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HANDBOOKS
ON THE
HISTORY OF RELIGIONS

EDITED BY

MORRIS JASTROW, JR., PH.D.

_Late Professor of Semitic Languages in the_
_University of Pennsylvania_

VOLUME IV


LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS


Handbooks on the History of Religions

INTRODUCTION TO THE
HISTORY OF RELIGIONS

BY
CRAWFORD HOWELL TOY
LATE PROFESSOR IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY


CAMBRIDGE
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1924

COPYRIGHT, 1913

BY CRAWFORD HOWELL TOY


ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

_Third Impression_


PRINTED AT THE HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS

CAMBRIDGE, MASS., U.S.A.




PREFACE


The object of this volume is to describe the principal customs and ideas
that underlie all public religion; the details are selected from a large
mass of material, which is increasing in bulk year by year. References
to the higher religions are introduced for the purpose of illustrating
lines of progress.

The analytic table of contents and the index are meant to supplement
each other, the one giving the outline of the discussion, the other
giving the more important particulars; the two together will facilitate
the consultation of the book. In the selected list of works of reference
the titles are arranged, as far as possible, in chronological order, so
as to indicate in a general way the progress of investigation in the
subjects mentioned.

My thanks are due to the publishers for the care they have taken in the
printing of the volume, and to their proofreaders, particularly to the
chief proofreader, for not a few helpful suggestions.

C. H. T.

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS




CONTENTS

(The Arabic figures in the chapter summaries refer to paragraphs)

PAGE

CHAPTER I. NATURE OF RELIGION 1

Science and religion coeval, 1; Man's sense of dependence on
mysterious Powers, 2; Early man's feeling toward them of a
mixed nature, 3; mainly selfish, 4; Prominence of fear, 6;
Conception of natural law, 7; Sense of an extrahuman
Something, 9; Universality of religion, 10; Its development
parallel to that of social organization, 12; Unitary
character of human life, 14; External religion, 15; Internal
religion, 16.


CHAPTER II. THE SOUL 10

NATURE OF THE SOUL. Universal belief in an interior
something, 18; its basis, 19; from observation of breath,
21; of shadow, 22; of blood, 23; Its form a sublimated
double of the corporeal man, 24; or of an animal, 25; The
seat of the soul, 26; Localization of qualities, 27;
Consequences of the soul's leaving the body, 29; The hidden
soul, 31.

ORIGIN OF THE SOUL. Not investigated by savages, 32;
Creation of man, 33; Theories of birth, 34; Divine origin of
the soul, 36; Mysteriousness of death, 38.

POLYPSYCHISM. Early views of the number and functions of
souls, 39; Civilized views, 43.

FUTURE OF THE SOUL. Belief in its death, 46; This belief
transient, 51-53; Dwelling-place of the surviving soul in
human beings, beasts, plants, or inanimate objects, 55-59;
or near its earthly abode, 60-63; or in some remote place in
earth, sea, or sky, 64-66; or in an underground world,
67-69; Occupations of the dead, 70; Retribution in the
Underworld, 71; Nonmoral distinctions, 72-75; Moral
retribution, savage, 76-78; Civilized, 79-80; Local
separation of the good from the bad, 81; Reward and
punishment, Hindu, 82; Egyptian, 83; Greek, 84; Jewish and
Christian, 85, 86; Purgatory, 87; Resurrection, 88-90.

POWERS OF THE SEPARATED SOUL. Prayers for the dead, 95, 96.

GENESIS OF SPIRITS. Functions of spirits (souls of nonhuman
objects), 97-100.


CHAPTER III. EARLY RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES 48

Predominance of ceremonies in early religious life, 101,
102; They are communal, 103; and sacred, 104.

EMOTIONAL AND DRAMATIC CEREMONIES. Religious dances and
plays, 106-108; Connected with the worship of gods, 109; Are
means of religious culture, 110; Processions, 111;
Circumambulation, 112; Magical potency, 113.

DECORATIVE AND CURATIVE CEREMONIES. Decoration of the body,
114-118; of houses, 119; of official dress, 120; Symbolism
in decoration, 121.

ECONOMIC CEREMONIES. Propitiation of hunted animals,
122-125; Taboos, 126; Rules about eating, 127-128; Magical
means of procuring food, 129-131; Use of blood, 132; to
fertilize soil, 133; Sacrifice of first-born animals,
including children, 134; Raising and housing crops, 135;
Rain, 136; Survivals in civilized times, 137.

