cases I have utilized references they supplied), but here simply
furnish illustrations met with in the course of my own reading.

Even in the hermaphroditic slugs (_Limax maximus_) the process of
courtship is slow and elaborate. It has been described by James
Bladon ("The Loves of the Slug [_Limax cinereus_]," _Zoölogist_,
vol. xv, 1857, p. 6272). It begins toward midnight on sultry
summer nights, one slug slowly following another, resting its
mouth on what may be called the tail of the first, and following
its every movement. Finally they stop and begin crawling around
each other, emitting large quantities of mucus. When this has
constituted a mass of sufficient size and consistence they
suspend themselves from it by a cord of mucus from nine to
fifteen inches in length, continuing to turn round each other
till their bodies form a cone. Then the organs of generation are
protruded from their orifice near the mouth and, hanging down a
short distance, touch each other. They also then begin again the
same spiral motion, twisting around each other, like a two-strand
cord, assuming various and beautiful forms, sometimes like an
inverted agaric, or a foliated murex, or a leaf of curled
parsley, the light falling on the ever-varying surface of the
generative organs sometimes producing iridescence. It is not
until after a considerable time that the organs untwist and are
withdrawn and the bodies separate, to crawl up the suspending
cord and depart.

Some snails have a special organ for creating sexual excitement.
A remarkable part of the reproductive system in many of the true
Helicidæ is the so-called _dart, Liebespfeil_, or _telum
Veneris_. It consists of a straight or curved, sometimes
slightly twisted, tubular shaft of carbonate of lime, tapering to
a fine point above, and enlarging gradually, more often somewhat
abruptly, to the base. The sides of the shaft are sometimes
furnished with two or more blades; these are apparently not for
cutting purposes, but simply to brace the stem. The dart is
contained in a dart-sac, which is attached as a sort of pocket to
the vagina, at no great distance from its orifice. In _Helix
aspersa_ the dart is about five-sixteenths of an inch in length,
and one-eighth of an inch in breadth at its base. It appears most
probable that the dart is employed as an adjunct for the sexual
act. Besides the fact of the position of the dart-sac
anatomically, we find that the darts are extended and become
imbedded in the flesh, just before or during the act of
copulation. It may be regarded, then, as an organ whose functions
induce excitement preparatory to sexual union. It only occurs in
well-grown specimens. (Rev. L.H. Cooke, "Molluscs," _Cambridge
Natural History_, vol. iii, p. 143.)

Racovitza has shown that in the octopus (_Octopus vulgaris_)
courtship is carried on with considerable delicacy, and not
brutally, as had previously been supposed. The male gently
stretches out his third arm on the right and caresses the female
with its extremity, eventually passing it into the chamber formed
by the mantle. The female contracts spasmodically, but does not
attempt to move. They remain thus about an hour or more, and
during this time the male shifts the arm from one oviduct to the
other. Finally he withdraws his arm, caresses her with it for a
few moments, and then replaces it with his other arm. (E.G.
Racovitza, in _Archives de Zoölogie Expérimentale_, quoted in
_Natural Science_, November, 1894.)

The phenomena of courtship are very well illustrated by spiders.
Peckham, who has carefully studied them, tells us of _Saitis
pulex_: "On May 24th we found a mature female, and placed her in
one of the larger boxes, and the next day we put a male in with
her. He saw her as she stood perfectly still, twelve inches away;
the glance seemed to excite him, and he at once moved toward her;
when some four inches from her he stood still, and then began the
most remarkable performances that an amorous male could offer to
an admiring female. She eyed him eagerly, changing her position
from time to time so that he might be always in view. He, raising
his whole body on one side by straightening out the legs, and
lowering it on the other by folding the first two pairs of legs
up and under, leaned so far over as to be in danger of losing his
balance, which he only maintained by sliding rapidly toward the
lowered side. The palpus, too, on this side was turned back to
correspond to the direction of the legs nearest it. He moved in a
semicircle for about two inches, and then instantly reversed the
position of the legs and circled in the opposite direction,
gradually approaching nearer and nearer to the female. Now she
dashes toward him, while he, raising his first pair of legs,
extends them upward and forward as if to hold her off, but withal
slowly retreats. Again and again he circles from side to side,
she gazing toward him in a softer mood, evidently admiring the
grace of his antics. This is repeated until we have counted one
hundred and eleven circles made by the ardent little male. Now he
approaches nearer and nearer, and when almost within reach whirls
madly around and around her, she joining and whirling with him in
a giddy maze. Again he falls back and resumes his semicircular
motions, with his body tilted over; she, all excitement, lowers
her head and raises her body so that it is almost vertical; both
draw nearer; she moves slowly under him, he crawling over her
head, and the mating is accomplished."

