200 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



THE FUNCTIONS OP PEIMITIVE EITUALISTIC 



CEKEMONIES 



By Dr. CLARK WISSLER 



AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 



IF we take a naive attitude toward primitive ritualism, we must wonder 

 how it ever came about that people believe the proper method for 

 attaining any desired end to be the use of a formula. Thus, we may- 

 note a Dakota Indian tossing a handful of dust into the air when going 

 into battle to ensure victory, and wonder how a people, who otherwise 

 impress one as intelligent, could possibly entertain so absurd a belief. 

 Again when we see a primitive doctor singing and demonstrating a ritual 

 over a sick man, we are moved at its pathetic folly. These things are in- 

 comprehensible to us chiefly because we can see no reason why the 

 activities involved in the demonstration of a ritual can be considered as 

 directly contributory causes to the ends desired. So long as we confine 

 our attention to isolated cases of ritualism like the preceding our amaze- 

 ment will not abate, but if we examine in detail a large number and va- 

 riety of primitive rituals, the phenomena become far more intelligible. 



One striking feature of primitive ceremonials is the elaboration of 

 ritualistic procedure relating to the food supply. Particularly in abor- 

 iginal America we have many curious and often highly complex rit- 

 uals associated with the cultivation of maize and tobacco. These often 

 impress the student of social phenomena as extremely unusual but still 

 highly suggestive facts, chiefly because the association seems to be be- 

 tween things that are wholly unrelated. Thus among the Pawnee we 

 find an elaborate ritual in which a few ears of maize are raised almost 

 to the status of a god. At a certain fixed time in the autumn the official 

 priest of this ritual proceeds with great ceremony to the field and selects 

 a few ears according to definite standards. These are further conse- 

 crated and carefully guarded throughout the winter. At planting 

 time the women present themselves ceremonially to receive the seed, the 

 necessary planting instructions, etc. Thus, it appears that during the 

 whole yearly cycle there is a definite ritual in function associated with 

 maize culture. 1 



Again in the tobacco cultures of the Crow and the Blackfoot Indians, 



respectively, we find a close parallel. In the former case the ritual is 



expressed in the organization of a society whose chief function seems to 



be the direction and control of tobacco production. In the latter, the 



i The reader wishing a good detailed example of maize rituals should scan 

 the writings of Frank H. Cushing, particularly in volume 9 of " The Millstone. ' ' 



