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Rh house-mats, for example, when not cleaned by shaking, are fanned in order to cleanse them. These natives, when on the way to war, or in a procession, cause the main body of warriors or of people in the procession to be preceded by a band of men who fan the ground in front of them—a procedure which looks as if it is (or at least, in former times, was) intended as a means to drive evil influences from the path. Now, this Fijian practice suggests to me an explanation of certain Japanese beliefs and practices in which fans are concerned. At the "miya mairi" (the ceremonial first visit of an infant to the shrine of its tutelary deity) there is a custom of decorating the clothing of the child with small fans, and among the presents given to the child on this occasion "two fans figure, in the case of a male, … The fans are precursors of swords." At this "shrine-going" the customary gifts to the infant of its parents' friends and relatives are of a ceremonial character, and there is much evidence to show that although they are generally looked upon to-day as symbolical expressions