lévi-strauss, claude - savage mind, the (weidenfeld & nicholson, 1966)

8/12/2019 Lvi-Strauss, Claude - Savage Mind, The (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1966)

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HE AURE OF UAN OCIEY ERE

Editors: JULIAN PITT-RIVERS and ERNEST GELLNER THE SAVAGE

MIND

(a Pense Savage)

Claude Lvi-Strauss

WEIDENFELD AND NICOLSO

5 WINSLEY STREET LONDON W


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962 by Librairie Plon 8, rue Garancire Paris-6English Translation 196 6 by George Weidenfeld and Nicolson Ltd

I \

Made and printed i n Great Britain bThe Garden City Press Limited

Letchworth Hertfodshire

To the Memoryof

Maurice Merleau-Pont


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O

PRC

SCNC O CONCR

2 LOGC O OMC CLSSCONS

SYSMS O RNSORMONS

OM ND CS

CGORS, LMNS SPCS, NUMBRS

6 UNRSLZON ND PRCULRZON

NDDUL S SPCS

8 M RGND

9 SORY ND DLCC

BBLOGRPY

NDX

1

161

21

2

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.(i

ILLUSTRATIONS

(Between pages I48 and I49)

1 Francois Clouet. Portrait of Elizabeth of Austia. Phoo:Mu u Louvr

2 Club used for killing sh Phoo Huillar The opposite of totemsm: Naturalized Man. Sketch by Le

Bru

Humanized Nature Sketch by Grandville ibl Naiona

5 Alphabet of Birds Mu Naional Ar TraiionPulair Phoo: Huilr

6 Society of Animals Mu Naional Ar TraiionPoulair. Phoo: Huiar

Australian Churinga Phoo any8 Aranda water-colours Phoo: Auralian nformaion Srvic)


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RFA

This oo is comee in ise, he oems i discsses aecose ined o hose which I sveed moe hasi in a ecenwo enied Totmism ans. Rodne Needham, ondon, 96Who wishing o oige he eade o ee o i, i is oe odaw his aenion o he connecion eween he wo he soms a ind o hisoica d ciica inodcion o he second. Ihave no, heeoe, deemed i necessa o e, hee, o heheoies, deniions and acs which have aead een dea wiha scien engh

Neveheess he eade shod nw wha is execed o himon oening hese ages : ha he acqiesce in he negaive concsion which he s vome eached in egad o oeism o,once i is cea wh I eieve haheanhooogiss o ome imeswee he e o an ision, i is ime o me o exoe oemismsosiive side

No one wi sose ha, acing he name o MaiceMeeaPon on he s age o a oo whose na che isdevoed o a wo o Sae, I have inende o oose hem o one

anohe Those who wee cose o MeeaPon and msedig ecen eas now some o he easons wh i was naaha his oo which deveos ee ceain hemes o m ecesa he Coleg d Franc shod e dedicaed o him. I wod haveeen, in an case, had he ived, as he conaion o a diaogewhose oening goes ac o 1930 when, in coman wih Simonede Beavoi, we wee ogh ogehe b o eaching aciviies,on he eve o eceiing o na degees And, since deah hason him om s, ma his boo a eas emain devoed o hismemo as a oen o good aih, gaide and aecion.


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THE SAAGE MID

knowedge of te woe precedes knowedge of te parts. Andeven f ts s an uson te pont of te procedure s to create orsustan te uson wc grates te ntegence and gves rse toa sense of peasure wc can aready be caed aestetc on tesegrounds aone.

Ihaveso far oly consideredmatters ofscalewhich, as wehave

just seen, implya dialectical relation betweensize (ie quantity)

and quality But miniatures have afurther feature They are manmade and, what ismore, made by hand Theyare therefore not

just projections or passive homologues of the object: they con-

stitute areal experimentwithit. Now the modelbeingan artefact,

it ispossibleto understandhowit is madeandthis understanding

ofthe method of constructionadds a supplementarydimension

Aswehavealready seen inthecaseof bricolage',and the example

of styles ofpainters showsthatthesameis true inart,there are

several solutionsto the same problem The choice of onesolution

involves a modication of the result to which another solution

would have led, and the observer is ineect presented with the

general picture of these permutations at the same time as the

particular solution oered.He isthereby transformedintoan active

participant withoutevenbeing aware ofit. Merelyby contemplat-

ingit he is, as it were, putin possession of other possible forms

of the same work; and in a confused way, he feels himselfto be

their creator with more right than the creator himselfbecause the

latter abandoned them inexcludingthemfromhis creation. Ad

these forms are so many further perspectives opening out on tothe

work which has been realized In other words, the intrinsic value

of asmallscalemodel is that itcompensates for the renunciation

of sensibledimensions by the acquisition ofintelligible dimensionsLet us now return to te ace coar n Couets pcture. Every-

tng tat as been sad appes n ts case for te procedureecessary to represent t as a projecton n a partcuar space opropertes wose sensb densons are fewer and saer tantat of te object s exacty te reverse of tat wc scence woudave epoyed ad t proposed n accordance wt ts functon toproduce (nstead of reproducng) not ony a new nstead of anaready known pece of ace but aso rea ace nstead of a pctureof ace. Scence woud ave worked on te rea scae but by eansof nventng a oo we art works on a dnsed scae toproduce an age ooogous wt te object Te forer

THE SCIECE OF THE COCETE

approac s of a etonyca order t repaces one tng byanoter tng an eect by ts cause we te atter s of a etaporca order

Ts s not a. For f t s true tat te reaton of prortybetween structure and event s exacty te opposte n scence andbrcoage ten t s cear tat art as an nteredate postonfro ts pont of vew as we Even f as we ave sown te

depcton of a ace coar n nature deands an ntate knowedge of ts orpoogy and tecnque of anufacture (and ad tbeen a queston of te repreentaton of peope or anas wesoud ave sad of anatoy and pysca atttudes) t s not just adagra or bueprnt. It anages to syntesze tese ntrnscpropetes wt propertes wc depend on a spata and teporacontext Te na product s te ace coar exacty as t s but sotat at te sae te ts appearance s aected by te partcuarperspectve. Ts accentuates soe parts and conceas oterswose exstence owever st nuences te rest troug te con-trast between ts wteness and te coour of te oter cotes tereecton of te peary neck t encrces and tat of te sky on apartcuar day and at a partcuar te of day Te appearance ofte ace coar s aso aected by weter t ndcates casua orfora dress s wo eter new or prevousy used eter fresyroned or creased by an ordnary woan or a queen wosepysognoy conrs contradcts or quaes er status n apartcuar soca cass socety part of te word and perod ofstory Te panter s aways dway between desgn andanecdote and s genus conssts n untng ntea and externaknowedge a 1beng' and a becong n producng wt s brusan object wc does not exst as suc and wc e s neverteess

