Chapter 50. Eating the God.
Section 1. The Sacrament of First-Fruits.
WE have now seen that the corn-spirit is represented sometimes in human,
sometimes in animal form, and that in both cases he is killed in the person
of his representative and eaten sacramentally. To find examples of actually
killing the human representative of the corn-spirit we had naturally to go to
savage races; but the harvest-suppers of our European peasants have
furnished unmistakable examples of the sacramental eating of animals as
representatives of the corn-spirit. But further, as might have been
anticipated, the new corn is itself eaten sacramentally, that is, as the body
of the corn-spirit. In Wermland, Sweden, the farmer's wife uses the grain of
the last sheaf to bake a loaf in the shape of a little girl; this loaf is divided
amongst the whole household and eaten by them. Here the loaf represents
the corn-spirit conceived as a maiden; just as in Scotland the corn-spirit is
similarly conceived and represented by the last sheaf made up in the form
of a woman and bearing the name of the Maiden. As usual, the corn-spirit
is believed to reside in the last sheaf; and to eat a loaf made from the last
sheaf is, therefore, to eat the corn-spirit itself. Similarly at La Palisse, in
France, a man made of dough is hung upon the fir-tree which is carried on
the last harvest-waggon. The tree and the dough-man are taken to the
mayor's house and kept there till the vintage is over. Then the close of the
harvest is celebrated by a feast at which the mayor breaks the dough-man
in pieces and gives the pieces to the people to eat. 1
In these examples the corn-spirit is represented and eaten in human
shape. In other cases, though the new corn is not baked in loaves of
human shape, still the solemn ceremonies with which it is eaten suffice to
indicate that it is partaken of sacramentally, that is, as the body of the
corn-spirit. For example, the following ceremonies used to be observed by
Lithuanian peasants at eating the new corn. About the time of the autumn
sowing, when all the corn had been got in and the threshing had begun,
each farmer held a festival called Sabarios, that is, "the mixing or throwing
together." He took nine good handfuls of each kind of crop-wheat, barley,
oats, flax, beans, lentils, and the rest; and each handful he divided into
three parts. The twentyseven portions of each grain were then thrown on a
heap and all mixed up together. The grain used had to be that which was
first threshed and winnowed and which had been set aside and kept for this
purpose. A part of the grain thus mixed was employed to bake little loaves,
one for each of the household; the rest was mixed with more barley or oats
and made into beer. The first beer brewed from this mixture was for the
drinking of the farmer, his wife, and children; the second brew was for the
servants. The beer being ready, the farmer chose an evening when no
stranger was expected. Then he knelt down before the barrel of beer, drew
a jugful of the liquor and poured it on the bung of the barrel, saying, "O
fruitful earth, make rye and barley and all kinds of corn to flourish." Next he
took the jug to the parlour, where his wife and children awaited him. On the
floor of the parlour lay bound a black or white or speckled (not a red) cock
and a hen of the same colour and of the same brood, which must have
been hatched within the year. Then the farmer knelt down, with the jug in
his hand, and thanked God for the harvest and prayed for a good crop next
year. Next all lifted up their hands and said, "O God, and thou, O earth, we
give you this cock and hen as a free-will offering." With that the farmer
killed the fowls with the blows of a wooden spoon, for he might not cut their
heads off. After the first prayer and after killing each of the birds he poured
out a third of the beer. Then his wife boiled the fowls in a new pot which
had never been used before. After that, a bushel was set, bottom upwards,
on the floor, and on it were placed the little loaves mentioned above and
the boiled fowls. Next the new beer was fetched, together with a ladle and
three mugs, none of which was used except on this occasion. When the
farmer had ladled the beer into the mugs, the family knelt down round the
bushel. The father then uttered a prayer and drank off the three mugs of
beer. The rest followed his example. Then the loaves and the flesh of the
fowls were eaten, after which the beer went round again, till every one had
emptied each of the three mugs nine times. None of the food should remain
over; but if anything did happen to be left, it was consumed next morning
with the same ceremonies. The bones were given to the dog to eat; if he did
not eat them all up, the remains were buried under the dung in the
cattle-stall. This ceremony was observed at the beginning of December.
