The general effect of these rules is to keep the girl suspended, so
to say, between heaven and earth. Whether enveloped in her hammock and
slung up to the roof, as in South America, or elevated above the ground in
a dark and narrow cage, as in New Zealand, she may be considered to be out
of the way of doing mischief, since, being shut off both from the earth
and from the sun, she can poison neither of these great sources of life by
her deadly contagion. The precautions thus taken to isolate or insulate
the girl are dictated by regard for her own safety as well as for the
safety of others.... In short, the girl is viewed as charged with a
powerful force which, if not kept within bounds, may prove the destruction
both of the girl herself and of all with whom she comes in contact. To
repress this force within the limits necessary for the safety of all
concerned is the object of the taboos in question. The same explanation
applies to the observance of the same rules by divine kings and priests.
The uncleanliness, as it is called, of girls at puberty and the sanctity
of holy men do not, to the primitive mind, differ from each other. They
are only different manifestations of the same supernatural energy, which,
like energy in general, is in itself neither good nor bad, but becomes
beneficent or malignant according to its application."[363]
More recently this view of the matter has been further extended by the
distinguished French sociologist, Durkheim.
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