Page:Primitive Culture Vol 1.djvu/117

Rh are mentioned. Sir Thomas Browne, in his 'Vulgar Errors,' made well known the story that when the King of Monomotapa sneezed, acclamations of blessing passed from mouth to mouth through the city; but he should have mentioned that Godigno, from whom the original account is taken, said that this took place when the king drank, or coughed, or sneezed. A later account from the other side of the continent is more to the purpose. In Guinea, in the last century, when a principal personage sneezed, all present fell on their knees, kissed the earth, clapped their hands, and wished him all happiness and prosperity. With a different idea, the negroes of Old Calabar, when a child sneezes, will sometimes exclaim, 'Far from you!' with an appropriate gesture as if throwing off some evil. Polynesia is another region where the sneezing salutation is well marked. In New Zealand, a charm was said to prevent evil when a child sneezed; if a Samoan sneezed, the bystanders said, 'Life to you!' while in the Tongan group a sneeze on the starting of an expedition was a most evil presage. A curious American instance dates from Hernando de Soto's famous expedition into Florida, when Guachoya, a native chief, came to pay him a visit. 'While this was going on, the cacique Guachoya gave a great sneeze; the gentlemen who had come with him and were lining the walls of the hall among the Spaniards there all at once bowing their heads, opening their arms, and closing them again, and making other gestures of great veneration and respect, saluted him with different words, all directed to one end, saying, "The Sun guard thee, be with thee, enlighten thee, magnify thee, protect thee, favour thee, defend thee, prosper thee, save thee," and other like phrases, as the words came, and for a