[hill-tout] TOTEMISM : ITS ORIGIN AND IMPORT 83 



them. There is thus a recognition of mutual rights and obligations be- 

 tween the members of the kin and their totem. The totem is the crest 



or symbol of the kin To put the matter briefly, totemism consists 



oi the following five elements: — 



1. Social organization with totem kinsmen and totem symbols. 



2. Eeciproeal responsibilities between the kin and the totem. 



3. Magical increase or repression of the totem by the kinsmen.^ 



4. Social duties of the kinsmen. 



5. Myths of explanation. 



Totemism is only one of several animal cults." 



It is plain that we are here dealing with a view of totemism that has 

 little or nothing in common with the American view. The key to Dr. 

 11 addon's position lies in the tail of his definition, "Totomism/' he 

 affirms '' is only one of several animal cults," and in accordance with 

 this view he separates the various forms or local expressions of the 

 totemic concept into distinct cults. He will have it that the personal 

 and society totems are not features of "true " totemism at all. Such 

 a position is, of course, incomprehensible to American students, yet this 

 is the view he informs us of Tylor, Frazer, Lang, Hartland, Jevons, 

 Durkheim and many other leading anthropologists. 



Now, it will be instructive to see how this view originated. It ap- 

 parently arose from a misconception of the real character and purpose of 

 totemism as that doctrine is held and understood by primitive man him- 

 self. It appears to be founded upon the preconception of the savant 

 rather than upon the real beliefs of the savage. Totemism has been 

 regarded as a set or code of social rules and regulations rather than as 

 the expression of man's earliest religious feelings and sentiment. It has 

 been confused with certain social customs and observances which have in 

 part grown out of the totem concept, and in part have arisen quite in- 

 dependently of it. This is clear from both Dr. Frazer's and Dr. Had- 

 don's definitions of totemism and from the fact that "element" after 

 "element" and "canon" after "canon" has had to be abandoned as fresh 

 facts have been gleaned from primitive life, and the student has been led 

 to approach the matter from the point of view of the savage. The newer 

 data gathered from the Central Australian tribes by Messrs. Spencer and 

 Gillen are so strongly confirmative of the American point of view that 

 tihey compel the aibandonment of the most important features or 

 elements of totemism as it is commonly conceived by English students. 

 This will manifest itself as we examine Dr. Had don's elements in 

 detail which we may now proceed to do. 



First, as to " social organization with totem kinsmen and totem 

 symbols." Dr. Haddon must pardon me if I point out that here at the 

 ^ Dr. Frazer's " Cannon " of Provinder. 



