May 25, 1883.] 



SCIENCE. 



'469 



tbe influence of civilization. On the east side of the 

 Mamore, from Exallacion as far north as tlie moutli 

 of tbe River Guapore, or Itenez, are tlie wild Houba- 

 rayos, and opposite tliem the Clracobos. The Can- 

 gaparangas are near the liead of steamboat navigation 

 on the Aladeira. On tlie River Beni, between 11° and 

 12° south, is the small tribe of Pacavtiras. Their 

 skin is almost white. The Araunas, who are to be 

 found on the banks of the Madre de DIos, are no 

 doubt cannibals. The civilized Tacanas live in the 

 village of Tumupasa, on the River Beni, and eighteen 

 miles north-west of them, in the village of Ysiamas, 

 the uncivilized members of the same tribe. In the 

 little town of Reyes, opposite to them, on the Beni 

 River, are the Maropas, related to the Tacanas. Forty 

 miles up the Betii is the mission of Iiluchanes ; beyond 

 that, Santa Ana; and, farther on, Covendo; in all of 

 which are the Mosetena Indians. In the description 

 of these tribes. Dr. E. R. Heath gives the Smithsonian 

 vocabulary for the Canichana, Cayuaba, Mobima, 

 Maropa, Mosetena, Pacavara, and Tacana. — (Kansas 

 city rev., April.) j. w. p. [960 



(Fol/c-lore.) 



Folk-lore in Europe. — A noteworthy activity in 

 the field of folk-lore is shown throughout Europe at 

 present. The annual proceedings of the Portuguese 

 folk-lore society have been recently issued at Oporto, 

 edited by De Vasconcellos, author of Tradicoes po- 

 pulares de Portugal, and of a considerable number of 

 folk-tales published within recent years. 



Italy has done much for folk-lore since 1869, having 

 furnished nearly one thousand folk-tales, and such 

 important works as those of De Gubernatis. Palermo 

 now gives us a folk-lore jpurnal, the Archivio per lo 

 studio delle tradizioni populari, edited by L. Pedone- 

 Lauriel. 



In France much is done, both in collecting and 

 publishing. Maisonneuve <fe Co. are issuing a series 

 of works on the folk-lore of all nations. Among the 

 most important that have appeared are Sebillot's Lit- 

 terature orale de la Haute- Bretayne; Traditions et 

 superstitions populaires de la Haute-Bretagne ; and 

 Luzel's Ler/endes chretiennes de la Basse-Bretagne. 

 The same house publishes a folk-lore almanac, the 

 second volume of which has appeared. Besides other 

 interesting matter, this almanac contains the ad- 

 dresses of continental and English folk-lorists, and a 

 carefully compiled folk-lore bibliography of the year. 



In Germany and the Slav countries the work of 

 collecting and publishing folk-lore is continually car- 

 ried on with more or less activity. — J. w. p. [961 



The folk-lore society of London. — The Folk- 

 lore journal, now in its first year, was established by 

 the Foll<-lore society of London to satisfy a want felt 

 for some time. Folk-lore, in the comprehensive sense 

 of the term as now used, is growing in the world's 

 esteem every year, and will continue to grow in pro- 

 portion as its real scope and value become known. 

 The establishment of this monthly journal was there- 

 fore most opportune, and will be welcomed by stu- 

 dents of the mental history of mankind. Each num- 

 ber consists of thirty-two pages, octavo, containing 

 generally four articles, and concluding with notes, 

 queries, notices and news, all relating to folk-lore. 

 To this may be added three pages of book advertise- 

 ments and criticisms printed on the cover. The 

 subjects treated in the first four numbers are : The 

 oratory, songs, legends, and folli-tales of the Mala- 

 gasy; Babylonian folk-lore; A building superstition; 

 Stories of fairies from Scotland ; Folk-tale analysis ; 

 Irish folk-tales ; Bibliography of folk-lore publications 

 in English; The hare in folk-lore; Anthropology and 

 the Vedas; Index to the folk-lore of Horace; Some 



marriage customs in Cairnbulg and Inverallochy. — 

 .1. w. p. [962 



Folk-lore. — The Folk-lore society of London has 

 undertaken an analysis and classification of the folk- 

 tales of all nations. This very important and diffi- 

 cult task has been intrusted to a committee, which 

 has entered upon its labors, aided by several members 

 of the society, who have volunteered their assistance. 

 It is believed that a thorough analysis will reveal the 

 root-stories and their derivatives in the various cycles 

 of folk-tales throughout the worltl. When these 

 root-stories are discovered, they are to be classified in 

 a satisfactory system, and tlaeir derivative stories 

 ranged under them. At a later period, myths, god 

 and hero tales, may be treated in a like manner. A 

 good classification of the folk-tales and myths of 

 mankind would be a monumental work of useful- 

 ness. The efforts of the society will be watched 

 with interest. — .j. w. p. [963 



Brazilian folk-lore. — Though no efforts are 

 made in South America to collect the languages or 

 lore of the aborigines, a volume of Brazilian folk-lore 

 is announced for early publication in Lisbon, under 

 the title of Contos populares do Brazil, by Theophile 

 Braga. Though called Brazilian, this collection will, 

 of course, be essentially Portuguese in character. 



In the United States we have never made a collec- 

 tion of European-American folk-lore. But trained 

 scholars are now making for the Bureau of ethnology 

 a collection of the folk-lore of the North-American 

 Indians, which, beyond doubt, will be one of the most 

 interesting contributions offered to science for many 

 years. — j. c. [964 



Folk-lore dinners. — In 1882 a series of dinners 

 was arranged in Paris to enable folk-lorists to meet 

 in a social and informal manner. During the year 

 four of these symposia were held, presided over by 

 Messrs. Gaston Paris and Loys Bruyere. The same 

 number will be given this year. They are called 

 the dinners of 'Ma Mere VOye' (Mother Goose 

 dinners), and, judging by the accounts, are a decided 

 success. It is suggested to tbe London society, by 

 one of its members, to follow the example of the 

 French. —J. c. [965 



EGYPTOLOGY. 



Bibliography. — The intellectual activity engaged, 

 and the progress made, in oriental studies during the 

 year 1882, is strikingly exhibited in the "Bibliotheca 

 orientalis, or a complete list of books, papers, serials, 

 and essays, published in 1S82 in England and the 

 colonies, Germany and France, on the history, lan- 

 guages, religions, antiquities, and literature of the 

 east, compiled by Ch. Frederic!, Leipzig, London, 

 Paris, New York," 79 p. 8°. The whole number of 

 titles given is 1,284, but, allowing for titles repeated, 

 there still remain between 1,100 and 1,200 publica- 

 tions in 1882 on the east. Of these, 120 were devoted 

 specially to Egypt, and include the weighty names 

 and important works of Leemans, Birch, Brugsch, 

 Chabas, Diimichen, Ebers, Erman, Golenisclieff, 

 Lefebure, Lepsius, Mariette, Maspero, Naville, 

 Perrot, Pielil, Pierret, Renouf, Revillout, Schiaparelli, 

 Stern, et al. In some schools of Semitic philology 

 it is the fashion to speak contemptuously of Egyp- 

 tology; but it would not appear to be the part of 

 wisdom to pit pure philology against innumerable 

 stone monuments with legible inscriptions plus a 

 philology represented by an array of scholars the 

 equals in all respects of their detractors. Semitic 

 scholars, with other scholars- of antiquity, must ac- 

 cept the well-founded results of cautious study of 

 the monuments of Babylonia and Egypt, or they 

 will find the flood upon them. — H. o. [966 



