THE SOUTH Al-RICAX NATIVES AS H.LUSTRATIXG 

 PRHHTIVE EUROPEAN FOLK CUSTOM. 



By the Rev. Father Norton, S.S.j\L 



(Read before the O.R.C. Philosophieal Sueiety.) 



I have chosen as the subject of the paper I have the honour 

 of reading" one which I hope mav enable us to enter for a short 

 time into the recesses of the mind of those people, not so alien 

 as they seem, who surround us here in South Africa, and whom 

 we are going to make a serious effort to rule with wisdom and 

 justice; for I am convinced that what we want is more study of 

 the native mind. We could scarcely have less than we have.- 

 Even Government officials in a native reserve are not all bound, 

 I am told, to learn the language. How can we hope to rule in 

 the best way a mass of people whose language and thoughts 

 we cannot understand ? It is sad to hear what vague notions 

 even those who have long laboured for and among' them often 

 have of the meaning of their customs. One of the best 

 insurances against native trouble in our Empire of the future 

 is, I venture to think, encouragement of the study of 

 philology and anthropology on the part of governments and 

 missions, and one of the most far-sighted first fruits of Union 

 in this regard would be the long suggested and neglected 

 endowment of research in these spheres. Let me refer anyone 

 who whispers " unpractical " to the wise words of Dr. Juritz, 

 of Cape Town, here in this town the other day on the bad policy 

 of requiring " quick returns of profit " in scientific research, 

 and of stinting it. The Germans and Americans have long- 

 thrown themselves into this work with far less reason than we 

 |iave, who prefer to go on muddling through. One is glad to 

 see that in London the matter has now at last been taken up, 

 while the Berlin Oriental "Seminar" has been doing good 

 work for years on these subjects. 



It may make our subject at once more real if I preface my 

 paper by telling you of one of the occasions which suggested to 

 me its theme. Being called upon the other day by elders of our 

 native congregation to censure two Christian women who had 

 without protest allowed their heathen lord to hold a circumcision 

 in his village and so commit them to the preparing" of a heathen 

 feast, I tried to draw out for the elders' benefit, the principles 

 on which their action should be judged in view of the Pauline 

 texts which declares that " an idol is nothing," but " some eat 

 as of a thing offered unto an idol and their conscience being 

 weak is defiled " (i Cor. iv. 7). While missionaries do and 

 should leave the actual settlement of these cases to the natives 

 themselves — for w^e have always to allow for our ultimate ignor- 

 ance of much that is associated with heathen custom — yet I find 

 it important to recall the more advanced of our people to first 

 principles in this way, otherwise their religion is apt to become 

 a mere matter of " precept upon precept " : " Taste not, touch 



