206 Appendix. 



are the parents of mankind and the dwelling-places of 

 gods. They can summon the gods to be present at 

 ceremonies of initiation, at deaths and burials, in battle 

 and in harvesting. Whether as cowry-amulets or blasts 

 upon the shell-trumpet they are used to convey messages 

 of war and death, or to summon the people from agricul- 

 tural occupations, or to greet important strangers. As 

 medicine they can restore the " soul-substance," the loss 

 of which is responsible for illness or death. 



These remarkable attributes of shells are found wide- 

 spread in the Old World and the New, and afford the 

 most positive and unequivocal evidence of the migration 

 of early culture along certain well-defined routes around 

 the earth. 



