EVOLUTION OF CEREMONIAL GOVERNMENT. 



545 



EVOLUTION OF CEREMONIAL GOVERNMENT. 



By HERBERT SPENCER. 

 II. TROPHIES. 



EFFICIENCY of every kind is a source of self-satisfaction ; and 

 proofs of it are prized as bringing applause. The sportsman, 

 narrating his successes when opportunity serves, keeps such spoils of 

 the chase as he conveniently can. Is he a fisherman ? Then, occa- 

 sionally, the notches cut on the butt of his rod show the number and 

 lengths of his salmon ; or, in a glass case, there is preserved the great 

 Thames-trout he once caught. Has he stalked deer? Then in his 

 hall, or dining-room, are fixed up their heads; which he greatly es- 

 teems when the attached horns have many " points." Still more, if 

 he is a successful hunter of tigers, does he value the skins demon- 

 strating his prowess. 



Trophies of such kinds, even among ourselves, give to their owner 

 some influence over those around him. A traveler who has brought 

 from Africa a pair of elephant's tusks, or the formidable horn of a 

 rhinoceros, impresses those who come in contact with him as a man 

 of courage and resource, and, therefore, as one not to be trifled with. 

 A vague kind of governing power accrues to him. 



Naturally, by primitive men, whose lives are predatory, and whose 

 respective values largely depend on their powers as hunters, animal- 

 trophies are still more prized, and tend, in a greater degree, to bring 

 honor and influence. Hence the fact that rank in Vate is indicated 

 by the number of bones of all kinds suspended in the house. Of the 

 Shoshone warrior we are told that, " killing a grizzly bear also en- 

 titles him to this honor, for it is considered a great feat to slay one of 

 these formidable animals, and only he who has performed it is allowed 

 to wear their highest insignia of glory, the feet or claws of the vic- 

 tim." Among the Santals "it is customary to hand these trophies 

 (skulls of beasts, etc.) down from father to son." And when, with 

 such facts to give us the clews, we read that the habitation' of the king 

 of the Koossas " is no otherwise distinguished than by the tail of a lion 

 or a panther hanging from the top of the roof," we can scarcely doubt 

 that this symbol of royalty was originally a trophy displayed by a 

 chief whose prowess had gained him supremacy. 



But, as, among the uncivilized and semi-civilized, human enemies 

 are more to be feared than beast enemies, and conquests over men are 

 therefore occasions of greater triumphs than conquests over animals, 

 it results that proofs of such conquests are usually still more valued. 

 A brave who returns from battle does not get honor if his boasts are 

 unsupported by evidence ; but if he proves that he has killed his man 

 vol. xii. 35 



