ON THE ETHNOGRAPHICAL SURVEY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. 641 
each example into its constituent elements (a to 7) and divergent elements 
(m to t) :-— 
Burghead! =a, b,c, d,e, f,g,h,% 
Lanarkshire = b, d,e+m 
mie 
pend - b, e,f,g9 +n, 0 
Dublin 
Isle of Man = b, d,e,g+o 
Western 
Isles } + By trad 
Mull = b,c, e+o 
Caithness? = a, b,c, e+o 
Moray = b, c, d, 0g 
Kildare = b,d+p,q 
Inismurray = a, d, e 
Church rite = a, ¢, d,e 
Irish tribe = 
Cornwall = +r 
Elgin 
Drainie eS 
Duffus a g 
Inveravon 
Warkworth = b,c, h+s 
Herefordshire = g 
Somersetshire = g 
Ayrshire = ad+o,t 
In all these cases some of the elements which belong to each are com- 
mon to all; and therefore whatever has been the later history of each 
particular example, whether it has continued by traditional sanction kept 
up by a body of co-villagers, or whether it has been preserved as a part of 
church ritual kept up by the priesthood, the origin of all the examples must 
be referred to one custom, and one custom only. A number of different 
local customs have been shown to closely interlace with each other, to con- 
tain elements of a common origin, to converge in certain particulars upon 
a condition of things far removed from the epoch of modern civilisation, 
to point unmistakably to prehistoric times, even if they do not actually 
touch prehistoric culture, to belong to a given social organism which, if 
represented by the modern condition of co-villagers, also contains the 
conception of co-worshippers at a common altar, and of co-relationship 
in a common blood tie ; and the very terms which we are enabled to use 
in describing the first results of classification and analysis suggest to a 
great extent the final conclusions to be drawn. 
3. The House-fire Cult : Origin of the House-fire. 
The most important element brought out by the analysis of these 
examples of the fire custom is the practice of lighting the house-fires once 
a year in a ceremonial fashion from the village-fire ; and we have now 
to see what this evidence indicates in connection with the house-fire. 
A custom so remarkable in itself, when judged by the modern ideas of 
the house-fire, points to a connection between house-fires and village-fire of 
a more or less sacred character ; and, if so, the question is, What is the 
1 The # and 7 elements are general indications of the Burghead custom, and not 
special, and accordingly they need not be counted in the analysis at this stage. 
? This example also contains the 7 element. 
1896. TT 