The same author thus describes the courtship of _Dendryphantes
elegans_: "While from three to five inches distant from her, he
begins to wave his plumy first legs in a way that reminds one of
a windmill. She eyes him fiercely, and he keeps at a proper
distance for a long time. If he comes close she dashes at him,
and he quickly retreats. Sometimes he becomes bolder, and when
within an inch, pauses, with the first legs outstretched before
him, not raised as is common in other species; the palpi also are
held stiffly out in front with the points together. Again she
drives him off, and so the play continues. Now the male grows
excited as he approaches her, and while still several inches
away, whirls completely around and around; pausing, he runs
closer and begins to make his abdomen quiver as he stands on
tiptoe in front of her. Prancing from side to side, he grows
bolder and bolder, while she seems less fierce, and yielding to
the excitement, lifts up her magnificently iridescent abdomen,
holding it at one time vertical, and at another sideways to him.
She no longer rushes at him, but retreats a little as he
approaches. At last he comes close to her, lying flat, with his
first legs stretched out and quivering. With the tips of his
front legs he gently pats her; this seems to arouse the old demon
of resistance, and she drives him back. Again and again he pats
her with a caressing movement, gradually creeping nearer and
nearer, which she now permits without resistance, until he crawls
over her head to her abdomen, far enough to reach the epigynum
with his palpus." (G.W. Peckham, "Sexual Selection of Spiders,"
_Occasional Papers of the Natural History Society of Wisconsin_,
1889, quoted in _Nature_, August 21, 1890.)

The courtship of another spider, the _Agelena labyrinthica_, has
been studied by Lécaillon ("Les Instincts et les Psychismes des
Araignées," _Revue Scientifique_, Sept. 15, 1906.) The male
enters the female's web and may be found there about the middle
of July. When courtship has begun it is not interrupted by the
closest observation, even under the magnifying glass. At first it
is the male which seeks to couple and he pursues the female over
her web till she consents. The pursuit may last some hours, the
male agitating his abdomen in a peculiar way, while the female
simply retreats a short distance without allowing herself to be
approached. At last the female holds herself completely
motionless, and then the male approaches, seizes her, places her
on her side, sometimes carrying her to a more suitable part of
the web. Then one of his copulative apparatus is applied to the
female genital opening, and copulation begins. When completed (on
an average in about two hours) the male withdraws his copulatory
palpus and turns over the female, who is still inert, on to her
other side, then brings his second copulatory apparatus to the
female opening and starts afresh. When the process is definitely
completed the male leaves the female, suddenly retiring to a
little distance. The female, who had remained completely
motionless for four hours, suddenly runs after the male. But she
only pursues him for a short distance, and the two spiders remain
together without any danger to either. Lécaillon disbelieves the
statement of Romanes (in his _Animal Intelligence_) that the
female eats the male after copulation. But this certainly seems
to occur sometimes among insects, as illustrated by the following
instance described by so careful an observer of insects as Fabre.

The _Mantis religiosa_ is described by Fabre as contemplating the
female for a long time in an attitude of ecstasy. She remains
still and seems indifferent. He is small and she is large. At
last he approaches; spreads his wings, which tremble
convulsively; leaps on her back, and fixes himself there. The
preludes are long and the coupling itself sometimes occupies five
or six hours. Then they separate. But the same day or the
following day she seizes him and eats him up in small mouthfuls.
She will permit a whole series of males to have intercourse with
her, always eating them up directly afterward. Fabre has even
seen her eating the male while still on her back, his head and
neck gone, but his body still firmly attached. (J.H. Fabre,
_Souvenirs Entomologiques_, fifth series, p. 307.) Fabre also
describes in great detail (ibid., ninth series, chs. xxi-xxii)
the sexual parades of the Languedoc scorpion (_Scorpio
occitanus_), an arachnid. These parades are in public; for their
subsequent intercourse the couple seek complete seclusion, and
the female finally eats the male.

