The Portland daily press., 1878-06-10
The Origin of Taking off Ones Hat.

The minor loss of a mans property is in
cluded in the major loss of himself; and So
while he surrenders his weapons he also Yields
up, II the victor demands, whatever part of his
dress is worth taking; the motive for
taking it being in many cases akin to the mo-
tive for taking his weapons; since, being
of.en the hide of formidable anmal,or robe
decorated with trophies, the dress like the
weapons becomes an addition to the victor's
proofs OF prowess AT any rate, it Is clear that
whatever be the particular way in which the
te.king of clothing from conquered man origi-
mates, the nakedness, partial or complete, of
the captive, becomes additional evidence Of his
sublugation. That it was so regarded of old In
the East we have clear proof In Isaiah xx:14
we read: "And the Lord said, like as NV servant
Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three
years for sign 80 shall the KING os
Assyrla lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and
Ethloplans captive, young and old, naked and
barefoot And that the Assyrians thus COM
pieteiy stripped their captives is proved BY their
sculptures. Nor are we without evidence. fur-
nished Dy other. races that the taking off and
yleloing up OF clothing, hence becomes a mark
OF political submission, and in some cases even
: complimentary observance. In Fiji, on the
Som, who had previously stripped of his robes
teeh sat down, and remove | even the train or
covering, which was OF immense length. from
ms waist. he gave it to the speaker" who gave
tI nun IN return pie's large enough only for
the purposes of decency. The rest Of the Somo.
Somo chiefs. each Of whom on coming on the
ground had train of several yards in length,
stripped themselves entirely, left their trains.
ana walked away thus leaving ali
the Somo-Somo people naked" Farther we
GOOkts al Ia
OF superior rank "cams on board. and each
singled out his friend this Ceremony
consisted 10 taking off great part Of their
clothes and putting them upon u.s." Aud then
In another Polynesian island, Samoa, we find
this complimentary act greatly abridged only
the glrdle is taken off and presented With
such facts to give us the clue, we can Scarcely
doubt that IN this surrendering of clothing orig
covering the body, more or less extensively.
we meet with all degrees of uncovering having
this meaning. From Ibn Batuta's account of
MS Journey into the Soudan in the fourteenth
century, Mr.. Tylor cites the statement that
women may only come unclothed into the
presence of the Sultan of Nell. and even the
Sultan's own daughters must conform to the
CUSTOM; and what doubt we might reasonably
Ieei as TO the existence of an oDeissnce thus
carried 10 its original extreme is removed on
the court of Uganda stark naked, full-grown
women are the Wallets" Other parts of Africa
show US an incomplete, though still consider
Abyssinia interiors must bare their bodies
down to the girdle in the presence of
superiors, "but to equals the corner of
the cloth is removed only for a time.
The like occurs in Polynesia. The Tahisians
unoover "the body as low as the waist in the
presence of the K.ng;" and Foster states that
10 the Society Isles generally "the lower rauks
'f people, by way of respect strip off their
upper garment in the presence of their
urther abridged and how it becomes extended
20 other persons than rulers, we are we'll shown
~ the natives of the Gold Coast Cruikshauk
writes; "rhey al.o salute Europeans, and
ometimes eaehiother. by slightly removing their
obe from their left shoulder with the risht
land, gracefully bowiEg at the same time.
" hen they wish to be very respectful they un-
over the shoulder altogether, and support the