On the day on which it took place no bad word might be spoken. 2
Such was the custom about two hundred years or more ago. At the
present day in Lithuania, when new potatoes or loaves made from the new
corn are being eaten, all the people at table pull each other's hair. The
meaning of this last custom is obscure, but a similar custom was certainly
observed by the heathen Lithuanians at their solemn sacrifices. Many of
the Esthonians of the island of Oesel will not eat bread baked of the new
corn till they have first taken a bite at a piece of iron. The iron is here
plainly a charm, intended to render harmless the spirit that is in the corn. In
Sutherlandshire at the present day, when the new potatoes are dug all the
family must taste them, otherwise "the spirits in them [the potatoes] take
offence, and the potatoes would not keep." In one part of Yorkshire it is still
customary for the clergyman to cut the first corn; and my informant believes
that the corn so cut is used to make the communion bread. If the latter part
of the custom is correctly reported (and analogy is all in its favour), it
shows how the Christian communion has absorbed within itself a sacrament
which is doubtless far older than Christianity. 3
The Aino or Ainu of Japan are said to distinguish various kinds of millet
as male and female respectively, and these kinds, taken together, are
called "the divine husband and wife cereal" (Umurek haru kamui).
"Therefore before millet is pounded and made into cakes for general eating,
the old men have a few made for themselves first to worship. When they are
ready they pray to them very earnestly and say: `O thou cereal deity, we
worship thee. Thou hast grown very well this year, and thy flavour will be
sweet. Thou art good. The goddess of fire will be glad, and we also shall
rejoice greatly. O thou god, O thou divine cereal, do thou nourish the
people. I now partake of thee. I worship thee and give thee thanks.' After
having thus prayed, they, the worshippers, take a cake and eat it, and from
this time the people may all partake of the new millet. And so with many
gestures of homage and words of prayer this kind of food is dedicated to
the well-being of the Ainu. No doubt the cereal offering is regarded as a
tribute paid to a god, but that god is no other than the seed itself; and it is
only a god in so far as it is beneficial to the human body." 4
At the close of the rice harvest in the East Indian island of Buru, each
clan meets at a common sacramental meal, to which every member of the
clan is bound to contribute a little of the new rice. This meal is called
"eating the soul of the rice," a name which clearly indicates the
sacramental character of the repast. Some of the rice is also set apart and
offered to the spirits. Amongst the Alfoors of Minahassa, in Celebes, the
priest sows the first rice-seed and plucks the first ripe rice in each field.
This rice he roasts and grinds into meal, and gives some of it to each of the
household. Shortly before the rice-harvest in Boland Mongondo, another
district of Celebes, an offering is made of a small pig or a fowl. Then the
priest plucks a little rice, first on his own field and next on those of his
neighbours. All the rice thus plucked by him he dries along with his own,
and then gives it back to the respective owners, who have it ground and
boiled. When it is boiled the women take it back, with an egg, to the priest,
who offers the egg in sacrifice and returns the rice to the women. Of this
rice every member of the family, down to the youngest child, must partake.
After this ceremony every one is free to get in his rice. 5
Amongst the Burghers or Badagas, a tribe of the Neilgherry Hills in
Southern India, the first handful of seed is sown and the first sheaf reaped
by a Curumbar, a man of a different tribe, the members of which the
Burghers regard as sorcerers. The grain contained in the first sheaf "is that
day reduced to meal, made into cakes, and, being offered as a first-fruit
oblation, is, together with the remainder of the sacrificed animal, partaken
of by the Burgher and the whole of his family, as the meat of a federal
offering and sacrifice." Among the Hindoos of Southern India the eating of
the new rice is the occasion of a family festival called Pongol. The new rice
is boiled in a new pot on a fire which is kindled at noon on the day when,
according to Hindoo astrologers, the sun enters the tropic of Capricorn. The
boiling of the pot is watched with great anxiety by the whole family, for as
the milk boils, so will the coming year be. If the milk boils rapidly, the year
will be prosperous; but it will be the reverse if the milk boils slowly. Some of
the new boiled rice is offered to the image of Ganesa; then every one
partakes of it. In some parts of Northern India the festival of the new crop is
known as Navan, that is, "new grain." When the crop is ripe, the owner
takes the omens, goes to the field, plucks five or six ears of barley in the
spring crop and one of the millets in the autumn harvest. This is brought
home, parched, and mixed with coarse sugar, butter, and curds. Some of it
is thrown on the fire in the name of the village gods and deceased
ancestors; the rest is eaten by the family. 6
The ceremony of eating the new yams at Onitsha, on the Niger, is thus
described: "Each headman brought out six yams, and cut down young
branches of palm-leaves and placed them before his gate, roasted three of
the yams, and got some kola-nuts and fish. After the yam is roasted, the
Libia, or country doctor, takes the yam, scrapes it into a sort of meal, and
divides it into halves; he then takes one piece, and places it on the lips of
the person who is going to eat the new yam. The eater then blows up the
steam from the hot yam, and afterwards pokes the whole into his mouth, and
says, `I thank God for being permitted to eat the new yam'; he then begins
to chew it heartily, with fish likewise." 7
Among the Nandi of British East Africa, when the eleusine grain is
ripening in autumn, every woman who owns a corn-field goes out into it
with her daughters, and they all pluck some of the ripe grain. Each of the
women then fixes one grain in her necklace and chews another, which she
rubs on her forehead, throat, and breast. No mark of joy escapes them;
sorrowfully they cut a basketful of the new corn, and carrying it home place
it in the loft to dry. As the ceiling is of wickerwork, a good deal of the grain
