Thus the Mexicans killed young victims for the young corn and old
ones for the ripe corn; the Marimos sacrifice, as "seed," a short,
fat man, the shortness of his stature corresponding to that of the
young corn, his fatness to the condition which it is desired that
the crops may attain; and the Pawnees fattened their victims
probably with the same view. Again, the identification of the victim
with the corn comes out in the African custom of killing him with
spades and hoes, and the Mexican custom of grinding him, like corn,
between two stones.
One more point in these savage customs deserves to be noted. The
Pawnee chief devoured the heart of the Sioux girl, and the Marimos
and Gonds ate the victim's flesh. If, as we suppose, the victim was
regarded as divine, it follows that in eating his flesh his
worshippers believed themselves to be partaking of the body of their
god.
4. The Corn-spirit slain in his Human Representatives
THE BARBAROUS rites just described offer analogies to the harvest
customs of Europe. Thus the fertilising virtue ascribed to the
corn-spirit is shown equally in the savage custom of mixing the
victim's blood or ashes with the seed-corn and the European custom
of mixing the grain from the last sheaf with the young corn in
spring.
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