Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 36.djvu/819

Rh languages all belong to one family, and that the tribes now speaking them are descended from one common stock. The question then arises, Is this an isolated belief which will account for the origin of Nature-worship in certain districts of West Africa, and must be limited to them; or is it a wide-spread belief which will account for the origin of that form of worship generally? Further researches can alone determine this satisfactorily, but there are certain indications which tend to show that the belief is widespread. It must be remembered that it is unusual for students of anthropology to come into direct contact with people in that condition which we term savagery, and ordinary travelers possessing, like all Europeans, the belief in one soul only, and perhaps never having conceived the possibility of a man supposing himself to possess a third element, would be very unlikely to make any inquiries in this direction. Even if a communicative native stated to him his theory of an indwelling spirit, or third element, the traveler would perhaps doubt if he really understood him; but people low in the stage of civilization are not communicative on such points. Consequently, we can not expect to find many indications, but there are some.

Cross tells us that the Karens, who inhabit parts of Burmah, Tenasserim, and Siam, believe in two elements in addition to the corporeal man, viz., the thah, which seems to answer to the soul, and the là or kelah, which is described as a "life-phantom"; and Williams, that the Fijians say that a man's "shadow" or "darkspirit" goes to Dead-land, and that his "light-spirit" stays near where he dies. These appear to be beliefs somewhat analogous to that in the kra, but these different elements have not yet been defined. The genius natalis of the Romans, too, presents many points of resemblance to the kra. Like it, it entered the man at birth, and attended him till death. It was regarded as a second spiritual self, and the anniversary of the birthday of the man was held as a day sacred to it, libations being offered to the image by which it was represented among the household gods. At a later period of the Roman dominion this belief was modified, and, as among the Ga-speaking peoples of the Gold Coast, a belief in two indwelling spirits, one good and one bad, was formed. It was the latter which appeared to Brutus in the camp at Sardis. "What art thou?" said Brutus; "art thou god or man?" The apparition answered: "I am thy evil genius, Brutus. Thou wilt see me at Philippi."

It is, however, in America that we find the greater number of indications. Foremost stands Dr. Washington Matthews's abovementioned account, in which the belief of the Navajo in the third