DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49271#0123
68
A. W. Hoeenle
marriage, puberty, or bereavement rites, the new status has simply to be recognised,
acknowledged, and the necessary steps taken to protect both the individual and society
by receiving the man or the woman into the new group to which he or she now belongs.
This is done by the preparation of a sacramental meal5 in which only persons duly quali-
fied are allowed to share. In the other group of crises, a stage preliminary to the sacra-
mental meal is necessary. The !nau person has first to be identified with the new group
by injecting some of the ‘essence’ of that group into him. This is done by making inci-
sions in some part of his body, the part varying with the crisis, and injecting a concoction
of which one ingredient is invariably some of the grease and dirt scraped from the body
of the officiating person. This is the practice in remarriage, in the puberty ceremonies
of the boys, in the reception into the rank of hunters, in the treatment of diseases which
are regarded as !nau, etc. For diseases the injection of the essence seems almost like
the administration of an antitoxin. The next stage in both groups of crises is the renun-
ciation of all that represents the old life, after a period, more or less prolonged, of complete
seclusion. The individual must be reborn. There is a special cleansing6 of the !nau
person’s body by the individual officiating, after which a totally new set of clothing is put
on. The old clothes should be used only by the officiating person or someone else of the
same group, though the tendency nowadays is to keep most of them for rough use. At the
same time the house is thoroughly purified, and what might be called an “expiatory” meal
is eaten. For this meal but one animal is killed, and of it none but the !nau person
and persons who can no longer become !nau may partake. Finally there is the careful
reintroduction to all the familiar daily tasks which have been so long laid aside, and
so life begins again with all the solidarity of the new group behind its new member.
Some details concerning the state of Inau. It has already been mentioned that
there are certain people who are immune from all the dangers attaching to !nau. This
is of extreme importance, as it prevents the life of the community from being paralyzed
by fear of the dread consequences of tampering with an unknown and overwhelmingly
great power. It might also be expected that this privileged class would have great
authority in its hands, and there is every evidence that in the early days the older people
in the tribe did have an exceedingly strong and important position, and this notwithstand-
ing the well known fact that old people were exposed by the Hottentots. Even nowadays
I observed that an old person keeps his power as long as he keeps his vigour and his judg-
ment, though he is likely to have a sad life if times be hard and he is rather a burden than
a help to the family.
I have observed only one instance in which animals, and none in which inanimate
6 lit. “killing”.
6 For such a cleansing the word //amsin is used.
A. W. Hoeenle
marriage, puberty, or bereavement rites, the new status has simply to be recognised,
acknowledged, and the necessary steps taken to protect both the individual and society
by receiving the man or the woman into the new group to which he or she now belongs.
This is done by the preparation of a sacramental meal5 in which only persons duly quali-
fied are allowed to share. In the other group of crises, a stage preliminary to the sacra-
mental meal is necessary. The !nau person has first to be identified with the new group
by injecting some of the ‘essence’ of that group into him. This is done by making inci-
sions in some part of his body, the part varying with the crisis, and injecting a concoction
of which one ingredient is invariably some of the grease and dirt scraped from the body
of the officiating person. This is the practice in remarriage, in the puberty ceremonies
of the boys, in the reception into the rank of hunters, in the treatment of diseases which
are regarded as !nau, etc. For diseases the injection of the essence seems almost like
the administration of an antitoxin. The next stage in both groups of crises is the renun-
ciation of all that represents the old life, after a period, more or less prolonged, of complete
seclusion. The individual must be reborn. There is a special cleansing6 of the !nau
person’s body by the individual officiating, after which a totally new set of clothing is put
on. The old clothes should be used only by the officiating person or someone else of the
same group, though the tendency nowadays is to keep most of them for rough use. At the
same time the house is thoroughly purified, and what might be called an “expiatory” meal
is eaten. For this meal but one animal is killed, and of it none but the !nau person
and persons who can no longer become !nau may partake. Finally there is the careful
reintroduction to all the familiar daily tasks which have been so long laid aside, and
so life begins again with all the solidarity of the new group behind its new member.
Some details concerning the state of Inau. It has already been mentioned that
there are certain people who are immune from all the dangers attaching to !nau. This
is of extreme importance, as it prevents the life of the community from being paralyzed
by fear of the dread consequences of tampering with an unknown and overwhelmingly
great power. It might also be expected that this privileged class would have great
authority in its hands, and there is every evidence that in the early days the older people
in the tribe did have an exceedingly strong and important position, and this notwithstand-
ing the well known fact that old people were exposed by the Hottentots. Even nowadays
I observed that an old person keeps his power as long as he keeps his vigour and his judg-
ment, though he is likely to have a sad life if times be hard and he is rather a burden than
a help to the family.
I have observed only one instance in which animals, and none in which inanimate
6 lit. “killing”.
6 For such a cleansing the word //amsin is used.