The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1907-02-21
The Oricin of the Kiss.

In most civilized and many unciviliz-
ID nations the kiss is the natural ex.
,ression of love and kindred feelings.
How is it then to be explained that a
kiss has come to have such a deep and
significant Importance? How can a
touch of the lips thus eloquently ex-
Dress our inmost feelings that no Ian
guage possesses words strong enough
to equal it in power
Is the kiss something primitive, or is
it conventional? Is it as natural to kiss,
when we are in love. as to laugh when
we are happy, or weep when weare sad 2
In other word, is Steel right when he
says that nature has tanght us to kiss,
and that the kiss came into the world
with the first love? Mature was its
author and it began with the first court
ship"
shall endeavor to answer this ques-
tion, but | must emphasize that we
here touch something of which we
know but little, and nothing at all pos
itively. One may only put forward
more or less likely theories.
1t is first of Importance to state the
fact that there are many nations that
do not know the kiss in its usual form.
Thus it is unknown in a great part of
Polynesia, in Madagascar, and among
many negroes tribes in Africa, princi-
pally those who mutilate the lips.
Neither is it known to the Eskimos and
certain Finnish tribes.
In his Northern Travel Bayard Tay-
lor writes of these that "while both
sexes bathe together absolutely naked,
kiss is considered indecent. A Fin
nish woman, whom he told that in
England husband and wife kissed each
other, exclaimed Indignantly, "If my
husband tried to kiss me should box
his ears so that they would tingle for a
week
If one, then, ask what takes the place
of the kiss among these people, the an
swer is that there are many ways of
greeting among uncivilized people
some slap each others arms or stom
achs, others scratch their right ear or
put out their tongue, but [ shall here
only mention the greetings which re-
semble the kiss
Many tribes exchange greetings with
their noses The kiss of the Malays
consists in rubbing or pressing the
noses together. This nose greeting is
found among the Malays, the Polynesi-
ans, the Eskimos and many negro tribes
Many tribes greet by simply smelling
each other, and have only one word
for smell and greet
When now the nose greeting partly
arises from the sense of smelling, is it
then not possible that the lip greeting
the kiss-originates from the sense OF
tasting, or even morely likely from
both taste and smelling, which are
closely related to each other.
A dog shows It's JOY at it's master &
presence by licking his hand. Why?
[ do not hesitate to say that it literally
tastes him. 1t loves its maater, and
therefore loves the smell and taste OF
him.
The COW liks it's calf because through
tongue and nose it enjoys its particular
odor and taste. Is it, then, not likely
that our kiss in its original form may
be explained as something similar? The
senses of the primitive people are much
stronger than those of the civilized who
have retained the kiss. ] do not think
there is any other explanation possible
though this is rather prosaic one. :
Prof. Christoffer Nyrep, Of the Univer
sity of Copenhagen.