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This volume, the fourth in Crawford Howell Toy’s “Handbooks on the History of Religions,” offers a scholarly survey of early mythic thought, rites, and the emergence of spirit‑beliefs among primitive societies. The opening sections set out a comparative analysis of how humans, unlike beasts, project a soul onto plants, minerals and even rocks when those entities affect their welfare, and how such projections give rise to tree‑spirits, river‑spirits and other extrahuman agents. Toy then moves from this theoretical framework to a detailed description of the earliest communal ceremonies, dances, processions, decorative and curative rituals, showing how they functioned as both social glue and sacred practice. The text proceeds methodically, linking observable customs to the underlying belief in a pervasive, mysterious force (mana) that governs birth, death, war and agriculture.
Toy writes in the measured, didactic prose of a late‑19th‑century academic, blending anthropological observation with philosophical speculation. His tone is analytical rather than devotional, aiming to explain rather than to persuade. Readers with an interest in the history of religion, comparative mythology, or the anthropology of ritual, especially those who appreciate a thorough, source‑rich exposition grounded in early ethnographic accounts, will find this work a valuable reference.
The opening · free to read
NATURE OF THE SOUL. Universal belief in an interior something, 18; its basis, 19; from observation of breath, 21; of shadow, 22; of blood, 23; Its form a sublimated double of the corporeal man, 24; or of an animal, 25; The seat of the soul, 26; Localization of qualities, 27; Consequences of the soul's leaving the body, 29; The hidden soul, 31.
ORIGIN OF THE SOUL. Not investigated by savages, 32; Creation of man, 33; Theories of birth, 34; Divine origin of the soul, 36; Mysteriousness of death, 38.
POLYPSYCHISM. Early views of the number and functions of souls, 39; Civilized views, 43.
FUTURE OF THE SOUL. Belief in its death, 46; This belief transient, 51-53; Dwelling-place of the surviving soul in human beings, beasts, plants, or inanimate objects, 55-59; or near its earthly abode, 60-63; or in some remote place in earth, sea, or sky, 64-66; or in an underground world, 67-69; Occupations of the dead, 70; Retribution in the Underworld, 71; Nonmoral distinctions, 72-75; Moral retribution, savage, 76-78; Civilized, 79-80; Local separation of the good from the bad, 81; Reward and punishment, Hindu, 82; Egyptian, 83; Greek, 84; Jewish and Christian, 85, 86; Purgatory, 87; Resurrection, 88-90.
POWERS OF THE SEPARATED SOUL. Prayers for the dead, 95, 96.
GENESIS OF SPIRITS. Functions of spirits (souls of nonhuman objects), 97-100.
CHAPTER III. EARLY RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES 48
Predominance of ceremonies in early religious life, 101, 102; They are communal, 103; and sacred, 104.
EMOTIONAL AND DRAMATIC CEREMONIES. Religious dances and plays, 106-108; Connected with the worship of gods, 109; Are means of religious culture, 110; Processions, 111; Circumambulation, 112; Magical potency, 113.
DECORATIVE AND CURATIVE CEREMONIES. Decoration of the body, 114-118; of houses, 119; of official dress, 120; Symbolism in decoration, 121.
ECONOMIC CEREMONIES. Propitiation of hunted animals, 122-125; Taboos, 126; Rules about eating, 127-128; Magical means of procuring food, 129-131; Use of blood, 132; to fertilize soil, 133; Sacrifice of first-born animals, including children, 134; Raising and housing crops, 135; Rain, 136; Survivals in civilized times, 137.
APOTROPAIC CEREMONIES. Early methods, 138-139; Expulsion of spirits, 140-141; Transference of evil, 142, 143; Expulsion by sacrifice, 144; The massing of such observances, 145.
CEREMONIES OF PUBERTY AND INITIATION. Training of the young, 146; Tests of endurance, 147; Seclusion of girls, 148; Rearrangement of taboos, 149; Supernatural machinery, 150; Mutilation of the body, 151, 152; Circumcision of males, its wide diffusion, 153; not a test of endurance, 154; nor hygienic, 155; nor to get rid of magical dangers, 156; nor to increase procreative power, 157; not religious in origin: not a form of phallic worship, 158; nor a sacrifice, 159, 160; nor a provision for reincarnation, 161; Circumcision of females, 162; Object of circumcision probably increase of sensual enjoyment, 163, 164; The symbolical interpretation, 165-168; Ceremonies of initiation to secure union with the clan, 169; Feigned resurrection of the initiate, 170; The lonely vision, 171; Instruction of youth, 172, 173; Initiation into secret societies, 174.
