Rhabdomancy and Belomancy, Or Divination by the Rod and by the Arrow Author(S): A

Home , Belomancy, Rhabdomancy

Rhabdomancy and Belomancy, or Divination by the Rod and by the Arrow Author(s): A. W. Buckland Source: The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 5 (1876), pp. 436-450 Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2841115 . Accessed: 15/06/2014 04:45

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 436 A. W. BUCKLAND.-Rhabdomancyand Belomnancy, would meet the case withoutinterfering with those givenin MNr. Evans's paper,viz.: abv grun Prehistoricclwelling P halfunderground, or pits... or chamber undergroundchamber or artificial cave ...... B Then, again, althoughthere was a radicalfor a defensivework, therewas none forearthworks of a non-defensivecharacter, which were commonin all parts 'of the world. He thoughtthat the annexedsymbol might be employedin conjunctionwith any other symbolto denotethat a workwas defensiveS4; whilst the symbolemployed in the paper for " campor defensivework " might be used merelyto designate" earthwork."If the code obligedus to markall earthworksas defensiveit wouldlead to error. Mr. EVANS,in reply,observed that one of the featuresof the proposedsystem of symbolswas, that it gave a seriesof radical signswhich were susceptibleof modificationto meet any special cases. No doubt any map on whichthe symbolswere adopted wouldhave someindex appended, in whichany special modifications wouldbe explained. In the shortpaper whichhe had read he had not enteredso fullyinto detail as did the originalreport in French, a copyof whichhe beggedleave to presentto the Institute.

RHABDOMANCY and BELOMANCY, or DIvINATIoN bythe ROD and by theARROW. By A. W. BUCKLAND, M.A.I. IT cannot, I think,be denied that divinationin some form has been practised by everynation, civilised and uncivilised, with which we are acquainted. It doubtless had its originin the world'sinfancy, when men began to see in natural objects thingsincomprehensible, and were led by dreamsand visionsto a belief in the supernatural,and by a furtherstep in the same direction,to associate the spirits of the departedwith things animate and inanimate. Hence arose an elaborate system, divided into numerous branches requiring as its exponents trained men skilled in the deep mysteriesof nature, and admittedto a knowledgeof those dexterousjuoggleries whereby naturalphenomena were made to assume awful and threatening aspectsin the eyes of the ignorantand superstitiousmultitude, in order the more securelyto maintainthat authorityobtained by a reputationfor supernaturalpower. Thus the magicians of Egypt, the astrologersof Chaldea, the magi of Persia, the augurs of Etruria,Greece, and Rome, the Druids of Gaul and Britain, all diviners,exercised probablymore real power than the kings and chiefsof their respeotivecountries, who were

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions or Divinationby the Rod and bythe Arrowv. 437 commonlyonly the ministersof the will of the gods as inter- pretedby theirpriests. To treatof divinationas a whole in a single paper would be obviouslyimpossible; forit will be observed that almostevery nation adopted some special mode of divinationas peculiarly sacred, not,however, to the entire exclusion of others,which may have representedthe superstitionsof an earlieraboriginal population. I have, therefore,selected for investigationtwo branchesof this wide subject,believing that in theirextensive range and singular affinitieswill be foundinteresting matter foranthropological inquiry, whilst the survivalof one of them in our own countryto the presentday is a curious instanceof the durabilityof superstitions,notwithstanding the advance of education and civilisation; nor will the portionof our land in whichthis relic of the bygonefaith of ancientdays yet lingers be deemedwholly devoid of significanceby ethnologists. Among the Mendip Hills, in the old mining districtsof Cornwall,and, I believe,also in Derbyshire,Rhabdomancy pure and simple still exists and flourishes. About two years ago I witnessedthe performanceof an expertwho had been summoned fromthe Mendips, at considerableexpense, to finda spring of water in a garden, about three miles fromBath, by means of the divining-rod. Cutting a forkedbranch from a green tree, and holding one end of the forkin each hand, he walked over the ground, holding the stick before him, the ends pointing towardsthe earth; but when he arrivedat a spot where, as he said, watermight be found,the stickraised itself and turned over in his hand with such forceas sometimesto break itself. A well was dug on the spot wherethese indicationswere the mostmarked, and I need not say thatwater was found,although not in the abundancewhich the violent behaviourof the rod would seem to have promised. The diviner,or dowser,assured me that not one in a thousand had the powerof thus using the rod, and I certainlytried it myselfin vain; but whetherthere is in reality some mysteriousforce in certain personscommu- nicated through the hands to that which is held in them,or whetherthe effectis produced by dexterousmanipulation, I must leave others to judge. Reportshave fromtime to time been given of certain persons who have performedwonders by this mysteriouspower. Lady Milbanke is said to have convinceda Dr. Hulton, who had writtena pamphletagainst the superstitiouspractice, by discoveringa springof waterin his own garden by the rod. There can be no doubt of the beliefof the Cornishand Mendip minersin its power. Mention is made in Migne's Dictionary(" SciencesOccultes") of a young man who found gold hiddenin the earth by a violentemotion

