The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 03 of 12)Frazer, James George
Religion
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 03 of 12)
Frazer, James George
Magic; Mythology; Religion; Superstition
talking of the cuckoo, the owl, and the magpie, for they are birds of
witchery. The fox must be called “blue-foot,” or “he that goes in the
forest”; and rats are “the long-bodied,” mice “the small grey,” and the
seal “brother Lars.” Swedish herd-girls, again, believe that if the wolf
and the bear be called by other than their proper and legitimate names,
they will not attack the herd. Hence they give these brutes names which
they fancy will not hurt their feelings. The number of endearing
appellations lavished by them on the wolf is legion; they call him “golden
tooth,” “the silent one,” “grey legs,” and so on; while the bear is
referred to by the respectful titles of “the old man,” “grandfather,”
“twelve men’s strength,” “golden feet,” and more of the same sort. Even
inanimate things are not always to be called by their usual names. For
instance, fire is sometimes to be called “heat” (_hetta_) not _eld_ or
_ell_; water for brewing must be called _lag_ or _löu_, not _vatn_, else
the beer would not turn out so well.(1470) The Huzuls of the Carpathians,
a pastoral people, who dread the ravages of wild beasts on their flocks
and herds, are unwilling to mention the bear by his proper name, so they
call him respectfully “the little uncle” or “the big one.” In like manner
and for similar reasons they name the wolf “the little one” and the
serpent “the long one.”(1471) They may not say that wool is scalded, or in
the heat of summer the sheep would rub themselves till their sides were
raw; so they merely say that the wool is warmed.(1472) The Lapps fear to
call the bear by his true name, lest he should ravage their herds; so they
speak of him as “the old man with the coat of skin,” and in cooking his
flesh to furnish a meal they may not refer to the work they are engaged in
as “cooking,” but must designate it by a special term.(1473) The Finns
speak of the bear as “the apple of the wood,” “beautiful honey-paw,” “the
pride of the thicket,” “the old man,” and so on.(1474) And in general a
Finnish hunter thinks that he will have poor sport if he calls animals by
their real names; the beasts resent it. The fox and the hare are only
spoken of as “game,” and the lynx is termed “the forest cat,” lest it
should devour the sheep.(1475) Esthonian peasants are very loth to mention
wild beasts by their proper names, for they believe that the creatures
will not do so much harm if only they are called by other names than their
own. Hence they speak of the bear as “broad foot” and the wolf as “grey
coat.”(1476)
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