drops through the crevices and falls into the fire, where it explodes with a
crackling noise. The people make no attempt to prevent this waste; for they
regard the crackling of the grain in the fire as a sign that the souls of the
dead are partaking of it. A few days later porridge is made from the new
grain and served up with milk at the evening meal. All the members of the
family take some of the porridge and dab it on the walls and roofs of the
huts; also they put a little in their mouths and spit it out towards the east and
on the outside of the huts. Then, holding up some of the grain in his hand,
the head of the family prays to God for health and strength, and likewise for
milk, and everybody present repeats the words of the prayer after him. 8
Amongst the Caffres of Natal and Zululand, no one may eat of the new
fruits till after a festival which marks the beginning of the Caffre year and
falls at the end of December or the beginning of January. All the people
assemble at the king's kraal, where they feast and dance. Before they
separate the "dedication of the people" takes place. Various fruits of the
earth, as corn, mealies, and pumpkins, mixed with the flesh of a sacrificed
animal and with "medicine," are boiled in great pots, and a little of this food
is placed in each man's mouth by the king himself. After thus partaking of
the sanctified fruits, a man is himself sanctified for the whole year, and may
immediately get in his crops. It is believed that if any man were to partake
of the new fruits before the festival, he would die; if he were detected, he
would be put to death, or at least all his cattle would be taken from him. The
holiness of the new fruits is well marked by the rule that they must be
cooked in a special pot which is used only for this purpose, and on a new
fire kindled by a magician through the friction of two sticks which are called
"husband and wife." 9
Among the Bechuanas it is a rule that before they partake of the new
crops they must purify themselves. The purification takes place at the
commencement of the new year on a day in January which is fixed by the
chief. It begins in the great kraal of the tribe, where all the adult males
assemble. Each of them takes in his hand leaves of a gourd called by the
natives lerotse (described as something between a pumpkin and a
vegetable marrow); and having crushed the leaves he anoints with the
expressed juice his big toes and his navel; many people indeed apply the
juice to all the joints of their body, but the better-informed say that this is a
vulgar departure from ancient custom. After this ceremony in the great kraal
every man goes home to his own kraal, assembles all the members of his
family, men, women, and children, and smears them all with the juice of the
lerotse leaves. Some of the leaves are also pounded, mixed with milk in a
large wooden dish, and given to the dogs to lap up. Then the porridge plate
of each member of the family is rubbed with the lerotse leaves. When this
purification has been completed, but not before, the people are free to eat
of the new crops. 10
The Bororo Indians of Brazil think that it would be certain death to eat the
new maize before it has been blessed by the medicine-man. The ceremony
of blessing it is as follows. The half-ripe husk is washed and placed before
the medicine-man, who by dancing and singing for several hours, and by
incessant smoking, works himself up into a state of ecstasy, whereupon he
bites into the husk, trembling in every limb and uttering shrieks from time to
time. A similar ceremony is performed whenever a large animal or a large
fish is killed. The Bororo are firmly persuaded that were any man to touch
unconsecrated maize or meat, before the ceremony had been completed,
he and his whole tribe would perish. 11
Amongst the Creek Indians of North America, the busk or festival of
first-fruits was the chief ceremony of the year. It was held in July or
August, when the corn was ripe, and marked the end of the old year and
the beginning of the new one. Before it took place, none of the Indians
would eat or even handle any part of the new harvest. Sometimes each
town had its own busk; sometimes several towns united to hold one in
common. Before celebrating the busk, the people provided themselves with
new clothes and new household utensils and furniture; they collected their
old clothes and rubbish, together with all the remaining grain and other old
provisions, cast them together in one common heap, and consumed them
with fire. As a preparation for the ceremony, all the fires in the village were
extinguished, and the ashes swept clean away. In particular, the hearth or
altar of the temple was dug up and the ashes carried out. Then the chief
priest put some roots of the button-snake plant, with some green tobacco
leaves and a little of the new fruits, at the bottom of the fireplace, which he
afterwards commanded to be covered up with white clay, and wetted over
with clean water. A thick arbour of green branches of young trees was then
made over the altar. Meanwhile the women at home were cleaning out their
houses, renewing the old hearths, and scouring all the cooking vessels that
they might be ready to receive the new fire and the new fruits. The public
or sacred square was carefully swept of even the smallest crumbs of
previous feasts, "for fear of polluting the first-fruit offerings." Also every
vessel that had contained or had been used about any food during the
expiring year was removed from the temple before sunset. Then all the men
who were not known to have violated the law of the first-fruit offering and
that of marriage during the year were summoned by a crier to enter the holy
square and observe a solemn fast. But the women (except six old ones), the
children, and all who had not attained the rank of warriors were forbidden
to enter the square. Sentinels were also posted at the corners of the square
to keep out all persons deemed impure and all animals. A strict fast was
then observed for two nights and a day, the devotees drinking a bitter
decoction of button-snake root "in order to vomit and purge their sinful
bodies." That the people outside the square might also be purified, one of
the old men laid down a quantity of green tobacco at a corner of the
square; this was carried off by an old woman and distributed to the people
without, who chewed and swallowed it "in order to afflict their souls."
