The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-09-01

Padic I'D him 20 form the sams OPINIONS
a. ars expressed In tho sssay before ~.
'Ths dsvilnah.' hs says. 'vers growing
ecarus upon ths reef. II was Judged N
TO .inssrposs what We should oan . coss
season: . tapu had 10 bs declared. He adds
that the tapus which hs describes 'ars
for thoroughly sensipis ends He admits
that there arc tapus which TO W appear
absurd, blu the tapu h moro often the
instrument Of wise and necdful restrio-
tioos.'
The paper on South african Religion
Ind evidence Ia the oldest Zulu myths ~
support The authors view OF the Early stages
Of religion. His view II that the belief
In q ~ IRENE being came, In some way
only 20 he guess~d at, FIRST In order OF evo-
luton. ard was subsequently, ob>cnr~d
and overlaid ny bslief In ghosts and In .
pantheon of lessor divinites. Mr.. Lang
was led TO thess c~onclurions. he tslls US.
first, by observing the reports of helisfs
In a relatively supreme heing and maker
among TRIES which do not worship an
cesfrsl spirits australians and Anda-
nlane~eD. and. secondly. Ivy rrmarkinS tho
otiose unworrhipped supreme tetnx, BITE
credited with tho charge OF future rewards
and punishments. among po'ytheistio and
aIscestor-~orshipping peoples TO" num-
erou- for detailed mention. The supreme
being among these latter races, In some
INSTANCES q mere shallow of a cbildrens
tale. MIR. Lang conjcotures 70 he a vague
survival Of such q thing ~ the A~ndainAlcse
'ruluss.- or the Australian 'Raian.
The author OF this essay submits that this
hypothesis c~olligates III. facts. There
" a creative being mot a spirit. merely
a being before ghosts are worshipped.
Where ghosts are w~orrhipped and the
spiritual deitie- Of ~polytheism have Tern
DEVELOPED and are adored. there Ia sun
tho unwor-hipped maker an various de-
grees OF repose and neglect. That lie
belief 10 him came in some way only 10
be guessed At. u true enough. hut " l
am 20 have an hypothesis. like my nsigh
Tors. I hAvo suggested that early man,
looking for an origin Of things easily Adopted
ia. idea ~ n maker. usually al unborn
man. Who was before death. and still e.
ist@. Round this being crystAlliscd ancc-
ton, fear and sense Of duty. Re saisctiors
morality and early mans remarkable
resistance TO tho cOsmic tendency hs
notion of unsellshne-s That man should
40 early conceivs a maker and father seems
To me very probable Here the fact IL
recalled tina one Of Dr. Callaway's native
~iufonAnts. touching Zulu t~eliefs, remark
When ua ask by what was the sun niade'
they aid by umv-imqangi' For We
used 20 ask whom We ~er. little. thinking
thai the old men knew all things Our
author suggests that What q savage child
naturally asked about his yet more savage
ancestors NAV have ponder-d.
The stages through which the Zulu ideas
OF religion have passed are conceived 10y
MIR. Lang az follows they once had an idea
OF q creative being. they reduced hun
subsequently, 10 q FIRST man, then they
neglected him In favor Of scrviceable ghosts.
they now think him extinct. like the ghosts
themselves when they cease To bs service
able From the same evidence Mr. Hart
land has arrived At q conclusion precisely
opposite To Mr.. LAng's. lie thinks that
the very Idea OF creation WINS foreign 10
the zulu mind. They hold. he says. hat
the earth was In existence first before
Unkuiunkulu as yet existed Mr. Lang
rejoins that heaven and the sun all
things were not In existence before I'm
kulunkulu. he made them, according TO
native witnesses, and Dir Galloway ssys
that the Zulus regard Unkulunkulu a. tho
Creator. The evidences may he, as Mr.
Hartman urges. contradictory but Mr..
Lang insists that its contradictions con-
tradict the statement that the very idea
of creation was foreign to the Zulu mind
In our authors opinion. the succsss OF
either OF the competing theories that
which see- elements OF a high religion
among low avage- and that which denies
ti,. sKistance of these elements should
not arec, our IDEAS about the truth Of
religion Each theory regards religion
as a thing evolved by mankind in accord
ance with their essential nature. The only
question Ia a. TO the sequence Of stages Of
evolution. Suppose tina tho beginning
Of religion was, A. In Mr. IAns's hypothesis.
regard for a maker and father who was
credited with san~ctionins morality. and.
In some casea, with rewsrdins or puni-h-
ing the good or bad in a future life. These
ideas occur In modern religion. But the
circumstances that they also occurred in
primitive religion would not prove modern
religion to he .tr,e- IL would only prov-
that tho men who evolved primitive religion
were really human very like their de-cen-
tan<, why hnohlu NH"N NV uhNf tF~nI
They did not produce the higher ideas
pure. or, at least. A. We And them. they arc
always contaminated. often overland by
myths OF every degree 81 absurdity and
v-iciousne~-. But Il Is to I've observed that
the faith Of primitive man. a. far a. Il Ia
represented by thu evidence which I offer
rs TO very backward man. had not some Of
the worst elements Of the crecds 81 morc
advanced raccs Sacrifices there were
none But. when agriculture aro-e. II
brought with II hecaiomhs OF human
sscrinces. So far IL cannot h doubted
that. A. man advanced in social progress.
ne became more deeply stained with re-
llgious cruelty. In similar fashion. the
religion Of peace and good viii oame to bs
accompanied. thanks to the nature Of man.
kind. by religious crueltics a. barbarous
as tho.s Of the Aztec-. Tdnto mohs erat,
- hard has Il been to elevate the race In
any one direction without introducing new
Expressions in other directions.
Ire cup and ring es-sy begins With
reminding tho reader that. u hs ever
roamcd on .ha, moor OF the Cheviot Hill. !
~klch IA TEAR Clat.on PARK he NAV h.,.