out from behind a screen, has "something to do with the subsequent and more modern adulation of the extremities of the Papal Pontiff." Appendices on the grammatical construction of the various tongues, and on certain words and names in use, together with a map and a short and incomplete index, form the remainder of the book.

The above notes are intended to show that there is a great deal that is valuable in Major Leonard's records from the Niger Delta, and that his book is a necessary aid to the study of West African religion; but it is so evident that he possesses great stores of unused information that one must needs feel keen disappointment that so many pages that might have received those stores should be given up to general and inconclusive discussions of the possible emotions and speculations of primitive man, and to tantalising comment on facts which are not stated in detail. A. R. WRIGHT.

IN INDIAN MEXICO: A NARRATIVE OF TRAVEL AND LABOR. By FREDERICK STARR. Chicago: Forbes & Co., 1908. PROFESSOR STARR has already in various publications given to the world the scientific results of his six years' labour among the native tribes of Southern Mexico. The present work contains the narrative of his doings. It is illustrated by plates, many of which will be recognised as reduced from his larger series of superb photographs, but many of which are quite new. The author claims that it is the first book describing the region occupied by the tribes surveyed. It is, at all events, a most interesting record of travel, told with all Professor Starr's verve and humour. His devotion to his scientific work, his determination to carry it out, and his resource are abundantly in evidence. The difficulties he had to encounter in remote districts were by no means small; and it is a matter of astonishment and congratulation that he succeeded so well in photographing, measuring, and taking casts of the living subject. None less endowed than he with the qualities just mentioned could have done it.

Incidentally, for the folklore student, there is something more

Burial rites, consisting of a material burial or "breaking up up" followed after an interval by a memorial ceremony or "lamentation," are believed to be absolutely essential to admit the spirit of the dead to the presence of the Creator, who permits it, according to its wish, either to remain for ever in the allotted portion of its house in spirit land, or to be reborn into the world. Kings only require the first ceremony, as they pass into the Creator's presence by virtue of their positions, and the second ceremony is regarded as unnecessary also for very young children. Disembodied souls, whose bodies have not been properly buried, are malignant ghosts. There is a full and interesting description of the burial rites and of spirit land and life. Snakes are said to possess a stone which they can vomit up at will, and which then attracts the small animals on which they feed. After dealing with transmigration beliefs, spiritpossession, exorcism, native views of diseases and suicide, and charms, the author devotes over 100 pages to what he calls "emblemism or the embodiment of the spirit," objections being taken to the terms fetishism, idolatry, and juju, and numerous examples given of embodiment in trees, stones, animals, and natural elements and phenomena. The celestial bodies are not adored, nor are there specific fire and rain gods, but there exist a tornado deity, a wind god, and a thunder and lightning god. Major Leonard emphasises very strongly the veneration of Delta natives for the earth as the great mother. Two chapters deal with water spirits, and one with taboo (chiefly on the movements of kings), and there are descriptions of sacrifices and marriage, rain-stopping, etc. rites, as well as of blood brotherhood between peoples and between individuals, the importance of white for sacrificial and magical purposes, the destruction (amongst all tribes but the Igarra) of one or both twins at birth, the custom of sending the mother of twins to live in a special "twin town," the provision of sanctuaries or places of refuge, etc., etc. The chapters on witchcraft and poisons are fuller and clearer than many others. The author is somewhat unhappy in his comparisons with non-African matters-as, for example, when he suggests that the Benin

out from behind a screen, has " something to do with the subsequent and more modern adulation of the extremities of the Papal Pontiff." Appendices on the grammatical construction of the various tongues, and on certain words and names in use, together with a map and a short and incomplete index, form the remainder of the book.

The above notes are intended to show that there is a great deal that is valuable in Major Leonard's records from the Niger Delta, and that his book is a necessary aid to the study of West African religion; but it is so evident that he possesses great stores of unused information that one must needs feel keen disappointment that so many pages that might have received those stores should be given up to general and inconclusive discussions of the possible emotions and speculations of primitive man, and to tantalising comment on facts which are not stated in detail. A. R. WRIGHT.