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 438 A. W. BUCKLAND.-Ehahdomincyand Belomancy,

whichhe experiencedwhen walking over it; and Dr. Carpenter mentionedto me the case of a youthwho seemedto be similarly endowed,but who failed to discover a mass of plate hidden in a fieldwith great precautions,as a test. The conclusions, therefore,of this astute observerare, that whereevery kind of suggestionhas been rigidlyexcluded, the failurehas been com- plete; and that the instancesof successare to be accountedfor (where no fraudwas practised) by guesseson the part of the performersthemselves, or by the unintentionalpromptings they have received fromthe bystanderswho are in the secret. And he'seemsto inclineto the belief of the French .savans, that the movementin the rod is due to the tensionof the musclesheld long in one position,resulting in involuntarymotion.* But in the -instanceI have recorded,the stickhad certainlynot been cut fromthe tree fiveminutes, nor held in the hand one, when the movementwas produced, either by some act of jugglery, or by some mysteriousforce at present unexplained. The "expectant attention of the performer"was recognisedby MIMI.C. Nevreuil and Biot as the cause of the movement. Some pretendersto the art, as the notoriousJacques Aylmar (1692) have been proved to have been impostors,but forpar- ticularsof theseI must'refer the curiousto the pages of Niotes and Quteries,to the works of Pierre Lebrun, Baring Gould, and others, my object in this paper being not so much to analyse the possibilityof the alleged power as to trace the origin of a wide-spreadbelief. All writerswho have treated of rhabdomancy,or divination by the rod, are united in assignmg to it a veryhigh antiquity; theygenerally trace its originto the Scythians,and say that fromthem it passed into Assyria,Palestine, Greece, Etruria, Rome, and, by anotherroute, throughRussia and Germanyto England. They identifythe divining-rodwith the miracle-workingrod of Moses and Aaron, the Caduceus of Mercury,the wand of Circe,and othermagi- cians; and the lituus of Romulus and Numa Pompilius, and in all the wondersrelated of it may be tracedsome conection with one or other of these famous miracle-workingwands; for the divining-rodwas employednot only to discoverwater- springsand metals,but also to mark out boundaries,to discover corpses,and to bring to justice murderersand thieves. In the discoveryof water,its anity was withthe rod of Moses, who, by strikingthe rock with the rod, causedmwaterto gush forth. But the remainingqualities assigned to it seem to have more especial referenceto the Caduceus of Mercury,whidh was the golden rod of wealth,and was used to conduct souls to Hades, * See Article " What to Beliere," by Dr. Carpenter,Quarterly Review, Tol. xciii. p. 601. 1863,

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions or Diviinationby theRod an?db1? the Arrow. 4r39 whilst Mvercury,in his characterof Hermes,was especiallythe god of boundariesanid of thiev-es,having himselfbeen a thief, evenifromn the day of his birth,when he rose from his cradle to' steal the cattle of Apollo. In the power assigned to the divinilig-rodof tracing boundaries,we see its affinitynot only with the rod of MIercury,andl that of the older Egyptian Thoth or Hermes,who taught the Egyptians to measuretheir fields,but also with the lituls of Romulus,used by him to mark out the variotusreg,ions of Rome andlwhich was afterwardslaid up in the temipleof Mlarsas a mostprecious relic. "Plutarch says that Romulus was very religious and very cleverin divination, anid for this puirposemade use of a lituus,which is a bent stick.""' It may be suipposed that with the numerous properties assignedto the divining-roddifferenlt forms alnd differentsub- stances would be employedin its manufacture.Thuis we find that although the mostgeneral formiiwas that of the letterY, with the lowerlimb mioreor less elongated,the reason assigned for the use of this formbeinig, that it is supposed that the hands coniveysome virtueto the rod; yet sometimesa straight stick was employed,or one cut straightin the centre with a branchat each end, 6, and sometimesthe forkedbranch was cut close to the fork, V, whilst frequentlyseveral rods were used together.Hazel was the wood generallymost esteemed, but the almond,the willow,the ash, or some fruit-bearingtree had each many advocates. Some argued that in searching for metalsrods of metalshould bo used, or that,at least,the woodlen rod shouldbe tipped with mnetal,and it was commonlybelieved that it wouldonly turn for that particular object in the searchfor whichit was employed,to ensurewhich result it shoulldbe first touchedwith that substancewhich it was expected to dliscover. In using then sometimesa praver was said, or sometimesa cross was engraved on the rod. Lebrunt describes four old divining-rodsfound in Paris, on whichwere inscribedthe names of the three MIagi, Baltazar, Gaspar, and Mlelchior. In the laws of the Frisians, aftertheir conversion to Christianity,per- mission was given to use divining-rodsin provi'ng homicide, and the ceremonywas performedin church before the altar. Two twigs,one markedwith the signiof the cross,were covered withclean wool and laid upon the altar or the holy relics,and a prayermade that God would,by a sig,n,discover the guilty.+ In consideringthe origin of the supernaturalqualities assigned to the divining-rod,we cannotfail to observeits obviousconnec- tion with the use of a rod or staff,either plain or variously * Lebrun,Tom. ii. p. 394. t Lebxumi,Tori, ii. Book 7, p. 636. :t " Arclimleoajgin,'T01. Xlii. YOL4.As Tl If

