MYTH OF THE CONTINUANCE OF DEATH[785]
The following story is told by the Balolo of the Upper Congo to explain the continuance, if not the origin, of death in the world. One day, while a man was working in the forest, a little man with two bundles, one large and one small, went up to him and said, "Which of these bundles will you have? The large one contains knives, looking-glasses, cloth and so forth; and the small one contains immortal life." "I cannot choose by myself," answered the man; "I must go and ask the other people in the town." While he was gone to ask the others, some women arrived and the choice was left to them. They tried the edges of the knives, decked themselves in the cloth, admired themselves in the looking-glasses, and, without more ado, chose the big bundle. The little man, picking up the small bundle, vanished. So when the man came back from the town, the little man and his bundles were gone. The women exhibited and shared the things, but death continued on the earth. Hence the people often say, "Oh, if those women had only chosen the small bundle, we should not be dying like this!"[786]
Footnote 785:[ (return) ]
See above, p. 77.
Footnote 786:[ (return) ]
Rev. John H. Weeks, "Stories and other Notes from the Upper Congo," Folk-lore, xii. (1901) p. 461; id., Among Congo Cannibals (London, 1913), p. 218. The country of the Balolo lies five miles south of the Equator, on Longitude 18° East.
INDEX
Abinal, Father, [49]
Abipones, their belief in sorcery as a cause of death, [35]
Abnormal mental states explained by inspiration, [15]
Aborigines, magical powers attributed by immigrants to, [193]
Abstinence from certain food in mourning, [198], [208], [209], [230], [314], [360], [452]
Abundance of food and water favourable to social progress, [90] sq.
Action as a clue to belief, [143]
Actors personating ghosts and spirits, [176], [179] sq., [180] sqq., [185] sqq.
Adiri, the land of the dead, [211], [212], [213], [214]
Admiralty Islands, [393], [400], [401]
—— Islanders, their myths of the origin of death, [71], [76] sq.
Advance of culture among the aborigines of South-Eastern Australia, [141] sq., [148] sq.
Africa, aborigines of, their ideas as to the cause of death, [49] sqq.;
use of poison ordeal in, [50] sqq.
——, British Central, [162]
——, British East, [61], [66], [254]
Agriculture, rise of, favourable to astronomy, [140] sq.;
Fijian, [408]
Akamba, their story of the origin of death, [61] sq.
Akikuyu, resurrection and circumcision among the, [254]
Alcheringa or dream times, [96], [103], [114]
—— ancestors, their marvellous powers, [103]
—— home of the dead, [167]
Alfoors of Celebes, [166]
Alligators, ghosts in, [380]
Alols, bachelors' houses, [221], [222]
Altars, stones used as, [379]
Amputation of fingers in mourning, [199], [426] sq., [451]
Amulets consisting of relics of the dead, [332], [370]
Ancestor, totemic, developing into a god, [113]
Ancestor-worship possibly evolved from totemism, [114] sq.
Ancestors, reincarnation of, [92] sqq.;
marvellous powers ascribed to remote, [103], [114] sq.;
totemic, traditions concerning, [115] sqq.;
dramatic ceremonies to commemorate the doings of, [118] sqq.;
possible evolution of worship of, in Central Australia, [125] sq.;
worshipped, [221], [297] sq., [328] sqq., [338], [340];
ghosts of, appealed to for help, [258] sq.;
offerings to, [298];
prayers to, [329] sq., [332] sqq.
See also [Dead]
Ancestral gods, foreskins of circumcised lads offered to, [427];
libations to, [430], [438]
—— images, [307] sqq., [315], [316] sq., [321], [322]
—— spirits help hunters and fishers, [226];
shrines for, [316], [317];
worshipped as gods, [369];
worshipped in the Nanga, [428] sq.;
first-fruits offered to, [429];
cloth and weapons offered to, [430] sq.;
novices presented to, at initiation, [432] sq., [434].
Angola, the poison ordeal in, [51] sq.
Angoni, their burial customs, [162]
Animals, souls of sorcerers in, [39];
spirits of, go to the spirit land, [210];
sacrifices to the souls of, [239];
transmigration of dead into, [242], [245];
ghosts in the form of, [282];
ghosts turn into, [287];
ghosts incarnate in, [379] sq.
