Traits of totemism. Totemism, animism, fetishism and magic are the first religions of ancient people. See what “totemism” is in other dictionaries

TOTEMISM

TOTEMISM (from the Algonquian “ototem” - its kind) is one of the early forms of religion of primitive society, based on a set of beliefs, myths, rituals and customs associated with the belief in the supernatural kinship of people with various objects, phenomena and creatures (totems). T. is characterized by the perception of a totem (an animal, plant, natural phenomenon, etc.) as a real ancestor, whose patronage and protection ensure the life and well-being of everyone connected with it by common origin and ties of consanguinity. The main type of T. is clan (tribal) T.. Non-main types of T. include: individual (nagualism) and sexual T. Traces and survivals of T. as a form of religion are found among all peoples and in all religions of the world. The term "T." was introduced into scientific circulation by the English traveler J. Long in 1791. The most detailed studies of T. in the 19th and 20th centuries. carried out by J. McLennan, W.B. Robertson-Smith, Fraser and others. The interpretation and explanation of T. are now offered by dozens of different theories and concepts. The most popular of them are: the interpretation of T. as the original form of religion (Durkheim and others) and the interpretation of T. as a primitive intellectual classification system (Levi-Strauss and others). Among T.'s psychological concepts, the most famous is Freud's psychoanalytic version, which he outlined in the book “Totem and Taboo. Psychology of primitive culture and religion" (1913). Extending psychoanalytic ideas and constructs (including the “Oedipus complex”) to the sphere of universal human culture and historically original forms of religious beliefs, Freud proposed an understanding of T. as one of the early forms of religion of primitive society, on the basis of which the first ethical ( cultural) restrictions (taboo) - the prohibition of murder and incest (incest), with which the construction of culture began. Freud considered T. a prerequisite and source of subsequent religions and, first of all, Judaism and Christianity. The psychoanalytic concept of T. has repeatedly been subjected to various criticisms for its mythological nature.

The latest philosophical dictionary. - Minsk: Book House. A. A. Gritsanov. 1999.

See what "TOTEMISM" is in other dictionaries:

The faith of many primitive peoples, and especially the North Americans. Indians, in the fact that they come from any animal, plant, star, household item, etc., being in a related relationship with them. The thing itself is called a totem... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

Worship of objects over which a person has no control, e.g. to the luminaries. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. TOTEMISM according to Lebbock, worship of objects over which a person has no power (for example, luminaries).... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

totemism- from the standpoint of materialism, it is a projection onto the nature of consanguineous relations characteristic of tribal social structures (see ethnopsychology). According to S. Freud, one of the early forms of primitive religions, on the basis of which... ... Great psychological encyclopedia

A primitive belief associated with the idea of ​​a supernatural relationship between a certain community of people (usually a clan) and a mythical ancestor totem. Most often, various animals and plants, even natural phenomena and... served as totems. Historical Dictionary

- (English totem from the Indian language, meaning “his clan”) - 1) a form of religion of the early tribal system, characterized by a belief in a supernatural connection and blood affinity of a given clan group with some totem, which is considered the ancestor and ... ... Encyclopedia of Cultural Studies

TOTEMISM, a set of beliefs in primitive society associated with the idea of ​​kinship between a group of people (usually a clan) and a totem (in the Ojibwe language, ototem its clan), a phenomenon of animate and inanimate nature, usually a species of animal or plant... Modern encyclopedia

A set of beliefs and rituals of a primitive society associated with the idea of ​​kinship between groups of people (usually clans), etc. totems (in the Ojibwe language ototem his genus) species of animals and plants (less often natural phenomena and inanimate... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

TOTEMISM, totemism, many. no, husband (ethnol.). 1. Primitive religious cult of totems. 2. The social structure of a primitive society in which such a cult exists. Ushakov's explanatory dictionary. D.N. Ushakov. 1935 1940 … Ushakov's Explanatory Dictionary

- [te], ah, husband. (book). Primitive cult of totems. | adj. totemic, oh, oh. Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 … Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary

Noun, number of synonyms: 3 belief (7) cult (18) religion (50) ASIS Dictionary of Synonyms ... Synonym dictionary

Books

• Early forms of religion and their development, S. A. Tokarev. Readers are invited to read a book by the outstanding Russian ethnographer and historian S. A. Tokarev, dedicated to the early history of religion. The first chapters of the book explore the most ancient forms...

Belief in the supernatural accompanies a person throughout his existence. People considered everything inexplicable to be an otherworldly phenomenon. The first religions appeared at the dawn of the primitive communal system; they were in the nature of primitive beliefs. One of the religions was totemism, a branch of animism. What is a totem, and why did people believe in an invisible connection between different objects? What forms of totemism have survived to this day? Let's look at it in the article.

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History of totemism

The first religions of mankind are called proto-religions. Historians and scientists classify them as four main forms:

1. animism;
2. fetishism;
3. magic.

