Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 16, 1905.djvu/271

 Reviews. 233

powers, and propensities to mischief." M. van Gennep may have good reason for thinking this unHkely, and he may be able to make some other suggestion which may help us to a more probable solution of the problem. At present, if I am right in supposing that he admits the totemism of the Bantu, I cannot think that his criticism of my hypothesis, without the presentation of another hypothesis in its place, does it much damage.

Of course I may be wrong in reading an admission of Bantu totemism into his words. But he certainly does not expressly challenge it. I grant at once, if he desire it, the term sibokisvi to the Bantu variety of totemism. The change of name will not affect the fact that the remains of the institution among the Bantu are in all essentials the same as among other peoples who possess what scientific men have agreed to call totemism, except that the totem-sacrifice, or communion has not yet been traced. It may be traced hereafter. If not, it will be for students to consider («) what are the probabilities of its having once existed and having disappeared, and {b) whether it be so essential a part of totemism that totemism cannot properly be said to exist without it. Whatever the result, it will not matter for this purpose, for both M. van Gennep and I are referring to the Bantu institution (call it totemism or call it sibokism) which has issued in father-right and ancestor- worship.

I must apologise for this digression. It has, I trust, a scien- tific side of far more importance than the personal side. And the mention of father-right reminds me to observe that there are in Madagascar what look like survivals of mother-right. They should be carefully collected and examined. It is at least conceivable that they would result in diminishing the hesi- tation of M. van Gennep's conclusion as to the existence of Malagasy totemism, of course in a decayed, or, as he puts it, attenuated form.

With this final remark I commend the book to the perusal of all who are interested in the important problems of which it is an able, instructive, and learned discussion.

E. Sidney Hartland.