Balder The Beautiful, Vol. I. by Sir James George Frazer

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[The intention of secluding menstruous women is to neutralize the
dangerous influences which are thought to emanate from them in that
condition; suspension between heaven and earth.]

Thus the object of secluding women at menstruation is to neutralize the
dangerous influences which are supposed to emanate from them at such
times. That the danger is believed to be especially great at the first
menstruation appears from the unusual precautions taken to isolate girls
at this crisis. Two of these precautions have been illustrated above,
namely, the rules that the girl may not touch the ground nor see the
sun. The general effect of these rules is to keep her suspended, so to
say, between heaven and earth. Whether enveloped in her hammock and
slung up to the roof, as in South America, or raised above the ground in
a dark and narrow cage, as in New Ireland, she may be considered to be
out of the way of doing mischief, since, being shut off both from the
earth and from the sun, she can poison neither of these great sources of
life by her deadly contagion. In short, she is rendered harmless by
being, in electrical language, insulated. But the precautions thus taken
to isolate or insulate the girl are dictated by a regard for her own
safety as well as for the safety of others. For it is thought that she
herself would suffer if she were to neglect the prescribed regimen. Thus
Zulu girls, as we have seen, believe that they would shrivel to
skeletons if the sun were to shine on them at puberty, and in some
Brazilian tribes the young women think that a transgression of the rules
would entail sores on the neck and throat. In short, the girl is viewed
as charged with a powerful force which, if not kept within bounds, may
prove destructive both to herself and to all with whom she comes in
contact. To repress this force within the limits necessary for the
safety of all concerned is the object of the taboos in question.

[The same explanation applies to the similar rules of seclusion observed
by divine kings and priests; suspension between heaven and earth.]

The same explanation applies to the observance of the same rules by
divine kings and priests. The uncleanness, as it is called, of girls at
puberty and the sanctity of holy men do not, to the primitive mind,
differ materially from each other. They are only different
manifestations of the same mysterious energy which, like energy in
general, is in itself neither good nor bad, but becomes beneficent or
maleficent according to its application.[248] Accordingly, if, like
girls at puberty, divine personages may neither touch the ground nor see
the sun, the reason is, on the one hand, a fear lest their divinity
might, at contact with earth or heaven, discharge itself with fatal
violence on either; and, on the other hand, an apprehension that the
divine being, thus drained of his ethereal virtue, might thereby be
incapacitated for the future performance of those magical functions,
upon the proper discharge of which the safety of the people and even of
the world is believed to hang. Thus the rules in question fall under the
head of the taboos which we examined in the second part of this
work;[249] they are intended to preserve the life of the divine person
and with it the life of his subjects and worshippers. Nowhere, it is
thought, can his precious yet dangerous life be at once so safe and so
harmless as when it is neither in heaven nor in earth, but, as far as
possible, suspended between the two.[250]

[Stories of immortality attained by suspension between heaven and
earth.]

In legends and folk-tales, which reflect the ideas of earlier ages, we
find this suspension between heaven and earth attributed to beings who
have been endowed with the coveted yet burdensome gift of immortality.
The wizened remains of the deathless Sibyl are said to have been
preserved in a jar or urn which hung in a temple of Apollo at Cumae; and
when a group of merry children, tired, perhaps, of playing in the sunny
streets, sought the shade of the temple and amused themselves by
gathering underneath the familiar jar and calling out, "Sibyl, what do
you wish?" a hollow voice, like an echo, used to answer from the urn, "I
wish to die."[251] A story, taken down from the lips of a German peasant
at Thomsdorf, relates that once upon a time there was a girl in London
who wished to live for ever, so they say:

"_London, London is a fine town.
A maiden prayed to live for ever._"

