OXCIV ADMINISTRATIVE KEPORT [eth. ann.20 



have remained over in civilization and are still entertained. 

 Of course the ignorant entertain them by wholesale ; but it is 

 not the ignorant alone who entertain superstitions. Supersti- 

 tions are domiciled in many ])arlors, they are paraded on many 

 platforms, they are worshipped in many temples, and they 

 lurk even in scientific halls and appear in scientific publications 

 and are taught by scientific men. There is much folklore in 

 this world, and sometimes it may be found in strange company. 



It is thus that the study of folklore reveals the origin and 

 nature of supei'stitions and makes the grand scientific distinc- 

 tion between valid concepts and uncanny visions. 



The habit of believing in the impossible, of expecting the 

 absurd, and of attributing phenomena to the occult, gives rise 

 to two classes of magical agencies which, from savagery to 

 the highest stages of culture, have played important roles in 

 the explanation of magic. These are the beliefs in mascots 

 and tabus. 



Those who dwell on the mysteries of life, especialh' as they 

 are revealed in ecstacy, hypnotism, intoxication, and insanity, 

 are forever looking for mascots or mysterious causes. Such 

 occult agencies are sweet morsels to superstitious people, just 

 as scientific men delight in the discovery of scientific facts. 

 What a wonder it was to scientific men to discover that bones 

 could be photographed through their covering of flesh ! The 

 discovery of the Rontgen rays was held to be so important 

 that the discoverer was awarded a great meed of praise. But 

 the potencv of the left hindfoot of a grave^'ard rabbit plucked 

 in the dark of the moon is held by superstitious people to 

 be of more importance than the Rontgen rays. More peo- 

 ple believe in mascots than lielieve in telephones, and those 

 who believe in mascots believe that telephones are magical. 

 In the same manner tabus perform wonderful magic feats in 

 the notions of many persons. In savagery there are many 

 tabus, and men must not do tliis thing nor that thing lest their 

 enterprise should fail. Survival of talnis still exists; for exam- 

 ple, thirteen persons must not sit at the tal)le lest one should 

 die. So mascots and tabus still have their influence in civil- 

 ized society. 