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 440 A. W. BuCKLAND.-Rhabdoinaicyand Beloinmucy, ornamented,in all ages and in all countriesas a symbol of authority. The sceptreof modernmonarchs has its prototypes in ancientEgypt, in Peru, and even among the relics of the unknown prehistoriccave-dwellers of France and Britain; for archmiologistsbelieve thatthe stag's antlersperforated with one or more holes, and oftenellgraved with various figures,wvhich are sometimesfound in the caves explored,are the sceptresor wands of officeof thoseprimitive people; aii4 it seemsto me not altogetherimprobable that the branchinghorns of the stag, used in formiiertimes as a token of the powerpossessed by the chiefof a tribe,may hav,esuggested the forn of the divining- rod. Certainiit is that hornsof variouskinds were used in the very earliest times to symbolisepower, and hence were fre- quentlychosen to adorn the heads of gods. The figuremost suggestiveof the use of the horlnas a symbolof dignityin Gaul alid Britain is that dug up, I believe,in Paris, and engravedin the " Pictorial History of England." It representsa robed mnali,the head adornedwith horns,which may be eithersingle- branched stag's horns or forked sticks, and beneath is the inscription,"Cernunnos." The peculiarityin this figure is that the horns havNeupon them several rings strung upon a larger one. Now we are told by Philostratus'that " the Indian Brahminscarry a stafland a ring,by means of which they are able to do almostanything." The images of Vishnu commonly representhim as twirlinga ring on the fingerof one hand, whilst oli the cylindersof Babylon the forked and branched wands borne by priests or monarchsare frequentlyadorned witlh rings. In all magical ceremoniesthe first step was to draw a circle with the magic wand. The Assyrian goddess Hera, figuredby Layard, bears in one hand a rod surmounted by a circle, and in the other one with a crescent; and it is a curious coincidencethat in the rock sculpturesof Peru, as given in Hutchinson'swork, a human figureappears bearing a rod to the end of which a ring is attached,whilst anotherrod of the formof a bifurcatedstick, is representedon the same rock,having a bird perchedupon it, thus evidentlyconnecting it with augury. "The bifurcatedstick," says Tyndale,t in his book on Sardinia, "must have been ani importantsymbol, it appears in Etruscan tombsand on Babyloniancylinders." "In the coins of Cyprus the columLuisof the telmpleof Venus are representedwith bifurcatedcapitals, and the PythagoreanY, the symboland emblemof human life,might perhaps also be considered an analogous character." To these may certainlybe aidded tlhe standards of the ancienitEgyptians, as given by

4 "Iiistor( of i, p. 210. t Tvurlale's" Sarvdinia."

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions or Divinationby tke Rod and by theArrow. 441

Wilkinson (vol. i. p. 294), upon which the same form of the branchedor bifurcatedstick appears; indeed,the rodsborne by Egyptian gods or priestsare almostalways forkedat the lower end, whilst they bear on the top eithera lotus-floweror the head of some sacred animal,most commonlythat of the sacred jackal, and it is worthyof remark that the same animal was also sacred in Mexico, where it has been found buried with care.i If we turn to the representationsof the divinitiesof Greece and Rome we findthem all bearing rods typicalof theirseveral attributes,and amongst themthe ring and staffand the bifur- cated stick are conspicuous,that which I take to be an early formof the Caduceus, given in Smith's Dictionary as froma paintedvase, representsthese two forms combined, whilst in that assigned to Pluto the origin fromthe head and horns of an animal may readily be traced. Two singular survivals,illus- tratingthe use of a forkedstick in divinationand lots,and con- nectingit also withthat which,I believe,to be the earlierform, that of the horn,and also with auguryby birds,may here be noted. -Thefirst is, the use still made by young people of the merrythoughtor wishing-boneof a fowl,the formof which is that of the divining-rodand also of the branchinghorns of the stag; this, pulled asunder, denotes good luck to the one in whose hand the larger portion remains, and beingd agrain drawn as a lot, gives a wish, to the fortunatedrawer of the lucky portion, the belief in the peculiar luckiness of this bone being evidently derived from the ancient use of the cock in divination. The second survival I would lnotice is the use of the first and fourth fingers of the hand, extended so as to forma figurestrolngly resembling the rod of Pluto, as a charm against the evil eye. I do not know whether this form,which is called "making horns," is still employedin England, buLtit is commonlyused in Italy, and considered so potent a charm that it is made by stealth wheneverthe Pope passes, who is believed to be possessed of the evil eye. The formof the rods of Moses and Aaron are not defined,but fromthe budding of the latter, it was probably a branched stick of almond. There is a passage in Hosea (iv. 12), "MhAy people ask counselat theirstocks and theirstaff declareth unto them," which is given by Jerome, Cyril, and other com- mentators,as well as the Septuagint,as referringto Rhabdo- inancyamong the Hebrews,who are said to have learnt the art in Babylon; and it is suggested that perhapsat the same time