Animistic views of the Papuans, [264]
Anjea, a mythical being, [128]
Annam, [67], [69]
Anointing manslayers, [448]
Ant-hills, ghosts turn into, [287]
Ant totem, dramatic ceremony concerned with, [120] sq.
Ants' nests, ghosts turn into, [351]
Anthropology, comparative and descriptive, [230] sq.
Antimerina of Madagascar, burial custom of the, [461]
Anuto, a creator, [296]
Apparitions, [396];
fear of, [414]
Appearance of the dead in dreams, [229]
Araucanians of Chili, their disbelief in natural death, [35], [53] sq.
Arawaks of Guiana, [36];
their myth of the origin of death, [70]
Arm-bone, final burial ceremony performed with the, [167] sq.;
lower, of dead preserved, [274]
—— -bones, special treatment of the, [199];
of dead preserved, [225], [249]
Aroma district of British New Guinea, [201], [202]
Arrow-heads made of bones of the dead, [352]
Art, primitive religious, [114];
Papuan, [220]
Arugo, soul of dead, [207]
Arumburinga, spiritual double, [164]
Arunta, the, of Central Australia, [94];
ceremonies connected with totems, [119] sqq.;
their magical ceremonies for the multiplication of the totems, [122] sq.;
their customs as to the hair of the dead, [138];
their cuttings for the dead, [155] sq., [159];
burial customs of the, [164] sq., [166]
Aryan burial custom, [453]
Asa, Secret Society, [233]
Ashantee story of the origin of death, [63] sq.
Ashes smeared on mourners, [184], [361]
Astrolabe Bay in German New Guinea, [218], [230], [235], [237]
Astronomy, rise of, favoured by agriculture, [140] sq.
Asylums, [243]
Asyrèn, dead man, [457]
Ataro, a powerful ghost, [377]
Atonement for sick chief, [427]
Aukem, a mythical being, [181]
Aurora, one of the New Hebrides, [360], [382]
Australia, causes which retarded progress in, [89] sq.;
germs of a worship of the dead in, [168] sq.
See also [Central Australia], [Western Australia]
——, the aborigines of, their ideas as to death from natural causes, [40] sqq.;
their primitive character, [88], [91];
the belief in immortality among, [127] sqq.;
thought to be reborn in white people, [130], [131] sqq.;
their burial customs, [144] sqq.;
their primitive condition, [217]
——, South, beliefs as to the dead in, [134] sqq.
Australia, South-Eastern, beliefs as to the dead in, [133] sq., 139;
burial customs among the aborigines of, [145] sqq.
——, Western, burial customs in, [147], [150], [151]
Authority of chiefs based on their claim to magical powers, [395]
Avenging a death, pretence of, [282], [328]
Bachelor ghosts, hard fate of, [464]
Bachelors' houses, [221]
Bad and good, different fate of the, after death, [354]
Baganda, the, their ideas as to the causes of death, [56] n. [2];
their myth of the origin of death, [78] sqq.
See also [Uganda]
Bahaus, the, of Borneo, [459]
Bahnars of Cochinchina, [74]
Bakaïri, the, of Brazil, [35]
Bakerewe, the, of the Victoria Nyanza, [50]
Bali, burial custom in, [460]
Balking ghosts, [455] sqq.
Balolo, of the Upper Congo, their myth of the continuance of death, [472]
Balum, ghost or spirit of dead, [244];
name for bull-roarer, [250];
name for a ghost or monster who swallows lads at initiation, [251], [255], [260], [261];
soul of a dead man, [257], [261]
Bamler, G., [291], [297] sq.
Bananas in myths of the origin of death, [60], [70], [72] sq.
Bandages to prevent entrance of ghosts, [396]
Bandaging eyes of corpse, [459]
Banks' Islands, [343], [353], [386];
myths of the origin of death in, [71], [83] sq.
—— Islanders, funeral customs of the, [355] sqq.
