FURTHER CLASS-DISTINCTIONS. 201 



earth on the face], and have it plastered on as thick as 

 clay.&quot; Coming in this way to distinguish the man of power 

 who possesses much, from subject men who possess little, 

 the putting on of a protective covering to the skin, grows 

 into a ceremony indicating supremacy. Says D. Duran 

 of the Mexicans, &quot; they anointed [Yitziliuitl, the elected 

 king] on his whole body with the bitumen with which they 

 anointed the statue of their god Vitzilopochtli; &quot; and speci 

 fying otherwise the material used, Herrera says &quot; they 

 crowned and anointed Yitzilocutly with an ointment they 

 called &quot;divine, because they used it to their idol.&quot; 



Instead of earths, paints, and bituminous substances, 

 other people employ for protecting the skin, oils and fatty 

 matters. Proof exists that the use of these also, in great 

 quantity and of superior quality, serves to indicate wealth, 

 and consequently rank ; and, guided by the above facts, we 

 may suspect that there have hence arisen certain ceremonies 

 -performed in recognition of superior power. Africa fur 

 nishes two pieces of evidence which go far to justify this 

 conclusion. 



&quot;The richer a Hottentot is,&quot; says Kolben, &quot;the more Fat and 

 Butter he employs in anointing himself and his family. This is the 

 grand Distinction between the Rich and the Poor. . . . Everyone s 

 Wealth, Magnificence, and Finery being measured by the Quantity 

 and delicacy of the Butter or Fat upon his Body and Apparel.&quot; 

 And then we read in Wilkinson that 



&quot;With the Egyptians as with the Jews, the investiture to any 

 sacred office, as that of king or priest, was confirmed by this external 

 sign [of anointing] ; and as the Jewish lawgiver mentions the cere 

 mony of pouring oil on the head of the high-priest after he had put 

 on his entire dress, with the mitre and crown, the Egyptians repre 

 sent the anointing of their priests and kings after they were attired 

 in their full robes with the cap and crown upon their head. . . . 

 They also anointed the statues of the gods; which was done with the 

 little finger of the right hand. . . . The custom of anointing was the 

 ordinary token of welcome to guests in every party at the house of a 

 friend. . . . The dead were made to participate in it, as if sensible 

 of the token of esteem thus bestowed upon them.&quot; 