Which proto-religion of those listed was the first is not known for certain. All four forms are believed to have appeared at approximately the same period in history. Historians explain that all major forms of belief were present in all prehistoric proto-religions.

Animism

What is animism as a proto-religion? Modern scientists define it as a belief in the spiritual world, that is, the existence of an immaterial principle. Animism implies belief in the spirits of nature, dead ancestors, and patron spirits. This is the animation of everything that surrounds a person and is incomprehensible.

Observing natural phenomena, primitive people animated them and attributed certain qualities. Over time, people began to perceive nature spirits as intelligent beings that controlled their lives. In order to appease the anger of the spirits of nature, they began to bring gifts and sacrifices.

People also believed that there was an afterlife world into which the soul of a deceased person was sent. There are also various entities and spirits.

Totemism

The definition of totemism is based on the belief in an invisible connection between a person/tribe/clan and a specific animal or plant. This animal/plant was called a totem. People believed that the totem protected them and protected them from life’s adversities. Scientists believe that primitive man began to deify the animal and plant world, because the entire way of life was connected with him.

Examples of totemism are the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians, the Indians of North America, the aborigines of Australia and the population of central Africa. What is different about the cult of totem worship? They bring gifts to the chosen patron, perform religious services and ask for protection or mercy. When a new member of the tribe is born, a service to the totem is immediately performed with a request to endow the baby with certain qualities and protect him from evil.

Totemism is distinguished from other beliefs by the presence of taboos. A taboo is a prohibition to perform certain actions. The taboo was associated with the prohibition:

• kill totem animals;
• eat totem meat;
• kill fellow tribesmen;
• demonstrate to foreign tribes your affiliation with the totem.

Rituals were performed whenever the tribe suffered from drought and lack of food, from attacks by warring tribes, and in any emergency. People believed that only a totem could help them cope with adversity.

Fetishism was closely related to totemism—belief in the mystical power of an object. This item could be a strangely shaped stone or a hand-made object, some plant or planet. Statues of deities worshiped by ancient people also became fetishes. But even in our times, the cult of fetishism has survived in Africa in a slightly modified form.

The magic of primitive people

Ancient people considered everything incomprehensible and unusual to be magical. If a person encountered on his way any object that attracted attention (a pebble, a root, part of an animal’s skeleton), he could make it his fetish. Over time, belief in fetishes grew stronger, and an entire tribe could worship any object and consider it their patron.

The fetish was placed in the center of the tribe, gifts were brought to it and praise was given for its help. People sincerely believed that it was the fetish that helped them and protected them from harm. However, there was also a downside to fetishism: if the object did not live up to expectations, it was subjected to torture.

Fetishism did not disappear over time, but took on a new form. Religious scholars argue that belief in amulets and charms is a modern form of fetishism. Magic in its original and modern form is closely related to fetishism. Magic also retained the features of totemism and animism, because magical rituals are an appeal to various forces of nature or the spirits of animals or the dead.

Over time, a group of people separated from society, which was engaged only in conducting magical rituals for the tribe. The first magical rituals were performed by shamans, since shamanism is characterized by a connection with the spirits of nature and animals. Later, magical practices expanded the scope of their application. In the modern world, magic is closely connected with the ancient cults of proto-religions, world religions and the study of energies.

TOTEMISM - English. totemism; German Totemismus. 1. A set of beliefs in supernatural kinship between groups of people (clan, tribe) and certain totems (animals, plants, natural phenomena, inanimate objects)... Sociological Dictionary

Totemism is a primitive belief system that arose at the dawn of human civilization. Today, the totem is a symbol of the past: evidence of the wild imagination of uneducated people who knew nothing about the world around them. But in the old days, such illusions did not seem like something fantastic and unreal. Then the totem was direct evidence that ancient spirits and deities tirelessly monitor their two-legged relatives.

Meaning of the word totem

The concept of “totemism” was first introduced by the English scientist John Long in 1791. As a naturalist explorer, he often traveled to different countries, collecting bits and pieces of old stories and myths. Ultimately, he came to the conclusion that the religion of many primitive peoples was largely similar to each other.

Long decided to systematize his knowledge, combining it in a new theory about the ancient religion of totemism. He borrowed the word “totem” from the North American Indian people Ojibwa. They called it the sacred coat of arms of the clan, which depicted the ancestor spirit.

What are totems for?

Totemism is a religion that exalts an object or being instead of gods. Most often the totem is an animal or a tree. Although there are many known cases where people endowed wind, fire, rock, river, flower, and so on with sacred properties. It should be understood that it is not a single object or animal that is chosen as a totem, but their entire species as a whole. That is, if a tribe honors a bear, then its respect extends to all clubfooted animals in the area.

If we understand the essence of totemism, then this religion serves as a kind of connecting link between nature and man. Thus, most primitive communities believed that their family descended from an ancient ancestor: an animal or a plant. Therefore, the totem is a symbol of their birthright, explaining their own origins.