Bantu family, [60]
Baronga, the, [61];
burial custom of the, [454]
Bartle Bay, [206], [208]
Basutos, the, [61];
burial custom of the, [454]
Bat in myth of origin of death, [75]
Bathing in sea after funeral, [207] sq.;
as purification after a death, [314], [319]
Battel, Andrew, [51] sq.
Bechuanas, the, [61];
burial custom of the, [454]
Beetles in myth of the origin of death, [70]
Belep tribe of New Caledonia, [325]
Belief, acts as a clue to, [143]
Belief in immortality, origin of belief in, [25] sqq.;
almost universal among races of mankind, [33];
among the aborigines of Central Australia, [87] sqq.;
among the islanders of Torres Straits, [170] sqq.;
among the natives of British New Guinea, [190] sqq.;
among the natives of German New Guinea, [216] sqq.;
among the natives of Dutch New Guinea, [303] sqq.;
among the natives of Southern Melanesia, [324] sqq.;
among the natives of Central Melanesia, [343] sqq.;
its practical effect on the life of the Central Melanesians, [391] sq.;
among the natives of Northern Melanesia, [393] sqq.;
among the Fijians, [406] sqq.;
strongly held by savages, [468];
destruction of life and property entailed by the, [468] sq.;
the question of its truth, [469] sqq.
Belief in sorcery a cause of keeping down the population, [38], [40]
Berkeley, his theory of knowledge, [11] sq.
Berlin Harbour in German New Guinea, [218]
Bernau, Rev. J. H., [38]
Beryl-stone in Rose Mary, [130]
Betindalo, the land of the dead, [350]
Bhotias, the, of the Himalayas, [163]
Biak or Wiak, island, [303]
Bilking a ghost, [416]
Bird in divination as to cause of death, [45]
Birds, souls of sorcerers in, [39]
Birth, new, at initiation, pretence of, [254]
Birthplaces, the dead buried in their, [160]
Birth-stones and birth-sticks (churinga) of the Central Australians, [96] sqq.
Bismarck Archipelago, [70], [394], [402]
Black, mourners painted, [178], [241], [293];
gravediggers painted, [451]
—— -snake people, [94]
Blackened, faces of mourners, [403]
Blood of mourners dropped on corpse or into grave, [158] sq., [183], [185];
and hair of mourners offered to the dead, [183];
of pigs smeared on skulls and bones of the dead, [200];
soul thought to reside in the, [307];
of sacrificial victim not allowed to fall on the ground, [365]
—— revenge, duty of, [274], [276] sq.;
discharged by sham fight, [136] sq.
Bogadyim, in German New Guinea, [230], [231]
Boigu, the island of the dead, [175], [184], [213]
Bolafagina, the lord of the dead, [350]
Bolotoo, the land of souls, [411]
Bones of the dead, second burial of the, [166] sq.;
kept in house, [203];
worn by survivors, [225];
disinterred and kept in house, [225], [294];
making rain by means of the, [341]
—— and skulls of dead smeared with blood of pigs, [200]
Bonitos, ghosts in, [380]
Boollia, magic, [41] sq.
"Born of an oak or a rock," [128]
Bougainville, island of, [393]
Boulia district of Queensland, [147], [155]
Bow, divination by, [241]
Bread-fruit trees, stones to make them bear fruit, [335] sq.
Breaking things offered to the dead, [276]
Breath, vital principle associated with the, [129] sq.
Brett, Rev. W. H., [35] sqq.
Brewin, an evil spirit, [45]
Brittany, burial custom in, [458]
Brothers-in-law in funeral rites, [177]
Brown, Rev. Dr. George, [48], [395]
Buandik, the, [138]
Buckley, the convict, [131]
Buginese, burial custom of the, [461]
Bugotu, [350], [352];
in Ysabel, [372], [379]
Building king's house, men sacrificed at, [446]
Bukaua, the, of German New Guinea, [242], [256] sqq.
Bull-roarers, [243];
used in divination, [249];
described, [250];
used at initiation of young men among the Yabim, [250] sqq.;
among the Kaya-Kaya, [255];
at initiation among the Bukaua, [260] sq.;
associated with the spirits of the dead, [261];
at initiation among the Kai, [263], [291];
at initiation of young men among the Tami, [301], [302]
Bulotu or Bulu, the land of the dead, [462], [463]
Bundle, the fatal, [472];
story of, [77] sq.
