Facsimile of Page iv. in Pa~t 7. 
ly. Customs of the World 
Fy 
Pholo by} [Wiele & Klein. 
EXPIATION CUSTOM. 
It was customary for a man of the lower classes of Hindus to swing to their deity Mariatale in furtherance of a vow, cr in 
expiation of an offence. As, however, this was effected by placing ircn hooks through the muscles of the back it was forbidden 
by law, and now a figure named Sidi Viranna is swung instead. 
Custom is made up of customs, and when considering the latter we must not be content with 
wondering at their strangeness, or apparent futility, but must attempt to get as it were behind 
them and to discover what they really mean and how they affect society. 
The manners and customs of a people depend primarily upon the natural conditions under which 
they live. In a tropical jungle, where food of some kind or another is practically always attainable, 
an individual family can live without fear of starvation, and is independent of others; indi- 
vidualistic habits thus tend to predominate and a lack of social cohesion is characteristic of these 
savages. Very different is it for the dwellers in Arctic regions. Like the denizens of the jungle 
they are hunters, but in their case individualism would spell ruin. The climate and geographical 
conditions are so severe that a solitary man or family could not wage a successful struggle against 
the inhospitable environment. An accident or bad luck means immediate starvation, hence com- 
munistic practices are a necessity ; he who has shares with him who has not, at any time the tables 
may be reversed, and, at all costs, the strength of the community must be maintained. Their 
hospitality, friendliness, absence of jealousy, and cheerfulness may be traced very largely to the 
direct effect of their environment. 
The geographical control, as it is sometimes termed, is naturally more marked among those 
peoples who have not advanced far in civilization, but the control is never absent, though its effect 
upon customs becomes more and more negligible. . One example must suffice to illustrate the effect 
of environment on customs. Among the marauding nomads of Western Sahara, whom the Arabs 
have named Tawarek, or “ God-forsaken,”’ every man wears a cloth across his face, which is never 
