Manchester Memoirs, Vol. xlvi. (1902), No. 13. 31 



former habitation, and logic required that in spite of any 

 appearances to the contrary he must begin life again. 

 These instances are enough to show that the idea of 

 re-birth was widespread, and many more instances could 

 be given where the burial rites observed in the case 

 of young children are different from the rites observed in 

 the case of adults. 



It must be admitted that, though the burial rites 

 of children are so often of a special character, the 

 belief with reference to their souls is not always the 

 same. The reason given why Hindus do not burn the 

 bodies of infants is that, if they did so, the spirits 

 would become malevolent demons. They bury them, 

 therefore, that the spirits may be kept near the body and 

 propitiated with offerings.* Amongst the Maoris of 

 New Zealand there is a belief that disease is specially 

 caused by the spirit of an infant or undeveloped human 

 being.-f- Perhaps one might add here the mediaeval 

 superstition that, if an infant died unbaptised, it was 

 necessary to drive a stake through the body at burial to 

 prevent its spirit from giving trouble. 



As a rule, however, the spirit of an infant child is 

 regarded as an object of pity, because it must be so help- 

 less. The Hurons thought that the souls of little children 

 were not strong enough to take the journey to the Village 

 in the VVest.^ The Eskimos put a dog's head upon the tomb 

 of a child, because a dog can find its way anywhere and can, 



* Ridgway, op. cit., p. 532. 



t Tylor, Prim. Culture, ii., 127. 



+ " The souls go away in company covered as they are with robes and 

 collars which have been put into the grave for them, to a great Village which 

 is toward the Setting Sun— except, however, the old people and the little 

 children who have not as strong limbs as the others fo make this voyage ; 

 these remain in the country, where they have their own particular Villages." 

 (X., 143- ) 