Bures, Fijian temples, [439]
Burial different for old and young, married and unmarried, etc., [161] sqq.;
and burning of the dead, [162] sq.;
special modes of, intended to prevent or facilitate the return of the spirit, [163] sqq.;
second, custom of, [166] sq.;
in trees, [203];
in island, [319];
in the sea, [347] sq.
—— customs of the Australian aborigines, [144] sqq.;
in Tumleo, [223];
of the Kai, [274];
of the New Caledonians, [326] sq., [339] sq.;
in New Ireland, [397] sq.;
in the Duke of York Island, [403].
See also [Corpse], [Grave]
—— -grounds, sacred, [378]
Buried alive, old people, [359] sq.
Burma, [75]
Burning and burial of the dead, [162] sq.
—— bodies of women who died in childbed, [459]
Burns inflicted on themselves by mourners, [154], [155], [157], [327], [451]
Burnt offerings to the dead, [294]
—— sacrifices, reasons for, [348] sq.;
to ghosts, [366], [367] sq., [373]
Burying alive the sick and old, Fijian custom of, [420] sqq.
—— people in their birthplaces, [160]
Bushmen, [65]
Buwun, deities, [296]
Caffres of South Africa, their beliefs as to the causes of death, [55] sq.
Calabar, poison ordeal in, [52]
California, Indians of, [68]
Calling back a lost soul, [312]
Calm and wind produced by weather-doctors, [385] sq.
Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits, [171], [191]
Canaanites, the heathen, [154]
Canadian Indians, burial custom of the, [454]
Canarium nuts, first-fruits of, offered to ghosts, [368] sq.
Cannibal feasts in Fiji, [446]
Cannibals fear the ghosts of their victims, [396]
Canoe, men sacrificed at launching a new, [446] sq.
Canoes, Papuan, [220]
Cape Bedford in Queensland, [129], [130], [131]
—— King William in German New Guinea, [218], [238]
Carnac in Brittany, [438]
Catching soul in a scarf, [412] sq.
Cause, Hume's analysis of, [18] sq.
Causes, the propensity to search for, [17] sq.;
two classes of, [22]
Caves used as burial-places or charnel-houses, [330] sqq.
Celebes, Central, [72]
Central Australia, aborigines of, their ideas as to natural death, [46] sq.;
their ideas as to resurrection, [68];
their belief in immortality, [87] sqq.;
their belief in reincarnation of the dead, [92] sqq.;
their attitude towards the dead, [124] sqq.
Cereals unknown to Melanesians and Polynesians, [408]
Ceremonial impurity of manslayer, [229] sq.
Ceremonies performed in honour of the Wollunqua, a mythical water-snake, [108] sqq.;
dramatic, to commemorate the doings of ancestors, [118] sqq.;
funeral, of the Torres Straits Islanders, [176] sqq.
See also [Dramatic Ceremonies], [Dramatic Representations], [Funeral Ceremonies], [Totems]
Chameleon in myths of the origin of death, [60] sqq.
Chams of Annam, [67]
Charms imparted by dead in dreams, [139]
Charnel-houses, [221] sq., [225], [328]
Cheating the devil, [460]
Chepara, the, [139]
Cheremiss of Russia, burial custom of the, [457]
Cherokee Indians, [77]
Chief, spirit of dead, a worshipful ghost, [352]
Chief's power in Central Melanesia based on a fear of ghosts, [391]
Chiefs deified after death, [369]
Chiefs' authority based on their claim to magical powers, [395]
Chieftainship, rise of, [141]
Childbed, treatment of ghosts of women dying in, [358];
special fear of ghosts of women dying in, [458] sqq.
Childless women, burial of, [458]
Children, Central Australian theory of the birth of, [93] sq.;
belief of Queensland natives as to the birth of, [128]
Children buried in trees, [161], [312] sq.;
stillborn, burial of, [458]
Child-stones, [93] sq.
Chingpaws of Burma, [75]
Choi, disembodied human spirits, [128]
Chukchansi Indians, [163]
Churinga, sacred sticks or stones, [96] sqq.
