[hill-tout] TOTEMISM : ITS ORIGIN AND IMPORT 77 



relative on the maternal side ; and the clan name is not so muoh the pro- 

 perty of the woman as of her elder brother or her conventional "father," 

 that is her maternal uncle. The " fathers " of the group, that is the 

 maternal uncles, are just as much the heads and "founders of houses" 

 and clans in the matriarchal state as under the more advanced state of 

 patriarchal rule. And that they do found family and group totems the 

 evidence from our northern coast tribes makes clear beyond the shadow 

 of a doubt. 



The oft-quoted case of the Bear totem among the Tsimsheans is a 

 case in point, and this is but one of scores that could be cited. The 

 origin of this totem came about in the following manner : "A man was 

 out hunting and met a black bear who took him to his home and taught 

 him many useful things. After a lengthy stay with the bear the man 

 returned home. All the people became afraid of him, he looked and 

 acted so like a bear. Some one took him in hand and rubbed him with 

 magic herbs and he became a man again. Thereafter whenever he went 

 hunting his friend the bear helped him. He huilt a house aîid painted 

 the hear on the front of it and his sister made a dancing blanket, the 

 design of tvhioh represented a hear. Thereafter the descendants of his 

 sister used the hear for their crest and were hnown as the Bear clan."'^ 



Who was the " founder of the family," here and the source of the 

 clan totem? Clearly and indubitably the man; and so it invariably 

 was as the study of the myths accounting for the clan totems plainly 

 shows. It matters not, I may point out, that these myths may have 

 been created since the formation of the clans to account for their origin, 

 the point for us is that the man was regarded by the natives themselves 

 as the "founder" of the family and clan. The founders of families 

 and totem-crests are as invariably men under matriarchy as under patri- 

 archy, the essential difference only between the two states in this regard 

 being that under one the descent is through the " conventional father," 

 under the other through the " real or ostensible father." Such being 

 the case Mr. Lang's chief argument falls to the ground and the position 

 taken by American students as to the origin of group-totems is as sound 

 as before. 



Having thus considered the American view of totemism and shown 

 that the objections brought against certain features of it by Mr. Lang, 

 and those who think with him, are groundless, we may now pass on to a 

 consideration of the European view more particularly as set forth in 

 recent publications in England. 



Taking these in the order of time we have first to examine the view 

 or rather views held by Dr. Frazer, the author of " Totemism." 



' Fifth Report on the Physical characteristics, etc., of the N.W. Tribes of 

 Can., B.A.A.S., p. 24. London, 1889. 



