The Sex Worship and Symbolism of Primitive Races Part 3

The Rosicrucians[19] of the middle ages are rather better known, although this order also is very obscure. The Rosicrucians as well as the Gnostics had phallic emblems. They worshipped in a form very similar to that under which Priapus was worshipped. Moreover, as was the case with a number of these secret societies, they introduced perverse s.e.xual practices. They are said not only to have countenanced h.o.m.os.e.xuality, but to have made it one of the principles of their belief. At the same time, they scorned all a.s.sociation with women. Out of this belief they built up a philosophy in which the fire worship of antiquity played a part, and with which alchemy was a.s.sociated.

In the practice of h.o.m.os.e.xuality[20] and in the development of a philosophy in which women played no part, are seen sentiments quite similar to those which existed in the later days of Greece. At this time in Greece, patriarchy had driven out the last vestiges of matriarchy, female deities had lost their followers to a great extent, and the devotion was paid to male G.o.ds and heroes. This change seems to have produced a certain contempt for women. A number of writers have pointed out this reaction, and so probably in the philosophy of the Rosicrucians and in their practices, are seen an expression of these same sentiments.

Similar sentiments were expressed by other secret organizations and in some philosophies of a latter period. In this respect, therefore, the Rosicrucians were probably reverting to beliefs and feelings of an earlier date.

The Knights Templar were another secret society of the middle ages of a somewhat later time. The same can be said of them as of the former societies. They carried on the old phallic and mystic rites in modified form, and set up their beliefs in opposition to Christianity. When the Knights Templar were initiated they were made to deny Christ and the Virgin Mary, to spit on the cross, etc. They also were charged with h.o.m.os.e.xuality, and with them as with the Rosicrucians and the Gnostics, h.o.m.os.e.xuality was a part of their teachings. They likewise advocated communal marriage. At their secret meetings and initiations many vices existed; idols were worshipped, phallic features were introduced, and the entire ceremony was similar to the mysteries of antiquity.

Should there be any doubt regarding the a.s.sociation of these secret societies of the middle ages with the mysteries of the Ancients, this doubt is at once dispelled when we read of the practices of a remarkable secret organization described as the "Witches' Sabbath." Any one who has read a description of the Ancient Mysteries and of the initiation ceremonies of primitive tribes cannot but see in the Witches' Sabbath a remarkable similarity to the earlier mysteries. R. P. Knight[21] has given us a description of the Witches' Sabbath and he quotes freely from a French writer[22] who has given full details. We shall use such parts of these descriptions as are necessary to ill.u.s.trate these practices during the middle ages.

The Witches' Sabbath is described by these writers as it existed during the latter part of the fourteenth century. It was held on four occasions during the year, being a festival corresponding to the Priapiea and Baccha.n.a.lia of former days. Women played the leading part just as in the Baccha.n.a.lia. There were minor and major festivals corresponding to the lesser and greater Eleusinia. Pilgrimages were made at this time, which "resembled a fair of merchants mingled together, furious in transports, arriving from all parts--a meeting and a mingling of a hundred thousand subjects, sudden and transitory, novel, it is true, but of a frightful novelty which offends the eye and sickens you."

A symbolic representation of Satan presided at the festivals, and he a.s.sumed a number of disguises, in all of which we recognize Priapus in degenerated form. He very often appeared in the disguise of a goat; in fact the meeting place is called "Goat's Heath."

The a.s.sociation of the goat with priapic ceremonies has already been mentioned. At times the meeting was at cross roads, a favorite location for Hermes, as stated elsewhere.

Satan a.s.sumed a number of forms on these occasions other than that of the bearded goat. He was at times a serpent, or again an ox of bra.s.s. He was also represented as the trunk of a tree, sometimes as the oak.

Priapus is readily recognized in all these various disguises.

On these festive occasions we see remnants of the fire worship of primitive tribes. Satan often carried fire in some form or other and the rite of purification by fire, a residual of the earlier need-fire rites, was enacted. Particular significance was attached to the generative organs, and it is needless to say that all kinds of s.e.xual excesses ensued. Satan was held to be the father and protector of all.

Some of the women referred to the Witches' Sabbath as an earthly paradise and they said that the festival had all the features of a wedding celebration.

A number of absurd dances and other burlesques were introduced. In these one sees the burlesques and dances of the earlier mysteries and of the still more primitive initiation ceremonies of tribes in various countries. The dance was often held around a stone,--the significance of which has already been explained.