Circumcision as initiatory rite of young men, [233];
among the Yabim, [250] sqq.;
among the Akikuyu, [254];
among the Bukaua, [260] sq.;
among the Kai, [290] sq.;
among the Tami, [301] sq.;
as a propitiatory sacrifice, [426] sqq.
Clans, totemic, [104]
Clay, widow's body smeared with, [223]
Cleanliness due to fear of sorcery, [386] sq., [414]
Cleft stick used in cure, [271]
Clercq, F. S. A. de, [316]
Cloth and weapons offered to ancestral spirits, [430] sq.
Clubhouses for men, [221], [225], [226], [243], [256] sq., [355]
Cochinchina, [74]
Coco-nut trees of dead cut down, [208], [209], [327];
stones to blight, [335]
—— -nuts tabooed, [297]
Codrington, Dr. R. H., [54] sq., [344], [345] sq., [353], [355], [359], [362] sq., [368], [380] sq.
Collins, David, [133]
Commemorative and magical ceremonies combined, [122], [126]
Commercial habits of the North Melanesians, [394]
Communal houses, [304]
Communism, temporary revival of primitive, [436] sq.
Comparative and descriptive anthropology, their relation, [230] sq.
Comparative method applied to the study of religion, [5] sq.;
in anthropology, [30]
Compartments in land of the dead, [244], [354], [404]
Competition as a cause of progress, [89] sq.
Conception in women, Central Australian theory of, [93] sq.;
belief of Queensland natives concerning, [128]
Conception of death, the savage, [31] sqq.
Concert of spirits, [340] sq.
Confession of sins, [201]
Congo, natives of the, their ideas as to natural death, [50];
worship of the moon on the, [68]
Consecration of manslayers in Fiji, [448] sq.
Consultation of ancestral images, [308] sqq.
Continence, required in training yam vines, [371]
Continuance of death, myth of the, [472]
Contradictions and inconsistencies in reasoning not peculiar to savages, [111] sq.
Convulsions as evidence of inspiration, [443], [444]
Co-operative system of piety, [333]
Coorgs, the, [163]
Cord worn round neck by mourners, [241], [242], [249], [259], [361]
Corpse inspected to discover sorcerer, [37], [38], [53] sq.;
dried on fire, [135], [184], [249], [313], [355];
tied to prevent ghost from walking, [144];
mauled and mutilated in order to disable the ghost, [153];
putrefying juices of, received by mourners on their bodies, [167], [205];
carried out feet foremost, [174];
decked with ornaments and flowers, [232];
painted white and red, [233];
crowned with red roses, [233], [234];
stript of ornaments before burial, [234], [241];
kept in house, [355];
property displayed beside the, [397];
persons who have handled a corpse forbidden to touch food with their hands, [450] sq.;
carried out of house by special opening, [452] sqq.
Corpses mummified, [313];
of women dying in childbed burnt, [459]
Costume of mourners, [184], [198], [241] sq.;
of widow and widower, [204]
Costumes of actors in dramatic ceremonies concerned with totems, [119] sqq.
Crabs in myth of the origin of death, [70]
Cracking joints of fingers at incantation, [223]
Creator, the, and the origin of death, [73]
Crocodiles, transmigration of dead into, [245]
Cromlechs, [438]
Crops, ghosts expected to make the crops thrive, [259], [284], [288] sq.
Cross-questioning a ghost by means of fire, [278]
Cultivation of the ground, spirits of ancestors supposed to help in the, [259]
Culture, advance of, among the aborigines of South-Eastern Australia, [141] sq., [148] sq.; advanced, of the Fijians, [407]
Cursing enemies, [370], [403], [404]
Cutting down trees of the dead, [208], [209]
Cuttings of the flesh in honour of the dead, [154] sqq., [183], [184] sq., [196], [272], [327], [359]
Dance of death, [185] sqq.
