eral question see DEMONOLOGY), they enter into
relations with man. On the other hand there still subsists a belief in
innumerable evil spirits, which manifest themselves in the phenomena
of possession (_q.v._), lycanthropy (_q.v._), disease, &c. The fear of
evil spirits has given rise to ceremonies of expulsion of evils (see
EXORCISM), designed to banish them from the community.

_Animism and Religion._--Animism is commonly described as the most
primitive form of religion; but properly speaking it is not a religion
at all, for religion implies, at any rate, some form of emotion (see
RELIGION), and animism is in the first instance an explanation of
phenomena rather than an attitude of mind toward the cause of them,
a philosophy rather than a religion. The term may, however, be
conveniently used to describe the early stage of religion in which man
endeavours to set up relations between himself and the unseen powers,
conceived as spirits, but differing in many particulars from the gods
of polytheism. As an example of this stage in one of its aspects may
be taken the European belief in the corn spirit, which is, however,
the object of magical rather than religious rites; Dr. Frazer has thus
defined the character of the animistic pantheon, "they are restricted
in their operations to definite departments of nature; their names
are general, not proper; their attributes are generic rather than
individual; in other words, there is an indefinite number of spirits
of each class, and the individuals of a class are much alike; they
have no definitely marked individuality; no accepted traditions
are current as to their origin, life and character." This stage of
religion is well illustrated by the Red Indian custom of offering
sacrifice to certain rocks, or whirlpools, or to the indwelling
spirits connected with them; the rite is only performed in the
neighbourhood of the object, it is an incident of a canoe or other
voyage, and is not intended to secure any benefits beyond a safe
passage past the object in question; the spirit to be propitiated
has a purely local sphere of influence, and powers of a very limited
nature. Animistic in many of their features too are the temporary gods
of fetishism (_q.v._), naguals or familiars, genii and even the dead
who receive a cult. With the rise of a belief in departmental gods
comes the age of polytheism; the belief in elemental spirits may still
persist, but they fall into the background and