Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 23, 1912.djvu/33

Rh method of interpreting myth is, again, a notable mark of progress. The result has been to discredit the study of nature mythology, and in particular of solar mythology. But this neglect of conceptions which must have deeply impressed early man, as they now impress savage and barbaric races, is unjustifiable. Though we may reasonably refuse to connect all or most of our folk-tales with the dawn or the dairy, solar myths supply the only interpretation of the Vedic and other systems, products of an advanced, not of a primitive, society, and of more than one folk-tale cycle, like that of Cúchulainn, who is regarded by some writers as the Celtic sun-hero. When once the mythologists agree to set their house in order, as the modern school is endeavouring to do to-day, a reaction is sure to set in.

Meanwhile our attention is at present concentrated on the study of ritual. The best justification of this change of method lies in the fact that, except in the esoteric cults which form an important element in savagery, it is easier to ascertain what men do in relation to their gods, than what they think about them. But the status of ritual is infinitely varied. Sometimes, as among the Todas, its rank growth smothers the tribal beliefs and legends. Sometimes it survives because it is taken under the patronage of some higher religion, as in the case of the Lenten Carnival at Viza, which is purely a cult of Dionysus. Or, again, ritual practically disappears, as among the Torres Straits tribes, owing to culture contact. Among the peasantry of Europe and elsewhere its vitality is due to its close connection with social observances, like the spring and harvest celebrations. On the other hand,