Curiosities of Superstition And Sketches of Some Unrevealed Religions

by William Henry Davenport Adams

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336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1882

About the author

William Henry Davenport Adams (1828 – 1891), was an English writer and journalist of the 19th century, notable for a number of his publications. Father of William Davenport Adams and Ellinor Davenport Adams.

wikipedia

Reviews

[Bettie]

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER PAGE
I. Buddhism, its Origin and Ceremonies 1
II. Magianism: the Parsees 43
III. Jewish Superstitions 68
IV. Brahmanism 84
V. Hindu Mythology, and the Vishnu Purana 99
VI. In China: Confucianism, Taouism, and Buddhism 119
VII. Among the Malays, the Slamatan Bromok, the Dyaks, the Papuan Tribes, the Ahetas 142
VIII. The Savage Races of Asia: the Samojedes; the Mongols; the Ostiaks; in Tibet 155
IX. Some African Superstitions 171
X. The Zulu Witch-finders 180
XI. Zabianism and Serpent-Worship 186
XII. Polynesian Superstitions 214
XIII. The Fiji Islanders 230
XIV. The Religion of the Maories 241
XV. The North American Indians 254
XVI. Among the Eskimos 274
XVII. A Mediæval Superstition: the Flagellants 279
XVIII. Scottish Superstitions: Halloween 288
XIX. Second Sight: Divination: Universality of certain Superstitions: Fairies in Scotland 300



“To my mind there is no study more absorbing than that of the Religions of the World,—the study, if I may so call it, of the various languages in which man has spoken to his Maker, and of that language in which his Maker ‘at sundry times and in divers manners’ spake to man.”—Max Müller. “Primus in orbe Deos fecit timor.”—Statius, Thebaid, 661.

Opening: Travelling on the borders of Chinese Tartary, in the country of the Lamas or Buddhists, Miss Gordon Cumming remarks that it was strange, every now and again, to meet some respectable-looking workman, twirling little brass cylinders, only about six inches in length, which were incessantly spinning round and round as they walked along the road. What could they be? Not pedometers, not any of the trigonometrical instruments with which the officers of the Ordnance Survey go about armed? No; she was informed that they were prayer-wheels, and that turning them was just about equivalent to the telling of beads, which in Continental lands workmen may often be seen counting as homeward along the road they plod their weary way.

[Joseph Carrabis · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first few chapters of this book are decent anthropology readings. Somewhere towards the end of the second chapter and definitely in the third and beyond, the book became a series of "...and this is why Christianity is better" segments. Definitely tiring!
Read those first few chapters if you're looking for something to flesh out your research, perhaps read the rest if you're looking for a few nuggets of early western explorers' take on different cultures, definitely read them if you're studying Eurocentric bigotry and prejudice.