Totemism: characteristics of this cultural phenomenon

Have you heard of totemism? It is the set of practices, meanings and beliefs associated with the totem, a figure or a natural object, plant or animal, that symbolizes a certain tribe or human group in some civilizations.

The totem, from which all these people are mystically descended, can take many forms. Totemism, for its part, is configured as a belief system of all kinds associated with this figure, and is a concept linked to anthropology and religion, which has had important repercussions on behavior human.

In this article we tell you everything about totemism and about the totem, don't miss it!

• Related article: "The 4 main branches of Anthropology: what they are like and what they investigate"

Totemism and totem: what are they?

Totemism is a phenomenon linked to the totem, which is a natural or inanimate object (figure) (it can also be an animal or a plant) used, in the world of mythology, as symbol of the tribe or individual in some cultures or societies.

The totem is a symbol that spiritually represents a group of people (such as the so-called clans), and that also symbolizes the blood bond that unites all the members of a certain community or group social.

On the other hand, the totem includes a great variety of meanings, as well as attributes, for each group or society with which it is linked (or to which it "belongs"). So, Totemism, specifically, encompasses all those beliefs and manifestations, both spiritual and social, that are associated and linked to this figure, the totem..

If we go to a more global definition, totemism is configured as a system of religious, political beliefs and social around the totem, but also around the tribes and primitive peoples behind it. figure.

From the perspective of totemism, the totem constitutes the beginning or the origin of a certain human group, which, in turn, descends from that totem. That is to say, said human group believes that it descends from its totem, and for that reason it praises it.

The term and phenomenon of totemism comes from the Ojibwa culture, which, in turn, comes from North America. However, it has also been possible to verify the presence of totemism in a great variety of continents, human societies and eras, that is, throughout all human evolution.

Spirituality and animals (the totem)

As we have seen, the figure of the totem with which totemism is linked can take many forms. One of them is the shape of the animal; in this sense, many North American Indian tribes (or even native nations) attributed outstanding qualities to animals, such as supernatural forces or qualities of a more spiritual nature.

That is, in this sense, for centuries animals (especially some of them) have been related to spirituality.

Specifically, the animals most recognized by the mentioned tribes and nations of North America, used to represent totemism through the totem, have been: the fish, the bison, the badger, the bear and the hawk, among others.

As a curious fact, for other cultures animals were a symbol that allowed to reflect or represent the three levels of the human being: the unconscious self (lower self), the mental self (middle self) and the higher self (which was represented by a bird and symbolized the expansion).

The concept of totemism: general characteristics

The concept of totemism comes from anthropology, and It became known thanks to the Scotsman McLeann in 1870, in London. In fact, McLeann defines totemism literally as "a fetishism that includes exogamy and matrilineal descent."

On the other hand, although it is a concept closely related to religion, not for all totemism is based on it. In the next section we will see what relationship it can have with religion.

On the other hand, beyond the commented definition, totemism also It has to do with the relationship between man and nature.. It encompasses a series of ideas, symbols and practices, all of them between an individual or social group and an object, animal or even plant (the totem). If we get more mystical, totemism includes that relationship between the natural and the cultural.

Thus, totemism is also a term used to encompass all those ideas and practices based on the belief that there is a relationship of kinship and of a mystical nature between a social group (or a person) and a certain object of nature (such as the totem). It is a belief of very ancient origin., deeply rooted in primitive man, inherent in him.

Link with religion

Regarding the relationship between totemism and religion, this phenomenon has been treated, in many cultures, as a belief linked to animistic religions.

Animism, for its part, is a term used to refer to the beliefs that establish that objects and any element of the natural world (for example the sky or the earth) are endowed with life, soul, consciousness or even motion.

theories of totemism

Some researchers have made interesting theoretical contributions on totemism. One of them is A.P. Elkin, a research expert on Australian Aboriginal tribes, who he divides totemism into different types or species: the individual, the social, the cultural and the dream (which in turn can be social or individual).

On the other hand, b. Malinowski, also a researcher, is the author of a naturalistic and utilitarian theory of totemism; according to him, totemism It is born from the natural conditions of the context, influenced by the interest of the human being for plants and animals for food purposes..

On the other hand, according to this theory, the magical rituals that are practiced on the totem, would ensure the subsistence of the social groups that are conferred on the totem.

• You may be interested in: "Types of religion (and their differences in beliefs and ideas)"

Where does it manifest?

Totemism is not the same in all contexts and societies; that is, it can take different forms and typologies.

Where the phenomenon of totemism has been found the most is among those towns that mixed the economy through hunting and farming activities; also in hunting communities (especially in Australia), or in agricultural tribes that raised cattle.

Functions or repercussions of this cultural phenomenon

It is not that totemism has a function "in itself", but it is true that all the beliefs associated with it have had repercussions on the behavior of certain social and ethnic groups, specifically in their constitution as a group, in their socialization (and their way of relating) and in the formation of their personality. That is to say, totemism has exerted a series of influences on these social groups that we cannot deny.

Bibliographic references:

• Harvey, G. (2013). The manual of contemporary animism. London: Routledge.
• Levi-Strauss, C. (1962). The wild thought. FCE. Mexico.
• Levi-Strauss, C. (1965). [1962], Totemism today, Mexico DF: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
• Neurath, J., Olavarría, M.E., Millán, S. & Bonfiglioli, C. (2010). Totemism, sacrifice, multiple ontologies: 90-114.