And still she lives and hangs in a basket in a church, and every St.
John's Day, about the hour of noon, she eats a roll of bread.[252]
Another German story tells of a lady who resided at Danzig and was so
rich and so blest with all that life can give that she wished to live
always. So when she came to her latter end, she did not really die but
only looked like dead, and very soon they found her in a hollow of a
pillar in the church, half standing and half sitting, motionless. She
stirred never a limb, but they saw quite plainly that she was alive, and
she sits there down to this blessed day. Every New Year's Day the
sacristan comes and puts a morsel of the holy bread in her mouth, and
that is all she has to live on. Long, long has she rued her fatal wish
who set this transient life above the eternal joys of heaven.[253] A
third German story tells of a noble damsel who cherished the same
foolish wish for immortality. So they put her in a basket and hung her
up in a church, and there she hangs and never dies, though many a year
has come and gone since they put her there. But every year on a certain
day they give her a roll, and she eats it and cries out, "For ever! for
ever! for ever!" And when she has so cried she falls silent again till
the same time next year, and so it will go on for ever and for
ever.[254] A fourth story, taken down near Oldenburg in Holstein, tells
of a jolly dame that ate and drank and lived right merrily and had all
that heart could desire, and she wished to live always. For the first
hundred years all went well, but after that she began to shrink and
shrivel up, till at last she could neither walk nor stand nor eat nor
drink. But die she could not. At first they fed her as if she were a
little child, but when she grew smaller and smaller they put her in a
glass bottle and hung her up in the church. And there she still hangs,
in the church of St. Mary, at Luebeck. She is as small as a mouse, but
once a year she stirs.[255]

Notes:

[64] Pechuel-Loesche, "Indiscretes aus Loango," _Zeitschrift fuer
Ethnologie_, x. (1878) p. 23.

[65] Rev. J. Macdonald, "Manners, Customs, Superstitions, and Religions
of South African Tribes," _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_,
xx. (1891) p. 118.

[66] Dudley Kidd, _The Essential Kafir_ (London, 1904), p. 209. The
prohibition to drink milk under such circumstances is also mentioned,
though without the reason for it, by L. Alberti (_De Kaffersaan de
Zuidkust van Afrika_, Amsterdam, 1810, p. 79), George Thompson (_Travels
and Adventures in Southern Africa_, London, 1827, ii. 354 _sq._), and
Mr. Warner (in Col. Maclean's _Compendium of Kafir Laws and Customs_;
Cape Town, 1866, p. 98). As to the reason for the prohibition, see
below, p. 80.

[67] C.W. Hobley, _Ethnology of A-Kamba and other East African Tribes_
(Cambridge, 1910), p. 65.

[68] Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), p. 80. As to the
interpretation which the Baganda put on the act of jumping or stepping
over a woman, see _id._, pp. 48, 357 note 1. Apparently some of the
Lower Congo people interpret the act similarly. See J.H. Weeks, "Notes
on some Customs of the Lower Congo People," _Folk-lore_, xix. (1908) p.
431. Among the Baganda the separation of children from their parents
took place after weaning; girls usually went to live either with an
elder married brother or (if there was none such) with one of their
father's brothers; boys in like manner went to live with one of their
father's brothers. See J. Roscoe, _op. cit._ p. 74. As to the
prohibition to touch food with the hands, see _Taboo and the Perils of
the Soul_, pp. 138 _sqq._, 146 _sqq._, etc.

[69] Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_, p. 80.

[70] De la Loubere, _Du royaume de Siam_ (Amsterdam, 1691), i. 203. In
Travancore it is believed that women at puberty and after childbirth are
peculiarly liable to be attacked by demons. See S. Mateer, _The Land of
Charity_ (London, 1871), p. 208.

[71] Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_, p. 80.

[72] C. Gouldsbury and H. Sheane, _The Great Plateau of Northern
Nigeria_ (London, 1911), pp. 158-160.

[73] R. Sutherland Rattray, _Some Folk-lore, Stories and Songs in
Chinyanja_ (London, 1907), pp. 102-105.

[74] Rev. H. Cole, "Notes on the Wagogo of German East Africa," _Journal
of the Anthropological Institute_, xxxii. (1902) pp. 309 _sq._

[75] R. Sutherland Rattray, _op. cit._ pp. 191 _sq._

[76] _The Grihya Sutras_, translated by H. Oldenberg, Part i. p. 357,
Part ii. p. 267 (_Sacred Books of the East_, vols. xxix., xxx.).

[77] Rev. J. Roscoe, _The Baganda_ (London, 1911), pp. 393 _sq._,
compare pp. 396, 398.

[78] See _Totemism and Exogamy_, iv. 224 _sqq._

[79] Sir Harry H. Johnston, _British Central Africa_ (London, 1897), p.
411.

[80] Oscar Baumann, _Durch Massailand zur Nilquelle_ (Berlin, 1894), p.
178.

