The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 04 of 12)Frazer, James George
Religion
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 04 of 12)
Frazer, James George
Magic; Mythology; Religion; Superstition
(M73) The Bedouins of the Sinaitic peninsula observe a great annual
festival at the grave of the prophet Salih, and camel-races are included
in the ceremonies. At the end of the races a procession takes place round
the prophet’s grave, after which the sacrificial victims are led to the
door of the mortuary chapel, their ears are cut off, and the doorposts are
smeared with their streaming blood.(306) The custom of holding funeral
games in honour of the dead appears to be common among the people of the
Caucasus. Thus in Circassia the anniversary of the death of a
distinguished warrior or chief is celebrated for years with horse-races,
foot-races, and various kinds of martial and athletic exercises, for which
prizes are awarded to the successful competitors.(307) Among the Chewsurs,
another people of the Caucasus, horse-races are held at the funeral of a
rich man, and prizes of cattle and sheep are given to the winners; poorer
folk content themselves with a competition in shooting and with more
modest prizes. Similar celebrations take place on the anniversary of the
death.(308) In like manner shooting-matches form a feature of an annual
Festival of All Souls, when the spirits of departed Chewsurs are believed
to revisit their old village. Adults and children alike take part in the
matches, the adults shooting with guns and the children with bows and
arrows. The prizes consist of loaves, stockings, gloves, and so
forth.(309) Among the Abchases, another people of the Caucasus, two years
after a death a memorial feast is held in honour of the deceased, at which
animals are killed and measures taken to appease the soul of the departed.
For they believe that if the ghost is discontented he can injure them and
their property. The horse of the deceased figures prominently at the
festival. After the guests have feasted at a long table spread in the open
air, the young men perform evolutions on horseback which are said to
recall the tournaments of the Middle Ages, and children of eight or nine
years of age ride races on horseback.(310)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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