_abe to create on s canvas. Ts s a ncey baanced syntess of

one or ore artca and natura structures ad one or orenatura and soca events. Te aestetc eoton s te resut of tsunon between te structura order and te order of events wcs brougt about wtn a tng created by an and so aso n eectby te observer wo dscovers te possbty of suc a unontroug te ork of art

Severa ponts are suggested by ts anayss n te rst pacete anayss eps us to see wy we are ncned to tnk of ytsbot as systes of abstract reatons and as ojects of aestetccontepaton Te creatve act wc gves rse to yts s n

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THE SAVAGE MIND

fac exacly he reverse f ha which gives rise wrks f ar he case f wrks f ar, he saring pin is a se f ne r mrebecs and ne r mre evens which aesheic creain unies byrevealing a cmmn srucure Myhs ravel he same rad busar frm he her end They use a srucure prduce wha isiself an bec cnsising f a se f evens (fr all myths ell asry) Ar hus prceeds frm a se (bec + even) he dis-

covery f is srucure Myh sars frm a srucure by means fwhich i constructs a se (bec even)The rs pin emps ne generalize he hery The secnd

mig seem lead a resricin f i. Fr we may ask wheheri is in fac he case ha wrks f ar are always an inegrain fsrucure and even This des n n he face f i seem berue fr insance f he cedarwd Tlingi club, used kill sh,which have in frn f me n my bkshelf (Plae ) The ariswh carved i in he frm f a sea mnser inended he bdy f hemplemen be fused wih he bdy f he animal and he handlewih is ail, and ha he anamical prprins, aken frm afabulus creaure, shuld be such ha he bec culd be he cruelanimal slaying helpless victims, at the same time as an easilyhandled, balanced and ecien shing uensil. Everyhing abou

his implemen which is alsoa superb work of ar seems ob a

maer of srucure: ismythical symbolismas well asis pracicalfuncin Mre accuraely, he bec, is funcin and is sym-bolism seemto be inextricably bound up witheachother andto

forma closed system in which there isno place for events. Themonser'sposiion, appearanceand expression owe nohing o he

hisorical circumsances in whic he aris saw i, inhe esh or in

a dream, orconceivedthe idea of it. It is ratheras ifits immutablebeing were nally xed in the wood whosenegrain allows the

reproduction ofall its aspects and in theuse for which its empiricalforseems opre-deermine i. Andall his applies equally o heother products ofprimitiveart:an African statue or ' Melanesianmask So i looks as if we have dened only one local and

hitrical formof aesthetic creation and not its fundamental pro-perties orthose bymeans of which its intelligible relations withher frms f creain c be described

We have nly widen ur explanain vercme his di-culy Wha, wih reference a picure f Clue's, was prvisinally dened as an even r se f evens nw appears der a

6

THE SCIENCE O THE CONCRETE

brader heading: evens in his sense are nly ne mde f hecningen whse inegrain (perceived as necessary) in a sruc-ure gives rise he aesheic emin This is s whaever he ype

rf ar in quesin Depending n he syle, place and perid hecningen plays a par in hree dieren ways r a hree disincpins in arisic creain (r in all f hem) may play a par inhe casin fr he wrk r in he execuin f he wrk r in he

purpse fr which i is inended is nly in he rs case ha iakes he frm f an even prperly speaking, ha is, f cning-ency exerir and prir he creaive ac The aris perceives ifrm wihu as an aiude, an expressin, a ligh eec r asiuain, whse sensible and inellecual relains he srucuref he bec aeced by hese mdaliies he grasps and incrpraes in his wrk Bu he cningen can als play an inrinsic parin he curse f execuin iself, in he size r shape f he piece fwd he sculpr lays hands n, in he direcin and qualiy f isgrain, in he imperfecins f his ls, in he resisance which hismaerials r prec er he wrk in he curse f is accmplishmen, in he unfreseeable incidens arising during wrk Finally,he cningen can be exrinsic as in he rs case bu pserir,insead f anerir, he ac f creain. This is he case wheneverhe wrk is desined fr a specic end, since he aris will cnsruci wih a view is penial cndiin and successive uses in hefuure and s will pu himself, cnsciusly r uncnsciusly, in heplace f he persn fr whse use i is inended

The prcess f arisic creain herefre cnsiss in rying cmmunicae (wihin he immuable framewrk f a muual cn-frnain f srucure and acciden) eiher wih he model r wihhe materials r wih he fuure user as he case may be, accrding which f hese he aris paricularly lks fr his direcins

hile he is a wrk Each case rughly crrespnds a readilyideniable frm f ar : he rs he plasic ars f he Wes, hesecnd scalled primiive r early ar and he hird heapplied ars. Bu i wuld be an versimplicain ake heseidenicains very sricly All frms f ar allw all hree aspecsand hey are nly disinguished frm ne anher by he relaiveprprin f each. Even he ms academic f painers cmes upagains prblems f excuin, fr example All he scalled primi-ive ars can be called applied in a duble sense : rs, because manyf heir prducins are echnical becs and, secndly, because

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TE SAAGE MD

fee whee aie will o ie) fhe ha i has ehas evebee doe.

