Andrew Lang

The Secret of the Totem Andrew Lang

The making of the local tribe of savagery-Earliest known stage of society-Result of complex processes-Elaborate tribal rules-Laws altered deliberately: sometimes borrowed-Existing legislative methods of savages not primitive-The tribe a gradual conquest of culture-The tribe a combination of small pre-tribal kinships-History of progress towards the tribe traceable in surviving institutions-From passion to Law- Rudeness of native culture in Australia-Varieties of social organisation there-I. Tribes with two phratries, totems, female descent-Tribes of this organisation differ as to ceremonies and beliefs-Some beliefs tend to polytheism: others towards monotheism- Some tribes of pristine organisation have totemic magic and pirrauru: others have not- The more northern tribes of pristine organisation share the ceremonies and beliefs of central tribes: not so the south-eastern tribes-Second form (a) of social organisation has male descent-Second form (b) has female descent plus "matrimonial classes"-Account of these-Eight-class system-The Arunta nation-Their peculiar form of belief in reincarnation-Churinga nanja-Recapitulation-The Euahlayi tribe.