PLAY 71 



others. ^ Among the Pueblo Indians, the Koreans and Chinese, dolls 

 are exact imitations in miniature of old tribal fetiches or idols no 

 longer worshipped. In the languages of these peoples the word for 

 doll is from the same root as the word for fetich or idol. Doll play 

 as degraded fetich worship is, however, not universal. In the Jap- 

 anese "Feast of Dolls" the girls play with dolls and toys, mimicking 

 the whole round of Japanese female life, as that of child, maiden, 

 wife, mother and grandmother. Images and effigies are made of the 

 Mikado and his wife, the nobility and the various personages in Jap- 

 anese history and mythology. To speak of an "instinct of idolatry"^ 

 is unjustifiable, although it is certainly based on the universal anthro- 

 pomorphic tendency of mankind. 



DoU play is a process of social dialectic, possessing certain 

 advantages over the usual intercourse of the child with living play- 

 mates. A rudimentary sociology, ethics and science is evidenced 

 which is not always attained by playing with their mates. Children 

 with French dolls practice their little French upon them, read stories 

 to them, tell them their private griefs and ailments, are good to set 

 them a good example, live in a social world of rights and duties with 

 them, etc. The doll world is a miniature adult world. It aids the 

 children in motor expression and thus forms a useful antidote to over- 

 didacticism and excessive cephalization so prevalent in the grades. 



From the returns of Ellis and Hall many opinions on the influ- 

 ence of dolls on children may be cited: they are manifestations of 

 nascent parenthood, they cultivate the imagination, train children for 

 domestic life, develop the moral qualities, cultivate taste in dress, teach 

 to sew, teach tidiness, thoroughness, imitation is stimulated, they 

 develop more thoughtfulness for and sympathy with others, keep out 

 of mischief, keep them busy, "keep children from growing old;" 

 "best of all," according to one, "is the reflex influence on the child 

 of trying to teach her doll and of trying to set a good example." 



Many other instances of imitations of adult occupations could 

 be cited, such as nursing, playing horse, building a house, etc., but 



'Ellis and Hall, A Study of Dolls, Pedaeoerical Seminary, Oct. 1896, from which some of these 



data are taken. 

 »Ib. p. 174 