IN INDIAN MEXICO: A NARRATIVE OF TRAVEL AND LABOR. By FREDERICK STARR. Chicago: Forbes & Co., 1908. PROFESSOR STARR has already in various publications given to the world the scientific results of his six years' labour among the native tribes of Southern Mexico. The present work contains the narrative of his doings. It is illustrated by plates, many of which will be recognised as reduced from his larger series of superb photographs, but many of which are quite new. The author claims that it is the first book describing the region occupied by the tribes surveyed. It is, at all events, a most interesting record of travel, told with all Professor Starr's verve and humour. His devotion to his scientific work, his determination to carry it out, and his resource are abundantly in evidence. The difficulties he had to encounter in remote districts were by no means small; and it is a matter of astonishment and congratulation that he succeeded so well in photographing, measuring, and taking casts of the living subject. None less endowed than he with the qualities just mentioned could have done it.

Incidentally, for the folklore student, there is something more

Burial rites, consisting of a material burial or "breaking up up" followed after an interval by a memorial ceremony or "lamentation," are believed to be absolutely essential to admit the spirit of the dead to the presence of the Creator, who permits it, according to its wish, either to remain for ever in the allotted portion of its house in spirit land, or to be reborn into the world. Kings only require the first ceremony, as they pass into the Creator's presence by virtue of their positions, and the second ceremony is regarded as unnecessary also for very young children. Disembodied souls, whose bodies have not been properly buried, are malignant ghosts. There is a full and interesting description of the burial rites and of spirit land and life. Snakes are said to possess a stone which they can vomit up at will, and which then attracts the small animals on which they feed. After dealing with transmigration beliefs, spiritpossession, exorcism, native views of diseases and suicide, and charms, the author devotes over 100 pages to what he calls "emblemism or the embodiment of the spirit," objections being taken to the terms fetishism, idolatry, and juju, and numerous examples given of embodiment in trees, stones, animals, and natural elements and phenomena. The celestial bodies are not adored, nor are there specific fire and rain gods, but there exist a tornado deity, a wind god, and a thunder and lightning god. Major Leonard emphasises very strongly the veneration of Delta natives for the earth as the great mother. Two chapters deal with water spirits, and one with taboo (chiefly on the movements of kings), and there are descriptions of sacrifices and marriage, rain-stopping, etc. rites, as well as of blood brotherhood between peoples and between individuals, the importance of white for sacrificial and magical purposes, the destruction (amongst all tribes but the Igarra) of one or both twins at birth, the custom of sending the mother of twins to live in a special "twin town," the provision of sanctuaries or places of refuge, etc., etc. The chapters on witchcraft and poisons are fuller and clearer than many others. The author is somewhat unhappy in his comparisons with non-African matters-as, for example, when he suggests that the Benin

out from behind a screen, has "something to do with the subsequent and more modern adulation of the extremities of the Papal Pontiff." Appendices on the grammatical construction of the various tongues, and on certain words and names in use, together with a map and a short and incomplete index, form the remainder of the book.

The above notes are intended to show that there is a great deal that is valuable in Major Leonard's records from the Niger Delta, and that his book is a necessary aid to the study of West African religion; but it is so evident that he possesses great stores of unused information that one must needs feel keen disappointment that so many pages that might have received those stores should be given up to general and inconclusive discussions of the possible emotions and speculations of primitive man, and to tantalising comment on facts which are not stated in detail. A. R. WRIGHT.

IN INDIAN MEXICO: A NARRATIVE OF TRAVEL AND LABOR. By FREDERICK STARR. Chicago: Forbes & Co., 1908. PROFESSOR STARR has already in various publications given to the world the scientific results of his six years' labour among the native tribes of Southern Mexico. The present work contains the narrative of his doings. It is illustrated by plates, many of which will be recognised as reduced from his larger series of superb photographs, but many of which are quite new. The author claims that it is the first book describing the region occupied by the tribes surveyed. It is, at all events, a most interesting record of travel, told with all Professor Starr's verve and humour. His devotion to his scientific work, his determination to carry it out, and his resource are abundantly in evidence. The difficulties he had to encounter in remote districts were by no means small; and it is a matter of astonishment and congratulation that he succeeded so well in photographing, measuring, and taking casts of the living subject. None less endowed than he with the qualities just mentioned could have done it.

Incidentally, for the folklore student, there is something more