Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/862

* KAir. 768 MAN. signed to the East, sunset-color to the West, sun- color to the South, and cold-color to the North; jet the connotation soon passed into arbitrary symbolism, as when a mixed or all-color was re- quired for the -Middle of primitive thought, and especially when sky-color for the Zenith and earth-color for the Nadir were added with the in- creasing grasp of directional relations. The strength of the Cult of the Quarters and the de- votion of its adherents are strikingly shown by the infinite pains taken in the production of the colors; as when corn was cultivated by Amerind tribes through many generations to produce white, yellow, red, blue, and mixed grains (some- times in i)attcrns on the ear) for ceremonial use. In higher culture the color symbolism di>*api)ears, yet the cunventions persist in class onstunies, uniforms, etc.. especially among Oriental peojiles; among the Aryans the conventionalism was early dissolved in that artistic progress culminating in Italian art. The primal concepts of form were also interwoven with the Cult of the Quarters; for the placement of arrows or other objects in adoration of the directions produced quadrupli- cate figures to which a mystical potency or sacred meaning was attached, i.e. they become (like the animal designs) permanent invocations to the powers. Such figures are, or have been, nearly universal; in the form of the .simple cross and the swastika they abound among the pre- historic relics of most of the world, and are found among primitive peoples still surviving on every continent save Australia (where the number concept remained binary) ; standing at first for directional invocations, the qua tern figure gradu- ally became a general world emblem, a token of eomi)lpteness or ]ierfection, a symbol of the Four Winds, and. as refined beliefs arose, a sign of the spiritual world. A survey of primitive games and music renders it clear that most of the movements and utter- ances of the performers mimic those of animals, or those imputed to the Great Ancients regarded as the ancestors of beasts and men: for the folk held themselves akin to animals and inhabitants of a realm of beastly powers which demanded pla- catioii as the ])rice of human life. Host of the placatory observances are designed to affect the group as well as the individual, so that they are essentially public and collective: and as they grow into regulated ceremonies the germ of the drama arises: symbolic costumes are adopted, emblems of function or power are introduced, the voices of the actors are changed and musical instruments are employed as adjuncts, while idealized scenes are enacted with a scrupulous regard for the recognized jnoprieties. and event- ually a strong dramatic sense is engendered. At first mere vicars of their tutelaries. the leaders in the ceremonies gradually introduce illusive features reflecting their owni skill or originality, as in a corn ceremony of the Hopi tribe in which the mythical Great Serpent — arch-enemy of corn and men — is represented by a structure manipu- lated by a shaman behind the altar while his feet remain in sight of the spectators. Although the steps are too many for recounting, such primitive ceremonies grade into the drama proper: on one line they pass into e(1g^--plays. such as the sacred puppet ceremonies of the .Javanese and the modern Kuropean marionettes; along the main line they merge into histrionic perform- ances which are long held sacred, but gradually become secular; while other lines are interwoven with those of both music and graphic arts, and also with the lore which matures in poetry and romance. The latter lines are long; it may be noted merely that the songs and stories and symbols of the primitive ceremonies are the nm-t imaginative productions of the participants; tli;it in consonance with the measure of drum and rattle the renditions are gradually reduced to rhythm; that with recognition of harmony prosodic meas- ure arises; and that with each advance growing poetic spirit finds alternative expressiim in freer dramatic action and in richer word-)iainting of story-tellers and scribes, balladists and authors. In general, the development of the arts (iiicluil ing play and games as well as music, gra])liii -, ])ainting and sculpture, and the drama ) indicates a progressive advance from lower savagery up- ward at a geometrically increasing rate. The growth (or ontogeny) of individual arts nieasiu- ably epitomizes the development (or pliylogenyl of kinds or species, while the occasional recur- rence of primitive characters establishes the gen- eral sequence and aids in tracing minor liiu-: at the same time the pliylogeny of the lesthiln diH'ers from that of the merely vital in that it looks forward into the future rather than back- ward into the past — it is, as Groos would have it for the simplest expressions, proplietic rather than vestigial. And every step from «he bald mimicry of the prime through the crude symbol- ism and sluggish conventionalism of the middle course and thence to the free idealization of the present day. the lighter and more spontaneous activities have fertilized and inspired the more substantial activities — they have served as the mainspring of human life. Teciixology: IxrjisTRiES. OR Material Ac- TiviTiE,s. Man touches lower nature chiefly through material activities. The activities in- volved in conservation of kind pertain to ( 1 ) sus- tentation, (2) reproduction, and (3) preserva- tion, all of which are shared with lower animals; and among mankind the preservative activities are diflferentiated into (a) propugnation. or ac- tive defense of weaklings and others, (b) domicil- iation, and (c) habilimentation. Closely related to these activities are others which may col- lectively be called coordination, since it is through them that men first fi.xed their inter- relations with plants and animals, as well as fire and various materials. Other material activ- ities are connected with the conquest of the min- eral realm through stone-working, metallurgy', etc., and represent the reconstruction of lower nature; while a fourth major group includes those activities connected with transportation, through which man controls space and time. There remain certain activities which may be classed as material though allied to those of intellectual character; these pertain to educa- tion, including the exercise and training of mind and body in such wise as continually to widen the chasm between man and lower nature, and serve especially to elevate the activities of con- servation into the distinctively human realm. Arranged tabularly the groups are as follows: ( Sustfntntioii Conservation- Rpprodurtion I Prnpiiernation I Preservation -] nnniiPiliation I Habilimeutatiou roordinatlon RtH-onstrnotion Transportation Education