EVOLUTION OF CEREMONIAL GOVERNMENT. 149 



ham fell upon his face " before God when he covenanted with him ; by 

 the fact that "Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshiped 

 Daniel ; " and by the fact that when Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden 

 image there was a threat of death on " whoso falleth not down and 

 worshipeth." Similarly, the incomplete prostration in presence of 

 kings recurs in presence of deities. When making obeisances to their 

 idols, the Mongols touch the ground with the forehead thrice, the Cal- 

 mucks only once. So, too, the Japanese in their temples " fall down 

 upon their knees, bow their head quite to the ground, slowly and with 

 great humility." And sketches of Mohammedans at their devotions 

 familiarize us with a like attitude. 



While preserving in common the trait that the inferiors assum- 

 ing them keep at a lower level than their superiors, these groveling 

 obeisances admit of considerable variety. From the positions of pros- 

 tration on back or face, and of semi-prostration on knees, we pass to 

 sundry others, which, however, continue to imply relative inability to 

 resist. In some cases it is permissible to vary the attitude, as in Da- 

 homey, where " the highest officers lie before the king in the position 

 of Romans upon the triclinium. At times they roll over upon their 

 bellies, or relieve themselves by standing ' on all-fours.' " Duran states 

 that " cowering .... was, with the Mexicans, the posture of respect, 

 as with us in genuflection." Crouching is a sign of respect among the 

 New Caledonians ; as it is also in Feejee, and as it is also in Tahiti. 



Other changes in attitudes of this class are entailed by the neces- 

 sities of locomotion. In Dahomey, " when approaching royalty they 

 either crawl like snakes or shuffle forward on their knees." When 

 changing their places before a superior, the Siamese " drag themselves 

 on their hands and knees." It is so, too, in Cambodia : " If any one 

 had to approach the royal person, to give him anything or to obey a 

 call, however far the distance, Cambodian etiquette prescribed a crawl- 

 ing progressive motion on knees and elbows." In Java an inferior must 

 " walk with his hands upon his heels until he is out of his superior's 

 sight." Similarly with the subjects of a Zulu king even with his 

 wives : Dingarn's wives said that " while he was present in the house 

 they were never permitted to stand up, but always moved about " on 

 their hands and knees. And, in Loango, extension of this attitude to 

 the household appears not to be limited to the court : wives in general 

 " dare not speak to them " (their husbands) " but upon their bare knees, 

 and in meeting them must creep upon their hands." A neighboring 

 state furnishes an instance of gradation in these forms of partial pros- 

 tration, and a recognized meaning in the gradation. Burton tells us 

 that the " Dakro," a woman who bears messages from the Dahoman 

 king to the Meu, goes on all-fours before the king. Also, " as a rule, 

 she goes on all-fours to the Meu, and only kneels to smaller men, who 

 become quadrupeds to her." 



