ABSTRACT
THE HUMAN body occupies an important place in the Folklore of many nations as well as in that of the Jews, and numerous folktales and beliefs are connected with the superstitions attached to blood. The red colour of the soil is often attributed to the blood of some hero. In France peasants believe that it is due to the blood of the Visigoths, whilst in the New Forest in England it is attributed to the blood of the Danes. The blood of Buddha, when he offered his body to be devoured by the hungry young of a tigress, dyed for ever the soil, trees and flowers. The rosy tints of the cliffs of Brittany are said to be due to the drop of blood of a saint, whilst the Maoris attribute the red colour of the cliffs in the Cook Straits to the blood of the hero Kup, who lacerated his forehead in his despair at the death of his daughter. In Scandinavian Mythology the blood of Ymer is said to have given rise to the sea.
