Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 27, 1916.djvu/383

 The Magical and Ceremonial Uses of Fire. 355

this opportunity of acknowledging my debt to the many kind suggestions of Mr. Henry Balfour, of the Pitt- Rivers Mission, Oxford.

I. By Friction betiveen Two Pieces of Wood.

(a) Dj'illiiig iiietJiod (a rotary process). Judging from its very wide geographical distribution, this method of making fire seems to be most primitive. A horizontal piece of wood, generally called " the hearth," is placed on the ground, and is retained in position sometimes by the feet or foot of the performer, sometimes by an assistant who holds it down with his hands. Shallow holes are made in the hearth, mostly along the edge, with a vertical channel at the side of each for the collection of charred dust. One end of a spindle, usually made of harder wood than that of the hearth, is placed in one of these holes, the operator twirling it between the palms of both hands. A certain amount of pressure must be brought to bear, this pressure varying according to the kind of wood used. The rapidity of the drilling movement is gradually increased, the hands moving up and down the stick without a break. Some- times two, or even three, people are employed, one relieving the other. The hot dust accumulates in a conical heap, and sometimes the tinder, of dry leaves, moss, and so forth, is placed under it. At the psychological moment the operator blows on the hot dust, and thus sets fire to the tinder. Fire can sometimes be obtained quite quickly by this method. It largely depends on the kinds of wood used, on its dryness, and on the skill of the operators. Owing to the perishable quality of wood, no trace of such methods can well be found in prehistoric sites.

{b) ^^ Stick and groove^' {or  plongJung) inetiwd. In this case a fairly large piece of wood is often used for the hearth, while an upper stick, more or less pointed, is worked back- wards and forwards in a groove along the grain. The dust