Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/310

298 date of opening has been fixed at the 10th of September, 1900, immediately following the kindred congresses of prehistoric anthropology and archæology and history of religions, and preceding that of the Americanists. This arrangement will allow of members wishing to take part in all these congresses to do so without too great waste of time.

The honorary president of the committee of organization is M. Gaston Paris, of the French Academy. The acting president is M. Charles Beauquier, president of the French Folk-Lore Society; and the secretary-general is M. Paul Sébillot, the well-known writer on folk-lore, and editor of the "Revue des Traditions Populaires."

It is desired that the preparation of the work of the congress should be begun as soon as possible, as it consists largely in the gathering of documents. For this purpose, a general programme of questions to be submitted to the congress has been outlined. Since the first congress in 1889, masses of new material have been collected, especially in Central Africa, and in various other savage or uncivilized countries. Much still remains to be done, and certain points of scientific folk-lore have scarcely been touched. Still it is already time to try to gather together and compare these materials of various origin, and to draw from them general conclusions. The idea of the organizing committee is that the congress should devote itself rather to synthetic and comparative work than to analytic and documentary investigation. It is to such general studies, or to those which have an international character, that the full sessions will be given. The special meetings will be divided between two sections:—

(a) Origin, evolution, and transmission of tales and legends. Exposition and discussion of the various systems which are now advocated.

(b) Origin, evolution, and transmission of popular songs, both from the point of view of poetry and that of music. Reciprocal influence of learned poetry and music, and popular poetry and music. The popular theatre: its relations, ancient and modern, with the literary theatre.

(c) Origin and evolution of traditional iconography (pictures, sculpture, etc.): its relations with classical art; mutual borrowing.

(d) Origin and evolution of popular costume. Investigation, in monuments and documents, of the parts of costume which have been preserved more or less completely up to our own day. Origin and evolution of jewels and ornaments.

(a) Survival of customs connected with birth, marriage, death (marriage by capture, "bundling," funeral offerings, etc.).

(b) Survival of animal worship in the customs of modern peoples. Survival of the worship of stones, trees, and fountains.

(c) Traces of ancient local cults in the devotions to saints. Popular hagiography (rites and traditions).

(d) Popular medicine and magic, (amulets, rites for preservation, laying spells, fascination and the evil eye, etc.).