[81] Lionel Decle, _Three Years in Savage Africa_ (London, 1898), p. 78.
Compare E. Jacottet, _Etudes sur les Langues du Haut-Zambeze_, Troisieme
Partie (Paris, 1901), pp. 174 _sq._ (as to the A-Louyi).

[82] E. Beguin, _Les Ma-rotse_ (Lausanne and Fontaines, 1903), p. 113.

[83] Henri A. Junod, _The Life of a South African Tribe_ (Neuchatel,
1912-1913), i. 178 _sq._

[84] G. McCall Theal, _Kaffir Folk-lore_ (London, 1886), p. 218.

[85] L. Alberti, _De Kaffers aan de Zuidkust van Afrika_ (Amsterdam,
1810), pp. 79 _sq._; H. Lichtenstein, _Reisen im suedlichen Africa_
(Berlin, 1811-1812), i. 428.

[86] Gustav Fritsch, _Die Eingeborenen Sued-Afrika's_ (Breslau, 1872), p.
112. This statement applies especially to the Ama-Xosa.

[87] G. McCall Theal, _Kaffir Folk-lore_, p. 218.

[88] Rev. Canon Henry Callaway, _Nursery Tales, Traditions, and
Histories of the Zulus_ (Natal and London, 1868), p. 182, note 20. From
one of the Zulu texts which the author edits and translates (p. 189) we
may infer that during the period of her seclusion a Zulu girl may not
light a fire. Compare above, p. 28.

[89] E. Casalis, _The Basutos_ (London, 1861), p. 268.

[90] J. Merolla, "Voyage to Congo," in J. Pinkerton's _Voyages and
Travels_ (London, 1808-1814), xvi. 238; Father Campana, "Congo; Mission
Catholique de Landana," _Les Missions Catholiques_, xxvii. (1895) p.
161; R.E. Dennett, _At the Back of the Black Man's Mind_ (London, 1906),
pp. 69 _sq._. According to Merolla, it is thought that if girls did not
go through these ceremonies, they would "never be fit for procreation."
The other consequences supposed to flow from the omission of the rites
are mentioned by Father Campana. From Mr. Dennett's account (_op. cit._
pp. 53, 67-71) we gather that drought and famine are thought to result
from the intercourse of a man with a girl who has not yet passed through
the "paint-house," as the hut is called where the young women live in
seclusion. According to O. Dapper, the women of Loango paint themselves
red on every recurrence of their monthly sickness; also they tie a cord
tightly round their heads and take care neither to touch their husband's
food nor to appear before him (_Description de l'Afrique_, Amsterdam,
1686, p. 326).

[91] The Rev. G. Brown, quoted by the Rev. B. Danks, "Marriage Customs
of the New Britain Group," _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_,
xviii. (1889) pp. 284. _sq.; id., Melanesians and Polynesians_ (London,
1910), pp. 105-107. Compare _id._, "Notes on the Duke of York Group, New
Britain, and New Ireland," _Journal of the Royal Geographical Society_,
xlvii. (1877) pp. 142 _sq._; A. Hahl, "Das mittlere Neumecklenburg,"
_Globus_, xci. (1907) p. 313. Wilfred Powell's description of the New
Ireland custom is similar (_Wanderings in a Wild Country_, London, 1883,
p. 249). According to him, the girls wear wreaths of scented herbs round
the waist and neck; an old woman or a little child occupies the lower
floor of the cage; and the confinement lasts only a month. Probably the
long period mentioned by Dr. Brown is that prescribed for chiefs'
daughters. Poor people could not afford to keep their children so long
idle. This distinction is sometimes expressly stated. See above, p. 30.
Among the Goajiras of Colombia rich people keep their daughters shut up
in separate huts at puberty for periods varying from one to four years,
but poor people cannot afford to do so for more than a fortnight or a
month. See F.A. Simons, "An Exploration of the Goajira Peninsula,"
_Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society_, N.S., vii. (1885) p.
791. In Fiji, brides who were being tattooed were kept from the sun
(Thomas Williams, _Fiji and the Fijians_, Second Edition, London, 1860,
i. 170). This was perhaps a modification of the Melanesian custom of
secluding girls at puberty. The reason mentioned by Mr. Williams, "to
improve her complexion," can hardly have been the original one.

[92] Rev. R.H. Rickard, quoted by Dr. George Brown, _Melanesians and
Polynesians_, pp. 107 _sq._. His observations were made in 1892.

