The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 01 of 12)Frazer, James George
Religion
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 01 of 12)
Frazer, James George
Magic; Mythology; Religion; Superstition
Again, Servian and Bulgarian women who chafe at the restraints of
domestic life will take the copper coins from the eyes of a corpse,
wash them in wine or water, and give the liquid to their husbands
to drink. After swallowing it, the husband will be as blind to his
wife’s peccadilloes as the dead man was on whose eyes the coins were
laid.[525] When a {p150} Blackfoot Indian went out eagle-hunting,
he used to take a skull with him, because he believed that the skull
would make him invisible, like the dead person to whom it had belonged,
and so the eagles would not be able to see and attack him.[526] The
Tarahumares of Mexico are great runners, and parties of them engage in
races with each other. They believe that human bones induce fatigue;
hence before a race the friends of one side will bury dead men’s bones
in the track, hoping that the runners of the other side will pass over
them and so be weakened. Naturally they warn their own men to shun the
spot where the bones are buried.[527] The Belep of New Caledonia think
that they can disable an enemy from flight by means of the leg-bone of
a dead foe. They stick certain plants into the bone, and then smash it
between stones before the skulls of their ancestors. It is easy to see
that this breaks the leg of the living enemy and so hinders him from
running away. Hence in time of war men fortify themselves with amulets
of this sort.[528] The ancient Greeks seem to have thought that to
set a young male child on a tomb would be to rob him of his manhood by
infecting him with the impotence of the dead.[529] And as there is no
memory in the grave the Arabs think that earth from a grave can make a
man forget his griefs and sorrows, especially the sorrow of an unhappy
love.[530]
[Sidenote: Homoeopathic magic of animals.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account