830 REPORT— 1895, 



victim, and place the body, thus mutilated and still living, in water for two or 

 three days, ou the supposition that this pre-mortem treatment renders the ilesh 

 more palatable. There are also distinct tribal preferences for various parts of the 

 body, and it is remarkable that, contrary to an ig-norant yet very generally 

 accepted theory, the negro man-eater never eats flesh raw, and certainly takes 

 human flesh as food purely and simply, and not from any religious or superstitious 

 reasons. 



4. Re2Jort on the Physical and Mental Defects of Children. 

 See Reports, p. 503. 



5. Report on Anthropometric Measurevients in Schools. 

 See Reports, p. 503. 



MONDAY, SEPTEMBER IG. 

 The following Papers and Report were read : — 

 1 . Horns of Honour and Dishonour and Safety. By F. T. Elavorthy. 



2. On the Origin of the Dance. By Mrs. Lilly Grove, F.R.G.S. 



The study of the history of the dance throws a light on manners and customs 

 of various races, on connection between nations geographicallj' remote, and especi- 

 ally on primitive religion. 



After a long study of the subject, the conclusion arrived at is that most dances 

 were once a form of worship, or at least a form of magic. Many myths relate that 

 the deities not only delighted in seeing the dance, but also enjoyed performing in 

 it. Promises of a beaven in which there will be much dancing and many dancers 

 are held out by several religions, even by monotheist ones, and even by some 

 Christian Fathers. All ritual dances are grave, reverent, and symbolical of joy, 

 or gratitude, or sorrow. The object of this Paper is to point out that most dances 

 have a sacred origin, and to show what survivals we have of these dances. Three 

 forms are chosen in support of the theory — the weapon dances, the ritual dances, 

 and the funeral and death dances. 



Weapons were once worshipped and held sacred, hence numerous sword dances 

 in all parts of the globe — in the Himalayas, in the Andes of Bolivia, in Scotland, 

 in Spain, in Scandinavia, generally in mountain districts. 



Ititual dances are so numerous that a choice has to be made, and only those of 

 Christian worship will be considered ; among those the Los Seises dance of the 

 Seville Cathedral and the dancing procession of Echternach, which latter probably 

 arose from a penitential vow. Medicine dances belong generally to the ritual, for 

 the mystery or medicine man is usually also the priest. 



Funeral dances are world-wide among pagans and Christians; they origi- 

 nate in what the author of ' The Golden Bough ' calls sympathetic magic, they are 

 often a form of exorcism, or of propitiation of death, or arise from fear of the soul 

 of the departed. The dance being a form of worship of the Deity, eventually also 

 becomes a form of reverence towards the departed. 



Pagans mostly honour aged men, chiefs, and priests by such a funeral dance, 

 while Christians perform funeral dances to rejoice over the death and consequent 

 delivery from evil of a young person who has died in a state of innocence. Parallels 

 have been made between the ' Lemuric ' dances of the Roman Empire and the 

 dance macatre, but the parallel is not complete ; in England the latter was called 

 the ' Doleful Dance,' also the ' Shaking of the Sheets.' Churchyards used to be the 



