174 BUKLETIN 139, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Speaking of burkhans, images, from Lhasa, Sven Hedin says of the 

 Mongols of Tsaidam: "Any person who stops to look at the latter 

 must take his pipe out of his mouth, nor must he breathe upon them. 

 When I inadvertently transgressed against this rule the burkhan was 

 purified by being held over a brazier, into which fragrant spices were 

 dropped. Nor are the holy images allowed to come in contact with 

 the earth." "^ 



Fire purification in Tibet was observed by Bonvalot and Prince 

 Henri of Orleans: "A short time ago we saw the Thibetans pass 

 our baggage over the fire so as to purify it before they put it on 

 their shoulders, whilst on another occasion the men who were at work 

 in the fields we went through snatched up a handful of earth, like 

 Marius predicting the birth of the Gracchi, and, throwing it into the 

 air, mumbled a form of prayer to disinfect the soil." ^^ 



Fire purification is frequent in birth customs. The Malagasy build 

 a great fire at time of childbirth. Similar customs are found among 

 the Burmese and Siamese, and the mother is exposed to heat."'^ 



''Before the child is born a bright fire is kindled and kept burning 

 for 10 days after the birth to keep away evil. At the end of the tenth 

 day the parents carry the child to the river and all bathe. After 

 that the fire is left to smoulder, but it is not pxit out entirely until 

 the child is two years old."**^ 



In ancient Greece, on the fifth day after the birth of a child the 

 midwives, having purified their hands, ran with it round the 

 hearth. «^ 



The Persians jump over piles of blazing brushwood on New Year's 

 Day.»« 



SUPERSTITIOUS HEALING 



Under superstitious uses of fire in quasi healing there are innumer- 

 able examples appertaining to every race and time. Survivals of 

 these customs are most persistent. There are as great number of 

 practices of this kind extant to-day as there ever were, despite the 

 advances of medical science. 



These practices have as a foundation the idea of communicating 

 the mystical properties of fire to the patient, to drive away by the 

 superior power of fire the disease supposed to be present as a malevo- 

 lent influence, or to introduce some beneficent property of fire. Moxa 

 is often used in this way and was probably in its beginning of this 

 character. Fire alito is superstitiously used for collective heahng or 



•' Sven Hedin. Through Asia, vol. 2, p. 1080. 

 " Bonvalot. Across Thibet, New York, 1892, p. 381. 

 »*C. Stanlland Wake. Journ. Anthrop. Inst., vol. 11, 1881, p. 25. 



MQ. A.Dorsey. Caddo Customs of Childhood, Journ. Amer. Folk-Lore, vol. 18, July-Septerubar, 

 1905, p. 226. 

 •'See Socrates' allusion to this custom in Theactitus. Hooper's Translation, p. 429. 

 •'For citation of many of these customs and their interpretation see Frazer's Golden Bough. 



