MODERN FOLK-LORE - Cambridge University Press

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1I.. DDanish, Sccandinaviian, anndd Geerman poppuullaarr trraaddiittiioon;
exxtteenntt ooff thhee Thunderstone belieeff inn Europe aannd
otheerr Continents.

TT HH EE beliieeff in thundeerrssttoonneess,, which has been common at all
times in Denmarkk,, has nott yet entirellyy disappeareedd.. Thirty
or thirty-five years ago thee authhoorr found it fully alive in ssouth-­
western Jutland. Amongst the recentt records of Danish folk-lore
we find now and again informmaattiioonn abouutt thunderrssttoonneess,, and in
thee earlier Danish literattuurree,, too, thee prevailing ideas of tthe
peasaannttrryy on this subjecctt are touchedd on in a few places, for
instance, in Holberg [72] andd Pontooppppiiddaann [I1J].. With no very
close connection with Danish popullaarr belief, and of little im-­
portannccee in thee studyy of the Danishh traditioonn,, there are, on
thee otheerr hand,, the "lleearned"" expositions of J. L. Woollffff and
O. WWoorrmm:: these are derived from foreign literarryy sources aand

originate in thee ancienntt classical literaattuurree [1I1I55 a]J..

The substannccee of thee Danish thunnddeerrssttoonnee beliieeff is as
follows:

The thunnddeerrssttoonnee falls down from thee sky in ththuunnddeerrssttoorms
or, more accurately, whenever the lightning strikes. The ssttroke
off the lightning, according to this view, consists in the descent
off thee stone; the flash andd the thundeerr--ccllaapp are mere aafftter-­
effecttss or secondarryy pphheennoommeena.

The stonee protecttss thee house in which it is kept against
strokes of lightning; "wwhhere it has once strucckk it is nott worth
coming agaaiinn" [62]. In manyy parts the stonee was simply kept
lying on a shelf, on a chest of drawers, or in a box. Usually,
however, it was kept in a particcuullaarr place where it might be
free from daily disttuurrbbaannccee:: it was immuurreedd in the wall, laid
unddeerr thee fflloooorr,, on thee top of the four-poosstt bedsteadd,, or uunder

B. II

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22 TTHHEE TTHHUUNNDDEERRWWEEAPP ON

thhee roooff [138]. Thhee objecctt was evidently to avoid touchiinngg the
thuunnddeerrssttoonnee,, anndd thiss is sometiimmeess very distinccttllyy emphasized
in thhee recorddss [5 1I,, 53]; thus,, in Jutlanndd itt was oftteenn kepptt uunder
thhee farr sidee off thhee fixed bbedstead.

TThhee thuunnddeerrssttoonnee keeps trollss anndd othheerr pernicciioouuss ccrreatures
awayy fromm thee house, andd as mosstt off thee evils which befall man
anndd his prooppeerrttyy aree due, according to thee old poppuullaarr belief, to
witchhccrraafftt andd evil beings, thhee thunnddeerrssttoonnee in generall becomes
a protecttiioonn for house andd cattle; it draws luck to thee house,
cann be usedd as a healingg power, andd so on. This idea par­-
ticularly asserrtteedd itselff in certaaiinn cases where an iinnjjuurious
influence,, thee origin of which was unknown, was ffrreeqquuently
felt. Thus thee thunnddeerrssttoonnee especially proteccttss thee little un-
christteenneedd child againnsstt being " cchanggeedd" andd thee horsee in the
stablee againnsstt "nniigghhttmmare./"' But it was especially commonn to
use thee thunnddeerrssttoonnee as a proteccttiioonn againnsstt mishappss with tthe
milk andd its treatment: it was laid on thee milk-shelves that
thee milk mightt keep fresh or give betttteerr cream, andd puutt on tthe
churrnn that thee churnniinngg mightt give good butter. Inn manyy parts
a new, special name for the thundeerrssttoonnee has thus rreessuulltteedd:
butter-lluucckk,, etc. [[771].

While thesee ideas were spreaadd in essentially thee same form
andd preserveedd more or less perfectly all over thee country, it was
with partiiccuullaarr sorts of stoness that the beliieeff was associated in
particcuullaarr parts of thee country. Denmaarrkk has three ppoorrttions
off territtoorryy in touch with the neighbouringg countriess in tthhe
east andd south, each with its special kind of thunderrssttoonnee.. In
the greateerr part of the country, vizz.. in Sealand with tthhe
neighbouringg isles, in Langeland, Funen, Bornholm((??), aand
in Vendsysssseell,, Mors andd the easterrnn parts of Jutland, tthhe
common fflliinnt-axeess of the stone age or occasionally otherr fflliint
antiquitieess (dagger blades, even the crescent-shhaappeedd flint saws
[33]) were the objects supposedd to fall down from the sky in
thunddeerrssttoorrmmss [1-38]. Partially in Sealand and on the iissllands
to the southh of it, Falster, Lolland and Bornholm [39-47],
belemnites (" ffiinnggersttoonneess"") were regardedd as thunddeerrssttoonneess;
whereas in western and southerrnn Jutland [49-70] fossilized sea-
urchins (sea-eeggggss,, echinites) passed as such. This may also

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MMOODDEERRNN FOLK-LORE 3

havvee beeenn thhee case in othheerr districttss,, anndd iff in thiiss connection
we mayy rely entireellyy onn thhee existing records, it seemss that the
thuunnddeerrssttoonnee beelliieeff in somee places divided inttoo two branches,
so thatt thhee ideass which mainnllyy conceerrnneedd milk, churninngg,, etc.,
were associiaatteedd in somee parts with echinites, whilst flintt an­-
tiquittiieess were looked upoonn as tthhuunnddeerrssttones.

Thee Daniisshh thunddeerrssttoqnneess,, thenn,, have externallllyy only one
commoonn featuree,, a special shappee which differrss fromm thatt off the
commoonn ruddee flintt anndd is off fairly buutt noott very freqquueenntt oc­-
currence. Itt is noott recorrddeedd that othheerr nattuurraall stoneess orr sstone
antiquuiittiieess have been looked uponn as thunddeerrssttoonneess in DDenmark.

Thee side-issues off thee belliieeff in thee power off thee thunder­-
stonnee are, as has beenn said above, in thee mainn easily intelligible
fromm a consideerraattiioonn of thee fundaammeennttaall idea. On thee oother
handd,, this nucleus, rounndd which thee otheerr ideas seem to have

grown, demaannddss an explanattiioonn which thee Danishh ttrraaddition
does nott of itselff provide. T o obtaiinn even a probabbllee solution,
thee forms which kindrreedd popuullaarr beliefs have assumeedd in oother
countriieess musstt be takeenn into conssiiddeerraattiioonn:: in this way tthe
mainn facts andd details, which will afforrdd a supppoorrtt for tthe
explanation, may come to light. Inn thee first place, we mmust
turn to thee kindreedd peoples in thee east andd north, andd to tthe
neighbouriinngg countrryy in the ssoouth.

Inn Norway thee thunddeerrssttoonnee beliieeff does nott seem to have
such importaannccee as in Denmark. In the greateerr part of tthe
coouunnttrryy" certainn roundd and smoothh stones" have been looked
uponn as thundeerrssttoonneess;; whereas the axes of the stone age
are so regardeedd only in the southeerrnn part of Norway, nneeaarest
Vendsyssel. Of these only a few and for the most part brieff
records exist [86-89], and the derived ideas referrreedd to above
seem practically uunnkknnoown.

In Iceland thunderrssttoonneess are scarcely known in ppoopular
traditionn,, for the simple reason that thundeerrssttoorrmmss are a rare
phennoommeennoonn;; consequently they have been of no iimmppoorrttance
in the realm of populaarr ideas and have left no trace in it.
From modernn times we have only scattereedd informattiioonn aabbout
thunderrssttoonneess;; everything suggests that these ideas are of llaate
origin, introducceedd no doubt throughh foreign literary cchhaannnneells.

11—- 22

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4 TTHHEE TTHHUUNNDDEERRWWE APONN

If, therefore, the earliest inhabiittaannttss of the countryy broughhtt tthe
thunddeerrssttoonnee beliieeff with them, it mustt have become extinct
because the naturraall conditions did not favour its preservation
and furtthheerr development [90-91].

Itt is quite otherwise in Sweden [81-85], where the thunder-­
stone beliieeff has been widely spreaadd until the latest times. Itt is
usually the implements of the stone age (not only the fliinntt axe,
as in Denmark, butt quite as oftenn the pierced axe) that are
supposedd to have come down with thee thunder, though in certain
parts (as in southeerrnn Skaane, close to the Danish Isles) it is tthe
belemnite that is so reggaarrddeedd;; in otherr parts the same is said
about rock crystals, stones worn by water, etc. In some places
the tale goes that the thunderrssttoonnee,, on striking, dives seven
fathoms deep into the ground, afterwarrddss rising one ffathom
every year until, afteerr the lapse of seven years, it again reaches
the suurrffaacce—e-ann idea that occurs in many differreenntt countries,
though hardlyy in the Danish tradition. The power aattttrriibuted
to it in the affairs of daily life is partly the same as, or, at any
rate, akin to, that known in Dennmmaarrkk:: thus it is laid in the
granaryy as a preventive against rats, andd in the brewing vat
to prevent the trolls from spoiling thee breeww;; it is used against
disease amongst cattle and also amongstt men and women; it is
hung as a charm roundd the neck of a child to protecctt it against
the ague, and is placed over the horses in thee stable to keep
away the nightmaarree;; it is a protectioonn not only against
lightning butt also against otheerr forms of fire; thus it is carried
about "SSvveeddjjeeland" ({ii..ee.. land cleared from forest by fire) to
prevent the fire spreading; finaallllyy,, it becomes a means ooff
attractiinngg good fortunnee generally, and may therefoorree be ffaastened
to a ffisishhiinngg--nneett.

In Germany [93-95] we have many records of the ppopular
beliieeff in thundeerrssttoonneess in various parts of the country. Here,
in the main, the same ideas occur which are known in Scandi-­
navia, butt besides these we find individual features foreign to
the Danish and Swedish traditions. Some of these occur in oother
countries as well, butt others seem peculiar to German districts.
Not only fflint axes, belemnites, and echinites pass for thunder-­
stones, butt also, in certain parts at any rate, pierced stone axes.