Tv1ol,V- nalmac.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 442 A. WV.BUCKLA,ND.-RPhahdomoancy (and Belonian cy, they consultedboth the rod anidan iclol,the figureof some god being engravedon the rod.' The use of divers rods in divinationwould soon cause them to be regardedas possessed of inherentpower, hence we find innumerableinstances given of miracleswrought by the rod. It is evidenltth}at some veneration existed in the minldof AMosesfor the rod which became a serpent,and wherewithhe smiotethe rock; and that of Aaron, which budded and producedalmonds, was laid up in the ark with superstitiousreverence. When Elisha was applied to forthe restorationof the dead son of the Shunamite,he sentGehazi to lay his staffupon thechild's face, as thoughin that resided life-givingpower, and this beliefin its miraculousand curativeproperties extended to mediaval times. In Lebrun's " Histoire des pratiquessuperstitieuses," page 367, we find"Borel relatesof the physicianLaigneau, that he made use of no otherremedy thani a rod of hazel to cure brokenbones; he cut littlehazel wandswhen the sun enteredthe sign of the Ram, and having sealed the two ends to keep in the virtue,he only rubbed the contusionswith one-of these rods anld the bones were restoredto theirplaces as if by enchantment.The same doctor also prepared rods of ash at the conjunctionof the sun and moon in the slgnAries, and by a touchwith themcured hoemorrhages." Lenormanttpoints out the extremedevelop- ment of this superstitionamong the Fins; thus, "Whatever might be the power of those enchantmentswhich controlled nature and supernaturalbeings, spirits,and gods, there is a talismanstill more powerful,for it arreststheir effect, and pro- tectsfrom it thosewho possessit; it is the ' celestialrod' (baton celeste), analogous to the divining-rodof the M!agi of Media. The gods tllemselves can olly be secured against certain enchantmentsby virtueof this rod. Wainiamoinea,menaced by the chief sorcererof Lapland, replies to him, 'The Lapp cannotinjure me by his enchantments,for I have in my hand the celestial wand, and he who hates me, he who createsmis- chief,does not possessit."' When the mnagiciantraced with his wand a circle on the ground, as was commonlydone in all magical ceremonies,it was doubtless to signifythe powerhe possessedby virtueof the rod over the god supplicated. Hence the circle,which everywhere represented the sun,became united with the rod to forma magical symbol,and the same was the

* Bancroftsays:-" The merchalntsof Mexico had a god called Zeacatecutle, the god who guides. The principalimage of this god was the figutreof a man walkingwith a staff. Practically,however, every miierchanit reverenicecl his own staffas the representativeor symbol of this god." "Native Races of the Pacific,"L Svol. iii. p. 416. t?1"Los SciencesOccultes, enl Asie," ILenorm-ant,p. 221.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions or D'iiattionb theRod and by theArrowv. 443 case with the crescent,signifying the mioon,represented in its earlier formby the bifurcatedstick; thus when we find these figurescarried out in stonecircles, grave-mounds, and tumuli, as notablyat Stonehenge,and among the Sepolturedei Giganti in Sardinia, we may reasonably assume them to have been created by the worshippersof those gods wvhosesymbols they represent. Veneration for the rod would naturally lead to the same feeling for the tree which produced it, hence in almost all civilised lands we have legends of trees to which miraculous virtues are ascribed. The oaks of Dodona and of the Druids, the ash of Scandinavia, America, and Britain, the fig tree of India, are examples of this; but there is somethingunexplained in the peculiar powerascribed to the hazel,from vhich preferablymagicians' wands weremade. This is supposedby some to arise fromits faint resemblanceto the almond,from vhich the rod of Aaron was taken,or according to others,because it was the wood used by Mlosesto sweetenthe watersof iMarah; but that a peculiar sanctitywas attached to the hazel and its fruit,in lands whereMoses and Aaron were quite unknown,and long prior to the introductionof any Jewishor Christiantradition, is evidentfrom the frequentdis- covery of hazel-nuts in prehistoricgraves, not only in this countrybut even in Peru.' Lebrun gives the followingprayer or incantation,used at the cutting of divining-rods,which certainlysavours stronglyof worship:-" Hazel, I breakthee, and conjure thee,by the virtue of the MlostHigh God, to show me wheremay be foundgold, silver,or preciousstones. I conjure thee to show me that thou hast as mnuchvirtue as the rod of Moses, which he mnadeinto a serpent. I conjure thee to show me that thou hast as much power as that ofAaron whenhe led thechildren of Israel across the Red Sea. Thus I break thee,hazel, at this time,in order that thou mayestdiscover to me that which is hidden,in the name of God," &c.t Althoughthe almondfurnished the rod of Aaron, that ofMloses, called the rod of the prophets,was cut,we are told by Adam, froma myrtleof Paradise, and was given to himby Shoaib,the fatherof Zipporah, to whomit had descended, in orderto drive away the wild beasts fromhis flocks. Belomancy, or divinationby arrows, existed side by side with rhabdomiiancyin many countries,and has oftenbeen con- foundedwith it. In fact,they seem to be very closely connected,the history of their origin being almost identical, for wvhilstthe divining-rodis traced to the golden rod given to -See Hutchiasoli's " Two Years iniPeru." ^tSale's " Koran,,"cap. 28, p. 319 (nzote).