Ove wo hded ad fy vaieies ae sill disigished iaive vocablay ad he ge was ceaily highe i t asThis axooy oeaes by sig a e o desigae he vaieyad addig a qalifyig adjecive fo each sbvaiey Ths hevaiey imill gil is sbdivided eihe accodig o colo (blacble whie ed bloodcoloed) o accodig o ohe chaaceisics sch as gassy isiid eggshaed ad so o Thee ae aboweywo ai vaieies which ae sbdivided i his way. addiio hee is a geeal dichooy bewee hose which aybe eae afe sile cooig ad hose which ca oly be eaeafe beig aleaely foze ad feeed. A bioial axooyalso always ses cieia sch as fo (a hic sial lie cacsleaf ly eggshaed i he shae of a ox oge ec.)exe (ealy elasic sicy ec) o sex (boy o gil) (LaBae)

It was a professional biologist who pointed out how many

errors and misunderstanding, some of which have onlyrecently

been rectied, couldhave been avoided, had the older travellersbeen content torely on native taxonomies instead of improvising

entirely new ones. The result was that eleven dierent authors

between them applied the scientic name Canis azarae to three

distinct genera, eight species and nine dierent sub-species, or

again that a single ariety of the same specieswas referred to by

several dierent namesThe Guarani of Argentineand Paraguay,

on the other hand, work methodically with names composed of

ne to or three terms. By this means they distinguish for

instance between large small and mediumfelines : the dyagua et

isthe supreme example ofthe large feline, the mbarakadya et of

the small wild cat. The mini (small) among the dyague (large)

correspond to the guasu (large) among the chivi, that is, theedisized felies :

In genel, ne ems cn be sd o consue ell-conceedsysem, nd, w pnc of sl, ey cn b e sd o be some esemblnce o ou scenc nomenclue Tese pme ndns dd nolee e nmng of nul penomen o cnce Tey ssembled blcouncls o decde wc ems bes coesponded o e nue of speces,clssfyng goups nd sub goups w ge pecson Te peseonof e ndgenous es fo e locl fun s no jus me of pey ndnegy; s duy o scence Dennle, pp 24 nd 244)

44

THE LG F TTEM LASSFATNS

a lage a of he Cae Yo Peisla i Noh Asaliafoods ae disigished as la o aial by eas of wosecial ohees. The Wi Ma a ibe livig i he valleyad esay of he Ache Rive o he wes coas ee hisdivisio They ex he ae of evey la o food deived foi wih he e mi ad evey aial as well as esh o aialfoo wih he e min Siilaly yu is sed as a ex fo allaes of ees o es efeig o a sic a iece of wood owoode objec oi fo ids of sig ad be fo gassestu fo saes mpn ad n fo saw ad sig basesescively Ad he sae so of coscio of aes wih heex r allows yes of sceey ad hei associaio o his oha chaaceisic oa o faa o be disigished: r tompsadbeach oe r tomp nintn de coy behid hebeaches r pint l coasal lais wih bacish wae ec

Te nes e cuely we of e ccesc ees, undescubnd gsses of ec dsnc ssocon e', usng s em n secologcl sense Tey e ble o ls n del nd wou ny esone ccesc ees n ec, nd lso o ecod e sng, esn, gsses, nd oe poducs used n mel culue wc ey obn fom ec

ssocon, s well s e mmmls nd bds ccesc of ecb ndeed, so deled nd so ccue s e knowledge of esees ey noe e gdul cnges n mgnl es Mynfomns wee ble o ele wou eson e cnges n fun ndn food supply n ec ssocon n elon o e sesonl cnges

The aive axooy allows he followig zoological ad boaicalgeea secies ad vaieies o be disigised : mi tti'yiDioscore stiv vr rotund Bail) yu putt Euclyptusppun) - yu pont E tetdont) ; tu pol python spilotes tu oingorpn (P methystinus) ; min pn Mcropus gilis) -min o impi M rufus) min lolong M gignteus) ec I isheefoe o oo ch o say as he wie i qesio does ha

he aagee of aials ad las ad he foods o ech-ological aeials deived fo he beas soe eseblaceo a sile Liaea classicaio (Thoso 157)

he face of sch accacy ad cae oe begis o wish ha eveyehologis wee also a iealogis a boais a zoologis adeve a asooe Fo Reichads coe abo he Navahoalies o oly o he Asalias ad Sdaese b o all oalos all aive eoles :

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THE SAAGE MD

men by the peatal animal who oiginally invented it tehniqe and poede The myh efe to them vagely a bea '

Infomant ee to heitate between the mall blak bea andthe animal temed gltton, wolveine o aajo (Gulo luscusThe peialit on the Hidata, h a Wilon, Denmoe, Boweand Bekwith, did not altogethe ignoe the poble bt they 1dnot attah geat impotane to it, ine it wa afte all a myth al

animal whih wa in qetion, and the identiation of a myth1aimal ight eem pointle, if not indeed impoible In fa, hweve the whole intepetation of the ital depend on th1identition. So fa a intepetation of eagle hnting ital ioneed, bea ae no help Bt wolveine o carcaous - aCanadian adaptation of an Indian wod meaning badtempe' ae

a dieent matte, fo they have a vey peial plae in folkloe.In the mythology of the Algonkin of the notheat the wolvenei the animal of aft and nning It i hated and feaed by theEkimo of Hdon Bay a well a by the weten Athapakan andoatal tibe of Alaka and Bitih Colmbia If one piee togethewhat i known abot all thee people one aive at the ame

explanation a that obtained independently fo tappe by aontempoay geogaphe Gltton ae alot the only membeof the weael family whih annot be tapped. They ame them-elve in tealing not only tapped animal bt alo the hnte'tap The only way to get id of them i to hot te' (Boillette,p. 55). Now, the Hidata hnt eagle by h1dg p1t Th ealei attated by a bait plaed on top and the hnte athe 1t 1thhi bae hand a it pehe to take !he bait And o the tehqepeent a kind of paadox Man is the tap bt to play t1 pat heha to go down into the pit, that i, to adopt the po1t10n f atapped animal. He i both hnte and hnted at the ame te.