During this general fast, the women, children, and men of weak constitution
were allowed to eat after mid-day, but not before. On the morning when the
fast ended, the women brought a quantity of the old year's food to the
outside of the sacred square. These provisions were then fetched in and
set before the famished multitude, but all traces of them had to be removed
before noon. When the sun was declining from the meridian, all the people
were commanded by the voice of a crier to stay within doors, to do no bad
act, and to be sure to extinguish and throw away every spark of the old fire.
Universal silence now reigned. Then the high priest made the new fire by
the friction of two pieces of wood, and placed it on the altar under the
green arbour. This new fire was believed to atone for all past crimes except
murder. Next a basket of new fruits was brought; the high priest took out a
little of each sort of fruit, rubbed it with bear's oil, and offered it, together
with some flesh, "to the bountiful holy spirit of fire, as a first-fruit offering,
and an annual oblation for sin." He also consecrated the sacred emetics
(the button-snake root and the cassina or black-drink) by pouring a little of
them into the fire. The persons who had remained outside now approached,
without entering, the sacred square; and the chief priest thereupon made a
speech, exhorting the people to observe their old rites and customs,
announcing that the new divine fire had purged away the sins of the past
year, and earnestly warning the women that, if any of them had not
extinguished the old fire, or had contracted any impurity, they must forthwith
depart, "lest the divine fire should spoil both them and the people." Some of
the new fire was then set down outside the holy square; the women carried
it home joyfully, and laid it on their unpolluted hearths. When several towns
had united to celebrate the festival, the new fire might thus be carried for
several miles. The new fruits were then dressed on the new fires and eaten
with bear's oil, which was deemed indispensable. At one point of the
festival the men rubbed the new corn between their hands, then on their
faces and breasts. During the festival which followed, the warriors, dressed
in their wild martial array, their heads covered with white down and
carrying white feathers in their hands, danced round the sacred arbour,
under which burned the new fire. The ceremonies lasted eight days, during
which the strictest continence was practised. Towards the conclusion of the
festival the warriors fought a mock battle; then the men and women
together, in three circles, danced round the sacred fire. Lastly, all the
people smeared themselves with white clay and bathed in running water.
They came out of the water believing that no evil could now befall them for
what they had done amiss in the past. So they departed in joy and
peace. 12
To this day, also, the remnant of the Seminole Indians of Florida, a people
of the same stock as the Creeks, hold an annual purification and festival
called the Green Corn Dance, at which the new corn is eaten. On the
evening of the first day of the festival they quaff a nauseous "Black Drink,"
as it is called, which acts both as an emetic and a purgative; they believe
that he who does not drink of this liquor cannot safely eat the new green
corn, and besides that he will be sick at some time in the year. While the
liquor is being drunk, the dancing begins, and the medicine-men join in it.