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 444 A. WY.BuciLANm-liha6do'mnawy ((Jl BeJeloJuancy,

Mercuryby Apollo, the divining-arrow,which was also ofgold, was given by Apollo to a mythical personage named Abaris, who is said to have comefrom the land of the Hyperboreansto Greece in the time of Pythagoras,in consequenceof a terrible pestilence,which could only be remediedby offeringsto Apollo made in Athens forall nations. Abaris, the Hyperborean,was the ambassadorfrom his own country,and he then received fromthe god this magic arrow. By meansof thisarrow Abaris couLldtransport himself instantaneously over land and sea as on a horse. Mercuryis also said to have used the Caduceus in this manner,so that it mnaywell be that Abaris is but a later formof Mercury,and that in the rod of the one and the arrow of the otherwe see the origin of the witch's broomstick. It is, at all events,luatter of history that arrows marked with certain signs were used in divination among the Scythians, Chaldeans, Arabs, and, Tacitus ("Germ." 10) says, among the Germans also. In a book recently published* we find the superstitionembedded in a tale which is said to be widelycur- rentin the east of Europe, and exists also in the collection of storiesof the Turkishraces in South Siberia, editedby Radlo:ff. According to this tale, "when the hero, who has descended into the lower world, aind has been leftthere by his faithless companions,saves a broodof eaglets fromia dragon,he is eaten up by the hasty mother eagle on her return. But, as her eaglets weep at the sight,she spits him out againi. In the end he calls upon his treacherouscomrades to join with him in shootingarrows straight up intothe air by way of ordeal. His arrow strikesthe groundbefore him, but theirsfall back upon theirheads, and they die."t Lebrun says, quoting from Thevenot's " Voyage in the Levant," that " among the Turks people may be seen seated on the ground with a number of books spread on the ground roundthem. They take four arrowscut to a point,and place themin the hands of two persons. Then they place upon a cushiona naked swordancl read a certainchapter of the Koran, duringwhich these arrowsfight together, alnd victory is divined to the partyafter which the victoriousarrows are named, and-1 they never go to war withouttrying this mBodeof divilnation." The Koran probablyrefers to this in the chapterwhich says, c0, true believers, surelv wine, and lots, and images, and. diviniing-arrowsare an abominationof the work of Satan; thereforeavoid thenithat ye may prosper."5 In the prelimi- nary discourse(p. 127) we are told that the arrows used for this purposewere like those with which they cast lots, being * " Gipsy Folk Tales," voll Dr. Franz Nuklosich. Academil,J July 10th,1875. + Salc, "?Kolan, r. P. 01.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions or Dichiationby theRod coudby tkeArrowt. 446 withoutheads or feathers,and were kept in the templeof some idol, in whosepresence they were consulted. Seven such arrows werekept in the templeof Mvlecca,and were foundin thehands of Abrahamand iobal by Mahomet; but generallyin divination theymade use of threeonly, on one of which was written, " My Lord hath commandedme ;" on another," My Lorclhath forbiddenme ;" and the thirclwas blank. Divinationby means of arrows was practised by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezek. xxi. 21), and Pottertells us that this superstitiouspractice of divining by arrowswas used by the ancientGreeks and othernations.* There would appear to have been a certainamoLnt of sacred- ness attachedto arrowsamong the Mexicans, althoughit is not statedthat theywere used in divination,for Bancrofttsays of the festivalof the monthQuecholli, dedicated chieflyto Mex- coatl, god of the chase, " Canes were gathered and carried to the templeof the god of war. There young and old assembled forfour days to share in the sacred work of making arrows. The arrows were all of uniformlength, and were formledinto bundlesof twenty,carried-in procession to the temple of the god, and piled up in frontof the idol." The descriptiongiven of the divining-arrowsserves to con- nectthem with the very smooth,straight sticks which the'Alani women are described by ilerodotus (iv. 67) as gatheringand searchingfor anxiously, and also with those bundles of myrtlo stickswith which the Persian magi, according to Strabo (xv. cap. 3, p. 136), touchedtheir sacrifices,holding them in their hand duiringtheir prayers and incantations. These twigswere also hel(l beforethe perpetualfire on theiraltars as an act of worship,and thereis a very obvious connectionbetween both these and that very ancientand well-nighuniversal practice of castinglots. Among the Anglo-Saxons lots consisted of pieces of wood froma fruit-bearingtree, which were cast into a white cloth, and thismode of divination,or castingof lots by means of the twig,or tan, as it was called, was commonto all northern nLations,derived, it is said, fromthe Scythians. But thatwhich will be of especial interestto the ethnologistis the factthat at the presentday the Hottentot children cast lots by twigs as our Anglo-Saxon ancestorsdid-that is, if a thing is lost or a thefthas been committed,they throw bits of stick and judge of the culprit,or of the directionwherein the lostproperty is to be found,by the arrangementof the twigs,and amongthe Kaffirs bundlesof sticksand assagais are employedby the divinersin their rites for the discovery of crime. Amiiongthe SouLth Po' otter's " Antiqutitiesof Greece,"vol. i. 1). 33 I. t Baicroft'zl "Nat; iN-eRae s of the Phciflc,"v-ol. ii. p. 335.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 446 A. WT. B-uCKLAND.--Rabdozancy and Beloinanicy,

