The Making of Religion

reatly corroborate that belief in the endurance of the soul after death, which is undeniably suggested to the early reasoner by the phenomena of dreaming. But, while it is easy enough to produce ev

experiences are not common; and Australian black fellows have admitted that they, for their part, never did see a ghost, but only heard of ghosts from their old men. Mr. David Leslie, previously cited, gives some first-hand Zulu evidence about a haunted wood, where the Esemkofu, or ghosts of persons

iety to be shut up, or shunned, as ‘haunted.’ Such disturbances the savage naturally ascribes to ‘spirits.’ Our evidence, therefore, for recognised phantasms of the savage dead is very meagre, so it is unnecessary to examine the much more copious civilised evidence. The facts attested may, of course, be theoretically explained as the result of telepathy from a mind

hat derived from savage life, to a topic in which savage evidence is much more ful

h they could not have normally acquired, and, in fact, do not consciously possess, in their normal condition. All these and similar phenomena the savage explains by the hypothesis that an alien spirit — perhaps a demon, perhaps a ghost, or a god — has taken possession of the patient. The possessed, being full of the spirit, delivers sermons, oracles, prophecies, and what the Americans call ‘inspirat

ife; but, on losing his religious zeal, and disagreeing with some of the church members, he removed to a distant village, where he could not attend the services of the Sabbath, and it was soon after reported that he had communications with his familiar spirit again. I sent a native preacher to visit him. The man said he heard the voice which had conversed with him formerly, but it spok

iously, but under the influence of the faith which he had abandoned. In the same way we shall find that a modern American ‘Medium,’ after being for a time cons

heir normal condition.4 In China, possessed women, who never composed a line of poetry in their n

d States. The doctor had the audacity to declare that he could find no better explanation of the phenomena than the theory of the Apostles — namely, that the patie

, if the special notes of possession actually exist, they do mark quite a distinct species of mental affection. Dr. Nevius then observed that, according to Mr. Tylor, ‘scientific physicians now explain the facts on a different principle,’ but, says Dr. Nevius, ‘we search in vain to discover what this principle is.’6 Dr. Nevius, who had the courage of his opinions, then consulted a work st

but ‘he has hardly even attempted to do this.’ Dr. Nevius next perused the works of Dr. Griesinger, Dr. Baelz, Professor William James, M. Ribot, and, generally, the literature of ‘alternating personality.’ He found Mr. James professing his conviction that the ‘alternating personality’ (in popular phrase, the demon, or familiar spirit) of Mrs. Piper knew a great deal about things wh

logists and psychologists are unable to explain, or give the modus of a set of

as precisely the natur

ues the symptoms o

a new personality, which calls himself shieng (genius) a

r not owned by the patient (in his normal state)

e of moral charac

iser intelligence had taken possession of the patient’s body would be, to the savage, irresistible. But the more cautious modern, even if he accepted the facts, would be reduced to no such extreme conclusion. He would say

en brother is best left in the obscurity of a remarkably difficult and copious Oriental language. We are thus obliged to fall back on the reports of Mr. Leng and other native Christian teachers. They are perfectly modest and rational in style. We learn that Mrs. Sen, a lady in her normal state incapable of lyrical efforts, lisped in numbers in her secondary personality, and de

s, knows nothing of what has occurred; Christian prayers are often effic

ything in the matter of possession, except the facts which, in the opinion of Dr. Nevius, were in need of explanation. These facts did not occur in the case of the demoniac ‘exorcised’ by Dr. Janet. Thus t

Dr. Nevius believes ever present themselves at all; but, if

ille, did not act o

or intellectual power which he d

etely changed; he was only more hypo

nvulsed, anaesthetic, suicidal, involuntarily blasphemous. He was not ‘exorcised’ by a prayer or by a command, but after a long course of mental and physical treatment. His cure does not explain the cures in whi

fessor W. Romaine Newbold, in ‘Proceedings, S.P.R.,’ February 1898 (pp. 602–604). And the same number of the same period

le field of ‘possession’ in non-European peoples. B

o some cave, to remain in a hypnotic or mesmeric state’ until the moon was full. Then he would return en prophète. ‘Stamping, leaping, and shouting in a peculiarly violent manner, or beating the ground with a club’ (to summon those under earth), ‘they induce a kind of fit, and while in it pretend that their utterances are unknown to themselves,’ as they probably are, when

mere adv

Mokari moves first from the village, he will perish

h

bold seer i

his own m

er men water to drink, b

They call me

ed soon after, and so Sebituane wandered westward, not disobedient t

hilosophers differ, and it is not our business to discuss their physiological and pathological ideas.14 Our affair is to ask whether, in the field of experience, there is any evidence that persons thus ‘possessed’ really evince knowledge which they could not have acquired through normal channels? If such evidence exists, the facts would naturally strengthen the conviction that the possessed person was inspired by an intelligence not his own, that is, by a spirit. Now it is the firm convict