MARRIAGE CEREMONIES. Simple forms, 176-178; The bride hiding, 179; Prenuptial defloration, 180; Introduction of a supernatural element, 181; View that all marriage-ceremonies are essentially religious, 182.
CEREMONIES AT BIRTH. Parental care, 184; The couvade, 185; Child regarded as a reincarnation, 186; Ablutions and naming, 187; Child regarded as child of God, 188.
BURIAL CEREMONIES. Natural grief, 189; Propitiation of the dead by offerings at grave, 190; Ban of silence, 191; The dead regarded as powerful, 192; Social value of these ceremonies, 193.
CEREMONIES OF PURIFICATION AND CONSECRATION. Occasions of purification, 194-196; Methods: by water, sand, etc., 197-199; by sacrifice, 200; Purification of a whole community, 201; Consecration of private and official persons, 202, 203; Fasting, 204; its origin, 205-207; its religious effects, 208; Result of massing these ceremonies, 209.
CEREMONIES CONNECTED WITH SEASONS AND PERIODS. Calendars, 210, 211; Lunar festivals, 212-214; Solar festivals, 215; Solstitial and stellar festivals, 216; Importance of agricultural festivals, 217; Joyous, 218; Licentious, 219; Offering of first fruits, 220; Sadness, 221; The eating of sacred food, 222; Long periods, 223; Social value of these ceremonies, 224.
Savage treatment of superhuman Powers discriminating, 225-228; Charms and fetish objects, 229, 230; Life-force (mana), 231-233; not an object of worship, but enters into alliance with religion, 234, 235; Nature of sacredness, 236, 237; Luck, 238; The various objects of worship, 239, 240.
ANIMALS. Their social relations with men, 241, 242; Transformation and transmigration, 243; Two attitudes of men toward animals, 244-248; What animals are revered, 249, 250; Regarded as incarnations of gods or of spirits, 251; Those sacred to gods generally represent old beast-cults, 252, 253; Survivals of reverence for animals, 254; Beasts as creators, 255, 256; Worship rarely offered them, 257, 258; Coalescence of beast-cults with other religious observances, 259; Whether animals ever became anthropomorphic deities, 260; Historical significance of beast-cults, 261.
PLANTS. Their economic 'rôle', 262-264; Held to possess souls, 265; Their relations with men friendly and unfriendly, 266, 267; Sacred trees, 268, 269; Deification of soma, 270; Whether corn-spirits have been deified, 271; Sacred trees by shrines, 272; Their connection with totem posts, 273; Blood-kinship between men and trees, 274, 275; The cosmic tree, 276; Divinatory function of trees, 277; Relation of tree-spirits to gods, 278-285.
STONES AND MOUNTAINS. Stones alive and sacred, 286-288; have magical powers, 289, 290; Relation between divine stones and gods, 291-295; Magna Mater, 291; Massebas, 293; Bethels, 294; Stones cast on graves, and boundary stones, 296; Stones as altars: natural forms, 297; artificial forms, 298; High pillars by temples, 299; Images of gods, 300, 301; Folk-stories and myths connected with stones, 302; Sacred mountains, 303-305.
WATERS. Why waters are regarded as sacred, 306-308; Ritual use of water, 309; Water-spirits, 310, 311; Water-gods, 312-314; Rain-giving gods, 315; Water-myths, 316; Gods of ocean, 317.
FIRE. Its sacredness, 318, 319; Persian fire-cult, 320; Ritual use of fire, 321-323; Its symbolic significance, 334; Light as sacred, 325.
WINDS. Their relation to gods, 327.
HEAVENLY BODIES. Anthropomorphized, 328; Cosmogonic myths connected with them, 329, 330; Sex of sun and moon, 331; Whether they ever became gods, 332, 333; Thunder and lightning not worshiped, 334.
WORSHIP OF HUMAN BEINGS. Their worship widespread, with distinction between the living and the dead, 335.
