"'WEIL] SOCIOLOGY CXXIX 



propitiate. He would secure liajjpiness from the ghosts of tlie 

 world by tempting them with the superlative joys of which he 

 is himself conscious. So he attempts to influence ghosts with 

 festivals, and to hold audience with the ghosts by charming 

 them with the highest pleasures of which he has knowledge. 

 Not only is the festival an assemblage of people, but it is also 

 an assemblage of disembodied ghosts who take pleasure with 

 them. 



The steps of the dance are controlled with the rhythm of 

 nmsic. Thus music and dancing become associated. Ghosts 

 also love music. Music and dancing attract the ghosts to the 

 festival and inspire in their tenuous hearts the highest grati- 

 tude. But how can ghosts best exhibit this gratitude to men? 

 To accomplish this the forest dwellers devise methods of talk- 

 ing to ghosts, expressing their wants, revealing their inten- 

 tions, and alluring to beneficent deeds. So ways are devised 

 for communication with ghosts by gesture speech and illustra- 

 tion. In savagery a religious ceremony is a text of prayer 

 with illustrations — prayer in gesture speech and illustration 

 in altar symbols. 



In every savage tribe a place of worship is provided, which 

 is also a place for the assemblage of the people in council, in 

 social converse, and in amusement. Then an altar is pro- 

 vided. An altar is a space on the floor or a table on which 

 the paraphernalia of worship are exhibited. They consist oi 

 vai'ious things designed to symbolize the objects of prayer. 

 Perchance the people pray for food; then corn, acorns, por- 

 tions of animal food or parts of animals that are held to rep- 

 resent them are placed on the altar. With tribes that collect 

 grasshoppers for food, grasshoppers are used and grasshopper 

 cakes are displayed. With tribes that cultivate maize, ears of 

 corn become the emblems of desire, and ears of many dift'er- 

 ent colors are selected to typify abundance. Then jewels of 

 quartz and garnet and turkis and other precious stones are 

 displayed to signify that the prayer is for well-matured grain, 

 hard like the altar jewels. In arid lands they pray for show- 

 ers and paint symbols of clouds upon altar tablets and provide 

 flagons or ewers of water which they sprinkle in mimic show- 



20 ETH — 03 IX 



