Andrew Lang on Totemism

The 1912 Text of Totemism

by Andrew Lang

Edited and with a Commentary by

Andrew Duff-Cooper

Foreword by Rodney Needham

Centre for Anthropology and Computing
The University of Kent at Canterbury
1994

Contents

• Series Editor's Note v
• Foreword by Rodney Needham vii
• Preface by Andrew Duff-Cooper xv
  
• Part 1: Commentary by Andrew Duff-Cooper
• 1. Introduction 1
• 2. Andrew Lang 5
• 3. Background 21
• 4. Totemism I 46
• 5. Totemism II 63
• 6. Lang¹s Theory of the Origin of Totemism and Exogamy 82
• 7. From Lang to Lévi-Strauss 94
• 8. Conclusion: Totemism 107
  
• Part II: Totemism by Andrew Lang
• Introduction 117
• I. What is Totemism? 124
• II. The Theory of the ³Conceptional² Origin of Totemism 130
• III. ³Primitiveness² in Relation to Climate and Physical Geography 139
• IV. Maternal Descent as Relative to Primativeness 145
• V. The Arunta and their Totemism are not Ptrimitive: This is Suggested
• by the Arunta Loss of their Phratry Names 150
• VI. The Arunta Disprove the ³Primitiveness² of Conceptional Totemism 155
• VII. Exogamy, Promiscuity and Classifactory Relationships 161
• VIII. Group Marriage or Pirrauru: No Proof of Promiscuity 171
• IX. The Origin of Exogamy I: With Primal Male Kinship 181
• X. The Origin of Exogamy II: In Tribes with Female Kin 186
• XI. Interrelations of Exogamy and Totemism 189
• XII. The Author¹s Theory of the Origin of Exogamy and Totemism 195
• Note on the Origin of Descent in the Female Line 208
• XIII. The Original Human Error 212
• XIV. The Criticisms of Baldwin Spencer 216
• XV. The All Father and Totemism I: The Evidence for the Belief in the All Father 219
• XVI. The All Father and Totemism II: The Incredulity of Baldwin Spencer 228
• XVII. Inferences as to the All Father from the Beliefs of the Central Tribes 233
• Bibliography 242
• Appendix: Andrew Lang Lectures 252
• Index 255

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