友情提示:如果本网页打开太慢或显示不完整,请尝试鼠标右键“刷新”本网页!阅读过程发现任何错误请告诉我们,谢谢!! 报告错误
飞读中文网 返回本书目录 我的书架 我的书签 TXT全本下载 进入书吧 加入书签

darwin and modern science-第66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!



ive of their relationship with the long…legged bird。  Conversely they hold that they themselves are cassowaries for all practical purposes。  They pride themselves on having long thin legs like a cassowary。  This reflection affords them peculiar satisfaction when they go out to fight; or to run away; as the case may be; for at such times a Cassowary man will say to himself; 〃My leg is long and thin; I can run and not feel tired; my legs will go quickly and the grass will not entangle them。〃  Members of the Cassowary clan are reputed to be pugnacious; because the cassowary is a bird of very uncertain temper and can kick with extreme violence。  (A。C。 Haddon; 〃The Ethnography of the Western Tribe of Torres Straits〃; 〃Journal of the Anthropological Institute〃; XIX。 (1890); page 393; 〃Reports of the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits〃; V。 (Cambridge; 1904); pages 166; 184。)  So among the Ojibways men of the Bear clan are reputed to be surly and pugnacious like bears; and men of the Crane clan to have clear ringing voices like cranes。  (W。W。 Warren; 〃History of the Ojibways〃; 〃Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society〃; V。 (Saint Paul; Minn。 1885); pages 47; 49。)  Hence the savage will often speak of his totem animal as his father or his brother; and will neither kill it himself nor allow others to do so; if he can help it。  For example; if somebody were to kill a bird in the presence of a native Australian who had the bird for his totem; the black might say; 〃What for you kill that fellow? that my father!〃 or 〃That brother belonging to me you have killed; why did you do it?〃  (E。 Palmer; 〃Notes on some Australian Tribes〃; 〃Journal of the Anthropological Institute〃; XIII。 (1884); page 300。)  Bechuanas of the Porcupine clan are greatly afflicted if anybody hurts or kills a porcupine in their presence。  They say; 〃They have killed our brother; our master; one of ourselves; him whom we sing of〃; and so saying they piously gather the quills of their murdered brother; spit on them; and rub their eyebrows with them。  They think they would die if they touched its flesh。  In like manner Bechuanas of the Crocodile clan call the crocodile one of themselves; their master; their brother; and they mark the ears of their cattle with a long slit like a crocodile's mouth by way of a family crest。  Similarly Bechuanas of the Lion clan would not; like the members of other clans; partake of lion's flesh; for how; say they; could they eat their grandfather?  If they are forced in self…defence to kill a lion; they do so with great regret and rub their eyes carefully with its skin; fearing to lose their sight if they neglected this precaution。  (T。 Arbousset et F。 Daumas; 〃Relation d'un Voyage d'Exploration au Nord…Est de la Colonie du Cap de Bonne…Esperance〃 (Paris; 1842); pages 349 sq。; 422…24。)  A Mandingo porter has been known to offer the whole of his month's pay to save the life of a python; because the python was his totem and he therefore regarded the reptile as his relation; he thought that if he allowed the creature to be killed; the whole of his own family would perish; probably through the vengeance to be taken by the reptile kinsfolk of the murdered serpent。  (M。 le Docteur Tautain; 〃Notes sur les Croyances et Pratiques Religieuses des Banmanas〃; 〃Revue d'Ethnographie〃; III。 (1885); pages 396 sq。; A。 Rancon; 〃Dans la Haute…Gambie; Voyage d'Exploration Scientifique〃 (Paris; 1894); page 445。)

Sometimes; indeed; the savage goes further and identifies the revered animal not merely with a kinsman but with himself; he imagines that one of his own more or less numerous souls; or at all events that a vital part of himself; is in the beast; so that if it is killed he must die。  Thus; the Balong tribe of the Cameroons; in West Africa; think that every man has several souls; of which one is lodged in an elephant; a wild boar; a leopard; or what not。  When any one comes home; feels ill; and says; 〃I shall soon die;〃 and is as good as his word; his friends are of opinion that one of his souls has been shot by a hunter in a wild boar or a leopard; for example; and that that is the real cause of his death。  (J。 Keller; 〃Ueber das Land und Volk der Balong〃; 〃Deutsches Kolonialblatt〃; 1 October; 1895; page 484。)  A Catholic missionary; sleeping in the hut of a chief of the Fan negroes; awoke in the middle of the night to see a huge black serpent of the most dangerous sort in the act of darting at him。  He was about to shoot it when the chief stopped him; saying; 〃In killing that serpent; it is me that you would have killed。  Fear nothing; the serpent is my elangela。〃  (Father Trilles; 〃Chez les Fang; leurs Moeurs; leur Langue; leur Religion〃; 〃Les Missions Catholiques〃; XXX。 (1898); page 322。)  At Calabar there used to be some years ago a huge old crocodile which was well known to contain the spirit of a chief who resided in the flesh at Duke Town。  Sporting Vice…Consuls; with a reckless disregard of human life; from time to time made determined attempts to injure the animal; and once a peculiarly active officer succeeded in hitting it。  The chief was immediately laid up with a wound in his leg。  He SAID that a dog had bitten him; but few people perhaps were deceived by so flimsy a pretext。  (Miss Mary H。 Kingsley; 〃Travels in West Africa〃 (London; 1897); pages 538 sq。  As to the external or bush souls of human beings; which in this part of Africa are supposed to be lodged in the bodies of animals; see Miss Mary H。 Kingsley op。 cit。 pages 459…461; R。 Henshaw; 〃Notes on the Efik belief in 'bush soul'〃; 〃Man〃; VI。(1906); pages 121 sq。; J。 Parkinson; 〃Notes on the Asaba people (Ibos) of the Niger〃; 〃Journal of the Anthropological Institute〃; XXXVI。 (1906); pages 314 sq。)  Once when Mr Partridge's canoe… men were about to catch fish near an Assiga town in Southern Nigeria; the natives of the town objected; saying; 〃Our souls live in those fish; and if you kill them we shall die。〃  (Charles Partridge; 〃Cross River Natives〃 (London; 1905); pages 225 sq。)  On another occasion; in the same region; an Englishman shot a hippopotamus near a native village。  The same night a woman died in the village; and her friends demanded and obtained from the marksman five pounds as compensation for the murder of the woman; whose soul or second self had been in that hippopotamus。  (C。H。 Robinson; 〃Hausaland〃 (London; 1896); pages 36 sq。)  Similarly at Ndolo; in the Congo region; we hear of a chief whose life was bound up with a hippopotamus; but he prudently suffered no one to fire at the animal。  (〃Notes Analytiques sur les Collections Ethnographiques du Musee du Congo〃; I。 (Brussels; 1902… 06); page 150。

Amongst people who thus fail to perceive any sharp line of distinction between beasts and men it is not surprising to meet with the belief that human beings are directly descended from animals。  Such a belief is often found among totemic tribes who imagine that their ancestors sprang from their totemic animals or plants; but it is by no means confined to them。  Thus; to take instances; some of the Californian Indians; in whose mythology the coyote or prairie…wolf is a leading personage; think that they are descended from coyotes。  At first they walked o
返回目录 上一页 下一页 回到顶部 0 0
未阅读完?加入书签已便下次继续阅读!
温馨提示: 温看小说的同时发表评论,说出自己的看法和其它小伙伴们分享也不错哦!发表书评还可以获得积分和经验奖励,认真写原创书评 被采纳为精评可以获得大量金币、积分和经验奖励哦!