the golden bough-第55章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！


s　to　sprout；　the　corn　to　shoot；　and　the　flowers　to　blow。　And　it　was　natural　to　suppose　that　the　more　closely　the　mock　marriage　of　the　leaf…clad　or　flower…decked　mummers　aped　the　real　marriage　of　the　woodland　sprites；　the　more　effective　would　be　the　charm。　Accordingly　we　may　assume　with　a　high　degree　of　probability　that　the　profligacy　which　notoriously　attended　these　ceremonies　was　at　one　time　not　an　accidental　excess　but　an　essential　part　of　the　rites；　and　that　in　the　opinion　of　those　who　performed　them　the　marriage　of　trees　and　plants　could　not　be　fertile　without　the　real　union　of　the　human　sexes。　At　the　present　day　it　might　perhaps　be　vain　to　look　in　civilised　Europe　for　customs　of　this　sort　observed　for　the　explicit　purpose　of　promoting　the　growth　of　vegetation。　But　ruder　races　in　other　parts　of　the　world　have　consciously　employed　the　intercourse　of　the　sexes　as　a　means　to　ensure　the　fruitfulness　of　the　earth；　and　some　rites　which　are　still；　or　were　till　lately；　kept　up　in　Europe　can　be　reasonably　explained　only　as　stunted　relics　of　a　similar　practice。　The　following　facts　will　make　this　plain。

For　four　days　before　they　committed　the　seed　to　the　earth　the　Pipiles　of　Central　America　kept　apart　from　their　wives　in　order　that　on　the　night　before　planting　they　might　indulge　their　passions　to　the　fullest　extent；　certain　persons　are　even　said　to　have　been　appointed　to　perform　the　sexual　act　at　the　very　moment　when　the　first　seeds　were　deposited　in　the　ground。　The　use　of　their　wives　at　that　time　was　indeed　enjoined　upon　the　people　by　the　priests　as　a　religious　duty；　in　default　of　which　it　was　not　lawful　to　sow　the　seed。　The　only　possible　explanation　of　this　custom　seems　to　be　that　the　Indians　confused　the　process　by　which　human　beings　reproduce　their　kind　with　the　process　by　which　plants　discharge　the　same　function；　and　fancied　that　by　resorting　to　the　former　they　were　simultaneously　forwarding　the　latter。　In　some　parts　of　Java；　at　the　season　when　the　bloom　will　soon　be　on　the　rice；　the　husbandman　and　his　wife　visit　their　fields　by　night　and　there　engage　in　sexual　intercourse　for　the　purpose　of　promoting　the　growth　of　the　crop。　In　the　Leti；　Sarmata；　and　some　other　groups　of　islands　which　lie　between　the　western　end　of　New　Guinea　and　the　northern　part　of　Australia；　the　heathen　population　regard　the　sun　as　the　male　principle　by　whom　the　earth　or　female　prínciple　is　fertilised。　They　call　him　Upu…lera　or　Mr。　Sun；　and　represent　him　under　the　form　of　a　lamp　made　of　coco…nut　leaves；　which　may　be　seen　hanging　everywhere　in　their　houses　and　in　the　sacred　fig…tree。　Under　the　tree　lies　a　large　flat　stone；　which　serves　as　a　sacrificial　table。　On　it　the　heads　of　slain　foes　were　and　are　still　placed　in　some　of　the　islands。　Once　a　year；　at　the　beginning　of　the　rainy　season；　Mr。　Sun　comes　down　into　the　holy　fig…tree　to　fertilise　the　earth；　and　to　facilitate　his　descent　a　ladder　with　seven　rungs　is　considerately　placed　at　his　disposal。　It　is　set　up　under　the　tree　and　is　adorned　with　carved　figures　of　the　birds　whose　shrill　clarion　heralds　the　approach　of　the　sun　in　the　east。　On　this　occasion　pigs　and　dogs　are　sacrificed　in　profusion；　men　and　women　alike　indulge　in　a　saturnalia；　and　the　mystic　union　of　the　sun　and　the　earth　is　dramatically　represented　in　public；　amid　song　and　dance；　by　the　real　union　of　the　sexes　under　the　tree。　The　object　of　the　festival；　we　are　told；　is　to　procure　rain；　plenty　of　food　and　drink；　abundance　of　cattle　and　children　and　riches　from　Grandfather　Sun。　They　pray　that　he　may　make　every　she…goat　to　cast　two　or　three　young；　the　people　to　multiply；　the　dead　pigs　to　be　replaced　by　living　pigs；　the　empty　rice…baskets　to　be　filled；　and　so　on。　And　to　induce　him　to　grant　their　requests　they　offer　him　pork　and　rice　and　liquor；　and　invite　him　to　fall　to。　In　the　Babar　Islands　a　special　flag　is　hoisted　at　this　festival　as　a　symbol　of　the　creative　energy　of　the　sun；　it　is　of　white　cotton；　about　nine　feet　high；　and　consists　of　the　figure　of　a　man　in　an　appropriate　attitude。　It　would　be　unjust　to　treat　these　orgies　as　a　mere　outburst　of　unbridled　passion；　no　doubt　they　are　deliberately　and　solemnly　organised　as　essential　to　the　fertility　of　the　earth　and　the　welfare　of　man。