The wolveine i the only anial whih know how to deal ththi ontaditoy itation not only ha it not the lightet feaof the tap et fo it; it atally ompete with the tappe bytealing hi pey and ometime even hi tap . It follow, if the intepetation whih have bgn to gve 1oet, that the ital impotane of eagle hntg among heHidata i at leat patly de to the e of pit, to the amptnby the hnte of a patila low poition (liteally, and, a we aet een, gatively a well) fo apting a qay whh 1 mthe vey highest poition in an obetive ene (eagle y h1gh) and

THE LOGI OF TOTEMI LASSIFIATIOS

alo fom a mythial point of view (the eagle being at the top ofthe mhial hieahy of bid)

Analyi of the ital how that it aod in evey detail withthe hypothei that thee i a daim between a eletial pey anda bteanean hnte, whih at the ame time evoke the tongetpoible ontat between high and low in the phee of hntingThe exteme oplexity of the ite whih peede, aompany andonlde an eagle hnt i the ontepat of the exeptionalpoition whih eagle hnting opie within a mythial typologywhih make it the onete expeion of the widet poileditane between a hnte and hi game

Soe obe feate of the ital beome lea at the aetime, in patila the igniane and eaning of the mythwhih ae told ding hnting expedition They efe to ltaleoe, apable of being tanfomed into aow and mate othe at of hnting with bow and aow; and theefoe, in theiguie of wild at and aoon, dobly inappopiate fo the oleof bait in eagle hnting Hnting wth bow and aow involve

te egion o pae imediately above the eath, that i, the atmophei o middle ky the hnte and hi gae meet in theintemediate pae Eagle hnting, on the othe hand, epaatethem by giving them oppoie poitio the hunte below thegond and the game loe to the empyean ky

Another striking featureofeagle hunting is that women haveabenecial eect during their periods. This is contrary to thebelief held almost universally byhunting peoples, including teHidatsatheselves in thecase of all except eagle hunting. Wha'hasjst been said explans this detail aso, whenitis remembered that ineagle hunting, conceived as the narrowingof awide gulfbetween hunter and game, ediationiseected, fromthetechnical

point ofview,by means ofthe bat, apieceof meat orsmall pieeofgae, the bloodstained carcass of which is destined to rapiddecay. Arst hunt to procurethe baitis necessary in order forthe secondhunt to takeplace. Onehunt involves the sheddingofblood (by means ofbows and arrows), the other does not (eaglesare strangledwithout anyeusion ofblood). Theone hunt, whichconsistsin aclose union ofhunter andgame, fuishes themeansof eecting a union between what is so distant that it lookat rst as if there is a gulf which cannot be bridged - except,_peiely, by mean f blood


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THE SAAGE MD

Menstruation acquires a positive signicance from three pointsof view in a system of this kind. From a strictly formal pint ofview, since one hunt is the reverse of the other, the role attributedto menstruation is accordingly reversed. t is harmful in one casebecause its similarity is too great, but it becomes benecial in theother where it has not only a metaphorical but also a metonymicalsense : it evokes the bait as blood and organic decay and the bait

is a part of the system From the technical point of view thebloodstained carcass, soon to be carrion, which is close to theliving hunter for hours or even days is the means of eecting thecapture, and it is signicant that the same native term is used forthe embrace of lovers and the grasping of the bait by the bird.Finally, at a semantic level, pollution, at least in the thought ofthe Noth American ndians, consists in too close a conjunctionbetween two things each meant to remain in a state of purity'n the hunt at close quarters menstrual periods always riskintroducing excessive union which would lead to a saturation ofthe original relation and a neutralization of its dynamic force by

redundancy. n the hunt at a distance it is the reverse. Theconjunction is inaequate and the only means to remedy itsdeciency is to allow pollution to enter. Pollution appears asperiodicity on the axis of successions or as putrefaction on tha ofsimultaneities

One of these axes corresponds to the mythology of agricultureand the other to that of hunting. This analysis therefore makes itpossible to arrive at a general system of reference allowing thedetection of homologies between themes, whose elaborate formsdo not at rst sight seem related in any way. This result is of greatimpotance in the case of eagle hunting since it is to be found indierent forms (though always strongly imbued with ritual) almost

all over the American continent and among people of dierentcultures, some hunters and some agriculturalists The relativelyminor but positive role attributed to pollution by the idatsa, theManda and the Pawnee (the variations of which can be interpretedas a function of the social organization of each tribe) can thereforebe regarded as a particular case of something more generalAnother particular case is illustrated by the Pueblo myth of aman betrothed to an eaglegirl The Pueblo connect this mythwith another, that of the corpsegirl' and ghostwife In thiscase pollution has a function which is strong (involving the death,

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THE LGC F TEMC CLASSFCATS

instead of the sccess, of the hunter). For among the Pueblo, asthe Yths expla, the blood of rabbits who are the prime object ofthe tual hunt must not be shed. Among the Hidatsa on the otherhand, it must be shed so that they can be used as th means of theritual hut par excellence the hunt of eagles, whose blood maynot be sed. The Pueblo indeed capture and rear eagles but theydo not kill them and some groups even refrain altogether from

keeping them for fear that they should forget to feed them andlet them die of hungerTo retu brieytothe Hidatsa other problems arise in connection

with the mythical role of the wolverine further north, in a region at

the ede of he aJor area of the diusion of this animal species*I rse ths pot to emphasize the fact that historical and geo-

graphcal problems, as well as semantic and structural ones, areall related to the exact identication of an animal which fulls amythical fuction ulo luscus This identication has an important beang ?n the terpretation of myths among peoples as farfrom the regn of the wolverine as the Pueblo or even in theheart of tropical America, the Sherente of Central Brazil ho alsohave the myth of the ghost wife The suggestion is not howeverthat all these myths were borrowed from a northe culture inspite of the great distance Any question of this kind could ariseonly in the case of the Hidatsa in whose myths the wolverinegures explicitly The most that can be said in the other cases istat analogos logical structures can be constructed by means ofderent lexcal resources t is not the elements themselves butonly the reltions between them which are constant.

This.last remark leads us to another diculty which must be

consdered. The accurate identication of every animal, plant,

* Te Hids see o e lied rious poins in e se o Noko or s on s eir rdiions o ck

As or e wolerine: iis circupor species eonin o e nore

oresed r o o conens. In Nor Aeric i oerly rned o enore ? rees sou o New Ennd nd New York nd down eRocy Mouns

? Colordo nd down e Sierr Ned o ner Moun

Wney! Cor (Nelson p. 427) . Te Coon Woerine is ound roe Arcc Ocen nd Bn By souwrd nd ro e Pcic o e Alnicrecin e exree nor-ese Unied Ses Wisconsin Micin Minneso Nor ko nd down e Rock Mounins ino U nd CoordoAnon p. I) . Speces ic pper o e synonous e een repored e ouns o Co nd Fo Union Nor ko (id..