APOTROPAIC CEREMONIES. Early methods, 138-139; Expulsion of
spirits, 140-141; Transference of evil, 142, 143; Expulsion
by sacrifice, 144; The massing of such observances, 145.

CEREMONIES OF PUBERTY AND INITIATION. Training of the young,
146; Tests of endurance, 147; Seclusion of girls, 148;
Rearrangement of taboos, 149; Supernatural machinery, 150;
Mutilation of the body, 151, 152; Circumcision of males, its
wide diffusion, 153; not a test of endurance, 154; nor
hygienic, 155; nor to get rid of magical dangers, 156; nor
to increase procreative power, 157; not religious in origin:
not a form of phallic worship, 158; nor a sacrifice, 159,
160; nor a provision for reincarnation, 161; Circumcision of
females, 162; Object of circumcision probably increase of
sensual enjoyment, 163, 164; The symbolical interpretation,
165-168; Ceremonies of initiation to secure union with the
clan, 169; Feigned resurrection of the initiate, 170; The
lonely vision, 171; Instruction of youth, 172, 173;
Initiation into secret societies, 174.

MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. Simple forms, 176-178; The bride
hiding, 179; Prenuptial defloration, 180; Introduction of a
supernatural element, 181; View that all marriage-ceremonies
are essentially religious, 182.

CEREMONIES AT BIRTH. Parental care, 184; The couvade, 185;
Child regarded as a reincarnation, 186; Ablutions and
naming, 187; Child regarded as child of God, 188.

BURIAL CEREMONIES. Natural grief, 189; Propitiation of the
dead by offerings at grave, 190; Ban of silence, 191; The
dead regarded as powerful, 192; Social value of these
ceremonies, 193.

CEREMONIES OF PURIFICATION AND CONSECRATION. Occasions of
purification, 194-196; Methods: by water, sand, etc.,
197-199; by sacrifice, 200; Purification of a whole
community, 201; Consecration of private and official
persons, 202, 203; Fasting, 204; its origin, 205-207; its
religious effects, 208; Result of massing these ceremonies,
209.

CEREMONIES CONNECTED WITH SEASONS AND PERIODS. Calendars,
210, 211; Lunar festivals, 212-214; Solar festivals, 215;
Solstitial and stellar festivals, 216; Importance of
agricultural festivals, 217; Joyous, 218; Licentious, 219;
Offering of first fruits, 220; Sadness, 221; The eating of
sacred food, 222; Long periods, 223; Social value of these
ceremonies, 224.


CHAPTER IV. EARLY CULTS 99

Savage treatment of superhuman Powers discriminating,
225-228; Charms and fetish objects, 229, 230; Life-force
(mana), 231-233; not an object of worship, but enters into
alliance with religion, 234, 235; Nature of sacredness, 236,
237; Luck, 238; The various objects of worship, 239, 240.

ANIMALS. Their social relations with men, 241, 242;
Transformation and transmigration, 243; Two attitudes of men
toward animals, 244-248; What animals are revered, 249, 250;
Regarded as incarnations of gods or of spirits, 251; Those
sacred to gods generally represent old beast-cults, 252,
253; Survivals of reverence for animals, 254; Beasts as
creators, 255, 256; Worship rarely offered them, 257, 258;
Coalescence of beast-cults with other religious observances,
259; Whether animals ever became anthropomorphic deities,
260; Historical significance of beast-cults, 261.

PLANTS. Their economic 'rôle', 262-264; Held to possess souls,
265; Their relations with men friendly and unfriendly, 266,
267; Sacred trees, 268, 269; Deification of soma, 270;
Whether corn-spirits have been deified, 271; Sacred trees by
shrines, 272; Their connection with totem posts, 273;
Blood-kinship between men and trees, 274, 275; The cosmic
tree, 276; Divinatory function of trees, 277; Relation of
tree-spirits to gods, 278-285.

STONES AND MOUNTAINS. Stones alive and sacred, 286-288; have
magical powers, 289, 290; Relation between divine stones and
gods, 291-295; Magna Mater, 291; Massebas, 293; Bethels,
294; Stones cast on graves, and boundary stones, 296; Stones
as altars: natural forms, 297; artificial forms, 298; High
pillars by temples, 299; Images of gods, 300, 301;
Folk-stories and myths connected with stones, 302; Sacred
mountains, 303-305.

WATERS. Why waters are regarded as sacred, 306-308; Ritual
use of water, 309; Water-spirits, 310, 311; Water-gods,
312-314; Rain-giving gods, 315; Water-myths, 316; Gods of
ocean, 317.

FIRE.