If in the above account of these mystic ceremonies in the middle ages a detailed enumeration of all forms of s.e.xual depravities has not been given, it is not because they did not exist. Our main object has been to show that s.e.x worship as practiced during the middle ages, was an expression of the decadence of a racial motive. No odium was formerly connected with this motive, but when an attempt was made to a.s.sociate these primitive feelings and beliefs with a civilization which had outgrown such conceptions, many undesirable features were in evidence.

Should further proof of the a.s.sociation of the Gnostics, the Rosicrucians, the Templars, etc., with the ancient priapic rites be necessary, this proof is found in numerous talismans, amulets, sculpture on earthen and gla.s.sware, which were a.s.sociated with these societies.

These amulets are all plainly phallic in design; R. P. Knight shows a number of vases, lamps, etc., on which phallic symbols are found. These articles were probably used at the secret rites.

Moreover, we find that many of these small phalli were worn for personal decoration; and here we come to a still lower decadence in s.e.x worship,--the period of superst.i.tion. A phallus was worn as a charm, somewhat as a fetish to ward off disease. Such charms were supposed to bring good luck and prosperity to the owner and they were used particularly as a charm against barrenness in women. A sign which could be made by the hand, the phallic hand, was used as a protection against the evil eye. Ancient representations of Priapus have been found with the hand in this att.i.tude. As further evidence to show the total degeneracy of these beliefs, it may be said that the phallic hand was adopted as a symbol of prost.i.tution.

In this we see the worship of s.e.x degenerated to its lowest form, _i. e._, a superst.i.tion to be followed by the lower cla.s.ses and the ignorant. The phallus which once had been attended with all ceremony had become a mere charm.

The conclusions which R. P. Knight reaches in relation to these decadent beliefs are worthy of remark. He states:[23] "We have thus seen in how many various forms the old phallic, or priapic worship presented itself in the middle ages, and how pertinaciously it held its ground through all the changes and development of society, until at length we find all the circ.u.mstances of the ancient priapic orgies, as well as the mediaeval additions combined in that great and extensive superst.i.tion,--witchcraft. At all times the initiated were believed to have obtained thereby powers which were not possessed by the uninitiated, and they only were supposed to know about the form of invocation of the deities who were the objects of this worship, which deities the Christian teachers invariably transformed into devils. The vows which people of antiquity addressed to Priapus, those of the middle ages addressed to Satan. The Witches' Sabbath was simply the last form which the Priapeia and Libernalia a.s.sumed in Western Europe, and in its various decadences all the incidents of those great and licentious orgies of the Romans were reproduced." It is little wonder that the persecution of witches by the Christians long survived the middle ages.

Hargrave Jennings[24] has referred to phallic principles in a number of the early chivalric societies of England. He states that the Knights of the Round Table of King Arthur had phallic emblems and other features similar to those of the Rosicrucians. The same author submits considerable evidence to indicate that the Order of the Garter is of much greater antiquity than is generally believed and that phallic principles were a.s.sociated with it. A similar contention was made regarding the symbolism a.s.sociated with the Holy Grail, a sacred vessel apparently connected with primitive rites at a time far antedating Christianity. a.s.sociated with the old Churches in Ireland similar phallic emblems have been found, as well as in Europe. These emblems were used as charms by the primitive people.

We stated above that the early deities of primitive tribes were regarded as demons during the Christian period. In Teutonic beliefs phallic deities were developed quite comparable to those of Greece and Rome.

These Teutonic deities came to be regarded as hobgoblins during the middle ages. They were supposed to be found in lonely places and in forests, and to emerge at times in order to indulge in all sorts of s.e.xual excesses, much as the fauns and satyrs of antiquity. The English had a similar hobgoblin in Robin Goodfellow. This fict.i.tious character is represented in priapic att.i.tudes in a number of ill.u.s.trations of old English ballads. He was doubtless Priapus of antiquity transformed into a goblin.

Why should superst.i.tions of this kind live century after century?

Frazer[25] has given us the answer: "Superst.i.tions survive because while they shock the views of the enlightened members of the community, they are still in harmony with the thoughts and feelings of others, who, though they are drilled by their betters into an appearance of civilization, remain barbarians or savages at heart ... I have been led into making these remarks by the wish to explain why it is that superst.i.tions of all sorts, political, moral and religious, survive among people who have the opportunity of knowing better. The reason is that the better ideas, which are constantly forming in the upper stratum have not filtered through from the highest to the lowest minds. Such a filtration is generally slow, and by the time the new emotions have penetrated to the bottom, if indeed they ever get there, they are often obsolete and superseded by others at the top."