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HE SAAGE MND

son havnly body or naural phnomnon mniond in myhsand riuals is a complx ask for which h hnographr is rarlyquippd Evn his is no howvr nough I is also ncssaryo know h rol which ach culur givs hm wihin is ownsysm of signicancs I is of cours usful o illusra hwalh and prcision of naiv obsrvaion and o dscrib ismhods long and consan anion painsaking us of all h

snss ingnuiy which dos no dspis h mhodical analysisof h droppings of animals o discovr hir aing habis cOf all hs minu dails painly accumulad ovr h cn-uris and faihfully ransmid from gnraion o gnraiononly a fw ar howvr acully mployd for giving animals orplans a signican funcion in h sysm And i is ncssary oknow which sinc hy ar no consan from on sociy o anohrso far as h sam spcis is concrnd

Th ba or Sa Dayaks of Souh Boo driv omns byinrpring h song and igh of a numbr of spcis of birdsTh rapid cry of h Crsd Jay (Playlophus galericulaus Cuvir)is said o rsmbl h crackling of burning wood and so prsagsh succssful rng of a familys swiddns Th alarm cry of aTrogon (Harpaces diardi Tmminck) is liknd o h dahral of n animal bing slain and augurs good huning Againh alarm cry of h Sasia abnormis Tmminck is supposd o grid of h vil spiris which haun h crops by scrapig hm osinc i rsmbls h sound of a scraping knif Th laugh ofaohr Trogon (Harpaces duvauceli Tmminck) is a good omnfor rading xpdiions and bcaus of is brillian rd bras i isalso associad wih h rnown anding succssful war anddisan voyags

is obvious ha h sam characrisics could hav bn givn

a dirn maning ad ha dirn characrisics of h sambirds could hav bn chosn insad Th sysm of divinaionslcs only som disinciv faurs givs hm an arbiraryming and rsrics islf o svn birds h slcion of whichis urprising n viw of hir insignicac Arbirary as i smswh only is individual rms ar considrd h sysm bcomscohrn whn i is sn as a whol s h only birds usd in iar ons whos habis radily lnd hmslvs o anhropomorphicsymbolism ad which ar asy o disinguish from ach ohr byans of faurs ha can b combind o fabrica mor comlx

54

THE LG TTEM LASSAN

mssags (Frman) Nvrhlss whn on aks accoun of hwalh and divrsiy o h raw marial only a fw of h innumr-abl possibl lmns of which ar mad us of in h sysmhr can b no doub ha a considrabl numbr of ohr sysmsof h sam yp would hav bn qually cohrn and ha noon of hm is prdsind o b chosn by all sociis and allcivilizaios Th rms nvr hav any inrinsic signicanc

Thir maning is on of posiion a funcion of h hisory andculural conx on h on hand and of h srucural sysm inwhich hy ar calld upon o appar on h ohr

Vocabulary alrady shows his slcivnss In Navaho hwild urky is h bird which pcks whil h woodpckr is hbird which hammrs Worms maggos and inscs ar groupdundr a gnric rm maning swarming rupion boilingrvscnc Inscs ar hus hough of in hir larval sarahr han in hir chrysalis or adul form Th nam of h larkrfrs o is xndd hind claw whil h English rm horndlark drivs from h proubran fahrs of is had (Richard I pp IO-II

Whn h bgan his sudy of h classicaion of colours amongh Hanun6o of h Philippins Conkin was a rs bad byh apparn confusions and inconsisncis Ths howvrdisappard whn informans wr askd o rla and conrasspcimns insad of bing askd o dn isolad ons Thrwas a cohrn sysm bu his could no b undrsood in rmsof our own sysm which is foundd on wo axs ha of brighnss(valu) and ha of innsiy (chroma) All h obscuriis disappard whn i bcam clar ha h Hanun6o sysm also haswo axs bu dirn ons Thy disinguish colours ino rlaivlyligh and rlaivly dark and ino hos usual in frsh or succuln

plas and hos usual in dry or dsiccad plans Thus h naivsra h shiny brown colour of nwly cu bamboo as rlaivlygrn whil w should rgard i as narr rd if w had o classifyi in rms of h simpl opposiion of rd and grn which isfound in Hanun6o (Conklin 2)

n h sam way vry closly rlad animals may ofn apparin olklor bu wih a dirn signicanc in dirn insancsTh woodpckr and ohr birds of h sam gnus ar a goodxampl As RadcliBrown has shown 2) h Ausraliansinrs in h rcrpr is du o h fac ha i inhabis h

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THE SAAGE MD

hollows of trees but the Indians of the orth Amerian prairiespay attention to quite a dierent feature the redheaded wood-peer is believed to be safe from birds of prey sine its remainsare never found (Shoolraft The Pawnee of the Upper Missouri,a little further south (in ommon apparently with the anientRomans assoiate the woodpeer with tempests and storms(Flether 2) while the Osage assoiate it with he sun and stars

(La Fleshe The Iban of Boeo mentioned above give a sym-boli role to one variety of woodpeer (Blytipicus ruiginosuSwainson beause of its triumphal song and the solemn warningharater attributed to its alarm ry It is not of ourse exatly thesame bird whih is in question in all these ases but the examplehelps us to understand how dierent peoples an use the sameanimal in their symbolism, employing unrelated harateristis,habitat, meteorologial assoiation, ry, et, the live or the deadanimal Again, eah feature an be interpreted in dierent waysThe ndians of the southwest United States, who are agriulturalists, regard the row primarily as a garden pest, whie the

ndians of the northwest Pai oast, who live entirely by shingand hunting regar it as a devourer of arrion, and onsequenty,of exrement The semanti load of Corvus is dierent in the twoases plant in one, animal in the other mans rival when itsbehaviour is lie his own, his enemy when it is the reverse

Bees are a totemi animal in Afria as well as in Australia. Butamong the uer they are a seondary totem assoiated withpythons, beause the two speies have similarly mared bodies Aman who has pythons as a totem also refrains from illing bees oreating their honey There is an assoiation of the same typebetween red ants and obras, beause the literal meaning of thelatter is the brown one (EvansPrithard 2 p 68).