An insect (a species of _Empis_) has been described which excites
the female by manipulating a large balloon. "This is of
elliptical shape, about seven millimeters long (nearly twice as
long as the fly), hollow, and composed entirely of a single layer
of minute bubbles, nearly uniform in size, arranged in regular
circles concentric with the axis of the structure. The
beautiful, glistening whiteness of the object when the sun shines
upon it makes it very conspicuous. The bubbles were slightly
viscid, and in nearly every case there was a small fly pressed
into the front end of the balloon, apparently as food for the
_Empis_. In all cases they were dead. The balloon appears to be
made while the insect is flying in the air. Those flying highest
had the smallest balloons. The bubbles are probably produced by
some modification of the anal organs. It is possible that the
captured fly serves as a nucleus to begin the balloon on. One
case of a captured fly but no balloon was observed. After
commencing, it is probable that the rest of the structure is made
by revolving the completed part between the hind legs and adding
more bubbles somewhat spirally. The posterior end of the balloon
is left more or less open. The purpose of this structure is to
attract the female. When numerous males were flying up and down
the road, it happened several times that a female was seen to
approach them from some choke-cherry blossoms near by. The males
immediately gathered in her path, and she with little hesitation
selected for a mate the one with the largest balloon, taking a
position _upon his back_. After copulation had begun, the pair
would settle down toward the ground, select a quiet spot, and the
female would alight by placing her front legs across a horizontal
grass blade, her head resting against the blade so as to brace
the body in position. Here she would continue to hold the male
beneath her for a little time, until the process was finished.
The male, meanwhile, would be rolling the balloon about in a
variety of positions, juggling with it, one might almost say.
After the male and female parted company, the male immediately
dropped the balloon upon the ground, and it was greedily seized
by ants. No illustration could properly show the beauty of the
balloon." (Aldrich and Turley, "A Balloon-making Fly," _American
Naturalist_, October, 1899.)

"In many species of moths the males 'assemble' around the freshly
emerged female, but no special advantage appears to attend on
early arrival. The female sits apparently motionless, while the
little crowd of suitors buzz around her for several minutes.
Suddenly, and, as far as one can see, without any sign from the
female, one of the males pairs with her and all the others
immediately disappear. In these cases the males do not fight or
struggle in any way, and as one watches the ceremony the wonder
arises as to how the moment is determined, and why the pairing
did not take place before. Proximity does not decide the point,
for long beforehand the males often alight close to the female
and brush against her with fluttering wings. I have watched the
process exactly as I have described it in a common Northern
_Noctua_, the antler moth (_Charæax graminis_), and I have seen
the same thing among beetles." (E.B. Poulton, _The Colors of
Animals_, 1890, p. 391.) This author mentions that among some
butterflies the females take the active part. The example here
quoted of courtship among moths illustrates how phenomena which
are with difficulty explicable by the theory of sexual selection
in its original form become at once intelligible when we realize
the importance of tumescence in courtship.

Of the Argentine cow-bird (_Molothrus bonariensis_) Hudson says
(_Argentine Ornithology_, vol. i, p. 73): "The song of the male,
particularly when making love, is accompanied with gestures and
actions somewhat like those of the domestic pigeon. He swells
himself out, beating the ground with his wings, and uttering a
series of deep internal notes, followed by others loud and clear;
and occasionally, when uttering them, he suddenly takes wing and
flies directly away from the female to a distance of fifty yards,
and performs a wide circuit about her in the air, singing all the
time. The homely object of his passion always appears utterly
indifferent to this curious and pretty performance; yet she must
be even more impressionable than most female birds, since she
continues scattering about her parasitical and often wasted eggs
during four months in every year."

Of a tyrant-bird (_Pitangus Bolivianus_) Hudson writes
(_Argentine Ornithology_, vol. i, p. 148): "Though the male and
female are greatly attached, they do not go afield to hunt in
company, but separate to meet again at intervals during the day.
One of a couple (say, the female) returns to the trees where they
are accustomed to meet, and after a time, becoming impatient or
anxious at the delay of her consort, utters a very long, clear
call-note. He is perhaps a quarter of a mile away, watching for a
frog beside a pool, or beating over a thistle-bed, but he hears
the note and presently responds with one of equal power. Then,
perhaps, for half an hour, at intervals of half a minute, the
birds answer each other, though the powerful call of the one must
interfere with his hunting. At length he returns; then the two
birds, perched close together, with their yellow bosoms almost
touching, crests elevated, and beating the branch with their
wings, scream their loudest notes in concert--a confused jubilant
noise that rings through the whole plantation. Their joy at
meeting is patent, and their action corresponds to the warm
embrace of a loving human couple."

Of the red-breasted marsh-bird (_Leistes superciliaris_) Hudson
(_Argentine Ornithology_, vol. i, p. 100) writes: "These birds
are migratory, and appear everywhere in the eastern part of the
Argentine country early in October, arriving singly, after which
each male takes up a position in a field or open space abounding
with coarse grass and herbage, where he spends most of his time
perched on the summit of a tall stalk or weed, his glowing
crimson bosom showing at a distance like some splendid flower
above the herbage. At intervals of two or three minutes he soars
vertically up to a height of twenty or twenty-five yards to utter
his song, composed of a single long, powerful and rather musical
note, ending with an attempt at a flourish, during which the bird
flutters and turns about in the air; then, as if discouraged at
his failure, he drops down, emitting harsh, guttural chirps, to
resume his stand. Meanwhile the female is invisible, keeping
closely concealed under the long grass. But at length, attracted
perhaps by the bright bosom and aërial music of the male, she
occasionally exhibits herself for a few moments, starting up with
a wild zigzag flight, and, darting this way and that, presently
drops into the grass once more. The moment she appears above the
grass the male gives chase, and they vanish from sight together."