CHAPTER IV

INTERPRETATIONS

Having followed the worship of s.e.x through its various phases, it is now desirable to offer such interpretations of its meaning as the facts appear to warrant. What was the significance of this elaborate ritual; why did it develop, and how is it to be interpreted from a biological standpoint in mental evolution. The history of the development of this ritual may be of considerable interest in itself but we wish now to consider the subject from the biological rather than the historical standpoint. It remains to be shown what ends these beliefs serve in the evolution of the primitive mind, or at least what they represent, and what vestiges of them remain in our thoughts and feelings of today. Only from this standpoint can the study of primitive motives be of value to the Psychologist and the Psychiatrist.

In order to answer the above questions, it is desirable to refer to a still more primitive form of religious belief, since our understanding of this earlier religion offers a key to the understanding of s.e.x worship. We refer to the various forms of nature worship found in primitive tribes. These nature rites consist of rain making ceremonies, sun dances, and numerous other procedures which are carried out by primitive people because of their supposed service in increasing the products of the earth. Fortunately these rites are quite clearly understood. It has been shown by many investigators that they are enacted to increase the food supply. They are actuated by the desire on the part of primitive people to meet nutritive demands.

Now this knowledge enables us to understand phallic ceremonies. A very distinct parallelism is seen between the nature worship rites and phallic rites. We feel that it is not difficult to show that while the earlier rites were in accord with nutritive demands, phallic ceremonies were an expression of the desire for human reproduction. We shall now digress somewhat in order to discuss nature rites in some detail, as thereby the phallic rites are very readily explained.

Among many of the Indian tribes of North America, the tribes of Central Africa, the primitive races of Australia, the lower hill tribes of India, and others, we find religious ceremonies all of which are carried out in much the same way and with the same object in view. We are all familiar with the rain making ceremonies of the North American Indians; we find frequent reference in literature to the various Spring festivals of the Egyptians at which grain is grown, etc., and in which vegetative nature is deified. A great many of the nations of antiquity had similar rites to increase the produce of the earth.

When the meaning of this general type of ceremony is understood, it is found that it has the same significance throughout. As stated above, these ceremonies are enacted to increase the food supply, either directly or indirectly. If it is a dry and arid locality, as is the case with our Western Indians, a rain making rite is performed. This is a religious procedure in which various processes of magic are utilized.

This explains the importance of the thunder G.o.d as a deity, so clearly ill.u.s.trated by Miss J. Harrison. The thunder rites are to increase the rain fall, and the magic in such procedures is imitative; that is, a sound similar to thunder is produced, as primitive man believes thunder to cause the rainfall since it often precedes it. Miss Harrison[26] has given a picture of an early thunder G.o.d of the Chinese,--a deity surrounded by many objects, which he strikes to cause thunder. Rattles made of gourds are used for the same purpose with some tribes; or down, etc., may be used in imitation of clouds, and water spurted about to represent rain. In many instances a secret ceremonial object is used,--a bull roarer in the rain making ceremonies. This is an object which, when whirled about, makes a sound in imitation of thunder. It represents a sort of thunder deity and so is a.s.sociated with rainfall. It is held very sacred, being carefully guarded from view and kept under custody by the head men of the tribe.

In a primitive civilization engaged in pastoral pursuits where the herd is the important source of food supply the ceremony centers about the dairy and the herd. In Southern India, among the Toda tribes,[27] where the buffalo herd is sacred, this is quite apparent. Certain buffaloes are attended by the priests only, special dairies are sacred, and the entire religious development has to do with the sanct.i.ty of milk. The dairy utensils are sacred, and one special vessel, the one which contains the fermenting material, is held in particular veneration. This vessel is kept in a special part of the dairy, its location corresponding to the sanctuary of a temple. If by chance the ferment does not act properly, it is manufactured again by an elaborate rite.

Here we see that the religious rites have to do with the food supply and fitting sacred ceremonials are performed.

When the food supply depends upon animal food a direct a.n.a.logy in the ceremonies is seen. Some Siberian tribes[28] perform a rite to increase the supply of bear meat. A young bear is captured, suckled by a woman, and a.s.sumes the aspects of a sacred animal. It is finally slain in a ritual way, and the entire performance is for the purpose of increasing the supply of bear meat.