The semanti position of bees among the Australian tribes ofKimberley is very muh more omplex Their languages havenoun lasses Thus the garinyin reognie thre suessivedihotomies rst into animate and inanimate things, then o heanimate lass into rational and irrational, and nally, of the formerinto male and female In the languages with six lasses, the lassof manufatured artiles inluded honey as well as anoes on thegrounds that honey is manufatured by bees ust as anoes aremanufatured by men t is thus understandable that in the

6

THE LGC F TTEMC CLASSFCATS

languages whih have lost some lasses animals ad manufaturedgoods have ome to be grouped together (Capell.

There ae ases in whh one an mae hypotheses withregard to the logial nature of lassiation, whih appear trueor an be seen to ut aross the natives interpretation. TheIroquois peoples were organied into lans whose number andnames varied onsiderably from one to another. It is not however

unduly diult to detet a masterplan whih is based on a fundamental distintion between three inds of lan water lans (tutle,beaver, eel, snipe, heron, land lans (wolf, deer, bear and airlans (sparrowhaw, ?ball. But even so the ase of aquati birdsis determined arbitrarily for being birds they ould belong to theair rather than to the water, and it is not etain that researh intothe eonomi life, tehniques, mythial imagery and ritualpaties would supply an ethnographi ontext rih enough todeide this point.

The ethnographi data on the entral Algonquain and the neigh-bouring Winnebago suggests a lassiation into ve ategorieswhh orrespond, respetively, to land, water, the subaquatiworld, the sy and the empyream* The diulties begin whenone tries to lassify eah lan. The Menomini have fty lanswhih seem to be divisible into quadrupeds on dry land (wol dog,deer, quadrupeds inhabiting swampy plaes (el, moose, marten,beaver, pean, terrestrial birds (eagle, haw, raven, row, aquatibirds (rane, heron, du, oot and nally subterranean animals(Homan, pp. 42) But this last ategory is partiularly reali-trant as many of the animals inluded in it (bear, turtle, porupineould also be inluded in other lasses The diulties would beeve greater in the remaining lasses.

Australia presents similar problems. Durheim and Mauss,

following Fraer, disussed the global lassiations of tribeslie the Wotjobalu, who buy their dead faing in a partiulardiretion whih depends on the lan. (See illustration onp. )

* Amo he Wieo umer of oher Siou d erl Aloquiries here ws vefold clssicio erh mls sky mls epreimls quic imls d suquic imls Amo he Wieo hehuderird elo o he empyre; he ele hwk d pieo o he sky he er d wolf o he erh; he sh o he wer d he wer spiri elowhe wer Rdi p 8)

57


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THE SAAGE MD

To types dilties haraterisi o otemi' ogis have soar e metoed The rst is that e do ot saly oexatly hih plats or aimals are i qestio We have see thata approximate idetiatio is ot adeqate sie ative oser-vatios are so preise ad aly shaded that the plae o eahelemet i the systm ote depeds o a morphologia detail ormode o ehavior deale oly at the level o varieties or s-

varieties The simos o Dorset arvd egies o aimals ot opiees o ivory o igger tha the head o a math ith shpreisio that he they oo at them der mirosopesoologists a distigish varieties o the same speies sh as orexampe the Commo Loo ad the Red Throated Loo(Carpeter)

The seod dilty metioed is that eah speies varietyor svariety old sitaly ll a osiderale mer o dieretroes i symoi systems i hih oly ertai roes are eetiveyasried to them The rage o these possiilities is o tos ad or a derstadig o the hoies hih are made e

eed ot oly ethnographi data t also data rom other sore ooogial otaia eographia et The rare ases here thedata are adeqate mae it ear that eve eighorig ltresmay ostrt totally dieret systems ot o sperially idetiaor very similar elemets. I North Ameria peoples a regardthe s i some ases as a ather' ad eeator ad i others asa aialisti oster thirstig or hma esh ad ood thereseems to e o limit to the variety o iterpretatios to e expetedhe it is somethig as spei as the svariety o a plat orird hih is i qestio

A ompariso o olor symolism amog the Lvae oRhodesia ad some Astralia tries o the ortheast o the state

o Soth Astralia provides a example o a ase i hih thesame very simple strtre o opposites rers t he sematioads are reversed I the Astralia tries i qestio the mem-ers o the matriliea moiety o he deeased pait themsevesth red ohre ad approah the ody hile memers o the othermoiety pait themseves ith hite lay ad remai at a distaerom it The Lvae also se red ad hite soil t hite lay adhite meal are sed y them as oerigs to aestral spirits adred a is sstitted o the oasios o perty rites ease

64

THE LG F TTEM LASSFATS

red is the oor o lie ad ertility (C M. N White I pp. 46)White represets the stressed' sitatio i oth ases hiered the hromat pole o the oppositio is assoiated ithdeath i oe ase ad ith lie i the other I the Forrest Riverdistrit o Astralia memers o a deeased perso's o geera-tio pait themseves a ad hite ad eep aay rom theorpse hie those o other geeratios do ot pait themseves

ad approah the orpse he oppositio hite/red is ths repaed ithot ay hage o semati oad y a oppositiola + hiteO Istead o the vaes give to hite ad red eigreversed as i the previos ase the vae o hite (here assoiatedith la a ohromati olor) remais ostat ad it is theotet o the opposite poe hih is reversed hagig rom thesperoor' red to the tota asee o oor Fially aotherAstraia trie the Bard ostrts its symolism y meas othe opposiio la/red. Bla is the oor o morig or evegeeratios (gradather go gradso) ad red the oor omoig or eve geeratios (ather so) that is those hihare o assimiated ith the geeratio o the deeased (li 4

pp 298 9) The oppositio etee to dieretly stressed terms ie ad death amog the Lvale someoe ese's death ad "mydeath' i Astraia is ths expressed y pairs o elemets taeom the same symoi hai; asee o oor la hitea + hite red (as the spreme presee o oor) et

The same dameta oppositio is od amog the Fox ttrasposed rom olor to sod Whie the ria eremoy is iprogress those ryig (the dead) taled to eah other Bt theothers did ot say a thig to eah other' (Mihelso I p. 4 ) Theoppositio etee speeh ad siee etee oise ad theasee o oise orrespods to that etee oor ad theasee o olor or etee to hromatisms o dieetdegrees These oservatios seem o mae it possile to dispose otheories maig se o the oepts o arhetypes' or a olletiveosios'. It is oy orms ad ot otets hih a eommo. there are ommo otets the reaso mst e sogheither i the oetive properties o partiar atre or artiiaetities or i disio and orroig i either ase that isotside the mid

As in Chn wh whi is h olo o moi h olo orae.


