Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/652

 304 yournal of American Folk-Lore.

The section on " Mourning for the Dead" (pp. 101-117) is very interest- ing. Among other things Dr. Koch notes that mourning often continues for a very long time, the funeral songs and ceremonies being repeated sometimes until nature can no more ; that these ceremonies are mostly left to the women; that the mourning, weeping, etc., are not infrequently "put on," the funeral ceremony often quite formal, with set phrases, etc. ; that the mourning is often begun before the death of the patient ; that strangers and parties not at all connected with the dead often join in " loud and long." Sometimes it is probable we have in this " mourning " a custom originally dictated by fear, practised as a means of protection, but sunk in the course of time into an empty ceremonial. The existence of such " reductions " among primitive peoples is a matter that merits further investigation.

Another interesting section of the essay is that which treats of " the other world and the future life " (pp. 117-132). That the "other world " lies in some part of the earth is a belief common to many tribes ; others, like the Matacos, place it underground ; others, still, located it in the stars, the sun, etc. Worthy of remark is the Bakairf idea that heaven and earth lay once beside each other, and the transit was easy ; but too many people died in heaven, so they settled on the earth, causing the sky to rise up where it now is. As to the manner of life in the other world, opinions dif- fer among the South American Indians. Many tribes believe it to be a continuation (sometimes intensified) of life on earth with the same actions, institutions, etc. ; others hold that only the " good " or " brave " go to heaven, or have the best places there. Often the passage into the next world is thought to be very difficult, with many obstacles in the way, so that the " medicine-man " has to be called upon to " make the path straight." Some tribes, like the Marauhas, e. g., show, according to the author, the results of missionary influence. Dr. Koch believes that no in- dependently developed " theory of recompense," in our sense, exists among any South American Indians, although many tribes have the idea, more or less, that the condition of life in the next world is in some way or other connected with actions during life in this.

The author has not fully digested his material, which needs further study and consideration. His essay is, however, a collection of folk-lore data of the highest value, and will be welcomed by all students of the mind of primitive man.

Alex. F. Chamberlain.

Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History. Volume III. Anthropology II. I. Symbolism of the Huichol Indians. By Carl Lumholtz. New York, May, 1900. Pp. 228. Maps, Plates i.-iv., 298 figures. Fol.

This well-printed and profusely illustrated study is a credit alike to the author and to the Museum. The author visited the Huichols in 1895- 1896, and again in the spring of 1898, spending altogether more than a year amongst them and their neighbors the Coras. After a " Brief Sketch

�� �