better listened to than a stranger.» 1 In Uganda the former kings are recognized as a kind of semi-gods. The conservation of their graves is considered a religious duty which is in charge of one of the highest chiefs. 2 The New Zealanders esteem the families of the chiefs to be more sacred than others, because they are under the special care of the most powerful Atua, or spirits of former chiefs. According to the belief of the inhabitants of Nias, the elders are in continual communication with the highest god, which is the reason that the people apply to the head of the tribe for obtaining benefits and averting evils.

If it be admitted that the first priestly functions of rulers may have been the invocation of ancestors, it is easy to understand that gradually other religious duties may have been intrusted to them, thus completing their priesthood. But the combination of priesthood with chieftaincy may also in certain cases be only a question of power.

Priests of great reputation may, on account of their influence over the people, also be made the secular rulers, 5 When Admiral Fitzroy writes of the Fuegians that >there is no superiority of one over another but the 'doctor-wizard' of each party has much influence 6 his companions,>> this statement supplies an illustration of how, among savage tribes, the priesthood tends to usurp a certain secular authority as well. Other peoples furnish clear examples of priests assuming the dignity of rulers. Thus among the Sea Dyaks it is by

over

1

2

Macdonald, Africana, i. 64 sq.

Wilson and Felkin, Uganda und der Aegyptische Sudan, i. 105.

3 Shortland, Traditions and Superstitions of New Zealanders, p. 226.

4

5

6

Rosenberg, Der Malayische Archipel, pp. 172 sq.

See Frazer, The Golden Bough, i. 138 sq.

Fitzroy, Surveying Voyages of Adventure and Beagle, ii. 178.

no means an unusual thing for a medicine-man to be the chief of the village in which he resides. >> There is nothing whatever to prevent him becoming so,» Ling Roth says, »provided he be popular.» 1 In Melanesia, according to Codrington, a man who has access to some object of worship which is common to the members of a community is in a way their priest and sacrifices for them all; and, the author adds, »it is very much by virtue of that function that a man is a chief, and not at all because he is a chief that he performs the sacrifice.» 2 The Rev. J. Shooter tells us of a powerful Kafir prophet or priest who made himself a ruler, by gradually gaining a complete control over the principal chiefs. >>He was consulted on every matter of consequence, received numerous gifts, collected a large body of retainers, and was acknowledged as a warrior-chief as well as a prophet.» 3 And Dr. Lippert, speaking of the priesthood of West Africa, remarks that it is no wonder that the mighty priesthood in those parts has assimilated the sovereign power, as is generally the case; much more wonderful is it that beside the overwhelming influence of the priesthood there has been room for any other authority at all. Spencer argues that the influence possessed by the medicine-men constitutes one origin of political headship. 5

3

Certain observations of a similar nature throw light upon the fact that priests are in some cases made chiefs on account of the influence which they enjoy in the community. Not only do we gather that the chiefs among certain peoples are concerned with the worship of the

1

Ling Roth, 'Natives of Borneo,' in Jour. Anthr. Inst. xxi. 114.

2 Codrington, Melanesians, p. 127.

3 Shooter, Kafirs of Natal, p. 196.

+ Lippert, Allgemeine Geschichte des Priesterthums, i. 133.

2

1

3

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. On the whole, rain-making seems generally to be expected by African peoples of their chiefs. 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

5

1 Lang, in Steinmetz, Rechtsverhältnisse, p. 243.

2 Stuhlmann, Mit Emin Pascha, p. 778.

3 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). Proyart, 'History of Loango,' in Pinkerton, A General Collection of Voyages and Travels, xvi. 577.

+ Southey, History of Brazil, i. 379 sq.

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.

1

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.» 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.

2

3

Ellis, History of Madagascar, i. 397.

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

2

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