"Courtship with the mallard," says J.G. Millais (_Natural History
of British Ducks_, p. 6), "appears to be carried on by both
sexes, though generally three or four drakes are seen showing
themselves off to attract the attention of a single duck.
Swimming round her, in a coy and semi-self-conscious manner, they
now and again all stop quite still, nod, bow, and throw their
necks out in token of their admiration and their desire of a
favorable response. But the most interesting display is when all
the drakes simultaneously stand up in the water and rapidly pass
their bills down their breasts, uttering at the same time a low
single note somewhat like the first half of the call that teal
and pintail make when 'showing off.' At other times the
love-making of the drake seems to be rather passive than active.
While graciously allowing himself to be courted, he holds his
head high with conscious pride, and accepts as a matter of course
any attention that may be paid to him. A proud bird is he when
three or four ducks come swimming along beside and around him,
uttering a curious guttural note, and at the same time dipping
their bills in quick succession to right and left. He knows what
that means, and carries himself with even greater dignity than
before. In the end, however, he must give in. As a last appeal,
one of his lady lovers may coyly lower herself in the water till
only the top of her back, head, and neck is seen, and so
fascinating an advance as this no drake of any sensibility can
withstand."

The courting of the Argus pheasant, noted for the extreme beauty
of the male's plumage, was observed by H.O. Forbes in Sumatra. It
is the habit of this bird to make "a large circus, some ten or
twelve feet in diameter, in the forest, which it clears of every
leaf and twig and branch, till the ground is perfectly swept and
garnished. On the margin of this circus there is invariably a
projecting branch or high-arched root, at a few feet elevation
above the ground, on which the female bird takes its place, while
in the ring the male--the male birds alone possess great
decoration--shows off all its magnificence for the gratification
and pleasure of his consort and to exalt himself in her eyes."
(H.O. Forbes, _A. Naturalist's Wanderings_, 1885, p. 131.)

"All ostriches, adults as well as chicks, have a strange habit
known as 'waltzing.' After running for a few hundred yards they
will also stop, and, with raised wings, spin around rapidly for
some time after until quite giddy, when a broken leg occasionally
occurs.... Vicious cocks 'roll' when challenging to fight or when
wooing the hen. The cock will suddenly bump down on to his knees
(the ankle-joint), open his wings, and then swing them
alternately backward and forward, as if on a pivot.... While
rolling, every feather over the whole body is on end, and the
plumes are open, like a large white fan. At such a time the bird
sees very imperfectly, if at all; in fact, he seems so
preoccupied that, if pursued, one may often approach unnoticed.
Just before rolling, a cock, especially if courting the hen, will
often run slowly and daintily on the points of his toes, with
neck slightly inflated, upright, and rigid, the tail
half-drooped, and all his body-feathers fluffed up; the wings
raised and expanded, the inside edges touching the sides of the
neck for nearly the whole of its length, and the plumes showing
separately, like an open fan. In no other attitude is the
splendid beauty of his plumage displayed to such advantage."
(S.C. Cronwright Schreiner, "The Ostrich," _Zoölogist_, March,
1897.)

As may be seen from the foregoing fairly typical examples, the
phenomena of courtship are highly developed, and have been most
carefully studied, in animals outside the mammal series. It may
seem a long leap from birds to man; yet, as will be seen, the
phenomena among primitive human peoples, if not, indeed, among
many civilized peoples also, closely resemble those found among
birds, though, unfortunately, they have not usually been so
carefully studied.

In Australia, where dancing is carried to a high pitch of
elaboration, its association with the sexual impulse is close and
unmistakable. Thus, Mr. Samuel Gason (of whom it has been said
that "no man living has been more among blacks or knows more of
their ways") remarks concerning a dance of the Dieyerie tribe:
"This dance men and women only take part in, in regular form and
position, keeping splendid time to the rattle of the beat of two
boomerangs; some of the women keep time by clapping their hands
between their thighs; promiscuous sexual intercourse follows
after the dance; jealousy is forbidden." Again, at the Mobierrie,
or rat-harvest, "many weeks' preparation before the dance comes
off; no quarreling is allowed; promiscuous sexual intercourse
during the ceremony." The fact that jealousy is forbidden at
these festivals clearly indicates that sexual intercourse is a
recognized and probably essential element in the ceremonies. This
is further emphasized by the fact that at other festivals open
sexual intercourse is not allowed. Thus, at the Mindarie, or
dance at a peace festival (when a number of tribes comes
together), "there is great rejoicing at the coming festival,
which is generally held at the full of the moon, and kept up all
night. The men are artistically decorated with down and feathers,
with all kinds of designs. The down and feathers are stuck on
their bodies with blood freshly taken from their penis; they are
also nicely painted with various colors; tufts of boughs are tied
on their ankles to make a noise while dancing. Promiscuous sexual
intercourse is carried on _secretly_; many quarrels occur at this
time." (_Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, vol. xxiv,
November, 1894, p. 174.)

