1

gods, but we hear also that among certain other peoples they are renowned as rain-makers, physicians, etc. So among the Washambala in East Africa the great chiefs immediately upon their accession to the throne must promise to make rain, and in Latooka one of the principal, and at the same time most dangerous, duties of the great chiefs is the procuring of rain for the country. 2 On the whole, rain-making seems generally to be expected by African peoples of their chiefs. 3 Southey states that the chief of the Tapuyas in Brazil seemed to have in some respect encroached upon the practice of the conjurer, pretending to heal diseases and give charms to maidens who had no suitor. The chiefs of the Chiquitos were often physicians as well, and the same is said of the chiefs of the Mantave Islanders." Again among the Murring in South-Eastern Australia, »the wizards were the principal men; the wizards and headmen are stated to have been combined, and with the Narrinyeri »>the most real authority exercised by the chief and his supporters is enforced by means of witchcraft.» 8

4

7

1

2

3

Lang, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 243.

Stuhlmann, Mit Emin Pascha, p. 778.

Casati, Dieci Anni in Equatoria, i. 117 (People of Unyoro). Livingstone, Missionary Travels, p. 605 (People of Chicova). Endemann,

'Die Sotho-Neger,' in Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, vi. 42. Hecquard, Voyage sur la Côte et dans l'Intérieur de l'Afrique Occidentale, p. 113 (Banjars). Proyait, 'History of Loango,' in Pinkerton, A General Collection of Voyages and Travels, xvi. 577.

6

Logan, 'Ethnography of the Indo-Pacific Archipelagoes,' in Journal

of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, ix. 288.

42 sq.

7 Howitt, 'Australian Medicine Men,' in Jour. Anthr. Inst. xvi.

8

Taplin, The Narrinyeri,' in Woods, The Native Tribes of South Australia, p. 32.

Such instances exemplify that the combined function of chief and conductor of worship is no exceptional phenomenon in a community, since chiefs who are also magicians, or doctors, display quite parallel unions. As the chiefs arise from among the most powerful men in a community, it is quite probable that priests and wizards may, in certain cases, be chosen for the ruling position. The spiritual authority exercised by priests and magicians makes them likely to assume the civil power as well.

The union of priestly and ruling attributes may be a question of power also in this sense, that a chief assumes the office of priest with a view to strengthen his personal might. We find that in the New Hebrides the priesthood »is usually held by the chiefs, who thereby increase their influence.»> 1 In Madagascar, Impoina, one of the former kings, used repeatedly to consecrate new idols for the people. He is said to have acted thus solely from political motives, in the conviction that some kind of religious or superstitious influence was useful in the government of a nation. It is still acknowledged as a principle, that the idols are under the sovereign's special support.» With reference to the Batak chief, Messrs. Burton and Ward state: » His influence depends greatly on his capacity to govern; but as he generally secures to himself the office of priest, he has it in his power to render every thing and every person subservient to his own designs.» 3

2

Mr. Herbert Spencer thinks that the union of king and priest in one person constitutes the usual origin of

1

Inglis, 'Missionary Tour in the New Hebrides,' in Jour. Ethn. Soc. iii. 62.

3

Burton and Ward, 'Journey into the Batak Country,' in Trans. Roy. As. Soc. i. 513.

a priesthood.1 In the beginning the kings were generally also priests, but in the course of time they were, for various reasons, unable to retain the priestly dignity, which therefore gradually passed over to a special class of men. >> With the increase of a chief's territory,» Spencer writes, »there comes an accumulation of business which nesessitates the employment of assistants; whence follows the habit of frequently, and at length permanently, deputing one or other of his functions, such as general, judge, etc. Among the functions thus deputed, more or less frequently, is that of priest.» And Dr. Schurtz remarks that certain inborn qualifications were generally required of the priests and sorcerers, above all the faculty of falling into convulsions, and as it was very improbable that in every case the king should possess these qualifications he had to see the magic wand pass over to other hands. » 3

