ABSTRACT
In Spite of the precautions taken by the primitive to avoid offending the unseen powers, very frequently he finds from bitter experience that he has not succeeded. To the primitive mind, the most serious part of a misfortune is not the misfortune itself, however disastrous it may be. It is what the misfortune reveals--that is, the evil influence which has just been exerted on the victim, which will no doubt be exercised again, and which makes fresh disasters imminent. Thus every accident, misfortune, check, loss, failure, and the like, is regarded and interpreted as a harbinger of other accidents and misfortunes that will not fail to occur, as long as the evil influence that causes them has not been neutralized, paralyzed, or induced to adopt a more favourable mood. This throws a little light on the tremendous importance so often assigned to witchcraft in the primitive's mental preoccupations.