[93] R. Parkinson, _Dreissig Jahre in der Suedsee_ (Stuttgart, 1907), p.
272. The natives told Mr. Parkinson that the confinement of the girls
lasts from twelve to twenty months. The length of it may have been
reduced since Dr. George Brown described the custom in 1876.

[94] J. Chalmers and W. Wyatt Gill, _Work and Adventure in New Guinea_
(London, 1885), p. 159.

[95] H. Zahn and S. Lehner, in R. Neuhauss's _Deutsch New-Guinea_
(Berlin, 1911), iii. 298, 418-420. The customs of the two tribes seem to
be in substantial agreement, and the accounts of them supplement each
other. The description of the Bukaua practice is the fuller.

[96] C.A.L.M. Schwaner, _Borneo, Beschrijving van het stroomgebied van
den Barito_ (Amsterdam, 1853-1854), ii. 77 _sq._; W.F.A. Zimmermann,
_Die Inseln des Indischen und Stillen Meeres_ (Berlin, 1864-1865), ii.
632 _sq._; Otto Finsch, _Neu Guinea und seine Bewohner_ (Bremen, 1865),
pp. 116 _sq._.

[97] J.G.F. Riedel, _De sluik--en kroesharige rassen tusschen Selebes
en Papua_ (The Hague, 1886), p. 138.

[98] A. Senfft, "Ethnographische Beitraege ueber die Karolineninsel Yap,"
_Petermanns Mitteilungen_, xlix. (1903) p. 53; _id._, "Die Rechtssitten
der Jap-Eingeborenen," _Globus_, xci. (1907) pp. 142 _sq._.

[99] Dr. C.G. Seligmann, in _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_,
xxix. (1899) pp. 212 _sq.; id._, in _Reports of the Cambridge
Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits_, v. (Cambridge, 1904) pp.
203 _sq._

[100] Dr. C.G. Seligmann, in _Reports of the Cambridge Expedition to
Torres Straits_, v. (Cambridge, 1904) p. 205.

[101] L. Crauford, in _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, xxiv.
(1895) p. 181.

[102] Dr. C.G. Seligmann, _op. cit._ v. 206.

[103] Walter E. Roth, _North Queensland Ethnography, Bulletin No. 5,
Superstition, Magic, and Medicine_ (Brisbane, 1903), pp. 24 _sq._

[104] Walter E. Roth, _op. cit._ p. 25.

[105] Dr. C.G. Seligmann, in _Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological
Expedition to Torres Straits_, v. (Cambridge, 1904), p. 205.

[106] From notes kindly sent me by Dr. C.G. Seligmann. The practice of
burying a girl at puberty was observed also by some Indian tribes of
California, but apparently rather for the purpose of producing a sweat
than for the sake of concealment. The treatment lasted only twenty-four
hours, during which the patient was removed from the ground and washed
three or four times, to be afterwards reimbedded. Dancing was kept up
the whole time by the women. See H. R. Schoolcraft, _Indian Tribes of
the United States_ (Philadelphia, 1853-1856), v. 215.

[107] Dr. C.G. Seligmann, in _Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological
Expedition to Torres Straits_, v. 201 _sq._

[108] A.L. Kroeber, "The Religion of the Indians of California,"
_University of California Publications in American Archaeology and
Ethnology_, vol. iv. No. 6 (September, 1907), p. 324.

[109] Roland B. Dixon, "The Northern Maidu," _Bulletin of the American
Museum of Natural History_, vol. xvii. Part iii. (May 1905) pp. 232
_sq._, compare pp. 233-238.

[110] Stephen Powers, _Tribes of California_ (Washington, 1877), p. 85
(_Contributions to North American Ethnology_, vol. iii.).

[111] Stephen Powers, _op. cit._ p. 235.

[112] Charles Wilkes, _Narrative of the United States Exploring
Expedition_, New Edition (New York, 1851), iv. 456.

[113] Franz Boas, _Chinook Texts_ (Washington, 1894), pp. 246 _sq._ The
account, taken down from the lips of a Chinook Indian, is not perfectly
clear; some of the restrictions were prolonged after the girl's second
monthly period.