In Australian dances, sometimes men and women dance together,
sometimes the men dance alone, sometimes the women. In one dance
described by Eyre: "Women are the chief performers; their bodies
are painted with white streaks, and their hair adorned with
cockatoo feathers. They carry large sticks in their hands, and
place themselves in a row in front, while the men with their
spears stand in a row behind them. They then all commence their
movements, but without intermingling, the males and females
dancing by themselves. The women have occasionally another mode
of dancing, by joining the hands together over the head, closing
the feet, and bringing the knees into contact. The legs are then
thrown outward from the knee, while the feet and hands are kept
in their original position, and, being drawn quickly in again, a
sharp sound is produced by the collision. This is also practised
alone by young girls or by several together for their own
amusement. It is adopted also when a single woman is placed in
front of a row of male dancers to excite their passions." (E.J.
Eyre, _Journals of Expeditions into Central Australia_, vol. ii,
p. 235.)

A charming Australian folk-tale concerning two sisters with
wings, who disliked men, and their wooing by a man, clearly
indicates, even among the Australians (whose love-making is
commonly supposed to be somewhat brutal in character), the
consciousness that it is by his beauty, charm, and skill in
courtship that a man wins a woman. Unahanach, the lover, stole
unperceived to the river where the girls were bathing and at last
showed himself carelessly sitting on a high tree. The girls were
startled, but thought it would be safe to amuse themselves by
looking at the intruder. "Young and with the most active figure,
yet of a strength that defied the strongest emu, and even enabled
him to resist an 'old man' kangaroo, he had no equal in the
chase, and conscious power gave a dignity to his expression that
at one glance calmed the fears of the two girls. His large
brilliant eyes, shaded by a deep fringe of soft black eyelashes,
gazed down upon them admiringly, and his rich black hair hung
around his well-formed face, smooth and shining from the emu-oil
with which it was abundantly covered." At last he persuaded them
to talk and by and by induced them to call him husband. Then they
went off with him, with no thought of flight in their hearts.
("Australian Folklore Stories," collected by W. Dunlop, _Journal
of the Anthropological Institute_, new series, vol. i, 1898, p.
33.)

Of the people of Torres Straits Haddon states (_Reports
Anthropological Expedition to Torres Straits_, vol. v, p. 222):
"It was during the secular dance, or _Kap_, that the girls
usually lost their hearts to the young men. A young man who was a
good dancer would find favor in the sight of the girls. This can
be readily understood by anyone who has seen the active, skilful,
and fatiguing dances of these people. A young man who could
acquit himself well in these dances must be possessed of no mean
strength and agility, qualities which everywhere appeal to the
opposite sex. Further, he was decorated, according to local
custom, with all that would render him more imposing in the eyes
of the spectators. As the former chief of Mabuiag put it, 'In
England if a man has plenty of money, women want to marry him; so
here, if a man dances well they too want him.' In olden days the
war-dance, which was performed after a successful foray, would be
the most powerful excitement to a marriageable girl, especially
if a young man had distinguished himself sufficiently to bring
home the head of someone he had killed."

Among the tribes inhabiting the mouth of the Wanigela River, New
Guinea, "when a boy admires a girl, he will not look at her,
speak to her, or go near her. He, however, shows his love by
athletic bounds, posing, and pursuit, and by the spearing of
imaginary enemies, etc., before her, to attract her attention. If
the girl reciprocates his love she will employ a small girl to
give to him an _ugauga gauna_, or love invitation, consisting of
an areca-nut whose skin has been marked with different designs,
significant of her wish to _ugauga_. After dark he is apprised of
the place where the girl awaits him; repairing thither, he seats
himself beside her as close as possible, and they mutually share
in the consumption of the betel-nut." This constitutes betrothal;
henceforth he is free to visit the girl's house and sleep there.
Marriages usually take place at the most important festival of
the year, the _kapa_, preparations for which are made during the
three previous months, so that there may be a bountiful and
unfailing supply of bananas. Much dancing takes place among the
unmarried girls, who, also, are tattooed at this time over the
whole of the front of the body, special attention being paid to
the lower parts, as a girl who is not properly tattooed there
possesses no attraction in the eyes of young men. Married women
and widows and divorced women are not forbidden to take part in
these dances, but it would be considered ridiculous for them to
do so. (R.E. Guise, "On the Tribes of the Wanigela River,"
_Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, new series, vol. i,
1899, pp. 209, 214 et seq.)

