The thunderweapon in religion and folklore, a study in comparative ...

ORIGIN AND AGE 33
the god for his abode, and therefore as being holy ground is not to
be violated by the foot of man or beast. Similarly the tree split,
or the man killed by lightning, is sacred, and must not be treated
as other trees or other corpses. In short, the stone itself and
everything it has touched are taboo. The reason for this taboo is
clear: the dangerous forces remain in the stone after its descents
The thunderstone, i.e. the thundergod, moves when a fresh storm
is brewing; by its mere presence it protects against further
strokes of lightning the house that has given it shelter" ; still it
is thought good at the approach of a storm to make it clear that
the thundergod has already chosen the house for his abode.
Hence a ritual imitation of the stroke is performed by hurling
the thunderstone against the door. The thundergod is moreover
regarded as the most powerful of all the gods of heaven and
earth, since the effects of his anger are so terrible and so evident.
Consequently the most solemn oaths, which no man will dare
to break, are those sworn by the thunderstone. Further, as the
most powerful of the gods, the thundergod drives away all evil
spirits which may harm a man by witchcraft or other means.
This aspect of the belief, being the most serviceable in the affairs
of daily life, is naturally the one most frequently kept in view.
The diseases and misfortunes v.'hich befall man and his property
are mainly due, according to the popular belief, to the machinations
of evil beings. Under this head are reckoned, amongst
other calamities, fits of mental derangement caused by demoniacal
possession. It is the thunderstone therefore that is used to cure
insanity. Among cattle-rearing peoples, the power of the stone
to protect their cattle is especially emphasized. The thunder-
stone is, in particular, a protection against all the mishaps that
' See e.g. under Portugal [112]; the people of Assam made a distinction between
living 3.tA dead thunderstones [121]; a blow from a thunderstone was in many places
regarded as absolutely fatal [136]. The primitive idea of taboo is at the root of the
Greek and Roman custom of enclosing places struck by lightning, and of that terror
of the thunderstone still felt in certain places [137]. A trace of the same idea is
preserved in the Danish custom of putting the thunderstone in a place "where no one
can set foot" [51], and generally in the custom of keeping it in remote and out-of-
the-way places [13^].
^ The converse of the idea, that the thunderstone attracts a storm, is also met with
in certain parts [113, 133].
B. 3