No doubt the identity of ruler and priest implies one origin of a professional priesthood, which is verified by illustrations from certain peoples. Nesfield, in his book on Indian caste system, alleges that among the earliest Hindoos sacrifices were performed and invocations composed and uttered by the military chiefs. In the following terms he describes how, in his opinion, the origin of the class of Brahmins is connected with this institution of king-priests. »As time went on,» he says, >>it became more and more difficult, and at last impossible, for the king or his ministers to master the elaborate procedure which the Devas (»bright beings») had now begun to demand; and as the slightest error in the performance was believed to be fatal to its efficacy, a class of men came into existence who made a special

duty of the prescribed rituals and transmitted such knowledge to their posterity.» Risley more decidedly refers the origin of Brahmins to the families or guilds of priestly singers who in early times officiated under the kings. As the mass of ritual grew to such an extent that the king could no longer cope with it unaided, the employment of family priests, formerly optional, became a necessity, and thus arose a race of sacerdotal specialists. 2 Referring to Livy, M. Fustel de Coulanges observes that in Rome, Numa »fulfilled the greater part of the priestly functions, but he foresaw that his successors, often having wars to maintain, would not always be able to take care of the sacrifices, and instituted the flamens to replace the kings when the latter were absent from Rome. Thus the Roman priesthood was only an emanation from the primitive royalty.» 3

We cannot however believe that, as a general rule, the priesthood has emanated from the institution of king-priest, which Spencer seems to assume. Although this theory, as we have just seen, is also held by other scientists, there seem to be comparatively few cases in which such a development has actually taken place. The union of royal and priestly powers can by no means be regarded as the general source of priesthood, as in most cases, simultaneously with king-priests, other sorts priests are met with among the same peoples.

of

1 Nesfield, Cas'e System of the North-Western Provinces and Oudh, p. 50.

20 Livy writes: »Tum sacerdotibus creandis animum adjecit, quamquam ipse plurima sacra obibat, ea maxime, quae nunc ad Dialem flaminem pertinent. Sed, quia in civitate bellicosa plures Romuli, quam Numae, similes reges putabat fore, iturosque ipsos ad bella, ne sacra regiæ vicis desererentur, flaminem Jovi assiduum sacerdotem creavit, insignique cum veste et curuli regia sella adornavit. Huic duos flamines adjecit: Marti unum, alterum Quirino.

As a matter of fact, various kinds of priests and wizards arise in communities, independent of the priesthood of kings, and without either being concerned with private family worship. In the commencement of this chapter we have pointed out that evidently in the beginning everybody worshipped the gods and practised magic on his own account, but that gradually the more advanced practitioners must have taken a certain precedence over the rest. Among the number of these more gifted or cunning individuals we are able to distinguish certain classes of men who, owing to their unmistakeable priestly affinities, appear to us as forerunners of a regular priesthood.

One class of men who occasionally exercise priestly functions without being priests, are persons who, when in a state of ecstasy, are believed to be inspired by the gods. During their convulsive fits such persons are sometimes interrogated by the people respecting the will of the gods and future events, etc. As is generally the case under similar circumstances, the gods are believed to speak through these ecstatic individuals, who are thus really thought able to act as mediators in communication with the supreme powers. We meet with reports of such observances in India and Polynesia. Shortt, describing the public worship of the Yenadies in South India, writes that during the performance »one of the number present is said to become possessed, questions are put to him and he gives the necessary answers; occasionally natives from other villages also seek information. They believe that a spirit is actually in the man and speaks through him.» As regards the Râji, a tribe in Askot, Kumaraun, and along the lower Himalayan ranges, it is remarked: They are not skilled in any special form of magic or witchcraft, but certain persons occasionally fall under the

»

1

Shortt, 'Rude Tribes of Southern India,' in Trans. Ethn. Soc. N. S. iii. 379.