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i

:

THE SAAGE MID

ay suh sheme whethe peeved osously o ot shouldhave ompletely dsappeaed fom atve thought ad that afteths upheaval the thee la ames mght suvve oly as tadtoally aepted ttles wth o osmologal sgae Ths outomes pobably vey ommo ad eplas why a udelyg systema sometmes be posted theoy eve though t would bempossble to eostut pate But t s also fequetly the

ase that thgs tu out othewseO a st supposto the tal system wll be able to suvve the mutlated fom of a bay opposto betwee sky adwate Aote soluto ould be deved fom the fat that theewee ogally thee tems ad that the umbe of the tems sstll the same at the ed The ogal thee tems epessed aeduble thotomy whle the al thee tems ae the esult ofto suessve dhotomes ; betwee sky ad wate ad thebetwee yellow ad gey f ths opposto of olou wee gve asymbol sese fo stae wth efeee to day ad ght thethee woul be ot oe but two bay oppostos sky wate addayght that s a system of fou tems

t a be see theefoe that demogaph evoluto a shattethe stutue but that f the stutual oetato suvves theshok t has afte eah upheaval seveal meas of eestablshg asystem whh may ot be detal wth the eale oe but s atleast fomally of the same type o s ths all We have so faosdeed oly oe dmeso of the system ad thee ae always fat seveal ot all f whh ae equally vuleale to demogaph hages Let us etu to the begg of the eample Wheou magay soety was at the stage of the thee elmets thedvso to thee lasses dd ot opeate oly o the plae of laames The system ested o myths o eato ad og adpemeated the ete tual Eve f ts demogaph bass ollapsesths upheaval wll ot have mmedate epeussos o all plaesThe myths ad tes wll hage but oly wth a tmelag ad asf they possessed a eta esdual vgou whh fo a tme peseved all o pat of the ogal oetato Ths latte wlltheefoe otue though the myths ad tes so as to mataew stutual solutos alog appomately the same les as thepevous stutue f fo the sake of agumet we suppose atal pot at whh the set of systems was pesely adusted theths etwok of systems wll eat to ay hage aetg oe of

68

THE LGI F TTEMI LASSIFIATIS

ts pats lke a moto wth a feedbak deve goveed ( bothsess of the wod) by ts pevous hamoy t wll det the dsodat mehasm towads a equlbum whh wll be at ayate a ompose betwee the old state of aas ad the ofusobought fom outsde

Whethe they ae hstoally oet o ot the tadtoallegeds of the Osage show that atve thought tself may well

evsage ths sot of tepetato based o the hypothess of astutual adjustmet of the hstoal poess Whe the aestosemeged fom the bowels of the eath they wee aodg toOsage tadto dvded to two goups oe peaelovg vegetaa ad assoated wth the left sde ad the othe walkeavoous ad assoated wth the ght The two goups esolvedto ally themselves ad to ehage the espetve foods I theouse of the wadegs they met a thd goup whh wasfeoous ad lved etely o ao wth whom they evetuallyuted Eah of the thee goups was ogally omposed of sevelas makg a total of wetyoe las spte of the symmetyof hs theela dvso the system was dsequlbum se

the ewomes beloged to the sde of wa ad thee wee fouteelas o oe sde ad seve o the othe I ode to emedy thsdefet ad to peseve the balae betwee the sde of wa ad thesde of peae the umbe of las oe of the goups of waoswas edued to ve ad that the othe to two e the theOsage amps whh ae ula shape wth the etae fageast osst of seve las of peae oupyg the othe half othe left of the etae ad seve las of wa oupyg thesouthe half o the ght of the etae (J 0 Dosey I, ) Theleged suggests tw poesses Oe s puely stutual passgfom a dual to a theefold system ad the etug to the ealeualsm; the othe both stutual ad hstoal at the same tmeossts udog the eets of a ovethow of the pmtvestutu esutg fom hstoal evets o evets thought of assuh mgatos wa allae ow he soal ogaato of theOsage as t was to be see the eteeth etuy fattegated both aspets Although they wee eah omposed of thesame umbe of las the sde of peae ad the sde of wa wee dsequlbum se oe was smply sky whle the othe alsoefeed to as of the eath ossted of two goups of lasassoated espetvely wth dy lad ad wate The system was

6-M


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SG MND

he eshe d e g d hse wh hve red deehem erms f y e r he her spe hve herefreeessry fed uders her ure Bewee he bsbsurdy Frer rbued prmve prtes d beefs dhe spes vd f hem erms f suppsed mmsese vked by Mwsk here s spe fr whle sed whe phsphy

4

CE EE

SYSTEMS OF TRANSFORATIONS

As we hve us see, he prherel gs gverg helfe d hugh f s-lled prmve sees re shped by hessee ere The er s redy evde hemyhs uderyg em sus (Lvruss 6 pp 8d 36) d s s fud he ple f eh vywhh spres resuls berg he hlmrk f permee d

dsuy Nw, he here s wel s he prl ple,he esee f dereg feures s f muh greer mpre h her e Oe evdee, hey frm sysemwhh be emplyed s grd s used depher e whser uellgbly gves he ppere f uerrpedw The grd mkes pssbe rdue dvss d rss, her wrds he frm ds eessry fr sg messge be veyed The mgry empedsussed he s hper shwed hw y sysem f dereg feures prvded h s sysem perms he rg f sg eld whh hsr d demgrph

evlu re rsfrmg d whh s hee mpsed f

erelly umed seres f dere esThe g prpe s wys be able ppse erms whh

prevus mpvershme f he empr ly prvded hsbee mpvrshed ws e eve s s How ppse s mpr bu sedry sder re hs rs rqureme her wrds he perve vue f hesysems f mg d lssfyg mmy ed em dervesfm her frm hrer hey re des sube fr veygmessges whh be rspsed her des, d fr

