The Origin of Man and of His SuperstitionsRead, Carveth
Philosophy
The Origin of Man and of His Superstitions
Read, Carveth
Animism; Human beings -- Origin; Magic; Superstition; Totemism
(_d_) The claim to property is instinctive in most animals—claim
to a certain territory, or to a nest, or lair, or mate. Each early
human pack probably claimed a certain hunting-range; and each family
its lair, which it guarded, as our domestic dog guards the house. In
Australia “every tribe has its own country, and its boundaries are
well known; and they are respected by others”;[67] and the Bushmen,
who retained the ancient hunting-life more perfectly than any other
known people, are said to have been formerly divided into large tribes
with well-defined hunting-grounds.[68] As weapons or other implements,
charms, or ornaments came into use, the attitude toward the territory
or lair will have been extended to include them; indeed, it seems to be
instinctive even in lower Primates. “In the Zoological Gardens,” says
Darwin, “a monkey, which had weak teeth, used to break open nuts with a
stone; and I was assured by the keepers that, after using the stone, he
hid it in the straw, and would not let any other monkey touch it. Here,
then, we have the idea of property.”[69] Among the half-wolf train-dogs
of Canada, the claims of one to property seem to be recognised by
others; for a dog will defend its _cache_ of food against another that
ordinarily it fears; and “the bigger dog rarely presses the point.”[70]
The utility of keeping the peace within the tribe, no doubt, led to the
growth of customs concerning property, and to their protection by the
social sanction, and later by the taboo.[71] For taboo cannot be the
origin of respect for property or for any custom: it implies a custom
already existing, which it protects by the growth of a belief in some
magical penalty that is effective even when there are no witnesses. The
same utility of order must have established customs of dividing the
kill of the pack: later also protected by taboo, as we still see in
many savage tribes.
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