Airican peoples also twobones are stillused in castinglots, beinog evidentlythe primitiveform of dice, which can be traced back in their presentform to a very remote antiquity, and which, as well as the divining-rod,are connected by legends with Mfercury. But probably the most i'mportantand significantfact connected with the use of rods,twigs, and arrowsin divinationis theirvery evidentbearing upon the ancient alphabets. It is impossible to look at the primitive alphabets, such as the Phoenician,the Etruscan,and the Runic withoutbeing struck with theirresemblance to twigs or branchesof treesdifferently arranged. That a very inti-iateconnection subsisted between the artsof divinationby rods or arrows,the casting of lots, and the primitive alphabetscannot, I think,be doubted. It is a significant factthat just in those regionsof Asia wherearrows were prin- cipally tisedin divination,there we findthe cuneiformor arrow- headed charactersin use. It would appear to me that both divinationand the primitivealphabets originated with thatvery early semi-civilisedrace which seems to have spread over the whole world prior to the rise of Aryan supremnacy,being generally,although perhaps not very correctly,denominated Turanian,and which, by whatevername it may be designated, has certainlyleft traces in the language, religion,and customs of almost all nations quite alien to Aryan culture. This race cannot, I imagine, be traced to palkeolithic times, but seems to have everywheresuperseded the users of rough stone implements,introducing polished stone weapons, and probably at a later period supplementingthese by copper tools and a knowledgeof the preciousmetals. For the Aryan races was probablyreserved the discoveryof bronzeand iron, but that the earlier peoples had made considerableprogress in the arts of civilisationbefore the inventionof these,cannot be doubted. The firsttraces of this civilisationin Europe may, I believe,be foundin the neolithiccaves of France and Belgium and the Swiss lake-dwellings,in which,even where metal is absent,there is abundant proofof a knowledgeof agriculture, of the use of garmentsand ornaments,and of a style of art scarcelyto be designated as rude. Perhaps therealso may be seen the firstgerms of that art of divinationwhich is still so rifeamong non-Airyanraces, in the perforatedand ornamented horns,which miiayhave been batons of command,as already pointedout. That to this primitivepeople, however theymay be designated,may be attributedthe inventionof letters,or, at least, of thosesymbolic forms which later became letters,was a conclusionat whichI had arrivedbefore I had the honour of

