Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 11, 1900.djvu/241

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Animal Superstitions and Totemism.
229

social side of Totemism will be found, we may expect, to be relatively far less important in the survivals, than the religious side, which is the attitude rather of the individual man to the sacred animal. In other words, the survivals of Totemism in Europe must be sought in the animal' superstitions and not in the marriage customs of the uncivilised or little civilised European peasant. These superstitions, adopting in part the classification made by Mr. Gomme of Dr. Frazer's Totemism,[1] I arrange under the following heads:


I.— Totemic, or Quasi-Totemic.

1. Descent from the totem.

2. Taboos (a) of killing the animal; (b) of eating, touching, or using it; (c) of seeing it; (d) of using the ordinary name.

3. Petting the totem-animal.

4. Burying the dead totem-animal.

5. Respect paid to the totem-animal.

6. (a) Lucky animals, (b) unlucky animals.

7. Adoption of (a) totem-marks, (b) totem-names, (c) totem-dress.

8. (a) Birth, (b) marriage, (c) death-customs.

9. Magical powers derived from the totem.

10. Local cults.

11. Customary rents.

Following Mr. Gomme, I call the first nine of the above superstitions "categoric"; the animals to which they apply I call "totem objects."


II.— Animals Used in Augury and Magic.

As a matter of convenience I class separately the beliefs about ominous animals. This section might, however, as I

  1.  In view of the fact that many tribes have none but animal totems, the absence of totemistic plant superstitions would partly tell against my argument.Archæological Review, iii., 217, 350 ff.