THE CULT OF THE LIVING. Worship to be distinguished from reverence, 336; Worship of the living by savages, 337; by civilised peoples, 338; in Egypt, 339, 340; in Babylonia, 341; but there probably not Semitic, 342; not by Hebrews and Arabs, 343, 344; in China, 345; in Japan, 346; Whether by Greeks and Romans, 347; Not in India and Persia, 348; Cults of the living rarely important, 349.
THE CULT OF THE DEAD. Of historical persons: noncivilized, 351; civilized: in Egypt, 352; in Greece and Rome, 353; in China, 354; of the Calif Ali, 355; Greek and Roman worship of mythical ancestors, 356, 357; Dedivinization of gods, 358; Euhemerism, 359; Worship of the dead kin, 360, 361; Ghosts friendly and unfriendly, 362; Savage customs: mourning, 363; funeral feasts, 364; fear and kindly feeling, 365, 366; Definite cult of ghosts: savage, 367-370; civilised, 371-373; Greek and Roman state cults, 374; Chinese, 375; Divine functions of the venerated dead, 376-378; Ethical power of ancestor-worship, 379-383.
CULTS OF GENERATIVE POWERS. Nature's productivity, 384-386; Not all customs connected with generation are religious, 387; Cult of generative organs, 388-406; widespread, 388; Nonreligious usages, 389, 390; Phallic cults hardly to be found among the lowest peoples, 391, 392; Well developed in West Africa, 393; in modern India, 394; in Japan, 395; Most definite in some ancient civilized religions, 396; In Egypt, 397; Whether in Semitic communities, 398; Hierapolis, 399; Babylonia and Palestine, 400; Extensively practiced in Asia Minor, Ionia, and Greece, 401; Priapos, 402, 403; The Roman Mutunus Tutunus, 404; Phalli as amulets, 405; The female organ, 406; Androgynous deities, 407-418; Supposed Semitic figures: Ishtar, 408; Ashtart, 409; Tanit, 410; The Cyprian goddess, 411, 412; The Phrygian Agdistis, 413; Hermaphroditos, 415, 416; Androgynous deities not religiously important, 417; Origin of the conception, 418; Animals associated with phallic deities, 419; Christian phallic cults, 420.
TOTEMISM. Social protective clan customs, 422; Control of marriage by exogamic organization, 423-428; Theories of the origin of exogamy (scarcity of women, primitive promiscuity, absence of sexual attraction between persons brought up together, patriarch's jealousy, horror of incest, migration of young men) and criticism of them, 429-435; Diffusion and function of exogamy, 436-440; Definition of totemism, 441; Customs and beliefs associated with it, 442: exogamy, 443; names and badges, 444-448; descent from the totem, 449-451; refusal to kill or eat it, 452-459; magical ceremonies for increasing supply of food, 460, 461; Stricter definition of totemism, 462-465; Geographical distribution of totemic usages, 466-513; Australia, 468-473; Torres Straits Islands, 474, 475; British New Guinea, 476; Melanesia, 477-483; Micronesia and Polynesia, 484, 485; Indonesia, 486; India, 487; North America, 488-506; Africa, 507-513; Supposed traces in civilized peoples, 514-519; The permanent element in totemism, 520, 521; Conditions favorable and unfavorable to totemistic organization, 522; economic, 523-528; individualistic institutions (secret societies, guardian spirits), 529-537; political, 538; religious, 539, 540; The lines of progress to which totemism succumbs, 541.
THEORIES OF THE ORIGIN OF TOTEMISM, 542-559:
INDIVIDUALISTIC THEORIES. Confusion between names and things, 544; Animal or plant held to be the incarnation of a dead man, 545; Body of an animal as magical apparatus, 546; Animals as places of deposit of souls, 547; An object that influences a mother at conception, of which the child may not eat, 548; Animals and plants as incarnations of the souls of the dead, 549; Criticism, 550-552.
THEORIES BASED ON CLAN ACTION. A clan chooses an animal or plant as friend, 553, 554; The totem a clan badge, 555-557; Coöperation of groups to supply particular foods, 558; The totem a god incarnate in every member of a clan, 559; Summing-up on origin of totemism, 560-562; Social function of totemism, 563; Whether it produced the domestication of animals and plants, 564-569; Its relation to religion, 570-580; The totem as helper, 570-575; Whether a totem is ever worshiped, 576; or ever becomes a god, 577-580.
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