A few references may be given to indicate the views of those who have made special studies of these ceremonies. G. A. Dorsey[29] speaking of the Hopi tribe of the Southwest, states: "When the Hopi are not at work they are worshipping in the Kivas. The underlying element of this worship is to be found in the environment. Mother nature does not deal kindly with man in the desert. Look where you will, across the drifting sands of the plains, and the cry of man and beast is 'Water!' And so, to the G.o.ds of the rain clouds does the Hopi address his prayer. His instruments of worship are so fashioned that his magic may surpa.s.s the magic of these G.o.ds, and compel them to loosen their stores, full to overflowing. Take any one of the great Hopi ceremonies, a.n.a.lyze the paraphernalia worn by the men, dissect the various components of the altar or sand paintings, examine the offerings made to the Spring and those placed upon the shrines, and in everything and everywhere we see prayers for rain."

Dr. Clark Wissler,[30] in speaking of primitive ceremonies, states: "One striking feature of primitive ceremonies is the elaboration of ritualistic procedure relating to the food supply. Particularly in aboriginal America we have many curious and often highly complex rituals a.s.sociated with the cultivation of maize and tobacco. These often impress the student of social phenomena as extremely unusual but still highly suggestive facts, chiefly because the a.s.sociation seems to be between things which are wholly unrelated. Thus, among the p.a.w.nee we find an elaborate ritual in which a few ears of maize are raised almost to the status of G.o.ds. At a certain fixed time of the autumn the official priest of this ritual proceeds with great ceremony to the fields and selects a few ears, according to definite standards. These are further consecrated and carefully guarded throughout the winter. At planting time the women present themselves ceremonially to receive the seed, the necessary planting instructions, etc. Thus, it appears that during the whole year recital, there is a definite ritual in functions a.s.sociated with maize culture."

The primitive tribes of Australia afford an excellent example of this type of ceremony, and fortunately these tribes have been very carefully studied. At the p.u.b.erty initiations of the young men, one of the main ceremonies is a yam ceremony,[31] _i. e._, a procedure to ensure a bountiful supply of the yams. A special type of yam is secured, and cooked with much ceremony under fixed rules, much care and secrecy being observed throughout. After the cooking ceremony is finished, the yams are cut up and divided among the various members of the tribe. The ceremony is supposed to increase the supply of yams. Miss J.

Harrison[32] in interpreting Australian ceremonies states: "The primitive Australian takes care that magic shall not be wanting, a magic of the most instructive kind. As soon as the season of fertility approaches he begins his rites with the avowed object of making and multiplying the plants, and chiefly the animals, by which he lives; he paints the figure of the emu on the sand with vermillion drawn from his own blood; he puts on emu feathers and gazes about him in stupid fashion, like an emu bird; he makes a structure of boughs like the chrysalis of a Witchetty grub--his favorite food, and drags his body through it in pantomime, gliding and shuffling to promote its birth.

Here, difficult and intricate though the ceremonies are, and uncertain in meaning as many of the details must always probably remain, the main emotional gist is clear. It is not that the Australian wonders at and admires the miracle of his Spring, the bursting of the flowers and the singing of the birds; it is not that his heart goes out in grat.i.tude to All-Father who is the Giver of all good things; it is that, obedient to the push of life within him his impulse is towards food. He must eat that he and his tribe may grow and multiply. It is this, his will to live, that he _utters and represents_."

In a monograph[33] of the Shinto religion of the j.a.panese, R. Hitchc.o.c.k states that the leading function of the female deity is to increase the food supply. She is given the name of the G.o.ddess of Food, or the Producer of Trees and the Parent of Gra.s.ses. She is spoken of as Abundant-Food-Lady, and seems to be a personification of the earth.

A further description of these rites is unnecessary, as wherever found they are all of the same general type. They have been described in North America, in Central Africa, in j.a.pan, in Siberia, in India and they probably exist in many other localities. The above references indicate that they were primitive man's expression of his desire for food, this fundamental motive finding expression in an elaborate ritual.

Now since in the above rites, where the increase of the food supply is the main motive, the entire development and symbolism centers about articles of food, and since in the phallic rites an entirely a.n.a.lagous development and symbolism centers about the generative organs, it is only reasonable to infer that the phallic rites have to do with the desire for children. In this we have the meaning of s.e.x worship. It is primitive man's expression of his desire for the perpetuation of the race and so it represents a biological necessity, the earlier motive being for the preservation of the individual.