Next day they eat of the green corn; the following day they fast, probably
from fear of polluting the sacred food in their stomachs by contact with
common food; but the third day they hold a great feast. 13
Even tribes which do not till the ground sometimes observe analogous
ceremonies when they gather the first wild fruits or dig the first roots of the
season. Thus among the Salish and Tinneh Indians of North-West America,
"before the young people eat the first berries or roots of the season, they
always addressed the fruit or plant, and begged for its favour and aid. In
some tribes regular First-fruit ceremonies were annually held at the time of
picking the wild fruit or gathering the roots, and also among the
salmon-eating tribes when the run of the `sockeye' salmon began. These
ceremonies were not so much thanksgivings, as performances to ensure a
plentiful crop or supply of the particular object desired, for if they were not
properly and reverently carried out there was danger of giving offence to
the `spirits' of the objects, and being deprived of them." For example, these
Indians are fond of the young shoots or suckers of the wild raspberry, and
they observe a solemn ceremony at eating the first of them in season. The
shoots are cooked in a new pot: the people assemble and stand in a great
circle with closed eyes, while the presiding chief or medicine-man invokes
the spirit of the plant, begging that it will be propitious to them and grant
them a good supply of suckers. After this part of the ceremony is over the
cooked suckers are handed to the presiding officer in a newly carved dish,
and a small portion is given to each person present, who reverently and
decorously eats it. 14
The Thompson Indians of British Columbia cook and eat the sunflower root
(Balsamorrhiza sagittata, Nutt.), but they used to regard it as a mysterious
being, and observed a number of taboos in connexion with it; for example,
women who were engaged in digging or cooking the root must practice
continence, and no man might come near the oven where the women were
baking the root. When young people ate the first berries, roots, or other
products of the season, they addressed a prayer to the Sunflower-Root as
follows: "I inform thee that I intend to eat thee. Mayest thou always help me
to ascend, so that I may always be able to reach the tops of mountains,
and may I never be clumsy! I ask this from thee, Sunflower-Root. Thou art
the greatest of all in mystery." To omit this prayer would make the eater lazy
and cause him to sleep long in the morning. 15
These customs of the Thompson and other Indian tribes of North-West
America are instructive, because they clearly indicate the motive, or at
least one of the motives, which underlies the ceremonies observed at
eating the first fruits of the season. That motive in the case of these Indians
is simply a belief that the plant itself is animated by a conscious and more
or less powerful spirit, who must be propitiated before the people can safely
partake of the fruits or roots which are supposed to be part of his body.
Now if this is true of wild fruits and roots, we may infer with some probability
that it is also true of cultivated fruits and roots, such as yams, and in
particular that it holds good of the cereals, such as wheat, barley, oats,
rice, and maize. In all cases it seems reasonable to infer that the scruples
which savages manifest at eating the first fruits of any crop, and the
ceremonies which they observe before they overcome their scruples, are
due at least in large measure to a notion that the plant or tree is animated
by a spirit or even a deity, whose leave must be obtained, or whose favour
must be sought, before it is possible to partake with safety of the new crop.
This indeed is plainly affirmed of the Aino: they call the millet "the divine
cereal," "the cereal deity," and they pray to and worship him before they
will eat of the cakes made from the new millet. And even where the
indwelling divinity of the first fruits is not expressly affirmed, it appears to be
implied both by the solemn preparations made for eating them and by the
danger supposed to be incurred by persons who venture to partake of them
without observing the prescribed ritual. In all such cases, accordingly, we
may not improperly describe the eating of the new fruits as a sacrament or
communion with a deity, or at all events with a powerful spirit. 16
Among the usages which point to this conclusion are the custom of
employing either new or specially reserved vessels to hold the new fruits,
and the practice of purifying the persons of the communicants before it is
lawful to engage in the solemn act of communion with the divinity. Of all the
modes of purification adopted on these occasions none perhaps brings out
the sacramental virtue of the rite so clearly as the Creek and Seminole
practice of taking a purgative before swallowing the new corn. The intention
is thereby to prevent the sacred food from being polluted by contact with
common food in the stomach of the eater. For the same reason Catholics
partake of the Eucharist fasting; and among the pastoral Masai of Eastern
Africa the young warriors, who live on meat and milk exclusively, are
obliged to eat nothing but milk for so many days and then nothing but meat
for so many more, and before they pass from the one food to the other they
must make sure that none of the old food remains in their stomachs; this
they do by swallowing a very powerful purgative and emetic. 17
In some of the festivals which we have examined, the sacrament of
first-fruits is combined with a sacrifice or presentation of them to gods or
spirits, and in course of time the sacrifice of first-fruits tends to throw the
sacrament into the shade, if not to supersede it. The mere fact of offering
the first-fruits to the gods or spirits comes now to be thought a sufficient
preparation for eating the new corn; the higher powers having received
their share, man is free to enjoy the rest. This mode of viewing the new
fruits implies that they are regarded no longer as themselves instinct with
divine life, but merely as a gift bestowed by the gods upon man, who is
bound to express his gratitude and homage to his divine benefactors by
returning to them a portion of their bounty. 18
Section 2. Eating the God among the Aztecs.
