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84
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[MAY, 1928
feeling of irritation that led to the social disaster " of the coming of the night. Inversely it was "through the combined effort of the ancestors joining in a harmonious action (singing and dancing) that the day was brought back."
Major and Minor Motives in Legends. Mr. Brown here breaks off (pp. 339-340) to lay down a principle of interpretation. He begins by saying that he had “drawn a distinction between what may be called major and minor motives in the story. The validity of the interpretation of the legends offered in this chapter depends on the validity of this distinction, and it is therefore important to provide A method by which we separate major from minor motives. This can only be done when there are several versions of the same legend." .
And then he goes on to say (p. 339): "if we compare the Akar-Bale (Balawa] Legend with the Aka-Bea version recorded by Mr. Man, we see that they have in common :
(1) the explanation of the origin of night as due to the breaking of a rule :
(2) the training back of the trouble to the anti-social passion of anger on the part of an ancestor :
(3) the account of the origin of dancing and singing as a means of neutralising the effects of darkness.
All other elements of the story are different in the two storiés ...Both the Legends express the social value of night, and they both express it in very much the same way."
Beliefs about the Moon : Personification. Here Mr. Brown says, (p. 340) : "an exactly parallel explanation can be given of the Andaman notions relating to the Moon. The social value of moonlight is due to the fact that it enables the natives to fish and catch turtle and dugong by night. A clear moonlight night affords the best opportunity for harpooning dugong," the most valued of all food. "Therefore, we may say that during the second quarter the Moon gives valuable help to the natives, but during the third quarter withdraws that help."
Then he proceeds to say (pp. 340-341) : “At the beginning of the third quarter the Moon rises in the evening with a ruddy hue. The natives explain this red and swollen appearance by saying that the Moon is angry. When a man does something that hurts or damages another it is generally in Andamanese life) because he is angry. So to say that the Moon is angry is equivalent to saying that he is damaging the society by withdrawing the light by which for the past week or so they have been able to capture fish and turtle. The phenomena of the change of the Moon, in so far as they affect the social life, are represented as if they were the actions of a human being. We may describe this briefly by saying that the moon is personified."
But (p. 341): "Even the Moon is not expected to be angry without a cause. The natives say that the anger is due to some bright light having been visible at the time the Moon rises. The personification is thus further elaborated. The moon gives the light by which fishing and turtle hunting at night are possible. The light has a positive social value and its with drawal is an evil." The Moon is therefore regarded as jealous of artificial light, and by that belief "the value of the moonlight is recognised." The beliefs about the Moon and the Legend of the Night in fact (p. 341) "both express, in accordance with the same psychological Laws, the social values of natural phenomena."
The Fire Legend. Mr. Brown treats (pp. 341 ff.) the Fire Legend in a different manner: "I will next consider not a single legend but a number of different stories, running through all of which we can find a single major motive, I have recorded three legende
