garded as a
familiar part of the order of things and not needing special mention.
The gift of children was in the hands of the local god, a generally
recognized part of his duty as patron of the tribe, and all sexual
matters naturally might be referred to him. Also, as is remarked above,
in certain tribes there was no knowledge of the connection between the
birth of children and the union of the sexes,[715] and such tribes would
of course ascribe no creative power to the phallus.

+393+. The best example of a half-civilized phallic cult is that which
is now practiced in Yoruba and Dahomi, countries with definite
government and institutions. The cult is attached to the worship of a
deity (Elegba or Legba), who appears to be a patron of fertility; the
phallus occupies a prominent place on his temples, and its worship is
accompanied by the usual licentious rites.[716] These are expressions of
popular appetite, and it does not appear that the cult itself is
otherwise religiously significant.

+394+. In modern India the Civaite phallicism is pronounced and
important. The linga is treated as a divine power, and, as producer of
fertility, is especially the object of devotion of women;[717] though
Civaism has its rites of unbridled bestialism, the worship of the linga
by women is often free from impurity; it is practically worship of a
deity of fertility. The origin of the Indian cult is not clear. As it
does not appear in the earliest literature, it has been supposed to have
come into Aryan worship from non-Aryan tribes. Whatever its origin, it
is now widely observed in Aryan India, and has been adopted by various
outlying tribes.[718]

+395+. While it is, or was, well established in Japan, it apparently has
had no marked influence on the religious thought of the people. Phallic
forms abound[719] in the land, in spite of repressive measures on the
part of the government, but the cult partakes of the general looseness
of the Shinto organization of supernatural Powers. It is said to have
been adopted in some cases by Buddhists. It appears to have been
combined with Shinto at a very early (half-civilized) time, for which,
however, no records exist.

+396+. It is among the great ancient civilized peoples that the most
definite organization of phallic cults is found.

+397+. For Egypt there is the testimony of Herodotus,[720] who describes
a procession of women bearing small phallic images and singing hymns in
honor of a deit