THE CUSTOM of eating bread sacramentally as the body of a god was
practised by the Aztecs before the discovery and conquest of Mexico by
the Spaniards. Twice a year, in May and December, an image of the great
Mexican god Huitzilopochtli or Vitzilipuztli was made of dough, then broken
in pieces, and solemnly eaten by his worshippers. The May ceremony is
thus described by the historian Acosta: "The Mexicans in the month of May
made their principal feast to their god Vitzilipuztli, and two days before this
feast, the virgins whereof I have spoken (the which were shut up and
secluded in the same temple and were as it were religious women) did
mingle a quantity of the seed of beets with roasted maize, and then they did
mould it with honey, making an idol of that paste in bigness like to that of
wood, putting instead of eyes grains of green glass, of blue or white; and
for teeth grains of maize set forth with all the ornament and furniture that I
have said. This being finished, all the noblemen came and brought it an
exquisite and rich garment, like unto that of the idol, wherewith they did
attire it. Being thus clad and deckt, they did set it in an azured chair and in
a litter to carry it on their shoulders. The morning of this feast being come,
an hour before day all the maidens came forth attired in white, with new
ornaments, the which that day were called the Sisters of their god
Vitzilipuztli, they came crowned with garlands of maize roasted and
parched, being like unto azahar or the flower of orange; and about their
necks they had great chains of the same, which went bauldrick-wise under
their left arm. Their cheeks were dyed with vermilion, their arms from the
elbow to the wrist were covered with red parrots' feathers." Young men,
dressed in red robes and crowned like the virgins with maize, then carried
the idol in its litter to the foot of the great pyramid-shaped temple, up the
steep and narrow steps of which it was drawn to the music of flutes,
trumpets, cornets, and drums. "While they mounted up the idol all the
people stood in the court with much reverence and fear. Being mounted to
the top, and that they had placed it in a little lodge of roses which they held
ready, presently came the young men, which strewed many flowers of
sundry kinds, wherewith they filled the temple both within and without. This
done, all the virgins came out of their convent, bringing pieces of paste
compounded of beets and roasted maize, which was of the same paste
whereof their idol was made and compounded, and they were of the
fashion of great bones. They delivered them to the young men, who carried
them up and laid them at the idol's feet, wherewith they filled the whole
place that it could receive no more. They called these morsels of paste the
flesh and bones of Vitzilipuztli. Having laid abroad these bones, presently
came all the ancients of the temple, priests, Levites, and all the rest of the
ministers, according to their dignities and antiquities (for herein there was a
strict order amongst them) one after another, with their veils of diverse
colours and works, every one according to his dignity and office, having
garlands upon their heads and chains of flowers about their necks; after
them came their gods and goddesses whom they worshipped, of diverse
figures, attired in the same livery; then putting themselves in order about
those morsels and pieces of paste, they used certain ceremonies with
singing and dancing. By means whereof they were blessed and
consecrated for the flesh and bones of this idol. This ceremony and
blessing (whereby they were taken for the flesh and bones of the idol)
being ended, they honoured those pieces in the same sort as their god. ...
All the city came to this goodly spectacle, and there was a commandment
very strictly observed throughout all the land, that the day of the feast of
the idol of Vitzilipuztli they should eat no other meat but this paste, with
honey, whereof the idol was made. And this should be eaten at the point of
day, and they should drink no water nor any other thing till after noon: they
held it for an ill sign, yea, for sacrilege to do the contrary: but after the
ceremonies ended, it was lawful for them to eat anything. During the time of
this ceremony they hid the water from their little children, admonishing all
such as had the use of reason not to drink any water; which, if they did, the
anger of God would come upon them, and they should die, which they did
observe very carefully and strictly. The ceremonies, dancing, and sacrifice
ended, the went to unclothe themselves, and the priests and superiors of
the temple took the idol of paste, which they spoiled of all the ornaments it
had, and made many pieces, as well of the idol itself as of the truncheons
which they consecrated, and then they gave them to the people in manner
of a communion, beginning with the greater, and continuing unto the rest,
both men, women, and little children, who received it with such tears, fear,
and reverence as it was an admirable thing, saying that they did eat the
flesh and bones of God, where-with they were grieved. Such as had any
sick folks demanded thereof for them, and carried it with great reverence
and veneration." 1
From this interesting passage we learn that the ancient Mexicans, even
before the arrival of Christian missionaries, were fully acquainted with the
doctrine of transubstantiation and acted upon it in the solemn rites of their
religion. They believed that by consecrating bread their priests could turn it
into the very body of their god, so that all who thereupon partook of the
consecrated bread entered into a mystic communion with the deity by
receiving a portion of his divine substance into themselves. The doctrine of
transubstantiation, or the magical conversion of bread into flesh, was also
familiar to the Aryans of ancient India long before the spread and even the
rise of Christianity. The Brahmans taught that the rice-cakes offered in
sacrifice were substitutes for human beings, and that they were actually
converted into the real bodies of men by the manipulation of the priest. We
read that "when it (the rice-cake) still consists of rice-meal, it is the hair.