, till the soul of a deceased person from whom communication is de

— Dr. Phinuit. She then displays a varying amount of knowledge of dead and living people connected with her clients, who are usually strangers, often introduced under feigned names. Mrs. Piper and her husband have been watched by detectives, and have not been disco

. Piper, in her condition of trance, obtains knowledge not otherwise and normally accessible to her. It was admitted that her familiar spirit guesses, attempts t

sm, full of traits vifs, of the excellent woman’s character. (Of course, no one but my wife and I knew the existence of the letter in question.) She was strong on the events in our nursery, and gave striking advice during our first visit to her about the way to deal with certain “tantrums” of our second child — “little Billy-boy,” as she called him, reproducing his nursery name. She told how the crib creaked at night, how a certain rocking-chair creaked mysteriously, how my wife had heard footsteps on a stair, &c. &c. Insignificant as these things sound when read, the accumulation of them has an irresistible effect; and I repeat again what I said before, that, taking everything that I know of Mrs.

r. I wish it were more “scientific.” But

Mr. Jame

mal powers of cognition are displayed therein. They are, prima facie, due to “spirit control.” But the condit

ai

iction that knowledge appears which she has never gaine

for my own mind, the limits o

superstitious), after cons

de conna?tre non soup?o

Mrs. Piper is purely anthropological. She exhibits a survival or recrudescence of savage phenomena, real or

used to be admitted that, when ‘possessed,’ Mrs. Piper would cheat when she could — that is to say, she would make guesses, try to worm information out of her sitter, describe a friend of his, alive or dead, as ‘Ed.,’ who may be Edgar, Edmund, Edward, Edith, or anybody. She would

writer. . . . Except the guess about my sister Helen, who is alive, there was not a single guess which was nearly right. Mrs. Piper is not

Each of these gentlemen had only one ‘sitting.’ M. Paul Bourget also informed me, in conversation, that Mrs. Piper held his hand while she told the melancholy tale connected with a key in

others are remarkably incoherent. Dr. Hodgson deserves the praise of extraordinary patience and industry, displayed in the very distasteful task of watching an unfortunate lady in the vagaries of ‘trance.’ His reasonings are perfectly calm, perfectly unimpassioned, and his bias has not hitherto seeme

he foregoing pages are veritably the personalities that they claim to be, that they have survived the change we call de

ase, accepts the hypothesis of ‘possession’ as und

rganism’ (if they had the chance) than I would voluntarily find myself in a ‘sitting’ with that lady. It is unnecessary to wax eloquent on this head; and the curious can consult the writings of Dr. Hodgson for themse

assist the diviner by holding his hand, but are expected to smite the ground violently if the guess made by the diviner is right; gently if it is wrong. A sceptical Zulu, named John, having a shilling

th, but from high in the roof. It gave forth a kind of questioning remarks which were always correct. It then reported correctly a number o

’s case, the spirits are fond of diagno

sion is given in his travels by

h is unusual), so that what went on within might be observed. In the centre was a chest-shaped arrangement of stakes, so far apart from each other ‘that whatever lay within them was readily to be discerned.’ The tent was illuminated ‘by a great n

who is to be inspired, existed in Graeco–Egyptian spiritualism, among S

m did not undo the swathings of linen, in which he was rolled, like a mummy. They had to be unswathed for him, by others.29 Again, a dead body, among the Australians, is corded up tight, as soon as the breath is out of it, if it is to be buried, or before being exposed on a platform, if that is the custom.30 Aga

the dead, who will then communicate with him? In three remote points, we find seer-binding and corpse-binding; but we need to prove that corpses are, or have

outhwards, where the prophet enters a magic lodge, unbound. Among the Narquapees, he sits cross-legged

cerer is bound, the dead are bound also. I note the following

the

, and the legs bent under it and tied together.’34 The dead Gree

were ‘wrapped in skins;’ that they were also swathed with cords he

ish and Greenland seers), is very old and widely diffused. Ellis says, of the Tahitians, ‘the body of the dead man was . . . placed in a sitting pos

the sorcerer, probably points to a purpose of introducing the seer to the society of the dead. The custom, as applied to prophets, might survive, even where the burial rite had altered, or cannot be ascertained, and might survive, for corpses, where it had gone out of use, for seers. The Scotch used to justify their practice of putting the head between the knees when,

his life. So children are told, in Scotland, that, if the wind changes while they are making faces,

e may be pardoned for the curi

was lifted into the chest-like enclosure. I could now also discern him as plain as I had ever

But in an instant he sprang upon his feet, notwithstanding at the time he was put in it appeared impossible for him to move either his legs or arms, and shaking off his covering, as quick as if the bands with which it had bee

men in it, who had met the traders, said they would come in two days, which they did. Carver, pr

rver, who knew the topography and the chances of a secret messenger arriving to prompt the

rerum natura, that the man or woman in one personality may have no conscious memory of what was done or said in the other, and that cases o

ew Zealand;’ but, while modern civilised parallels depend on the solitary case of Mrs. Piper (for no other case has been