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