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 6)' Dit'inatiO by theloeod adl by theArrow. 447 laying,this paperbefore the Anthropologicaldepartment of the British Associationat Bristol,but I had not then had an oppor- tLnity of reading Leinormant'swlork upon the subject (" La Mlagicchez les Chaldeens et les originesAccadiennes "). The perusal of this work has amply confirmedmiiy views, since hc tracesthe arts of divination,and especiallythe use of the baton celeste, or divining-rod,to an underlyingTuranian popula- lation in Chaldea, Persia, and among the Esquimaux, and says of the cLneiform characters:-" We- know with certainty that it was by the Turanian portion of the population that cuneifoimwriting was introducedinto Babylon anld Chaldca. The charactersare susceptibleof two uses-at firstthe rude drawingof the symbolicimage, and afterwardsthe abstractidea explained by the syllable composingthe phoneticvalue, not in the Assyrianlanguage, but in Accadian-that is, in the idiom of the Turanians of Chaldea. The 180 primitive cuneiform charactersalso bear testimonyto the fact that the Accadians came fromanother and morenortherly regioni, where the great carnivoraand palms were unknown,and confirmthe traditions of the people, which relate that theirancestors came fromquite another country,the name Akkad signifyingmountaineer."* But the race whichiMf. Lenormant thus creditswith the introductionof magic and the art of writing,as well as metallurgy and otheruseful arts, and whichhe believes may be traced,both linguisticallyand by customs,over the greaterpart of Asia, and, in prehistorictiines, over Europe also, seemnsto me, by the same processof reasoning,traceable not only in thoseportions of the world,but also undoubtedlyin Egypt and among the civilised nationsof America. Bancroftgives nmany instances of a divination similarto thatof theAccads. He says: amongthe Zapotees "each form of divination was made a special study. Some professedto foretellthe futureby the aid of stars,earth, wind, fire,or water; othersby the flightof birds,the entrailsof sacri- ficedvictims, or by magic signsand circles."t It would appear to me evidentthat, in some cases at least,the magic rodscarried by the godsand by theirpriests originated the primary symbolic alphabets,.which seem always to have had a sacred character. Whether any of these can be traced to the stoneage is perhaps doubtful.M. Lenormant,in givingto thema Turanian or Acca- dian origin,and assigningto theman immenseantiquity, does not carrythat antiquityinto the stoneage, forhe attributesthe inventionof the metallurgicarts to the same people,even as I bad previouslydone upon differentgrounds; and northernarchrolo- gists do not suppose that runes existed beforethe age of iron, * "La Magic chez les Chaldeeiis." Par FrancoisLenormant; pp. 284-286. t "Native R -cs of the Pacific,"Vol. ii.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 448 A. W. I3U(KLAND. -Bha6domwy (and Beloimiancy, believing it impossibleto have made carvi'ngsin stonewithout the aid of thatmetal. Neverthelessthe rock sculpturesof Peru, and othersrecently discovered in French caves, prove conclu- sively that such workcan be done with implementsof copper,or even of stone.' Perhaps the introductionof Woden and Mercury into the legends relating to their inventionwould confirmthe conclusionsof Scandinavianantiquaries, but, even allowing that the runic alphabetswere introducedby Aryan iron-workers,it will, I think, be conceded that they took for those alphabets signs already well knownas symbolsof someparticular god, or of somienatural object; and it mustnot be forgottenthat Woden and 3Mercurywere but Arvan names fora pre-Aryandivinity, even as the artsof magic and divination,of whichthey were the patrons and suLpposedinventors, can. also be traced to a pre- Aryan epoch, as has been so ably done by M. Lenormant. There can be no doubtthat magic is repugnantto Aryan ideas of civilisation,and we find it condemnedalike by the laws of Manu and of Mloses,as well as by later lawgivers; nevertheless it continuesin full force among Turanian peoples and among primitiveuncivilised races. Even in China, Huc says, "the seconcdreligion is regarded as that of the ancienttinhabitants; the priestsandpriestesses are celibates, and practise magic, astrology, necromancy,&c." Almost everywhere,in fact, these arts mnaybe traced to aln aboriginal population, despiseclas outcastsby the conquering races,yet dreaded fortheir supernatural power. It cannot be doubted that the art of divinationis of immense antiquity, and as the authorof the articleon ' Divination' in the " Encv- clopeediaMetropolitana " says: " It seemsimpossible to assign its origin to any period below the immediateinfluence of primaevaltradition ;" and therecertainly appears to me some reasons for tracing its originto the prehistoriccave-dwellers, forthe laboriouslycut holes in the stag's-hornsceptres before- mentionedhave evidentlysome symbolic meaning, and thetraces of magic ritescarried on with so much singularuniformity of detail in all uncivilisedcountries at the present day, and in civilised lands among the aboriginal and outcast portionsof the populationl,seenm to prove that these rites originatedin that far offperiod wheni maianhad not yet spreadhiinself over the surfaceof the globe; that,retained in the primitiveform among uncivilised races, these ritesbecame developed into an elaboratesystem in the ancient civilisednations of the world, being blended with, anid in fact formingthe basis of,their religions,as in Egypt, Chaldoea,Media, Etruria, China, India,