[114] G.M. Sproat, _Scenes and Studies of Savage Life_ (London, 1868),
pp. 93 _sq._

[115] Franz Boas, in _Sixth Report on the North-Western Tribes of
Canada_, pp. 40-42 (separate reprint from the _Report of the British
Association for the Advancement of Science_, Leeds meeting, 1890). The
rule not to lie down is observed also during their seclusion at puberty
by Tsimshian girls, who always sit propped up between boxes and mats;
their heads are covered with small mats, and they may not look at men
nor at fresh salmon and olachen. See Franz Boas, in _Fifth Report on the
North-Western Tribes of Canada_, p. 41 (separate reprint from the
_Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science_,
Newcastle-upon-Tyne meeting, 1889); G.M. Dawson, _Report on the Queen
Charlotte Islands, 1878_ (Montreal, 1880), pp. 130 B _sq._ Some divine
kings are not allowed to lie down. See _Taboo and the Perils of the
Soul_, p. 5.

[116] George M. Dawson, _Report on the Queen Charlotte Islands, 1878_
(Montreal, 1880), p. 130 B; J.R. Swanton, _Contributions to the
Ethnology of the Haida_ (Leyden and New York, 1905), pp. 48-50 (_The
Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American Museum of Natural
History_, New York). Speaking of the customs observed at Kloo, where the
girls had to abstain from salmon for five years, Mr. Swanton says (p.
49): "When five years had passed, the girl came out, and could do as she
pleased." This seems to imply that the girl was secluded in the house
for five years. We have seen (above, p. 32) that in New Ireland the
girls used sometimes to be secluded for the same period.

[117] G.H. von Langsdorff, _Reise um die Welt_ (Frankfort, 1812), ii.
114 _sq._; H.J. Holmberg, "Ethnographische Skizzen ueber die Voelker des
Russischen Amerika," _Acta Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae_, iv.
(Helsingfors, 1856) pp. 319 _sq._; T. de Pauly, _Description
Ethnographique des Peuples de la Russie_ (St. Petersburg, 1862),
_Peuples de l'Amerique Russe_, p. 13; A. Erman, "Ethnographische
Wahrnehmungen und Erfahrungen an den Kuesten des Berings-Meeres,"
_Zeitschrift fuer Ethnologie_, ii. (1870) pp. 318 _sq._; H.H. Bancroft,
_Native Races of the Pacific States_ (London, 1875-1876), i. 110 _sq._;
Rev. Sheldon Jackson, "Alaska and its Inhabitants," _The American
Antiquarian_, ii. (Chicago, 1879-1880) pp. 111 _sq._; A. Woldt, _Captain
Jacobsen's Reise an der Nordwestkiiste Americas, 1881-1883_ (Leipsic,
1884), p. 393; Aurel Krause, _Die Tlinkit-Indianer_ (Jena, 1885), pp.
217 _sq._; W.M. Grant, in _Journal of American Folk-lore_, i. (1888) p.
169; John R. Swanton, "Social Conditions, Beliefs, and Linguistic
Relationship of the Tlingit Indians," _Twenty-sixth Annual Report of the
Bureau of American Ethnology_ (Washington, 1908), p. 428.

[118] Franz Boas, in _Tenth Report of the Committee on the North-Western
Tribes of Canada_, p. 45 (separate reprint from the _Report of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science_, Ipswich meeting,
1895).

[119] Franz Boas, in _Fifth Report of the Committee on the North-Western
Tribes of Canada_, p. 42 (separate reprint from the _Report of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science_, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
meeting, 1889); _id._, in _Seventh Report_, etc., p. 12 (separate
reprint from the _Report of the British Association for the Advancement
of Science_, Cardiff meeting, 1891).

[120] "Customs of the New Caledonian women belonging to the Nancaushy
Tine, or Stuart's Lake Indians, Natotin Tine, or Babine's and Nantley
Tine, or Fraser Lake Tribes," from information supplied by Gavin
Hamilton, chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company's service, who has
been for many years among these Indians, both he and his wife speaking
their languages fluently (communicated by Dr. John Rae), _Journal of the
Anthropological Institute_, vii. (1878) pp. 206 _sq._

[121] Emile Petitot, _Traditions Indiennes du Canada Nord-ouest_ (Paris,
1886), pp. 257 _sq._

[122] Fr. Julius Jette, S.J., "On the Superstitions of the Ten'a
Indians," _Anthropos_, vi. (1911) pp. 700-702.

