Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 23, 1912.djvu/161

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Reviews.
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tion do not appear. That the clans were originally descendible in the female line there is some reason for thinking. All the mother's clan were prohibited from marriage with her children. The maternal uncle had as usual special duties. Every child borne by the king's wives belonged to the clan of his mother. Yet the Leopard clan and the Lion clan both claimed to include all princes among their members. Hence every prince and every king bore the totems of the Leopard and Lion clans, and also the Eagle though there was no Eagle clan, as well as the totem of his mother's clan. As authority for this the Lion clan tell a story with which we need not concern ourselves. Their claim is anomalous; and notwithstanding it the Lion clan was among those whose women might not rear a son of the king. The traditions of the various clans and their special practices are well worth studying. A word of praise must be given to the more than usually full list of the terms of relationship, which are not without their bearing on the question of the priority in time of female kinship.

With the foregoing samples of the abounding interest to be found on every page of Mr. Roscoe's volume I must content myself with commending it to all members of the Folk-Lore Society. It touches and illustrates our subject at all points. It is a clear and well-arranged repository of information, the fruit of enquiries, extending over many years, for which the author possessed unrivalled opportunities. It is a pity the many photographs could not have been reproduced on a somewhat larger scale. A map of the country would have assisted reference to the numerous localities mentioned; and a key to the pronunciation of native words would have been of advantage. But we may well be grateful to the author, and to Professor Frazer and other anthropologists and friends to whom he acknowledges indebtedness for advice and assistance of various kinds, for the material additions to our knowledge which it contains.