ABSTRACT
There are two possible origins of sacred schools. On the one hand, already on the tribal level, there are secret associations with several grades of initiation. On the other hand, we find individual medicine men (shamans, wizards, magicians) teaching their successors; and in some tribal societies there are secret associations of magicians where skill and knowledge are collectively transmitted. The social role of the religious scholar is performed within the sacred school. His social circle is composed of other scholars; he has a role among them only because and in so far as they admit him as a fellow scholar. The scholar’s role within the school is strictly determined by the task of the school—the perpetuation of sacred lore. His social function as a scientist is conditioned primarily by the supreme task of the sacred school to preserve unchanged the original treasure of holy truths that has been entrusted to it by past generations.