In the island of Nias in the Malay Archipelago, Modigliani
(mainly on the excellent authority of Sundermann, the missionary)
states, at a wedding "dancing and singing go on throughout the
day. The women, two or three at a time, a little apart from the
men, take part in the dancing, which is very well adapted to
emphasize the curves of the flanks and the breasts, though at the
same time the defects of their legs are exhibited in this series
of rhythmic contortions which constitute a Nias dance. The most
graceful movement they execute is a lascivious undulation of the
flanks while the face and breast are slowly wound round by the
_sarong_ [a sort of skirt] held in the hands, and then again
revealed. These movements are executed with jerks of the wrist
and contortions of the flanks, not always graceful, but which
excite the admiration of the spectators, even of the women, who
form in groups to sing in chorus a compliment, more or less
sincere, in which they say: 'They dance with the grace of birds
when they fly. They dance as the hawk flies; it is lovely to
see.' They sing and dance both at weddings and at other
festivals." (Elio Modigliani, _Un Viaggio a Nias_, 1890, p. 549.)

In Sumatra Marsden states that chastity prevails more, perhaps,
than among any other people: "But little apparent courtship
precedes their marriages. Their manners do not admit of it, the
_boojong_ and _geddas_ (youths of each sex) being carefully kept
asunder and the latter seldom trusted from under the wings of
their mothers.... The opportunities which the young people have
of seeing and conversing with each other are at the _birnbangs_,
or public festivals. On these occasions the young people meet
together and dance and sing in company. The men, when determined
in their regard, generally employ an old woman as their agent, by
whom they make known their sentiments, and send presents to the
female of their choice. The parents then interfere, and the
preliminaries being settled, a _birnbang_ takes place. The young
women proceed in a body to the upper end of the _balli_ (hall),
where there is a part divided off for them by a curtain. They do
not always make their appearance before dinner, that time,
previous to a second or third meal, being appropriated to
cock-fighting or other diversions peculiar to men. In the evening
their other amusements take place, of which the dances are the
principal. These are performed either singly or by two women, two
men, or with both mixed. Their motions and attitudes are usually
slow, approaching often to the lascivious. They bend forward as
they dance, and usually carry a fan, which they close and strike
smartly against their elbows at particular cadences.... The
assembly seldom breaks up before daylight and these _birnbangs_
are often continued for several days together. The young men
frequent them in order to look out for wives, and the lasses of
course set themselves off to the best advantage. They wear their
best silken dresses, of their own weaving, as many ornaments of
filigree as they possess, silver rings upon their arms and legs,
and ear-rings of a particular construction. Their hair is
variously adorned with flowers, and perfumed with oil of
benjamin. Civet is also in repute, but more used by the men. To
render their skin fine, smooth, and soft they make use of a white
cosmetic called _poopoor_ [a mixture of ginger, patch-leaf,
maize, sandal-wood, fairy-cotton, and mush-seed with a basis of
fine rice]." (W. Marsden, _History of Sumatra_, 1783, p. 230.)

The Alfurus of Seram in the Moluccas, who have not yet been
spoilt by foreign influences, are very fond of music and dancing.
Their _maku_ dances, which take place at night, have been
described by Joest: "Great torches of dry bamboos and piles of
burning resinous leaves light up the giant trees to their very
summits and reveal in the distance the little huts which the
Alfuras have built in the virgin forests, as well as the skulls
of the slain. The women squat together by the fire, making a
deafening noise with the gongs and the drums, while the young
girls, richly adorned with pearls and fragrant flowers, await the
beginning of the dance. Then appear the men and youths without
weapons, but in full war-costume, the girdle freshly marked with
the number of slain enemies. [Among the Alfuras it is the man who
has the largest number of heads to show who has most chance of
winning the object of his love.] They hold each other's arms and
form a circle, which is not, however, completely closed. A song
is started, and with small, slow steps this ring of bodies, like
a winding snake, moves sideways, backward, closes, opens again,
the steps become heavier, the songs and drums louder, the girls
enter the circle and with closed eyes grasp the girdle of their
chosen youths, who clasp them by the hips and necks, the chain
becomes longer and longer, the dance and song more ardent, until
the dancers grow tired and disappear in the gloom of the forest."
(W. Joest, _Welt-Fahrten_, 1895, Bd. ii, p. 159.)

The women of the New Hebrides dance, or rather sway, to and fro
in the midst of a circle formed by the men, with whom they do not
directly mingle. They leap, show their genital parts to the men,
and imitate the movements of coitus. Meanwhile the men unfasten
the _manou_ (penis-wrap) from their girdles with one hand, with
the other imitating the action of seizing a woman, and, excited
by the women, also go through a mock copulation. Sometimes, it is
said, the dancers masturbate. This takes place amid plaintive
songs, interrupted from time to time by loud cries and howls.
(_Untrodden Fields of Anthropology_, by a French army-surgeon,
1898, vol. ii, p. 341.)

