[AA] For an analogous ceremony, see Herodotus, Euterpe, 60.
[79] Arnobius: Adversus Gentes, lib. v, c. 5.
[80] The Worship of the Generative Powers, p. 135.
[81] Knight: The Worship of Priapus, pp. 3-6,7.
[AB] A modification of this is seen in the derisive gesture of the street Arab who closes all of his fingers, except the middle one, on his palm. The middle finger he holds stiffly erect and the hand is then extended towards the object of his contempt. This gesture, once performed as a deeply religious rite, has now become the contemptuous sign of a boy of the street!
[82] L’Estoile: Confession de Sancy, pp. 383, 391.
[83] The Worship of Priapus, p. 141.
[84] Ibid.
[AC] According to Abel de Rémusat (Nouv. Mel. Asiatiques, p. 116), the custom of tchin-than, or religious defloration, was formerly in use in Cambodia and Malabar. This custom seems to be analogous to the jus primae noctis, as practiced by many tribes, where the woman, on her bridal night, has to yield herself up to the male marriage guests—jus primae noctis, as thus practiced, must not be confounded with the seignorial right, the right of the lord, or ruler. The former right is regarded in the light of a quasi religious observance, while the latter is not. The former was in vogue in ancient times in the Balearic Isles and among the ancient Peruvians; recently among several aboriginal tribes of India, in Burmah, in Cashmere, in Madagascar, in Arabia, and in New Zealand. Vid. Teulon: Orig. de la Famille, p. 69.
[85] Martène et Durand: Coll. Antiq. Can. Paenit., iv, 52.