Fortunately the conclusions which the above arguments would appear to warrant are borne out by the statements of those who have studied these matters in great detail. Miss J. Harrison,[34] who also quotes Dr.

Frazer, states: "The two great interests of primitive man are food and children. As Dr. Frazer has well said, if man the individual is to live he must have food; if his race is to persist he must have children, 'to live and to cause to live, to eat food and to beget children, these were the primary wants of man in the past, and they will be the primary wants of men in the future so long as the world lasts.' Other things may be added to enrich and beautify human life, but, unless these wants are first satisfied, humanity itself must cease to exist. These two things, therefore, food and children, were what man chiefly sought to secure by the performance of magical rites for the regulation of the seasons. They are the very foundation stones of that ritual from which art, if we are right, took its rise."

There is a very striking parallelism between these two rites. It would be interesting to trace out these a.n.a.logies step by step, but we shall refer to them only in a general way.

The outward form of the two rites is very similar. In both a religious ceremony is enacted. In the development of this ceremony a system, in which a priesthood forms a prominent part, is developed in both instances. The element of mystery runs through both procedures and, as Steven D. Peet[35] has stated, the nature worship ceremony of the North American Indians bears a remarkable resemblance to the mysteries of the Eleusis and of the Baccha.n.a.lia.

In both the nature rites and the phallic rites, a sacred ceremonial object develops, and about this object a very elaborate symbolism evolves. Just as in the most primitive form of s.e.x worship we saw that the deity consisted of a rude representation of the generative organs, so in nature worship we find that the ceremonial object is at first a rude representative of the deified animal or plant. This sacred symbol is eventually conventionalized. We have observed this in s.e.x worship, as explained by Inman, Payne Knight and others. In the same way in nature worship, ceremonial objects are conventionalized. Spencer has shown this in the case of the Australians, the ceremonial objects eventually coming to bear a remote resemblance only to the original animal or plant representation. A. L. Kroeber[36] has observed the same development in the Arapaho Indians. The buffalo symbol for example, (a very important one in this tribe since the buffalo is the chief food) has become highly conventionalized, and is finally represented by a formal rectangular design. This design now means the earth, and it is also used as a life symbol.

Again, just as we saw how in s.e.x worship the religious symbol came to be expressed throughout decorative art, and in fact eventually became a leading motive, so it has been shown that in the nature worship of the Indians this same evolution takes place. A. L. Kroeber and Clark Wissler, among others, have shown that the decorative art on the moccasins, leggings, tents, food bags, etc., of the Indians, all representing a highly conventionalized symbol, expresses religious motives throughout. This symbolism can be interpreted only by an understanding of religious motives. The a.n.a.logy of this symbolic development to that a.s.sociated with s.e.x worship is at once apparent.

Finally, just as in s.e.x worship the motive came to dominate most of the practices and usages of civil life, so it can be shown that in tribes practicing nature worship, the religious motive has a very powerful influence. The performance of rites to increase the food supply are among the most important of primitive man's duties. Any man who enters into these rites listlessly is not respected, and the leaders of the rite are the head men of the tribe. In Australia, one of the main functions of each Totem group is to increase the supply of its own Totem animal or plant by magic ceremony.

In summing up, therefore, the a.n.a.logies between s.e.x worship and nature worship, the following features may be reviewed: the outward form is the same, _i. e._, that of a religious ceremonial rite in which a sacred object is the representation of the deity. The symbolism a.s.sociated with this object develops in the same way in both instances. In the course of time this symbolism becomes conventionalized, and eventually it finds its way into primitive art. It then becomes the leading motive in primitive art and finally the religious motive is forgotten and the aesthetic motive alone remains. Were further proof necessary, these a.n.a.logies alone would be sufficient to enable us to understand the meaning of s.e.x worship.

The ritual a.s.sociated with the worship of s.e.x then, arose in response to emotions which are grouped around the instinct of reproduction. These feelings are so primitive and at the same time so fundamental, that it is difficult for us to realize that early man should dignify them by religious ritual. They stand out as expressions of a biological demand.

As stated above, s.e.x worship was not a conscious expression on the part of certain individuals, but it was the unconscious expression of longings and desires on the part of the race. It represents a phase in man's mental evolution, a process of mental development. Its dynamic value, from a biological standpoint, is at once apparent. In order to survive man must reproduce his kind, and the emotions a.s.sociated with reproductive instincts must be of adequate dynamic value.