Dances as funeral rites, [179] sqq., [200];
masked, of the Monumbo, [228];
masked, of a Secret Society, [233];
at deaths, [293] sq.;
of masked men in imitation of spirits, [297];
at festivals, [316];
at festivals of the dead, [321];
at funeral feasts, [399]
—— and games at festivals, [226]
Dark, ghosts dreaded in the, [197], [283], [306], [467];
female mourners remain in the, [360]
Daula, a ghost associated with the frigate-bird, [376]
Dawson, James, [42], [142], [143]
Dazing a ghost, [416]
Dead, worship of the, [23] sqq., [31], [328] sqq., [338];
seen in dreams, [27];
belief in the reincarnation of the, [92] sqq., [107];
spirits of, associated with conspicuous features of the landscape, [115] sqq.;
reincarnation of the, [124] sq., [127] sqq.;
souls of the, supposed to go to the sky, [133] sq., [135], [138] sq., [141], [142];
souls of the, supposed to be in stars, [134], [140];
names of the, not mentioned, [135];
magical virtue attributed to the hair of the, [137] sq.;
appear to the living in dreams, [139], [195], [213], [229];
attentions paid to the, in regard to food, fire, property, etc., [144] sqq.;
property of, deposited in grave, [145] sqq.;
motive for destroying the property of the, [147] sq.;
economic loss entailed by sacrifices to the, [149];
incipient worship of the, in Australia, [149], [150];
feared, [152] sq., [173] sqq., [196] sq., [201], [203], [244], [248];
cuttings of the flesh in honour of the, [154] sqq., [183], [184] sq., [196], [327], [359];
thought to be strengthened by blood, [159];
disposed of in different ways according to their age, manner of death, etc., [161] sqq.;
fear of the, [168];
germs of a worship of the, in Australia, [168] sq.;
destruction of the property of the, [174];
land of the, [175] sq., [192], [193], [194] sq., [202], [203], [207], [209] sq., [211] sqq., [224], [228] sq., [244], [260], [286] sq., [292], [299], [305] sq., [307], [322], [326], [345], [350] sq., [353] sq., [404] sqq., [462] sqq.;
personated by masked men, [176], [179] sq., [182] sq., [185] sqq.;
food offered to the, [183], [211], [214], [232], [241], [332], [338], [348] sq., [364] sq., [367] sq., [372] sq., [396] sq., [429], [442], [467];
elements of a worship of the, in Torres Straits, [189];
laid on platforms, [199], [203], [205];
worshipped in British New Guinea, [201] sq.;
prayers to the, [201] sq., [214], [259], [288], [307], [329] sq., [332] sqq., [340], [376] sq., [401], [403] sq., [427], [441];
names of, not mentioned, [210], [246];
monuments of the, [225];
offerings of hunters and fishers to the, [226];
oracles of the, [235];
buried in the house, [236], [347], [352], [397], [398], [399];
offerings to the, [239], [276], [292], [298];
transmigrate into animals, [242], [245];
spirits of the, give good crops, [247] sq.;
elements of a worship of the dead among the Yabim, [255];
spirits of the, believed to be mischievous, [257];
ancestors supposed to help in the cultivation of the ground, [259];
first-fruits offered to the, [259];
buried under houses, [259];
envious of the living, [267], [381];
burnt offerings to the, [294];
predominance of the worship of the, [297] sq.;
power of the, over the living, [298], [306] sq., [307];
sacrifices to the, [307], [338];
wooden images (korwar) of the, [307] sqq., [315], [316] sq., [321], [322];
buried in island, [319];
festival of the, [320] sq.;
medicine-men, inspired by spirits of the, [322];
spirits of the, embodied in their skulls, [338];
spirits of the, identified with white men, [342];
buried in the sea, [347] sq., [397];
relics of the, preserved, [348];
bodies of the, preserved for a time in the house, [351];
represented by wooden stocks, [374], [386];
burned in New Ireland, [397];
carried out of house by special opening, [452] sqq.
See also [Ghost]
Dead kings of Uganda consulted as oracles, [151]
Death, the problem of, [31] sqq.;
the savage conception of, [31] sqq.;
thought to be an effect of sorcery, [33] sqq.;
by natural causes, recognised by some savages, [55] sq.;
myths of the origin of, [59] sqq.;
personified in tales, [79] sqq.;
not regarded as a natural necessity, [84] sqq.;
the second, of the dead, [195], [286], [299], [345], [350], [351], [354];
attributed to sorcery, [249];
violent, ascribed to sorcery, [268] sq.;
myth of the continuance of, [472]
Death and resurrection at initiation, ceremony of, [431], [434] sq.;
pretence of, at initiation, [254] sq., [261], [302]
Death-dances, [293] sq.;
of the Torres Straits Islanders, [179] sqq.
