The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2)Frazer, James George
ReligionComparative
The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2)
Frazer, James George
Magic; Mythology; Religion; Superstition
The Samoans used to present the first-fruits to the spirits (_aitus_) and
chiefs.(982) For example, a family whose god was in the form of an eel
presented the first-fruits of their taro plantations to the eel.(983) In
Tahiti “the first fish taken periodically on their shores, together with a
number of kinds regarded as sacred, were conveyed to the altar. The
first-fruits of their orchards and gardens were also _taumaha_, or
offered, with a portion of their live stock, which consisted of pigs,
dogs, and fowls, as it was supposed death would be inflicted on the owner
or the occupant of the land from which the god should not receive such
acknowledgment.”(984) In Huahine, one of the Society Islands, the
first-fruits were presented to the god Tani. A poor person was expected to
bring two of the earliest fruits gathered, of whatever kind; a _raatira_
had to bring ten, and chiefs and princes had to bring more, according to
their rank and riches. They brought the fruits to the temple, where they
threw them down on the ground, with the words, “Here, Tani, I have brought
you something to eat.”(985) The chief gods of the Easter Islanders were
Make-Make and Haua. To these they offered the first of all the produce of
the ground.(986) Amongst the Maoris the offering of the first-fruits of
the sweet potatoes to Pani, son of Rongo, the god of sweet potatoes, was a
solemn religious ceremony.(987)
It has been affirmed that the old Prussians offered the first-fruits of
their crops and of their fishing to the god Curcho, but doubt rests on the
statement.(988) The Romans sacrificed the first ears of corn to Ceres, and
the first of the new wine to Liber; and until the priests had offered
these sacrifices, the people might not eat the new corn nor drink the new
wine.(989)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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