* See -Alti;'opolo7gielTJoturnai(il, April, 187, 1). 357,

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions or Diviniationtby theRod anId by theArrot. 449 anclPeru, but decliningwith the advent of the Aryan races, although toleratedin Greece and Rome, and even by Charle- magne,the crosswhich had fromtime immemorial served in all countriesas a magic symbol significantof power over the elements,and particularlvover water, being retainedas a sacred Christian sign, aud as such used to sanctifythe old heathen superstitions,which could not be eradicatedfrom the minds of thosewho, by descentor by familiarintercourse, may be supposed to have retaineda certain amount of affinitywith the older races. It is thus that we see faithin the power of the divining-rodsurviving among the rustics of Somerset and Cornwall,whilst the castingof lots in some form has a still widerrange, having charmsprobably for many highly educated people. Among the gipsies soothsayingand magic a-restill in full force,and the belief in ghostsand spiritsanld in second sighthas not yet died out in Scotland and Ireland, nor, if we mnaycredit the papers,has the belief in witchcraftyet become extinctin England. These remnantsof old superstitionscannot fail to be ofinterest to anthropologists.Their universalityseems to prove the unity of mnankind.Their retentionin spite of the advances of civilisation and the prohibitionsof Christianityserve to show how deeply rootedis superstitionin the human miind;and, if I am not greatly mistaken,their peculiar prevalence in certain localitiesmay be tracedto a greateramount of aboriginalblood remainingin thoselocalities. It is, I believe,a matterdeserving of investigationwhether the older races do not reallypossess a powerwhich modern science has hithertofailed to defineor to account for. It certainly appears to me, that after luaking everypossible allowance for trickery, the effectsof imagination, and of religiousexcitement, there yet remains a substratumof factin the mnarvelsrelated of the old magicians of Egypt and Chaldea, and in those of theirmodern representatives in India and elsewhere,as well as in the use of the divining-rodin our own land, whichhas never yet been satisfactorilyexplained. It may be that a certaintemperament renders the ownermore sus- ceptible of magnetic influences,which susceptibilitymay be inherentin certainraces, and more powerfulthe nearer those races approach to the inferioranimals; for it can hardly be doubted that the lower animals are more alive to atmospheric iinfluencesthan man is. This, however, is perhaps, strictly speaking,a psychologicalsubject, but I feelconvinced that it is one whichwill moreand more commandthe attentionof anthropologists also, when engaged in the solution of that most interestingproblem, the originof the human race.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions 450 Di801us8imo.

DIscussIoN. MIr. MOGGRIIDGE mentionedthat he had ill Cornlwall,some years ago, visited copper mines in a districtwhere the belief in the powers of the divining-rodwas lhelJby a verylarge numberof the educated classes, and was told by a gentleinan there of a case where the presence of copper or water was at once detected in a hall where the test was prepared and all collusion prevented. Another case at Mentone was also adduced. Dr. SPRATT was of opinion that a belief in divinationby the rod and by the arrow was always acconpaniec by good grounds for the same. He mentioned cases of persolnssuffering from rheumatismi and neuralgia who were able to trace water by the sensation of damp. He also conisideredthat there are eyidentlycertain nerves connected with the brain that appear to become more active if over- pressed with local irritation,and if some are lost, as the sight or the power of hearing, their loss is partially made up for by the other nerves becom-ingmore active. Mr. IVER MNACDONNELL quite agreed with the remark in Miss Buckland's paper, that "it would appear as if some special pecu- liarity existed in those persons with whom the dcivining-rodacted," and mentioned a case which he had witnessed, in whicha person claiminigto have a sense of the presence of water, had given proof of his ability in this respect. In another case a French lady, intro- duced by the late Archbishop of Dublin, Dr. Whately, lhad controlled the mnovementsof a compass. Mr. PIDGEON considered that the antiquity,use, and probable origin of this extelnsiveform of superstitionshould be discussed, rather than the credit to be assigned to any West countrystory of wonders effectedby divination. He also referred to a case of un- successful divinationby the arrow in Virgil's ".2Eneid," Book v. 1. 485. Miss BUCKLAND, in replyingbriefly, regretted that the discussion should have taken so decidedly a psychologicalturn, as the chief aim of her paper was to prove the antiquity of the use of the divining-rod,alnd not the reality of the supposed power claimed by the users. Believing it to be a rennmantof a pre-Aryansupersti- tion, at present existing only or chieflyamong non-Aryanraces, its survival among the peasantry in Somerset and Cornwall, where, if anywhere,we may expect to find traces of the aboriginal inhabi- tants, she thoughtmight possibly be used as a test of race.

Mlr. LTUKE BURKE, Major OWEN, Mr. CHARLESWORTH, and the PRESIDENT also made some observations, and, the meeting separated.

This content downloaded from 195.34.79.223 on Sun, 15 Jun 2014 04:45:13 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions