Soon after the sun appears a kind of rut affects the young
population. They tremble with the intensity of sexual passion, and for
several weeks much of the time is taken up with courtship and love. Hence,
the majority of the children are born nine months later, when the four
months of perpetual night are beginning. A marked seasonal periodicity of
this kind is not confined to the Arctic regions. We may also find it in
the tropics. In Cambodia, Mondiere has found that twice a year, in April
and September, men seem to experience a "veritable rut," and will
sometimes even kill women who resist them.[129]
These two periods, spring and autumn--the season for greeting the
appearance of life and the season for reveling in its final
fruition--seem to be everywhere throughout the world the most usual
seasons for erotic festivals. In classical Greece and Rome, in India,
among the Indians of North and South America, spring is the most usual
season, while in Africa the yam harvest of autumn is the season chiefly
selected. There are, of course, numerous exceptions to this rule, and it
is common to find both seasons observed. Taking, indeed, a broad view of
festivals throughout the world, we may say that there are four seasons
when they are held: the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen
and primitive man rejoices in the lengthening and seeks to assist it;[130]
the vernal equinox, the period of germination and the return of life; the
summer solstice, when the sun reaches its height; and autumn, the period
of fruition, of thankfulness, and of repose.
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