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the golden bough-第236章

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ed to an animal or a thing; though in the last case the thing is often only a vehicle to convey the trouble to the first person who touches it。 In some of the East Indian islands they think that epilepsy can be cured by striking the patient on the face with the leaves of certain trees and then throwing them away。 The disease is believed to have passed into the leaves; and to have been thrown away with them。 To cure toothache some of the Australian blacks apply a heated spear…thrower to the cheek。 The spear…thrower is then cast away; and the toothache goes with it in the shape of a black stone called karriitch。 Stones of this kind are found in old mounds and sandhills。 They are carefully collected and thrown in the direction of enemies in order to give them toothache。 The Bahima; a pastoral people of Uganda; often suffer from deep…seated abscesses: their cure for this is to transfer the disease to some other person by obtaining herbs from the medicine…man; rubbing them over the place where the swelling is; and burying them in the road where people continually pass; the first person who steps over these buried herbs contracts the disease; and the original patient recovers。

Sometimes in case of sickness the malady is transferred to an effigy as a preliminary to passing it on to a human being。 Thus among the Baganda the medicine…man would sometimes make a model of his patient in clay; then a relative of the sick man would rub the image over the sufferer's body and either bury it in the road ?? it in the grass by the wayside。 The first person who stepped over the image or passed by it would catch the disease。 Sometimes the effigy was made out of a plantain…flower tied up so as to look like a person; it was used in the same way as the clay figure。 But the use of images for this maleficent purpose was a capital crime; any person caught in the act of burying one of them in the public road would surely have been put to death。

In the western district of the island of Timor; when men or women are making long and tiring journeys; they fan themselves with leafy branches; which they afterwards throw away on particular spots where their forefathers did the same before them。 The fatigue which they felt is thus supposed to have passed into the leaves and to be left behind。 Others use stones instead of leaves。 Similarly in the Babar Archipelago tired people will strike themselves with stones; believing that they thus transfer to the stones the weariness which they felt in their own bodies。 They then throw away the stones in places which are specially set apart for the purpose。 A like belief and practice in many distant parts of the world have given rise to those cairns or heaps of sticks and leaves which travellers often observe beside the path; and to which every passing native adds his contribution in the shape of a stone; or stick; or leaf。 Thus in the Solomon and Banks' Islands the natives are wont to throw sticks; stones; or leaves upon a heap at a place of steep descent; or where a difficult path begins; saying; There goes my fatigue。 The act is not a religious rite; for the thing thrown on the heap is not an offering to spiritual powers; and the words which accompany the act are not a prayer。 It is nothing but a magical ceremony for getting rid of fatigue; which the simple savage fancies he can embody in a stick; leaf; or stone; and so cast it from him。 2。 The Transference to Animals

ANIMALS are often employed as a vehicle for carrying away or transferring the evil。 When a Moor has a headache he will sometimes take a lamb or a goat and beat it till it falls down; believing that the headache will thus be transferred to the animal。 In Morocco most wealthy Moors keep a wild boar in their stables; in order that the jinn and evil spirits may be diverted from the horses and enter into the boar。 Amongst the Caffres of South Africa; when other remedies have failed; natives sometimes adopt the custom of taking a goat into the presence of a sick man; and confess the sins of the kraal over the animal。 Sometimes a few drops of blood from the sick man are allowed to fall on the head of the goat; which is turned out into an uninhabited part of the veldt。 The sickness is supposed to be transferred to the animal; and to become lost in the desert。 In Arabia; when the plague is raging; the people will sometimes lead a camel through all the quarters of the town in order that the animal may take the pestilence on itself。 Then they strangle it in a sacred place and imagine that they have rid themselves of the camel and of the plague at one blow。 It is said that when smallpox is raging the savages of Formosa will drive the demon of disease into a sow; then cut off the animal's ears and burn them or it; believing that in this way they rid themselves of the plague。

Amongst the Malagasy the vehicle for carrying away evils is called a faditra。 The faditra is anything selected by the sikidy 'divining board' for the purpose of taking away any hurtful evils or diseases that might prove injurious to an individual's happiness; peace; or prosperity。 The faditra may be either ashes; cut money; a sheep; a pumpkin; or anything else the sikidy may choose to direct。 After the particular article is appointed; the priest counts upon it all the evils that may prove injurious to the person for whom it is made; and which he then charges the faditra to take away for ever。 If the faditra be ashes; it is blown; to be carried away by the wind。 If it be cut money; it is thrown to the bottom of deep water; or where it can never be found。 If it be a sheep; it is carried away to a distance on the shoulders of a man; who runs with all his might; mumbling as he goes; as if in the greatest rage against the faditra; for the evils it is bearing away。 If it be a pumpkin; it is carried on the shoulders to a little distance; and there dashed upon the ground with every appearance of fury and indignation。 A Malagasy was informed by a diviner that he was doomed to a bloody death; but that possibly he might avert his fate by performing a certain rite。 Carrying a small vessel full of blood upon his head; he was to mount upon the back of a bullock; while thus mounted; he was to spill the blood upon the bullock's head; and then send the animal away into the wilderness; whence it might never return。

The Bataks of Sumatra have a ceremony which they call making the curse to fly away。 When a woman is childless; a sacrifice is offered to the gods of three grasshoppers; representing a head of cattle; a buffalo; and a horse。 Then a swallow is set free; with a prayer that the curse may fall upon the bird and fly away with it。 The entrance into a house of an animal which does not generally seek to share the abode of man is regarded by the Malays as ominous of misfortune。 If a wild bird flies into a house; it must be carefully caught and smeared with oil; and must then be released in the open air; a formula being recited in which it is bidden to fly away with all the ill…luck and misfortunes of the occupier。 In antiquity Greek women seem to have done the same with swallows which they caught in the house: they poured oil on them and let them fly away; apparently for the purpose of removing ill…luck 
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