[123] Compare _The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings_, i. 70 _sqq._

[124] James Teit, _The Thompson Indians of British Columbia_, pp.
311-317 (_The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American
Museum of Natural History_, New York, April, 1900). As to the customs
observed among these Indians by the father of a girl at such times in
order not to lose his luck in hunting, see _Spirits of the Corn and of
the Wild_, ii. 268.

[125] James Teit, _The Lillooet Indians_ (Leyden and New York, 1906),
pp. 263-265 (_The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American
Museum of Natural History_, New York). Compare C. Hill Tout, "Report on
the Ethnology of the Stlatlumh of British Columbia," _Journal of the
Anthropological Institute_, xxxv. (1905) p. 136.

[126] Franz Boas, in _Sixth Report of the Committee on the North-Western
Tribes of Canada_, pp. 89 _sq_. (separate reprint from the _Report of
the British Association for the Advancement of Science_, Leeds meeting,
1890).

[127] James Teit, _The Shuswap_ (Leyden and New York, 1909), pp. 587
_sq._ (_The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Memoir of the American
Museum of Natural History_, New York).

[128] G.H. Loskiel, _History of the Mission of the United Brethren among
the Indians of North America_ (London, 1794), Part i. pp. 56 _sq_.

[129] G.B. Grinnell, "Cheyenne Woman Customs," _American
Anthropologist_, New Series, iv. (New York, 1902) pp. 13 _sq_. The
Cheyennes appear to have been at first settled on the Mississippi, from
which they were driven westward to the Missouri. See _Handbook of
American Indians north of Mexico_, edited by F.W. Hodge (Washington,
1907-1910), i. 250 _sqq_.

[130] H.J. Holmberg, "Ueber die Voelker des Russischen Amerika," _Acta
Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae_, iv. (Helsingfors, 1856) pp. 401 _sq._;
Ivan Petroff, _Report on the Population, Industries and Resources of
Alaska_, p. 143.

[131] E.W. Nelson, "The Eskimo about Bering Strait," _Eighteenth Annual
Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_, Part i. (Washington, 1899)
p. 291.

[132] Jose Guevara, "Historia del Paraguay, Rio de la Plata, y Tucuman,"
pp. 16 _sq._, in Pedro de Angelis, _Coleccion de Obras y Documentos
relativos a la Historia antigua y moderna de las Provincias del Rio de
la Plata_, vol. ii. (Buenos-Ayres, 1836); J.F. Lafitau, _Moeurs des
Sauvages Ameriquains_ (Paris, 1724), i. 262 _sq._

[133] Father Ignace Chome, in _Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses_,
Nouvelle Edition (Paris, 1780-1783), viii. 333. As to the Chiriguanos,
see C.F. Phil. von Martius, _Zur Ethnographie Amerika's, zumal
Brasiliens_ (Leipsic, 1867), pp. 212 _sqq._; Colonel G.E. Church,
_Aborigines of South America_ (London, 1912), pp. 207-227.

[134] A. Thouar, _Explorations dans l'Amerique du Sud_ (Paris, 1891),
pp. 48 _sq._; G. Kurze, "Sitten und Gebraeuche der Lengua-Indianer,"
_Mitteilungen der Geographischen Gesellschaft zu Jena_, xxiii. (1905)
pp. 26 _sq._ The two accounts appear to be identical; but the former
attributes the custom to the Chiriguanos, the latter to the Lenguas. As
the latter account is based on the reports of the Rev. W.B. Grubb, a
missionary who has been settled among the Indians of the Chaco for many
years and is our principal authority on them, I assume that the
ascription of the custom to the Lenguas is correct. However, in the
volume on the Lengua Indians, which has been edited from Mr. Grubb's
papers (_An Unknown People in an Unknown Land_, London, 1911), these
details as to the seclusion of girls at puberty are not mentioned,
though what seems to be the final ceremony is described (_op. cit._ pp.
177 _sq._). From the description we learn that boys dressed in ostrich
feathers and wearing masks circle round the girl with shrill cries, but
are repelled by the women.

[135] Alcide d'Orbigny, _Voyage dans l'Amerique Meridionale_ vol. iii.
1to Partie (Paris and Strasburg, 1844), pp. 205 _sq_.

[136] A. Thouar, _Explorations dans l'Amerique du Sud_ (Paris, 1891) pp.
56 _sq._; Father Cardus, quoted in J. Pelleschi's _Los Indios Matacos_
(Buenos Ayres, 1897), pp. 47 _sq._

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