The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-08-16
Nv

These are high matters. the affairs Of
the gods. II is not what a man be-
lieves but what he IL that makes the
State.
In the mountain recesses the people
are wholly wild, men and women have
not advanced to the stage of garments,
they have neither swords nor chopping
knives, their only weapon Is the blow
pipe; yet with this puny arm they keep
all strangers from their Businesses. IN
contrast with these wild men OF the
woods the Toradjss Of the BARGE mega
tive regard themselves as a cultured
folk for they have adopted the perineal
bandage and the waistcloth, and there
with some ideas of the improperly OF
exposure they use metal tools and
weapons, they have been slightly af-
fected by the Bugi and other Moham-
medan culture on the coasts.
The first great invention which lifts
man from his brute estate and brings
him near the gods is here, as In so
many spots upon the earth. the discovery
Of fire. In general the gods have fire.
early man feeds upon raw meat and
uncooked vegetables. To conquer the
gods and take fire, to trick the gods and
steal fire, IL the first great adventure
of man. To make the conquest COM
pletc, to add to the spark the knowledge
of how To- evoke IL, makes the man the
equal Of the gods. To secure this COW
eted knowledge the Toradja enlisted the
services Of the tdmbujd or rhinoceros
beetle lie went to the gods and asked
for fire. They consented to give n
spark II he would hoodwnk his eyes
under his forelegs But the bug peekcd
out through his arm pits and saw how
the gods got their fire, he came back
to the ToradJa earth not only with a
burning brand but with the knowledge
that II a stone were struck with a chip
Of metal the sparks flying into finder
would kindle a blaze
Out of the indiscriminate freedom OF
youth marriage brings somewhat
strict rule of life and one which is OBJ
served with a not inconsiderable de-
gree Of respect. Practically, not as n
question OF morals but as "A consequence
Of the cost of purchasing n bride the
Toradjas are homogeneous: yet men Of
note and means practise polygamy: two
wives in one family are not exactly in
frequent. three were observed in some
instances. "A single instance of seven
wives was reported as a rarity and at
the same time lightly reprobated az
being too much of good thing. The
levirate is not a Toradja custom. but
polyandry Is not unknown. II is not
reprobated hut is held to he somewhat
old fashioned
Certain obscrvances are Of the taboo
type. yet without the totem principle
khiGh npIapIi.g ba tnh
Is particularly marked in the family
life Of the married. No person will
mention the name of his parents or
other blood kin in the nearer degrees.
but this prohibition does not extend to
the common nouns which are used by
them as names. In like manner no
man will mention the names Of the close
relatives of his wife. and In the case OF
her father and mother the prohibition
extends to the common nouns and some
pcriphrasis Is necessary. The authors
report case where mans mother-in-
law was named RiXdollar; II compl-
Gated all his financial transactions
since he could make no computations
in the ordinary Dutch unit Of COM
merce. but called them invariably great
guilders."
THIS principle extends yet further into
nj least two taboo dialects. One ia en-.
ploycd in tho paddy felds; common
words must he disguised lest the spirits
of tine rice might learn that the sharT
iron was 10 he set against their haulms
and they might run away. In the forest
the spirits are singularly averse to Ger.
tain words, and II Is necessary to dis.
euiSe them when threading the Jungle
| For goats and pigs one says "the foll
under The house: a dog Is the hairy
one; rain IL blossoms OF the trees"
The werewolf is very frequent. tn,
Toradias hold nothing in such abjec
dread. Not only are certain person!
werewolvcs by birth, but the infection |.
very active. To touch one. OF these per.
sons. even to touch an object contains
mated 10y his saliva, IS sufficient to ere
ate n clean man werewolf. with tn,
sanction of long usage we have to en-
ploy the designation werewolf although
there are no wolves in the forest fauna
of Cclebes. The transformation IL int
buffaloes, apes, crocodiles. wild swine
deer. cats, In their animal guise thes,
persons roam at night and prey upoI
their sleeping neighbors. as particular
delicacy consuming the liver. The per
son under suspicion of this dual natur,
Is tried by his neighbors in a measur,
Of rude justice He is made to dip hi
middle finger into boiling resin an,
abide the result of this ordeal; II tn,
| finger comes out unsinged innocence 4
| patent, but If the finger is burned tn,
man is a werewolf and must be dom
to death His friends take him to re
tired spot and chop him up, using grea
| care TO see that they are not spattere,
with his highly contagious blood. TIL
precaution extends beyond death. hi
head Is Topped OFF and placed at tn
other extremity of the trunk so that tn
perilous soul may not return to life II
another body and menace the commun
| ity once more.
Despite this inclination to superst
tIon, which may equally be read as de
Notion to "A faith of whose reasonable
ness they are convinced, they are II
possession of certain of those trait
which we call the elemental virtues.
is their habit to speak truth as they Sc.
! IL to he proved in error fills them witt
shame even when they are innocent o
| the intention of lnVeracity; to ute
knowingly an untruth Is a matter to b,
eXpiatcd only by rigorous discipline o
soul, and the stain does not pass from
the memory of the savage community
| They are very free in their hoSDtalit,