear of frightening the spirit of the grain. It may have been, however, merely the retention of an old custom (if the grain was eaten originally without yeast), which later (as sometimes happened in the case of old customs) was made sacred by its age, was adopted into the religious code, and so became obligatory.

[471] This conception survives in the expressions "spirit of wine," etc., and Ca.s.sio's "invisible spirit of wine" easily pa.s.ses into a "devil."

[472] This distinction is made in a somewhat formal way by the Ainu, a very rude people (Batchelor, _The Ainu_, chap.

x.x.xiii).

[473] W. R. Smith, _Religion of the Semites_, 2d ed., p. 132 f.

[474] Frazer, _Totemism and Exogamy_, Index, s.vv. _totems_, _ancestors_.

[475] Spencer and Gillen, _Native Tribes of Central Australia_, pp. 112, 116. Many other plant totems are mentioned by Frazer in his _Totemism and Exogamy_.

[476] Turner, _Samoa_, pp. 32, 39, 43, 72.

[477] This relation was not necessarily totemic--it may have been of a general character, of which totemism is a special form.

[478] Frazer, _Golden Bough_, 2d ed., i, 179 ff.

[479]

[480] W. R. Smith, _Religion of the Semites_, 2d ed., pp.

133, 195; Hopkins, in _Journal of the American Oriental Society_, x.x.x (1910), 4, p. 352.

[481] Miss G.o.dden, in _Journal of the Anthropological Inst.i.tute_, xxvi, 186 ff.

[482] W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India_, new ed., ii, 85 ff.; cf. Hopkins, "Mythological Aspects of Trees, etc.," in _Journal of the American Oriental Society_, September, 1910.

[483] _Rig-Veda_, ix al.; Muir, _Original Sanskrit Texts_, v; Hillebrandt, _Vedische Mythologie_, i, 450; Hopkins, _Religions of India_, p. 112 ff.

[484] Spiegel, _Eranische Alterthumskunde_, ii, 114 ff.; Tiele-Gehrich, _Geschichte der Religion im Alterium_, ii, ii, p. 234 ff.

[485] Mannhardt, _Baumkultus_ and _Antike Wald- und Feldkulte_; Frazer, _Golden Bough_, Index, s.v.

_Corn-spirit_.

[486] Cf. below, -- 751 ff.

[487] The connection between such posts and the North-Semitic G.o.ddess Ashera is uncertain.

[488] Ward, _Seal-cylinders of Western Asia_.

[489] Cf. the suggestion of A. Reville (in his _Prolegomenes de l'histoire des religions_) that images arose in part from natural woods bearing a fancied resemblance to the human form.

[490] Boas, _The Kwakiutl_; Swanton, "Seattle Totem Pole,"

in _Journal of American Folklore_ vol. xviii, no. 69 (April, 1905).

[491] See below, "Totemism," -- 449 f.

[492] Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folklore of Northern India_, ii, 115 ff.

[493] Pausanias, x, 31, 4; Roscher, _Lexikon_, article "Meleagros."

[494] Frazer, _Golden Bough_, 2d ed., iii, 391 ff.

[495] Gen. iii; cf. Hopkins, in _Journal of the American Oriental Society_, September, 1910. Whether the golden apples of the Hesperides had the life-giving quality is doubtful.

[496] This appears from a comparison of Gen. iii, 3 with ii, 17.

[497] Gen. iii, 5, 22.

[498] He is, perhaps, a diminished and conventionalized form of the old chaos dragon.

[499] On the various names and characters of this cosmic tree see Saussaye, _Religion of the Teutons_, p. 347 ff.

[500] _Rig-Veda_, x, 81, 4.

[501] 2 Sam. v, 24.

[502] Judg. ix, 37.

[503] See below, -- 935 ff.

[504] This is the case with all spirits that social needs do not force man to give names to.

[505] Rhys Davids, _Buddhist India_, p. 232.

[506] See above, -- 252 f.

[507] Ex. iii, 2 ff.; Deut. x.x.xiii, 16; Acts vii, 30, 35.

[508] See _Journal of the American Oriental Society_, x.x.x, 353 f., for possible examples.

[509] A list of such t.i.tles is given by C. Boetticher in his _Baumkultus der h.e.l.lenen und Romer_, chap. iv.

[510] Dionysos is a bull-G.o.d as well as a tree-G.o.d.

[511] _Dawn of Civilization_, p. 12.

[512] Hopkins, _Religions of India_, p. 533.

[513] On the Soma cult see above, -- 270.

[514] -- 271.

[515] Lev. xvi.

[516] Gruppe, _Culte und Mythen_; Roscher, _Lexikon_. Cf.



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