When he pours water on it, it becomes skin. When he mixes it, it becomes
flesh: for then it becomes consistent; and consistent also is the flesh. When
it is baked, it becomes bone: for then it becomes somewhat hard; and hard
is the bone. And when he is about to take it off (the fire) and sprinkles it
with butter, he changes it into marrow. This is the completeness which they
call the fivefold animal sacrifice." 2
Now, too, we can perfectly understand why on the day of their solemn
communion with the deity the Mexicans refused to eat any other food than
the consecrated bread which they revered as the very flesh and bones of
their God, and why up till noon they might drink nothing at all, not even
water. They feared no doubt to defile the portion of God in their stomachs
by contact with common things. A similar pious fear led the Creek and
Seminole Indians, as we saw, to adopt the more thoroughgoing expedient
of rinsing out their bodies by a strong purgative before they dared to
partake of the sacrament of first-fruits. 3
At the festival of the winter solstice in December the Aztecs killed their
god Huitzilopochtli in effigy first and ate him afterwards. As a preparation for
this solemn ceremony an image of the deity in the likeness of a man was
fashioned out of seeds of various sorts, which were kneaded into a dough
with the blood of children. The bones of the god were represented by
pieces of acacia wood. This image was placed on the chief altar of the
temple, and on the day of the festival the king offered incense to it. Early
next day it was taken down and set on its feet in a great hall. Then a priest,
who bore the name and acted the part of the god Quetzalcoatl, took a
flint-tipped dart and hurled it into the breast of the dough-image, piercing it
through and through. This was called "killing the god Huitzilopochtli so that
his body might be eaten." One of the priests cut out the heart of the image
and gave it to the king to eat. The rest of the image was divided into minute
pieces, of which every man great and small, down to the male children in
the cradle, receive one to eat. But no woman might taste a morsel. The
ceremony was called teoqualo, that is, "god is eaten." 4
At another festival the Mexicans made little images like men, which stood
for the cloud-capped mountains. These images were moulded of a paste of
various seeds and were dressed in paper ornaments. Some people
fashioned five, others ten, others as many as fifteen of them. Having been
made, they were placed in the oratory of each house and worshipped. Four
times in the course of the night offerings of food were brought to them in tiny
vessels; and people sang and played the flute before them through all the
hours of darkness. At break of day the priests stabbed the images with a
weaver's instrument, cut off their heads, and tore out their hearts, which
they presented to the master of the house on a green saucer. The bodies of
the images were then eaten by all the family, especially by the servants,
"in order that by eating them they might be preserved from certain
distempers, to which those persons who were negligent of worship to those
deities conceived themselves to be subject." 5
Section 3. Many Manii at Aricia.
WE are now able to suggest an explanation of the proverb "There are many
Manii at Aricia." Certain loaves made in the shape of men were called by
the Romans maniae, and it appears that this kind of loaf was especially
made at Aricia. Now, Mania, the name of one of these loaves, was also the
name of the Mother or Grandmother of Ghosts, to whom woollen effigies of
men and women were dedicated at the festival of the Compitalia. These
effigies were hung at the doors of all the houses in Rome; one effigy was
hung up for every free person in the house, and one effigy, of a different
kind, for every slave. The reason was that on this day the ghosts of the
dead were believed to be going about, and it was hoped that, either out of
good nature or through simple inadvertence, they would carry off the
effigies at the door instead of the living people in the house. According to
tradition, these woollen figures were substitutes for a former custom of
sacrificing human beings. Upon data so fragmentary and uncertain, it is
impossible to build with confidence; but it seems worth suggesting that the
loaves in human form, which appear to have been baked at Aricia, were
sacramental bread, and that in the old days, when the divine King of the
Wood was annually slain, loaves were made in his image, like the paste
figures of the gods in Mexico, and were eaten sacramentally by his
worshippers. The Mexican sacraments in honour of Huitzilopochtli were
also accompanied by the sacrifice of human victims. The tradition that the
founder of the sacred grove at Aricia was a man named Manius, from whom
many Manii were descended, would thus be an etymological myth invented
to explain the name maniae as applied to these sacramental loaves. A dim
recollection of the original connexion of the loaves with human sacrifices
may perhaps be traced in the story that the effigies dedicated to Mania at
the Compitalia were substitutes for human victims. The story itself, however,
is probably devoid of foundation, since the practice of putting up dummies
to divert the attention of ghosts or demons from living people is not
uncommon. 1
For example, the Tibetans stand in fear of innumerable earth-demons, all
of whom are under the authority of Old Mother Khön-ma. This goddess,
who may be compared to the Roman Mania, the Mother or Grandmother of
Ghosts, is dressed in golden-yellow robes, holds a golden noose in her
hand, and rides on a ram. In order to bar the dwelling-house against the