Deaths from natural causes, disbelief of savages in, [33] sqq.;
attributed to sorcery, [136], [203];
set down to sorcery or ghosts, [203], [268], [270]
Deceiving the ghost, [237], [273], [280] sqq., [328]
Deceiving the spirits, [298]
Deification of the dead, [24], [25];
of parents, [439]
Deity consumes soul of offering, [297]
Demon carries off soul of sick, [194]
Demons as causes of disease and death, [36] sq.
Demonstrations, extravagant, of grief at a death, dictated by fear of the ghost, [271] sqq.
Déné or Tinneh Indians, their ideas as to death, [39] sq.
Departure of ghost thought to coincide with disappearance of flesh from bones, [165] sq.
Descent of the living into the nether world, [300], [355]
Descriptive and comparative anthropology, their relation, [230] sq.
Descriptive method in anthropology, [30]
Desertion of house after a death, [195], [196] n. [1], [210], [248], [275], [349], [400];
of village after a death, [275]
Deserts as impediments to progress, [89], [90]
Design emblematic of totem, [168]
Destruction of house after a death, [210]
—— of life and property entailed by the belief in immortality, [468] sq.
—— of property of the dead, [174], [459];
motive for, [147] sq., [327]
Development arrested or retarded in savagery, [88] sqq.
Dieri, the, [138];
their burial customs, [144]
Differentiation of function in prayer, [332] sq.
Disbelief of savages in death from natural causes, [34] sqq.
Disease supposed to be caused by sorcery, [35] sqq.;
demons regarded as causes of, [36] sq.;
recognised by some savages as due to natural causes, [55] sq.;
special modes of disposing of bodies of persons who die of, [162], [163].
See also [Sickness]
Diseases ascribed to ghosts, [257]
Disinterment of the bones of the dead, [225], [294]
Dissection of corpse to discover cause of death, [53] sq.
Divination to discover cause of death, [35], [36], [37] sq., [38], [39] sq., [44], [45] sq., [50] sqq., [53] sq., [136];
by liver, [54];
by dreams, [136], [383];
by the skulls of the dead, [179];
to discover sorcerer who caused death, [240] sq., [249] sq., [257], [402];
by bow, [241];
by hair to discover cause of death, [319];
by means of ghosts, [389] sq.;
to discover ghost who has caused sickness, [382]
Divinity of kings, [16];
of Fijian kings, [407] sq.;
Fijian notion of, [440] sq.
Dog, in myth of the origin of death, [66];
the Heavenly, [460]
Dogs sacrificed to the dead, [232], [234];
sacrificed in epidemics, [296]
Doreh Bay in Dutch New Guinea, [303], [306]
Dragon supposed to swallow lads at initiation, [301].
See also [Monster]
Drama of death and resurrection at initiation, [431], [434] sq.
——, evolution of, [189]
Dramatic ceremonies in Central Australia, magical intention of, [122] sq., [126]
—— concerned with totems, [119] sqq.
—— to commemorate the doings of ancestors, [118] sqq.
Dramatic representation of ghosts and spirits by masked men, [176], [179] sq., [180] sqq., [185] sqq.
Drawings on ground in religious or magical ceremony, [112] sq.
—— on rocks, [318]
Dread of witchcraft, [413] sq.
Dreamer, professional, [383]
Dreams as a source of the belief in immortality and of the worship of the dead, [27] sq., [214];
divination by, [136];
appearance of the dead to the living in, [139], [195], [213], [229];
savage faith in the truth of, [139] sq.;
consultation of the dead in, [179];
danger of, [194];
the dead communicate with the living in, [248]
Driving away the ghost, [178], [197], [248], [305], [306], [323], [356] sqq., [396], [399], [415]
Drowning of ghosts, [224]
Duke of York Island, [393], [397], [403], [404]
Dying, threats of the, [273]