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MMOODDEERRNN FOLK-LORE 5

TThhee thunnddeerrssttoonnee comes down with thee lightning; it ppeenetrates

a certainn deptthh into thee eartthh butt comes to the surface again

aftteerr thee lapse of a definniittee time; when a thunnddeerrssttoorrmm is

brewing, thee stonnee perspiirreess andd moves. Itt is a protection

againnsstt lightning, for which purppoossee itt is carefully kept, puutt up
unddeerr thee roof, or hungg up neaarr thee fire-place. Inn some parts
ooff Eaasstt Prussia, where thee belliieeff is associated with thee pierced
axe, when a thuunnddeerrssttoorrmm is coming on, thee peassaanntt putss his
fingeerr throouugghh thee hole, swings thee axe rouunndd three times, and
theenn hurlss it vigorously againsstt thee ddoooorr—-tthuuss thee house is
freedd from strokes of lightning. The genuine thunddeerrssttoonnee is
prooooff againstt ffiirree.. T o testt its genuineness a piece of tthread
is wound rounndd thee stone, which is thenn thrownn into the ffiirree;
iff thee threeaadd does not burn, thee stonee is genuine. Furthheerr,, it
wwiillll sseerrvvee aass aa ssaaffeegguuaarrdd aaggaaiinnsstt wwiittcchheess,, iiss ppuutt iinn tthhee ccrraaddllee
wwiitthh lliittttllee cchhiillddrreenn ttoo pprrootteecctt thheemm,, is keepptt inn tthhee daaiirryy and
wwiillll ccuurree tthhee ccaattttllee ooff ddiisseeaassee,, eessppeecciiaallllyy tthhee ccoowwss ooff iinnffllaammeedd
uuddddeerrss ((dduuee ttoo bbeeiinngg mmiillkkeedd bbyy wwiittcchheess)).. IItt iiss aallssoo uusseedd aass
aa ccuurree ffoorr vvaarriioouuss ddiisseeaasseess aammoonnggsstt hhuummaann bbeeiinnggss,, ppaarrttllyy bbyy
ssttrrookkiinngg tthhee ssoorree ppllaaccee wwiitthh iitt,, ppaarrttllyy bbyy ssccrraappiinngg aa ppoowwddeerr ffrroomm
tthhee ssttoonnee aanndd ggiivviinngg iitt ttoo tthhee ssiicckk ppeerrssoonn.. TThheessee llaasstt iiddeeaass mmaayy,,
lliikkee tthhee ccoorrrreessppoonnddiinngg ffeeaattuurreess kknnoowwnn ffrroomm DDeennmmaarrkk,, bbee ddeerriivveedd
ffrroomm tthhee bbeelliieeff tthhaatt tthhee tthhuunnddeerrssttoonnee ddrriivveess aawwaayy eevviill ccrreeaattuurreess;;
iinn ootthheerr ccaasseess tthhee ffaacctt sseeeemmss rraatthheerr ttoo bbee tthhaatt tthhee tthhuunnddeerrssttoonnee,,
bbeeiinngg aallrreeaaddyy bbeenneeffiicciiaall iinn ssoo mmaannyy ccaasseess,, hhaass ccoommee ttoo bbee iinncclluuddeedd
iinn tthhee mmoottlleeyy ccoolllleeccttiioonn ooff rreemmeeddiieess eemmppllooyyeedd bbyy ppooppuullaarr mmeeddii~­
cciinnee;i ootthheerr rreemmeeddiieess aarree uusseedd iinn ccoonnjjuunnccttiioonn wwiitthh iitt ffoorr tthhee ssaammee
ccaassee.. IInn aann aatttteemmpptt,, hhoowweevveerr,, ttoo ffiinndd tthhee nnuucclleeuuss ooff tthhee
tthhuunnddeerrssttoonnee bbeelliieeff wwee mmuusstt nnoott ddwweellll oonn tthheessee ppooiinnttss,, bbuutt ffiixx
oouurr aatttteennttiioonn oonn tthhee mmaaiinn iiddeeaass wwhhiicchh cchhaarraacctteerriissee iitt..

Kindred beliefs, partly in exactly similar form, are ffound

much fartheerr abroad, not only in the Teutonic and AAnglo-

Saxon countries but also amongst other Europeann peoples.

We have records of this in all parts of Europe, and it aappppeears

that not only among the peoples of Indo-Eurooppeeaann origin,
but also among others, e.g. the Ugro-Finnish peoples, tthhe

thunderssttoonneess play their part. If we turn to the other con-­
tinents it becomes still clearer that this popular belieff is nnot

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6 TTHHEE T HUNDDE RWEAPONN

limited to annyyoone race: for the same chain of ideas is ffound
in almost thee whole of Asia and Africa, in China andd Japan, as
well as amonggsstt the negroes of thee Guinea Coast. The main
idea, that the thunnddeerrssttoonnee comes down with thee lightning, is
everywhere the same; manyy secondarryy ideas attachhiinngg to it aare
also found in remarkaabbllyy similarr forms..

Thus it is over a greatt part of the globe that thee beliieeff in
thunddeerrssttoonneess is spread. There are, however, large ddiissttricts
where it is nott known. This is especially thee case in the SSouth
Sea Islandss and in Australia, which hold also in otheerr rreespects
a peculiar position in the development of the humaann race. FFrom
America we have only a few scatteerreedd reporrttss of a kkiindred
belief, andd there is butt small probabiliittyy of its being really
indigenous there. The accounts mostt frequennttllyy appeeaarr in such
a form as to suggest that the thundeerrssttoonnee belief, in tthhe
cases in question, was introdduucceedd by Europpeeaann iimmmmiiggrants
(especially the Spanishh andd Portugueessee in Southh andd Central
America), who brougghhtt the idea with themm from theiirr native
counttrryy fully formed, andd may well have applied it to the ssttoone
axes that were to be found on American soil as well as to tthhose
off theiirr own countries. Fromm the Spaniarrddss andd Portugueessee it
may have spreaadd to the Indians.. The American aborigines had
usually quite differreenntt conceptions of thee nature of thunder;
according to a wide-spreadd belief, bothh in Nortthh andd SSouth
America, it was produceedd by a large thunnddeerr--bbiirrdd [1322,, 113-333].
Thus in thee atteemmpptt to disentanggllee the original tthhuunnddeerrssttoone
belieeff it will be best not to consider America.

In Europe, Asia, andd Afriiccaa it is most frequennttllyy pprreehhiistoric
stonee antiquittiieess that pass for thunnddeerrssttoonneess;; but, besides these,
otheerr stones (belemnites, echinites, globular stones andd rock
crystals) are similar!ly rreeggaarded.

This, however, does not seem to have had anyy ppaarrtticular
effeecctt upon the developmenntt of the popullaarr belief.

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II. TT hhee Thundeerstonee inn pagan rreelliigions
ooff thhee preseenntt ddaayy.

ITT would help very little fully to recounntt at this pointt tthe
tradittiioonnss prevailing in various counnttrriieess;; for thesee the rreeader
is referrrreedd to a laterr chapptteerr [x] where the mainn portionnss of tthe
existing records are given in abstract.. While in thee main we
find the same ideas everywhere, differreenntt featuress are pre-­
domiinnaanntt in diffeerreenntt localitiess.. There is a special reason why
our attennttiioonn shouldd be concennttrraatteedd on the tradittiioonnss in tthose
parts of thee world which have nott been influenceedd by Christianity
or otheerr advanced religions. Forr there can be no doubbtt that tthe
centraall featureess of the beliieeff in thunddeerrssttoonneess are nott of Christian,
Buddhist, Brahmmaann or Mahommeettaann origin, andd that the old idea
to some exteenntt held its own in spite of religion, or at any rate
because it was not felt to be in conflict with it. In those countries,
on the otheerr hand,, which were dominnaatteedd by thee above religions,
thee power exercised by religion over the mindd may have effaced
certainn aspects of the idea abouutt the thunddeerrssttoonnee which were
incompatibllee with thee faith. Among the accounts derived ffrom
distaanntt countrieess two will be mentioonneedd here which exactly
illustrraattee this. One of them, the materiaall for which is derived
from thee Nationall Museum, is especially noteworthy, iinnasmuch
as it has never, to thee authoorr''ss knowledge, been published
before.

On the Guinea Coast andd in its hinteerrllaanndd thee belieff
in thunddeerrssttoonneess is very common. The ancienntt stonee axes,
which are regarddeedd as such, are called "thuunnddeerrbbooltlsts,","" lightning
stones," " stonegods," or "tthhuundergodss,,"" andd are supposeedd to fall
from thee sky in thunddeerrssttoorrmmss.. When the lightning splits a
tree, kills a man, or sets fire to a house, the thunddeerrssttoonnee is held
to be the agent. A s a proteccttiioonn againsstt lightning it is placed

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8 TT HH EE TTHHUUNNDDEERRWWE APONN

undeerr the rafters,, and sacrifice is made to it of cowrieess,, poultry,
or kids, when it is smearedd with the blood of the sacrificed
animals, or with milk. The Danish missionary Monrad mmeentions
this beliieeff in his description of the Guinea Coast [129], and
makes the interestiinngg stateemmeenntt that no negro dares to take
a false oath when near such a thunderboltt.. The belief, prevalent
amongst certainn African tribes, which places the thunddeerrbboolltt in
the handd of a personal god as an instrruummeenntt of power and
vengeance, seems to be of laterr origin.

From the opposite boundaarryy of the great territoorryy in which
the thundeerrssttoonneess are known we get descriptions of a very
similar character. In the mounttaaiinn districts in the centree off
southeerrnn Indiiaa there are tribes only superficially touched by
Brahmanism, amongst whom earlier religious ideas and customs
still linger. From these regions we have gained much infor-­
mation andd numerouuss collections in the National Museum, for
which we are principally indebteedd to the Danish missionary,
Mr Loventhal, who has worked in Veilloree for many years
[[11g9 *e]].

The museumm thus possesses some stone implements, mostly
axes, from the Shevaroy Hills, which lie to the south-west off
Madras. Some of them Mr Loventhal acquired, in exchange
for otherr articles, from a plantteerr in the districtt who is a col-­
lector of antiquities. About these axes Mr Loventhal writes as
follows: "Th e inhabiittaannttss of the Shevaroy Hills (thee MMaalayals,
off Dravidian race, who, according to theirr own traditions, have
migrateedd to the mountaiinnss from the districtt aboutt Conjeveram,
close to the south-west of Madras) call these axes tthhuunnddeerrssttones
andd believe that they have fallen from the sky. T h ey have
small stone altars in the forests where they lay these stones,
andd they regard them as a kind of deity." Accordiinngg to what
the Malayals told Mr Loventhal, the plantteerr had taken the whole
off his large collection of stone axes (" whole baskets fullll") from
theirr altars. From the same mountaiinnss there are seven stone
axes sentt to the museum by Mr Berg, a missionary, who describes
themm as folloowwss:: "TThe thunderrbboollttss were worshipped as vvillage
gods in these mountainnss;; they were presenntteedd to me, while on
a preaching tour, by the inhabitantss,, who are called Malayals,

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I1O0 TTHHEE THHUUNDERWEAPON

i.e.. 'mmountaaiinn men.' These bolts were placed in a row on an

alttaarr juusstt att thee entraannccee to thhee village. The alttaarr was as high
as an ordinnaarryy table. Itt was builltt of stones, on thee topp of which
earrtthh was laid, with thee bolts stuckk in it. They were all smeared
with ghee (Innddiiaann buutttteerr))..""

Fromm a pariiaahh altaarr in thee neighbourrhhoooodd off Vellore comes
thee whole of thee set of cult-objects belonging to thee National
Museum which is shown in fig. II.. Of this Mr Lobventhal writes:
"SSoommeewwhhere in the centre of all the pariah villaaggeess I have seen,
therree is a squarree mounndd off earth,, each side of which measures
from 1122 to 1166 feet, thee whole being surroouunnddeedd by stoonneess; in
the middle of this emmiinneenncce—e-thee 'earth--tteemmppllee'' as they call
itt—-tthheeree generally standdss a large tree. Close to this tree three
pointeedd stones (in some cases five, or in otherrss only one) are
generally puutt on end andd fixed in the clay, sometimes with
a little mortar. The shape of these stones, which may ddiffer
much in size, should, if possible, resemble that of a somewhat
flatttteenneedd cone, and if the pariahss can find naturraall stones of this
shape, they much prefeerr i t ; otherwise they work themm roughly
into the requiredd form. When worshipping they smearr tthese
stones with saffroonn and make threee red aniline dots on each
stone with their fifninggeerrss.. These are soon washed off by the rain,
or obliterateedd by the sun and hot wind, and as the pariahss are
not as a rule very punctilious in theirr worship, the stones are most
frequently seen without them. A small trzis'suullaa1 1 is stuck into
the earthh next to the stones, and in front of them is placed an
earthenwarree bowl with a wick inside for oil,, and a double bowl
for camphor, which is commonly used as incense. But both tthe
earthenwarree bowls and the trisula are often missinngg;; children
play with them and break the bowllss,, but when the time comes
for the stones to be smeared, the bowls and trisula must be ffound
again and put in their places; otherwise fresh ones must be
bought."

The photograpphh here reproduced of one of these ""eeaarrtthh-
temples" (figg.. 2) has been procured by the kind help of
Mr Lboventhhaall.. Itt stands in the middle of the only street in

A11 small thhrreeee--prroonngged fork off irroon. Forr iits significance and orriigin sseeee
Chap. VII.

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