foul fiends, of whom Old Mother Khön-ma is mistress, an elaborate
structure somewhat resembling a chandelier is fixed above the door on the
outside of the house. It contains a ram's skull, a variety of precious objects
such as gold-leaf, silver, and turquoise, also some dry food, such as rice,
wheat, and pulse, and finally images or pictures of a man, a woman, and a
house. "The object of these figures of a man, wife, and house is to deceive
the demons should they still come in spite of this offering, and to mislead
them into the belief that the foregoing pictures are the inmates of the house,
so that they may wreak their wrath on these bits of wood and to save the
real human occupants." When all is ready, a priest prays to Old Mother
Khön-ma that she would be pleased to accept these dainty offerings and to
close the open doors of the earth, in order that the demons may not come
forth to infest and injure the household. 2
Again, effigies are often employed as a means of preventing or curing
sickness; the demons of disease either mistake the effigies for living people
or are persuaded or compelled to enter them, leaving the real men and
women well and whole. Thus the Alfoors of Minahassa, in Celebes, will
sometimes transport a sick man to another house, while they leave on his
bed a dummy made up of a pillow and clothes. This dummy the demon is
supposed to mistake for the sick man, who consequently recovers. Cure or
prevention of this sort seems to find especial favour with the natives of
Borneo. Thus, when an epidemic is raging among them, the Dyaks of the
Katoengouw River set up wooden images at their doors in the hope that the
demons of the plague may be deluded into carrying off the effigies instead
of the people. Among the Oloh Ngadju of Borneo, when a sick man is
supposed to be suffering from the assaults of a ghost, puppets of dough or
rice-meal are made and thrown under the house as substitutes for the
patient, who thus rids himself of the ghost. In certain of the western districts
of Borneo if a man is taken suddenly and violently sick, the physician, who
in this part of the world is generally an old woman, fashions a wooden
image and brings it seven times into contact with the sufferer's head, while
she says: "This image serves to take the place of the sick man; sickness,
pass over into the image." Then, with some rice, salt, and tobacco in a little
basket, the substitute is carried to the spot where the evil spirit is supposed
to have entered into the man. There it is set upright on the ground, after the
physician has invoked the spirit as follows: "O devil, here is an image
which stands instead of the sick man. Release the soul of the sick man and
plague the image, for it is indeed prettier and better than he." Batak
magicians can conjure the demon of disease out of the patient's body into
an image made out of a banana-tree with a human face and wrapt up in
magic herbs; the image is then hurriedly removed and thrown away or
buried beyond the boundaries of the village. Sometimes the image, dressed
as a man or a woman according to the sex of the patient, is deposited at a
cross-road or other thoroughfare, in the hope that some passer-by, seeing
it, may start and cry out, "Ah! So-and-So is dead"; for such an
exclamation is supposed to delude the demon of disease into a belief that
he has accomplished his fell purpose, so he takes himself off and leaves
the sufferer to get well. The Mai Darat, a Sakai tribe of the Malay
Peninsula, attribute all kinds of diseases to the agency of spirits which they
call nyani; fortunately, however, the magician can induce these maleficent
beings to come out of the sick person and take up their abode in rude
figures of grass, which are hung up outside the houses in little bell-shaped
shrines decorated with peeled sticks. During an epidemic of small-pox the
Ewe negroes will sometimes clear a space outside of the town, where they
erect a number of low mounds and cover them with as many little clay
figures as there are people in the place. Pots of food and water are also set
out for the refreshment of the spirit of small-pox who, it is hoped, will take
the clay figures and spare the living folk; and to make assurance doubly
sure the road into the town is barricaded against him. 3
With these examples before us we may surmise that the woollen effigies,
which at the festival of the Compitalia might be seen hanging at the doors
of all the houses in ancient Rome, were not substitutes for human victims
who had formerly been sacrificed at this season, but rather vicarious
offerings presented to the Mother or Grandmother of Ghosts, in the hope
that on her rounds through the city she would accept or mistake the effigies
for the inmates of the house and so spare the living for another year. It is
possible that the puppets made of rushes, which in the month of May the
pontiffs and Vestal Virgins annually threw into the Tiber from the old
Sublician bridge at Rome, had originally the same significance; that is, they
may have been designed to purge the city from demoniac influence by
diverting the attention of the demons from human beings to the puppets and
then toppling the whole uncanny crew, neck and crop, into the river, which
would soon sweep them far out to sea. In precisely the same way the
natives of Old Calabar used periodically to rid their town of the devils
which infested it by luring the unwary demons into a number of lamentable
scarecrows, which they afterwards flung into the river. This interpretation of
the Roman custom is supported to some extent by the evidence of Plutarch,
who speaks of the ceremony as "the greatest of purifications." 4