caste which has probably had more influence upon our manners and customs than any other one factor.

CASTE AND THE CREATION OF CODES

The influence of caste has been felt by mankind since the earliest times. Wherever there have been men with more skins, more wives, more earthly possessions than others, there has been caste. Wherever there have been men with more brute strength and consequently more power than others, there has been caste. Wherever there has been nobility, and peasantry, and fashion, and wealth, there one is sure to find evidences of caste.

And caste brings custom. Those who belong to the upper-the more powerful or influential-castes, demand homage and recognition from those beneath them. Cyrus, we are told, beheaded two of his inferiors because they omitted to place their hands inside their sleeves, when saluting him. And Charlemagne, you remember, pleased his vanity by forcing subject kings to serve him at table.

Caste forms grades or classes of society. It separates one whole society of mankind into many stages or levels, into many kinds of societies. In other words, caste divides. And as it divides, it brings into being certain ceremonials. These ceremonials in time become customs. And these customs, be it noted, bring together again, consolidate, standardize. It is a complete cycle: caste-custom-society— and caste again.

The first definite instances of caste centre about royalty. The word king itself represents a definite grade or caste of society. We cannot think of the word without immediately associating it in our minds with ceremony, pomp, power caste.

Royalty has always been surrounded by pomp and ceremonial from the cradle to the grave. Every monarch, no matter of what date or country, has called upon his subjects for marks of respect and homage. There would be a strict

hereditary etiquette, handed down through one royal generation after another.

Out of this royal ceremonial would naturally grow certain forms and certain restrictions. These restrictions would serve to frame in and emphasize the separateness of the royal person and the inferiority of his subjects.

The Food Tabu.-It is related that when the King of Persia gave dinner parties he himself sat at a separate table in another room where he could see his guests, but where he would be unseen by them. This is a custom of great antiquity.

In primitive times it was believed that evil could enter the body with the food. As the king had enemies who envied him his power, he took extraordinary precaution. No one was permitted to touch his food, and no one was permitted even to see him eat it.

Thus if any man or beast saw the King of Loango eat, that man or beast was instantly put to death. A tradition says that the king's own son was killed for this reason. Similarly, it was a capital offence to see the King of Dahomey at his meals; the King of Tongo ate in secret; and the King of Abyssinia never permitted any one near him when he dined.

Having established this tabu for superstitious reasons, kings, priests and men of power continued it and carried it to extremes because they realized that it separated them from the inferior classes or castes-gave them a certain importance. And presently we find the tabu of not eating together spreading among other peoples outside of royalty and becoming one of the main features in certain systems of caste.

In Tonga, for instance, there are ranks and orders that cannot eat and drink together, no matter what the occasion. In Uripiv (New Hebrides) the males are divided into ten "castes" which are determined by age, and these castes may under no circumstances eat with one another.

The same custom is found among the Hindus, a people

of many caste separations. The Paharias regard themselves as superior to the Keriahs and will not eat or drink with them. The young Bedouin boy shows deference and respect to his father by refusing to eat in his presence. Members of different castes will not eat food that has been cooked in the same vessel. To eat together is one of the "grand tests of identity of caste" among the Hindus. In New Zealand it was forbidden the slave to eat with his master, just as to-day, among some Eskimo people, it is forbidden the woman to eat with her husband. The Atiu Islanders refuse, to this day, to eat with the missionaries; and the Papuans will not eat food that a European visitor has touched.

And so it continues, one people after another creating castes within their own communities and establishing restrictions to emphasize their own power. And so it will continue until the end of time, as long as there are different castes or grades of society.

The food tabu may seem strange to us. Yet in modern life many instances of "unwritten laws" against eating together can be pointed out. In England the servant who drinks his master's champagne or sits at the table with him outrages all sense of caste propriety. And there is a caste consciousness even among the servants, for the upper servant refuses to eat with the others.

Nor do we have to go to England to see modern examples of the food tabu. Where is the wealthy American who will dine with his chauffeur in public, no matter how democratic he otherwise may be? And where is the chauffeur who will want to dine with his employer? He will feel embarrassed, ill at ease, conscious of the fact that he is out of caste.

This caste consciousness exists, whether we will admit it or not. We cannot escape it. It is a part of our primitive personality, just as is the desire to imitate, or the love of the magical and the mysterious.

Between the Sexes.-The difference between the sexes

has always been a basis for caste. In primitive life, the woman was subordinated. Because she did not fight side by side with the warriors, because she did not hunt or fish and therefore had to depend upon the men for food, she fell into a lower social position.

Here again we find the food tabu. In many African tribes it was a capital offence to eat with a woman. Even to-day a Uripiv Islander who eats with a woman runs the risk of a sudden and mysterious death. It simply is not done; it is not the custom.

In Barotseland, which is in Northern Rhodesia, Africa, the natives explain their custom of eating separately-men with men, women with women-in this fashion: A man is naturally stronger than a woman, and owing to this su perior strength he might be tempted, in his hunger, to snatch the largest and choicest morsels of food. Therefore they dine separately so that the woman is assured her share. Naive and amusing, but not true. They eat separately because all their ancestors before them ate separately; because it has been for generations the custom to do so.

Savage people of long ago kept the young women of the tribe hidden. They were tabu to the warriors, and it was only when they reached a certain age that they were permitted to "come out into the sun" and be married. Survivals of this custom are seen in our chaperon and "coming out" party.

In many tribes it was considered a serious breach of conduct for a man to see his mother-in-law, talk to her, or have any association with her whatever. She belonged to a different tribal caste and was therefore tabu. Thus if a Wemba sees his mother-in-law approaching he at once retreats; if he is forced to meet her face to face he keeps his eyes fixed on the ground and walks on without greeting her. (Perhaps that mother-in-law joke is staler than we think!)

In Tasmania it is a natural custom for a man to look

aside while a woman is passing. This is an ancient form of politeness observed by many savage races. In that country it is also prohibited to speak of sexual matters in the presence of a third person.

There were many tabus in early life that later became forms of politeness. Thus, at one time the wives of the chiefs in Tonga were not permitted to be seen by any other men. Now they may walk abroad with attendants, but never without attendants. We see a suggestion of our chaperon in this custom. In Loango girls were at one time kept strictly secluded; they were tabu; they remained secluded until their parents found a suitable husband for them. To-day a vestige of this ancient custom is seen not only in Loango but among other savage peoples. The youths are not permitted to speak to the girls except when they are in the presence of their mothers. A strange sort of etiquette to exist in savage life!

The early Romans, advanced in courtesy as in all things, treated the women with so much honour and respect that it was prohibited to say the least immodest word in their presence. When a Roman met a woman in the street he always gave her right of way. Even the magistrates observed this custom.

In later civilizations, the association between the sexes brought about elaborate codes of courtesy and chivalry. This is particularly noticeable in France and in England, where the romance of the Crusades, the reign of Chivalry and the gallant tournaments at which "knights found courage in their ladies' eyes" added a distinctly courteous flavour to social life.

Respect for the Aged.-Although some savage tribes have been known to desert and even kill their aged members, many peoples are known who, since earliest times, have treated their aged with marked deference. The Eskimo, the Bushmen, the Australians, the Fuegians, the Veddahs, the Dyaks, the Caribs-all show courtesy and honour to the old among them.