Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 18, 1907.djvu/502

 456 Reviews.

of the funeral bamboo is remarkable. One of these is provided for the dead man by the minor chief of his village; if a person is buried without the bamboo, it is afterwards lowered through a hole into the grave. " The soul must in that case remain in the body until the burial bamboo arrived, as it is conscious that it has done nothing which might cause the latter to be refused. It is true, however, that if the soul does not leave the grave soon enough, Kari is sure to become impatient, and send thunder and lightning to hasten the tarrying soul ; and although the exact effect of this is uncertain the Pangan think the soul must expiate this " (II. 94). A still more extraordinary practice is ascribed to the Samang, that when a tribesman dies the body is eaten and nothing but the head interred. This custom does not prevail at present, but the tradition seems to be based on some rite which has now become obsolete (II. 95).

It is one of the best features of this book that the authors are careful to explain that in the present state of our knowledge the present monograph can be regarded only as provisional, needing everywhere verification, correction, and extension. It is clear that the Colonial Government is bound to start without delay a well-organised Ethnographic Survey. Such a Survey would enable us to link in a manner which is impossible at present the culture and beliefs of these tribes with the wild races of Burma to the north, and with the Dravidians of the Indian Peninsula, the Andamanese in the latter case providing the intermediate link. The way to such a Survey has been cleared and the foundations have been laid by Messrs. Skeat and Blagden, who deserve hearty congratulations on the success of their labours, which we may guess owed Httle to official support. They have produced an admirable account of a little-known people, which contains a vast amount of trustworthy information for students of ethnology, primitive religion, and folk-lore.

W. Crooke.