NOVEMBER 15, 
THURSDAY, 1906. 
A CORPUS OF AUSTRALIAN MYTHS. 
Mythes et Légendes d’Australie, Etudes d’Ethno- 
graphie et de Sociologie. By A. van Gennep. Pp. 
cxvi+ 188. (Paris: E. Guilmoto, 1906.) Price 
10 frances. 
ITH few exceptions the works on Australian 
aborigines are in English; the older ones are 
«ut of print, the newer ones exceedingly technical, 
demanding on the part of the reader some enthusiasm 
and a good deal of preliminary knowledge. M. van 
‘Gennep, therefore, has put before the French public 
a general survey of various controverted questions 
of Australian ethnography and sociology as a preface 
ito the hundred and six myths and tales translated in 
ithe second portion of the volume before us. 
The eight chapters of the introduction deal with 
somatology and culture, kinship and descent, the 
methods by which social modifications are introduced, 
aboriginal ideas as to conception and reincarnation, 
exoteric and esoteric doctrines with regard to the bull- 
roarer, the idea of magico-religious power, the rela- 
tions of myth and rite, and the content of the myths. 
There are additional notes on the subject of Arunta 
primitiveness and on reincarnation and totemism. 
In the somatological section the author emphasises 
the local differences both as regards indices, pigment- 
ation, and hair character, finally inclining to the views 
of Spencer and Gillen that a second race with three 
lines of migration has been superposed on an older 
stock akin to the Tasmanians. M. van Gennep then 
passes on to discuss the various attempts to identify 
the culture of Australia with that of Paleolithic 
Europe, and to distinguish various cultural cycles 
corresponding to ethnical differences; he comes to 
the conclusion that Schoetensack’s theories are not 
proven, the coincidence of cultural elements being 
rather due to similarity of conditions. The cultural 
areas of Frobenius and Graebner he dismisses as in- 
sufficiently evidenced, and vitiated by neglect of the 
influence of inter-tribal commerce. 
The chapter on filiation is complicated by contro- 
versies with M. Durkheim on the one hand, Mr. Andrew 
Lang on the other; the author holds that modification 
of the rules of descent is due to the change of view 
‘on physiological questions; where the child belongs 
to the kinship group of the mother, little or no part 
iin producing conception is assigned by the tribe in 
question to the father, and vice versd. It seems a 
fatal objection to this view that whereas the Arunta 
are stated to have no idea of the importance of the 
male parent in this respect, they reckon descent of 
the intermarrying class through the father. How 
could this come about? Does M. van Gennep hold 
that they originally believed the child to be procreated 
iby the father, and made the class rule fit in with this 
idea; that they subsequently modified their views on 
the mechanism of conception, and then adopted a 
new rule for the totem, retaining the old one for the 
“lass? This view seems to land us in considerable 
difficulties. A criticism of the views of M. Durkheim 
NO. 1933. VOL 75] 
NATURE 
in this chapter contains an extraordinary misstate- 
ment; the Arunta have no rule that two persons of 
the same totem may not marry, just as they have no 
tabu of the totem animal; in reply to M. Durkheim’s 
statement of this fact, M. van Gennep replies that 
the exogamic rule is strict among them. A more un- 
fortunate lapse it is impossible to imagine. Apropos 
of the Arunta in particular, M. van Gennep_pro- 
pounds a theory of the origin of classes in opposition 
to the commonly accepted dichotomous hypothesis ; 
he holds that they originated ‘‘ by convergence ’’; but 
unfortunately we do not learn what this means, save 
that it is in some way connected with the binary 
system of numeration, which is almost universal in 
Australia. 
A long and important chapter deals with the ideas 
relative to sexual matters, but space is lacking for 
an analysis of this and of the chapter on the bull- 
roarer; the author suggests that the Australian deities 
associated with the latter are in reality thunder gods, 
a theory for which there is much to be said. His 
suggestion, on the other hand, that all other 
Australian divinities, so-called, are either culture 
heroes or the body of deified ancestors, to use a some- 
what inexact term, which among the Dieri are known 
as the mura-mura, is less acceptable; the only basis 
for this theory seems to be the fact that the mura- 
mura were originally spoken of by some incorrect 
writers as a god. 
On the subject of magico-religious power, or mana, 
M. van Gennep holds that we must provisionally take 
the view that the Australians distinguish three kinds— 
that of the churinga, of the arungquiltha, and of the 
atnongara—and it is to be hoped that workers in the 
field, who commonly overlook the wide issues raised 
by their researches, will not fail to devote especial 
attention to this problem. As a result of his dis- 
cussion of myth and rite, M. van Gennep comes to 
the conclusion that the problem of anteriority is in- 
soluble. 
The hundred and six myths which follow are care- 
fully annotated, and should give the reader a good 
idea of Australian myths and legendary tales. As to 
the utility of M. van Gennep’s work there can be 
no doubt; but if he were writing for an English 
public the general impression would be that he had 
better have relegated controversy to a subordinate 
place, and have aimed rather at expounding what is 
known than at putting together an introduction full 
of technical matter. N. W. T. 
THE LIFE AND WORK OF PLANTS. 
The Physiology of Plants, a Treatise upon the Meta-- 
bolism and Sources of Energy in Plants. By Dr. 
W. Pfeffer. Second fully revised edition, trans- 
lated and edited by Dr. Alfred J. Ewart. Vol. iii. 
Pp. viii+451. (Oxford : The Clarendon Press, 1906.) 
Price 18s. net. 
HAT Dr. Pfeffer’s great work has been issued in 
a worthy English translation is matter of con- 
gratulation to those to whom its treasures are thus 
rendered accessible, while welcomed by those familiar 
D 