The　same　means　which　are　thus　adopted　to　stimulate　the　growth　of　the　crops　are　naturally　employed　to　ensure　the　fruitfulness　of　trees。　In　some　parts　of　Amboyna；　when　the　state　of　the　clove　plantation　indicates　that　the　crop　is　likely　to　be　scanty；　the　men　go　naked　to　the　plantations　by　night；　and　there　seek　to　fertilise　the　trees　precisely　as　they　would　impregnate　women；　while　at　the　same　time　they　call　out　for　More　cloves！　This　is　supposed　to　make　the　trees　bear　fruit　more　abundantly。

The　Baganda　of　Central　Africa　believe　so　strongly　in　the　intimate　relation　between　the　intercourse　of　the　sexes　and　the　fertility　of　the　ground　that　among　them　a　barren　wife　is　generally　sent　away；　because　she　is　supposed　to　prevent　her　husband's　garden　from　bearing　fruit。　On　the　contrary；　a　couple　who　have　given　proof　of　extraordinary　fertility　by　becoming　the　parents　of　twins　are　believed　by　the　Baganda　to　be　endowed　with　a　corresponding　power　of　increasing　the　fruitfulness　of　the　plantain…trees；　which　furnish　them　with　their　staple　food。　Some　little　time　after　the　birth　of　the　twins　a　ceremony　is　performed；　the　object　of　which　clearly　is　to　transmit　the　reproductive　virtue　of　the　parents　to　the　plantains。　The　mother　lies　down　on　her　back　in　the　thick　grass　near　the　house　and　places　a　flower　of　the　plantain　between　her　legs；　then　her　husband　comes　and　knocks　the　flower　away　with　his　genital　member。　Further；　the　parents　go　through　the　country　performing　dances　in　the　gardens　of　favoured　friends；　apparently　for　the　purpose　of　causing　the　plantain…trees　to　bear　fruit　more　abundantly。

In　various　parts　of　Europe　customs　have　prevailed　both　at　spring　and　harvest　which　are　clearly　based　on　the　same　crude　notion　that　the　relation　of　the　human　sexes　to　each　other　can　be　so　used　as　to　quicken　the　growth　of　plants。　For　example；　in　the　Ukraine　on　St。　George's　Day　（the　twenty…third　of　April）　the　priest　in　his　robes；　attended　by　his　acolytes；　goes　out　to　the　fields　of　the　village；　where　the　crops　are　beginning　to　show　green　above　the　ground；　and　blesses　them。　After　that　the　young　married　people　lie　down　in　couples　on　the　sown　fields　and　roll　several　times　over　on　them；　in　the　belief　that　this　will　promote　the　growth　of　the　crops。　In　some　parts　of　Russia　the　priest　himself　is　rolled　by　women　over　the　sprouting　crop；　and　that　without　regard　to　the　mud　and　holes　which　he　may　encounter　in　his　beneficent　progress。　If　the　shepherd　resists　or　remonstrates；　his　flock　murmurs；　Little　Father；　you　do　not　really　wish　us　well；　you　do　not　wish　us　to　have　corn；　although　you　do　wish　to　live　on　our　corn。　In　some　parts　of　Germany　at　harvest　the　men　and　women；　who　have　reaped　the　corn；　roll　together　on　the　field。　This　again　is　probably　a　mitigation　of　an　older　and　ruder　custom　designed　to　impart　fertility　to　the　fields　by　methods　like　those　resorted　to　by　the　Pipiles　of　Central　America　long　ago　and　by　the　cultivators　of　rice　in　Java　at　the　present　time。

To　the　student　who　cares　to　track　the　devious　course　of　the　human　mind　in　its　gropings　after　truth；　it　is　of　some　interest　to　observe　that　the　same　theoretical　belief　in　the　sympathetic　influence　of　the　sexes　on　vegetation；　which　has　led　some　peoples　to　indulge　their　passions　as　a　means　of　fertilising　the　earth；　has　led　others　to　seek　the　same　end　by　directly　opposite　means。　From　the　moment　that　they　sowed　the　maize　till　the　time　that　they　reaped　it；　the　Indians　of　Nicaragua　lived　chastely；　keeping　apart　from　their　wives　and　sleeping　in　a　separate　place。　They　ate　no　salt；　and　drank　neither　cocoa　nor　chicha；　the　fermented　liquor　made　from　maize；　in　short　the　season　was　for　them；　as　the　Spanish　historian　observes；　a　time　of　abstinence。　To　this　day　some　of　the　Indian　tribes　of　Central　America　practise　continence　for　the　purpose　of　thereby　promoting　the　growth　of　the　crops。　Thus　we　are　told　that　before　sowing　the　maize　the　Kekchi　Indians　sleep　apart　from　their　wives；　and　eat　no　flesh　for　five　days；　while　among　the　Lanquineros　and　Cajaboneros　the　period　of　abstinenc