Totemism — 2016 Paper I

Approach

• Demand: Present as a symbolic-social relationship; trace evolution from 'stage' theory to structuralism.
• Structure: Define -> Evolutionist critique -> Sociological (Durkheim) -> Structural (Lévi-Strauss).
• Key points: Clan totem; sacred society; 'Good to think with'; classification.

Introduction Totemism refers to a symbolic relationship between a social group and a natural species, object, or phenomenon (the totem), which serves as an emblem or sacred referent. It historically involved naming, taboos, and myths of common origin.

Body

• Evolutionary View: Early scholars like Frazer viewed totemism as a primitive religious stage.
• Anthropological View:
  • Durkheim: In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), he argued the totem symbolizes the society itself; collective rituals renew social solidarity.
  • Radcliffe-Brown: Argued that totemic species are socially selected because they organize human relations with the natural world.
  • Lévi-Strauss: In Totemism (1962), he rejected it as a distinct religious institution. Instead, he argued animals are “good to think with”—the differences in nature provide a logical code for humans to categorize social differences.

Conclusion Totemism is no longer viewed as a universal evolutionary stage. Modern anthropology interprets it as a versatile symbolic system—a logical tool through which human groups classify themselves, manage social relations, and create boundaries between the natural and social world.