Manuel Alejandro serna lujano #31 2ºA

“THE TOTEM”

A totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan,

lineage, or tribe.

Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if
the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem. Normally this belief
is accompanied by a totemic myth.

Although the term is of Ojibwe origin in North America, totemistic beliefs are not
limited to Native Americans. Similar totem-like beliefs have been historically
present in societies throughout much of the world, including Africa, Asia, Australia,
Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and the Arctic polar region.

In modern times, some single individuals, not otherwise involved in the practice of
a tribal religion, have chosen to adopt a personal spirit animal helper, which has
special meaning to them, and may refer to this as a totem. This non-traditional
usage of the term is prevalent in the New Age movement, and the mythopoetic men's
movement.

Totemism (derived from the root -oode- in the Ojibwe language, which referred to
something kinship-related, c.f. odoodem, "his totem") is a religious belief that is
frequently associated with shamanistic religions. The totem is usually an animal or
other natural figure that spiritually represents a group of related people such as a
clan.

Totemism was a key element of study in the development of 19th and early 20th
century theories of religion, especially for thinkers such as Émile Durkheim, who
concentrated their study on primitive societies. Drawing on the identification of
social group with spiritual totem in Australian aboriginal tribes, Durkheim theorized
that all human religious expression was intrinsically founded in the relationship to a
group.

In his essay "Le Totemisme aujourdhui" (Totemism Today), the anthropologist

Claude Lévi-Strauss argued that human cognition, which is based on analogical
thought, is independent of social context. From this, he excludes mathematical
thought, which operates primarily through logic. Totems are chosen arbitrarily for
the sole purpose of making the physical world a comprehensive and coherent
classificatory system. Lévi-Strauss argues that the use of physical analogies is not
an indication of a more primitive mental capacity. It is rather, a more efficient way
to cope with this particular no mode of life in which abstractions are rare, and in
which the physical environment is in direct friction with the society. He also holds
that scientific explanation entails the discovery of an "arrangement"; moreover,
since "the science of the concrete" is a classificatory system enabling individuals to
classify the world in a rational fashion, it is neither more nor less a science than
any other in the western world. It is important to recognise that in this text, Lévi-
Strauss manifests the egalitarian nature of his work. Lévi-Strauss diverts the theme
of anthropology toward the understanding of human cognition.

Lévi-Strauss looked at the ideas of Firth and Fortes, Durkheim, Malinowski, and
Evans-Pritchard to reach his conclusions. Firth and Fortes argued that totemism
was based on physical or psychological similarities between the clan and the
totemic animal. Malinowski proposed that it was based on empirical interest or that
the totem was 'good to eat.' In other words, there was rational interest in preserving
the species. Finally Evans-Pritchard argued that the reason for totems was
metaphoric. His work with the Nuer led him to believe that totems are a symbolic
representation of the group. Lévi-Strauss considered Evan-Pritchard's work the
correct explanation.

Native North American Totems

Not including the totem pole, many Native North American tribes had or have
traditions providing every person with nine different animals that will accompany
them throughout life. These animals act as guides, surfacing in our lives depending
on where we head and what we need at a given moment. One of those animals in
particular is said to be your "totem animal;" it is the animal that is with you for life,
both in the physical and spiritual world. Many people have a variety of different
animal spirits but their "totem animal" is their main guide through life.