writers never for a moment hesitating to accept the popular beliefs in this respect.18

Among the Bhots of Landakh in the western part of Tibet, a large piece of amber or agate is often worn by the men suspended from the neck as an amulet. Here as in so many other parts of the world, the amulet is believed to acquire especial efficacy when worn in this way, as it comes in immediate contact with the person of the wearer.49

A very singular manner of using precious stones as talismans is noted in Burma.50 There are certain talismans called hkoung-beht-set, which are inserted in the flesh beneath the skin. They are usually of gold, silver, or lead, or else of tortoise shell, horn, etc., but sometimes they are rolled pebbles and occasionally precious stones. We are told that when a prisoner is found to have such talismans on, or rather in his person, the jailer cuts them out lest they should be used to bribe the guards. The talismans owe much of their supposed power to inscriptions in mystic characters, and they are so highly favored that some of the natives wear one or more rows of them across the chest.

For the Japanese, rock-crystal is the "perfect jewel," tama; it is at once a symbol of purity and of the infinity of space, and also of patience and perseverance. This latter significance probably originated from an observation of the patience and skill required for the production of the splendid crystal balls made by the accurate and painstaking Japanese cutters and polishers.

The belief of Mohammedans in the Evil Eye claims the authority of the Prophet to the effect that "the áïn (eye) is a reality." The Arabs also designate the Evil Eye as "Fortunio Liceti, De annulis, cap. 19.

Hendley, "Indian Jewellery," London, 1909, p. 59.

"H. Shway Yoe, "The Burman: His Life and Nations," in "Indian Jewellery," by T. H. Hendley. The Journal of Indian Art and Industry, Jan., 1909, vol xii, No. 105, p. 143.

nuzra, “the look," and nafs, "breath or spirit." It is not commonly regarded as the result of a definite malevolent intention, but rather as an effect engendered by envy at the sight of anything especially beautiful or attractive. Indeed, sometimes the bare expression of great admiration is supposed to produce evil results, as is illustrated by the assertion that when a man, on seeing an exceptionally large and fine stone, exclaimed, "What a large stone!" it immediately broke into three pieces.

In the Sahara, the horns of oxen, and sometimes their skulls with the horns attached, are set over the entrances of dwellings to protect the residents from this dreaded influence; in Tunis and Algiers, boars' tusks are also used in this way. However, the most favored weapons of defence are the outstretched fingers of the hand, sometimes but two fingers, but more often all five. The gesture of holding out the fingers toward the envious person is frequently accompanied by the utterance of the words: Khamsa fi äïnek, “five (fingers) in your eye!" The number five has thus acquired such a special significance that Thursday, as the fifth day of the week, is looked upon as the appropriate day for pilgrimages to the shrines of those saints whose protection against the Evil Eye is believed to be most potent.51

The Arabs of Arabia Petræa believe that when anyone casts longing and covetous eyes upon any animal belonging to another, part of his soul enters the animal and the latter is doomed to destruction if it remains in the possession of the rightful owner. The same idea prevails in the case of a child whose possession is envied, or who is unduly admired. Where the identity of the one who has cast the spell is known, there is a fair chance of rendering it harmless if a piece of the guilty one's garment can be stolen and the animal or child rubbed with it. The virtue of coral as a protection "Edmond Doutté, "Magie et Religion," Alger, 1909, pp. 320 sqq.

from such dangers is generally believed, and almost every woman, child, mare and camel, wears or bears a coral amulet of some kind. A special variety of amulets against the Evil Eye, worn by equestrians, are small, smooth flint-stones, gathered at a spot where two valleys unite; and, for horses, protection is believed to be afforded by a ring of blue glass or blue porcelain, suspended from the neck. Another queer superstition among these Arabs regarding the Evil Eye is that if a child yawns, this is supposed to be a sign that he has been smitten by the evil spell, and the mother is advised to place glowing coals on a plate, strew alum over the coals, and bear the plate around the child.52

Over the entrance gate of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, may be seen the representation of a hand, and this is regarded as having been figured there to serve for a talisman against the Evil Eye,58 just as some of the Arabs are still wont to paint or figure a so-called "Fatima's Hand" on doors or door-posts for a similar purpose. The idea which has been advanced that the "horse-shoe arch" had some connection with the belief in the luck-bringing quality of the horse-shoe, is, however, scarcely to be admitted as an explanation of this most characteristic feature of Moorish architecture.

Alois Musil," Arabia Petræa," Wien, 1908, vol. iii, pp. 314, 315. "Lean's Collectanea (by Vincent Stuckey Lean), vol. ii, Pt. I, Bristol, 1903, p. 468.

IX

Amulets of Primitive Peoples and of Modern

Times

HE folk-lore tales of the settlement called Milpa Alta,

in the Federal District, Mexico, not far from Mexico City, have preserved many legends from old Aztec times, as this community was originally settled by some noble Aztec families.fortunate enough to escape with their goods from the Spaniards at the time of the conquest by Cortés. In several of these legends the chalchihuitl (a green stone, often nephrite or jadeite) is mentioned. Thus it is said that when some minor divinity sees fit to confer upon a man or woman the endowments of a tlamátque or "sage," he gave warning of this in a dream, and the truth of the vision was confirmed when, during the ensuing day, the dreamer found on the ground within his enclosure idols of chalchihuitl, or fragments of obsidian, which were believed to have fallen from the sky, this usually occurring during a rainstorm. Evidently the rain had washed them out of the earth or volcanic ash in which they had been buried. These objects were immediately picked up and preserved, as they signified that the person whose dream had thus been verified was admitted to the companionship of the gods. There appears to have followed some initiation ceremony to render definite the consecration of the chosen tlamátque,.and this was to be connected with a fiery ordeal, the. traces of which in scars or severe burns, and sometimes even in the loss of eyesight, served to recommend the "sage" to those seeking his aid. This was called for in cases of illness and also for the finding of hidden treasure and for predictions of the weather. In attempting

to effect cures, the tlamátque made use of pieces of jade as talismans, fortified by elaborate exorcisms and prayers.1

Among the lower classes of the Mexican Indian population of Milpa Alta, to cure diseases the aid of a tepo pohque (one who purifies the disease) is sometimes called in. This once very general custom is, however, gradually falling into disuse. The progress of popular scepticism is illustrated by the half-apologetic tone in which this is explained in the words: "If he does no good, he will do no harm, and besides he is so cheap." The healer may be either a man or a woman. One of the most important helps is a chain of chalchihuitl beads. After invocations of the various appearances of Christ and of the Virgin chronicled in local tradition, and of the patron saints (for these Indians are devout Roman Catholics), the healer chooses out a chalchihuitl bead with which he pretends to extract the "air" from the sick person. He successively touches with it the patient's temples, the sides and top of the head, the stomach, and lastly the affected part, at the same time forcibly drawing in his own breath, producing thereby a peculiar noise. The use of the stone is sometimes supplemented by that of two eggs, one being held in each of the healer's hands. A different type or form of chalchihuitl is used for each different disease, and as a final operation the affected part is moistened with alcohol, and then "massaged" with the stone, bathing with a hot decoction of herbs being also resorted to in some cases.2

A characteristic object secured in the Province of Chiriqui, Republic of Panama, is a singular amulet of a fine quality of green translucent jade (jadeite). This is fashioned into a conventional representation of a parrot with a

1 Professora Isabel Ramirez Castañeda, "El Folk-Lore de Milpa Alta, D. F., Mexico," in Proceedings of the International Congress of Americanists, XVIII Session, London, 1912, Pt. II, London, 1913, pp. 352–354.

Ibid., pp. 356, 357.