ABSTRACT
The idea of imunu, at once abstract and concrete, and permeated by emotional elements, must perforce remain indistinct to the minds, although it completely satisfies the mentality of the primitive. The primitive mentality considers and at the same time feels all beings and objects to be homogeneous, that is, Sir Everard im Thurn regards them all as participating either in the same essential nature, or in the same ensemble of qualities. The primitive perceives the general differences between a stone and a tree, or a tree and a fish or a bird, but he does not heed them, because he does not feel them as people do. Thus beneath their seemingly strong diversity they present an essential homogeneity; the primitive has no need to examine or know them better to be certain of that fact. The idea that a child of normal appearance may nevertheless not be “human” is a familiar one to primitives.