For example, once upon a time there lived a tribe of Lutichs in Rus'. They believed that their distant ancestors were ferocious wolves who one day turned into people. Their entire culture and customs were built around this belief: on holidays, they wore wolf skins and danced around the fire, as if returning to that distant past, when they themselves were still wild animals.

Main features of totemism

The tribe can choose any animal or plant as a totem. The main thing is that their decision is supported by some kind of story - a story that can explain their relationship. Most often, the choice fell on noble animals, whose skills or strength differed from the rest. This is a primitive desire to show oneself in the best light: others will treat the descendants of a bear with more respect than the children of an earthworm.

In addition, the choice of a patron spirit was often influenced by geographical and social factors. For example, those tribes that survived by hunting were more likely to classify themselves as predatory animals, while gatherers, on the contrary, sought protection from peaceful and hardworking creatures. Simply put, a totem is a kind of reflection of the soul of a people, its essence and self-affirmation. But there were rare exceptions when the tribe chose a weak or ugly patron as an idol.

Relation to the totem

A totem is a sacred symbol. Therefore, in many cultures he was idolized, which led to the emergence of certain rituals and customs. The most common belief was that totem animals or plants are prohibited: they cannot be killed, maimed, and sometimes even spoken about in a bad manner.

As social relations developed, ideas about idols also changed. If at first they served only as a reminder of the distant past, then in later times they were endowed with mystical powers. Now the patron spirit could protect from disease, drought, enemies, fires, and so on. At times this led to war between tribes, since some believed that all their troubles were because someone else’s totem was luring all the heavenly luck to itself.

A forgotten faith in the modern world

For many, such a worldview seems childish and primitive. After all, how can a wolf or a bear be a human ancestor? Or how a simple animal can influence the weather? Such questions are quite logical for modern people.

However, even in an era of worldwide progress and technological boom, there are those who still remain faithful to the ancient value system. For example, totemism is quite common among most South African tribes and Australian aborigines. Even with satellite television and cellular communications, they still believe in their past kinship with wild animals and plants. Therefore, it is too early to talk about totemism as a faith that has sunk into oblivion.

form of religious belief. Belief in a supernatural relationship between groups of people and the animal or plant world. A totem is a plant or animal perceived as an ancestor on which the life of a given group of people depends.

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TOTEMISM

from totem, in the language of North America. Ojibwe Indians literally - his clan) - a complex of beliefs, myths, rituals and customs of the tribe. society associated with the idea of ​​fantasy. supernatural kinship between certain groups of people, on the one hand, and the so-called. totems - species of animals and plants (less often natural phenomena and inanimate objects), on the other. The term "T." introduced into English science traveler J. Long in 1791. T. was most fully preserved among the aborigines of Australia (each tribe is divided into clans bearing the name of its totem), but existed among the inhabitants of all continents. Among some tribes of Australia, churingas served as the material emblem of the totem. Basic type of T. is clan or generic T.; other types of T. - individual (nagualism) or sexual - are rare. The totem - most often a species of animal - is the subject of religions. veneration of a given group - usually a tribal community, members of the group are prohibited from hunting, killing and eating it; they are also prohibited from marrying each other (totemic exogamy). The totemic group not only considers itself connected with the totem by ties of blood relationship, a common origin from the mythical. ancestors of half-humans, half-animals or half-plants, but also sees in his totem a patron, protector and giver of life's blessings. Hence the magic. rituals aimed at the reproduction of the totem and including the ritual eating of the meat of the totem (totemic communion), which is prohibited under normal conditions, the recitation of myths and their presentation, dances of masked or painted dancers imitating the appearance and movements of the totem. There are many theories that interpret and explain T. in different ways. If some researchers are ready to see T. as the original. form of religion (for example, the French sociologist E. Durkheim), then others reject religion. the meaning of T., as, for example, modern. French scientist K. Lévi-Strauss, who considers T. a primitive classification system, prompted by the intellectual aspirations of primitive man. He did the most to accumulate and publish factual information. data about T. eng. ethnographer J. Fraser, who, however, himself was unable to give its explanation. The most thorough research, especially the work of Soviet scientists (D.K. Zelenin, A.M. Zolotarev, S.P. Tolstov, D.E. Khaitun, S.A. Tokarev, etc.), convincingly shows that T. - a stage-global phenomenon. It represents one of the most ancient religions. complexes, the key to which should be sought in consanguinity. relationships and living conditions of primitive gatherers and hunters. Traces and remnants of T. are found in all religions of the world, including Judaism, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, etc. Lit.: Tokarev S. A., Early forms of religion and their development, M., 1964; Khaitun D.E., Totemism, its essence and origin, Stalinabad, 1958; Frazer J., Totemism and exogamy, v. 1-4, L., 1910; L'vi-Strauss C., Le totemisme aujourd'hui, P., 1962. B. I. Sharevskaya. Moscow.