Among the hill tribes of the Central Indian Hills may be traced a
desire to secure communion with the spirit of fertility embodied
in vegetation. This appears, for instance, in a tree-dance, which
is carried out on a date associated not only with the growths of
the crops or with harvest, but also with the seasonal period for
marriage and the annual Saturnalia. (W. Crooke, "The Hill
Tribes," _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, new series,
vol. i, 1899, p. 243.) The association of dancing with seasonal
ritual festivals of a generative character--of which the above is
a fairly typical instance--leads us to another aspect of these
phenomena on which I have elsewhere touched in these _Studies_
(vol. i) when discussing the "Phenomena of Periodicity."

The Tahitians, when first discovered by Europeans, appear to have
been highly civilized on the sexual side and very licentious. Yet
even at Tahiti, when visited by Cook, the strict primitive
relationship between dancing and courtship still remained
traceable. Cook found "a dance called Timorodee, which is
performed by young girls, whenever eight or ten of them can be
collected together, consisting of motions and gestures beyond
imagination wanton, in the practice of which they are brought up
from their earliest childhood, accompanied by words which, if it
were possible, would more explicitly convey the same ideas. But
the practice which is allowed to the virgin is prohibited to the
woman from the moment that she has put these hopeful lessons in
practice and realized the symbols of the dance." He added,
however, that among the specially privileged class of the Areoi
these limitations were not observed, for he had heard that this
dance was sometimes performed by them as a preliminary to sexual
intercourse. (Hawkesworth, _An Account of the Voyages_, etc.,
1775, vol. ii, p. 54.)

Among the Marquesans at the marriage of a woman, even of high
rank, she lies with her head at the bridegroom's knees and all
the male guests come in single file, singing and dancing--those
of lower class first and the great chiefs last--and have
connection with the woman. There are often a very large number of
guests and the bride is sometimes so exhausted at the end that
she has to spend several days in bed. (Tautain, "Etude sur le
Mariage chez les Polynésiens," _L'Anthropologie_,
November-December, 1895, p. 642.) The interesting point for us
here is that singing and dancing are still regarded as a
preliminary to a sexual act. It has been noted that in sexual
matters the Polynesians, when first discovered by Europeans, had
largely gone beyond the primitive stage, and that this applies
also to some of their dances. Thus the _hula-hula_ dance, while
primitive in origin, may probably be compared more to a civilized
than to a primitive dance, since it has become divorced from real
life. In the same way, while the sexual pantomime dance of the
Azimba girls of central Africa has a direct and recognized
relationship to the demands of real life, the somewhat allied
_danses du ventre_ of the Hamitic peoples of northern Africa are
merely an amusement, a play more or less based on the sexual
instinct. At the same time it is important to bear in mind that
there is no rigid distinction between dances that are, and those
that are not, primitive. As Haddon truly points out in a book
containing valuable detailed descriptions of dances, even among
savages dances are so developed that it is difficult to trace
their origin, and at Torres Straits, he remarks, "there are
certainly play or secular dances, dances for pure amusement
without any ulterior design." (A.C. Haddon, _Head Hunters_, p.
233.) When we remember that dancing had probably become highly
developed long before man appeared on the earth, this difficulty
in determining the precise origin of human dancing cannot cause
surprise.

Spix and Martius described how the Muras of Brazil by moonlight
would engage all night in a Bacchantic dance in a great circle,
hand in hand, the men on one side, the women on the other,
shouting out all the time, the men "Who will marry me?" the
women, "You are a beautiful devil; all women will marry you,"
(Spix and Martius, _Reise in Brasilien_, 1831, vol. iii, p.
1117.) They also described in detail the dance of the Brazilian
Puris, performed in a state of complete nakedness, the men in a
row, the women in another row behind them. They danced backward
and forward, stamping and singing, at first in a slow and
melancholy style, but gradually with increasing vigor and
excitement. Then the women began to rotate the pelvis backward
and forward, and the men to thrust their bodies forward, the
dance becoming a pantomimic representation of sexual intercourse
(ibid., vol. i, 1823, pp. 373-5).

Among the Apinages of Brazil, also, the women stand in a row,
almost motionless, while the men dance and leap in front of them,
both men and women at the same time singing. (Buscalioni, "Reise
zu den Apinages," _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, 1899, ht. 6, p.
650.)

Among the Gilas of New Mexico, "when a young man sees a girl whom
he desires for a wife, he first endeavors to gain the good-will
of the parents; this accomplished, he proceeds to serenade his
lady-love, and will often sit for hours, day after day, near her
home, playing on his flute. Should the girl not appear, it is a
sign she rejects him; but if, on the other hand, she comes out to
meet him, he knows that his suit is accepted, and he takes her to
his home. No marriage ceremony is performed."[33] (H.H. Bancroft,
_Native Races of the Pacific_, vol. i, p. 549.)

