120 CEREMONIAL INSTITUTIONS. 



before God when he covenanted with him; &quot; Xebuchadnez- 

 zar fell upon his face and worshipped Daniel; &quot; and when 

 Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image there was a threat 

 of death on &quot; whoso fallcth not down and worshippeth.&quot; 

 Similarly, the incomplete prostration in presence of kings 

 recurs in presence of deities. AVhcii making obeisances to 

 their idols, the Mongols touch the ground with the forehead. 

 The Japanese in their temples &quot; fall down upon their knees, 

 bow their head quite to the ground, slowly and with great 

 humility.&quot; And sketches of Mahommedans at their devo 

 tions familiarize us with a like attitude. 



385. From the positions of prostration on back or 

 face, and of semi-prostration on knees, we pass to sundry oth 

 ers; which, however, continue to imply relative inability to 

 resist. In some cases it is permissible to vary the attitude, as 

 in Dahomey, where &quot; the highest officers lie before the king 

 in the position of Romans upon the triclinium. At times 

 they roll over upon their bellies, or relieve themselves by 

 standing l on all fours. ? Duran states that &quot; cowering . . . 

 was, with the Mexicans, the posture of respect, as with us is 

 genuflexion.&quot; Crouching shows homage among the Xew 

 Caledonians; as it does in Fiji, and in Tahiti. 



Other changes in attitudes of this class are entailed by 

 the necessities of locomotion. In Dahomey &quot; when ap 

 proaching royalty they cither crawl like snakes or shuffle 

 forward on their knees.&quot; When changing their places be 

 fore a superior, the Siamese &quot; drag themselves on their 

 hands and knees.&quot; In Java an inferior must &quot; 4 walk with 

 his hams upon his heels until he is out of his superior s 

 sight.&quot; Similarly with the subjects of a Zulu king even 

 with his wives. And in Loango, extension of this attitude 

 to the household appears not to be limited to the court: 

 wives in general &quot; dare not speak to them [ their husbands] 

 but upon their bare knees, and in meeting them must creep 

 upon their hands.&quot; A neighbouring state furnishes an in- 



