Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/494

 1 46 Journal of American Folk-Lore.

��NOTES AND QUERIES.

Taboos of Tale-Telling. — To discuss in detail the innumerable ta- boos found in primitive stories, tales, legends, etc., would demand a long essay, if not, indeed, a bulky volume. Here one variety only, viz. : the taboos of the time of telling can be considered.

1. Day-taboo. — As the celebrated "Arabian Nights" reminds us, night (or evening) is the time for tale-telling over a very large portion of the globe. The camp-fire and the story seem to belong together with many peoples, — the invention of fire, indeed, may be said to have been a very important factor in stimulating primitive literary development. With Gaels, Teutons, American Indians, and Mongolians, alike, the long winter even- ings created literature and authors of a by no means insignificant sort. Nor is night-time the tale-time for adults alone, for the tale-telling ability of the children in the Punjab after they have gone to bed is well known. Night, with its moon and stars, has also great suggestive power, and its general quietude is another advantage. The primitive poet and story-teller know full well : —

u Night hath made many bards ; she is so lovely. For it is beauty maketh poesie, As from the dancing eye come tears of light. Night hath made many bards ; she is so lovely. And they have praised her to her starry face So long that she hath blushed and left them, often."

Night is the time of spirits that move in sky, earth, and sea ; then the owl, the loon, the wolf, the beetle, and other ominous creatures speak. At night, too, the gods and devils decide the fates of men. Night is the " witching-time." Mythopoeic always have been " the shepherds watching their flocks by night." Religion, largely, is the daughter of night. Night was also the first schola (leisure) of mankind. In a sense, night made man. It is natural, then, that, for many reasons, night should be the tale-telling season. That a taboo of day-telling should exist is, however, quite another thing.

Yet, with the Omaha Indians, we find indications of such a taboo. Rev. J. Owen Dorsey * tells us : " Myths must not be told during the day, nor in summer, as violation of this rule will cause snakes to come." There are traces of a day-taboo among other Indian tribes, but the data in proof of the statement are not yet forthcoming.

2. Summer-taboo. — Many of the circumstances that make for night as the season par excellence of tale-telling make also for winter. The winter camp-fire is one of the most creative of human environments wherever it is found. A " winter's tale " is known to every primitive people of North America and the other colder regions of the globe. Whether winter is the time of leisure or the time of hunting, tale-telling seems to keep its com- pany everywhere.

1 Journal of American Folk-Lore^ vol. ii. p. 190.

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