"Among the Minnetarees a singular night-dance is, it is said,
sometimes held. During this amusement an opportunity is given to
the squaws to select their favorites. A squaw, as she dances,
will advance to a person with whom she is captivated, either for
his personal attractions or for his renown in arms; she taps him
on the shoulder and immediately runs out of the lodge and betakes
herself to the bushes, followed by the favorite. But if it should
happen that he has a particular preference for another from whom
he expects the same favor, or if he is restrained by a vow, or is
already satiated with indulgence, he politely declines her offer
by placing his hand in her bosom, on which they return to the
assembly and rejoin the dance." It is worthy of remark that in
the language of the Omahas the word _watche_ applies equally to
the amusement of dancing and to sexual intercourse. (S.H. Long,
_Expedition to the Rocky Mountains_, 1823, vol. i, p. 337.)

At a Kaffir marriage "singing and dancing last until midnight.
Each party [the bride's and the bridegroom's] dances in front of
the other, but they do not mingle together. As the evening
advances, the spirits and passions of all become greatly excited;
and the power of song, the display of muscular action, and the
gesticulations of the dancers and leapers are something
extraordinary. The manner in which, at certain times, one man or
woman, more excited than the rest, bounds from the ranks, leaps
into the air, bounces forward, and darts backward beggars all
description. These violent exercises usually close about
midnight, when each party retires; generally, each man selects a
paramour, and, indulging in sexual gratification, spends the
remainder of the night." (W.C. Holden, _The Kaffir Race_, 1866,
p. 192.)

At the initiation of Kaffir boys into manhood, as described by
Holden, they were circumcised. "Cattle are then slaughtered by
the parents, and the boys are plentifully supplied with flesh
meat; a good deal of dancing also ensues at this stage of the
proceedings. The _ukut-shila_ consists in attiring themselves
with the leaves of the wild date in the most fantastic manner;
thus attired they visit each of the kraals to which they belong
in rotation, for the purpose of dancing. These dances are the
most licentious which can be imagined. The women act a prominent
part in them, and endeavor to excite the passions of the novices
by performing all sorts of obscene gesticulations. As soon as the
soreness occasioned by the act of circumcision is healed the boys
are, as it were, let loose upon society, and exempted from nearly
all the restraints of law; so that should they even steal and
slaughter their neighbor's cattle they would not be punished; and
they have the special privilege of seizing by force, if force be
necessary, every unmarried woman they choose, for the purpose of
gratifying their passions." Similar festivals take place at the
initiation of girls. (W.C. Holden, _The Kaffir Race_, 1866, p.
185.)

The Rev. J. Macdonald has described the ceremonies and customs
attending and following the initiation-rites of a young girl on
her first menstruation among the Zulus between the Tugela and
Delagoa Bay. At this time the girl is called an _intonjane_. A
beast is killed as a thank-offering to the ancestral spirits,
high revel is held for several days, and dancing and music take
place every night till those engaged in it are all exhausted or
daylight arrives. "After a few days and when dancing has been
discontinued, young men and girls congregate in the outer
apartment of the hut, and begin singing, clapping their hands,
and making a grunting noise to show their joy. At nightfall most
of the young girls who were the intonjane's attendants, leave for
their own homes for the night, to return the following morning.
Thereafter the young men and girls who gathered into the hut in
the afternoon separate into pairs and sleep together _in puris
naturalibus_, for that is strictly ordained by custom. Sexual
intercourse is not allowed, but what is known as _metsha_ or
_ukumetsha_ is the sole purpose of the novel arrangement.
_Ukumetsha_ may be defined as partial intercourse. Every man who
sleeps thus with a girl has to send to the father of the
intonjane an assegai; should he have formed an attachment for his
partner of the night and wish to pay her his addresses, he sends
two assegais." (Rev. J. Macdonald, "Manners, etc., of South
African Tribes," _Journal of the Anthropological Institute_, vol.
xx, November, 1890, p. 117.)

Goncourt reports the account given him by a French officer from
Senegal of the dances of the women, "a dance which is a gentle
oscillation of the body, with gradually increasing excitement,
from time to time a woman darting forward from the group to stand
in front of her lover, contorting herself as though in a
passionate embrace, and, on passing her hand between her thighs,
showing it covered with the moisture of amorous enjoyment."
(_Journal_, vol. ix, p. 79.) The dance here referred to is
probably the Bamboula dance of the Wolofs, a spring festival
which has been described by Pierre Loti in his _Roman d'un
Spahi_, and concerning which various details are furnished by a
French army-surgeon, acquainted with Senegal, in his _Untrodden
Fields of Anthropology_. The dance, as described by the latter,
takes place at night during full moon, the dancers, male and