5


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SG MID

whh wa foud he he hld may o eve ouh he ree owhh grow Igeo or oa are regarded a a o ofauo-abalm The relao bewee he pero ad he obje o loe ha he pero poee he haraer of he objewh whh he deed If for eample wa a eel or eaake whh wa foud he hld wll lke hee be weak addole f a herm rab wll be hoempered ; or aga wll

be gele ad weeaured lke he lard houghle hay ademperae lke he ra or f wa a wld apple whh wa foud wll have a bg belly he hape of a appe Thee deaoare alo o be foud a Molav (he ame of a par of addle Ilad)(Rver p 462) The oeo bewee a dvdual o he oehad ad a pla amal or obje o he oher o geeral; oly ae ome people I o heredary ad doe o volveeogamou prohbo bewee he me ad wome who happeo be aoaed wh reaure of he ame pee (Fraer vol IIpp 83 pp 8 (quog Rver) ad vol IV pp 2867)

Fraer regard hee belef a he org ad eplaao of hoefoud a Lfu he Loyaly Ilad ad a Ulawa ad Malaa

he olomo Ilad A Lfu a ma before he de omemedae he amal (or brd or buery) whoe form he wll bereaaed All h deeda are he forbdde o ea or kllh amal I our aeor hey ay ad oerg are made o mlarly Codrgo oberved ha he olomo Ilad(Ulawa) he haba refued o pla baaa ree or eabaaa beaue a mpora pero o he ould be rearaed hem had oe forbdde before h deah I CeralMelaea he org of food aboo mu herefore be ough hefaful magao of parular aeor Fraer beleved hahey were he dre reul ad da reperuo of heravg ad kly magg ommo amog prega womeHe held ha h pyhologal ra whh he elevaed o he auof a aral ad uveral pheomeo wa he ulae org ofall oem belef ad prae (Fraer vol II pp 067 etpassm

The fa ha he wome of h perod ad rle of oey

* hi t i one y en pp. 2 970 who pt ow oewhieent inepetion Howee he ite othe pohiition oiintin ineintion o n neo. C. pp. 272 8 npim. C. lo C E. Fo oelie o the e type Sn Citol.

SYSMS O RSORMIOS

epereed ravg whe hey were prega ad ha he avageAurala ad Melaea wome alo dd o wa eough oove Fraer of he uveraly ad aural org of hepheomeo He would have had oherwe o doae fromaure ad arbue o ulure hu admg ha here ould ome way be dre ad o alarmg reemblae bewee laeeeh eury Europea oee ad hoe of he abalow apar from he fa ha here o evdee ha pregawome he world over have rvg her dee ha dmhed oderably Europe he la fy year ad hey mayeve have dappeared alogeher ome eo of oey Theyeraly ourred Aurala ad Melaea bu he form of auoal mea of deg advae era ape of heau of pero or group Ad Europe elf ulkely hahe ravg o prega wome wll urvve he dappearae ofa mlar ype of belef whh foer hem o he pree ofreferrg o hem order o dagoe (o pred) eraphyal or pyhologal peulare oed afer (o before) ahld brh Eve f were he ae ha he ravg of prega

wome had a aural ba h laer ould o aou for belefad prae whh a we have ee are far from beg geeralad whh a ake dere form dere oee

Furher o lear wha made Fraer gve he k fae ofprega wome prory over hoe of old me a deah dooreep perhap he fa ha people mu be bo before hey ade Bu by h reaog all oal uo hould have omeo eee he our of a gle geerao Fally had heyem of Ulawa Malaa ad Lfu bee derved from ha ofMolav Moa ad Aurora he rema or urvval of he laerhould be foud he former Wha rkg owever ha hewo yem are ea ouerpa of eah oher There ohg

o ugge ha oe hroologally pror o he oher Therrelao o ha of a orgal o a dervave form I raherha bewee form ymmerally he revere of eah oher a fyem repreeed a raformao of he ame group

Iead of ryg o der he prore le u hk erm ofgroup ad aemp o dee her propere We a ummarehee propre a a rple oppoo bewee brh ad deah ohe oe had ad bewee he dvdual or olleve aureeher of a dago or of a prohbo o he oher I worh

7


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THE SAAGE MID

do no encefo obsee a aboo on s oem emseles O n e oeand e do obsere a rgd pobon on eang e madu ocaoem wc oweer s no e objec of a cul Elkn za p 1 8).

Elks obeto to pee ad Glles aout s theefoe thatthe supposto that the totem spts pass though a ompleteyle s osstet beause t would volve a mtue of twofoms of totemsm whh as he hmself holds aot be assm

lated The most oe ould admt s tht the ult totems whh aepatleal alteate betwee the two moetes wth ay gvemale le

Wthout lamg to dede shall estt myself to efegthe eade to obetos of pple whh have elsewhee putfowad agast the aalyses of Elk wth egad to patulas ts also woth potg out that pee ad Glle wee aquatedwth Aabaa ultue whe t was stll tat whle o hs owadmsso Elk saw t oly a aleady advaed state of deayEve f Elks qualatos had to be aepted t would stll bethe ase that t s the lvg who pass though a yle amog theAada whle amog the southe eghbous t s the dead

othe wods what looks lke a system amog the Aada s duplated amog the Aabaa to a prescrtion o the oe had ada theory o the othe Fo the egulato of maage by the assessmet of totem ompatbltes desbed by Elk s a puelyempal poedue whle the yle of spts obvously depesoly o theoetal osdeatos Thee ae also othe deeesbetwee the two goups whh oespod to geue vesosad a be see o all plaes matlealpatleal; wo moeteseght subsetos; systemat totemsmstatstal totemsm ; adf pee ad Glles aalyses ae ehausve eogamoustotemsmoeogamous totemsm t wll also be obseved that

the Aada subsetos ae of geat futoal yeld se they aetastve the hlde of a maage X = y ae Z z that s of adeet (soal) goup fom the paets The Aabaa (totem)goups (the soologal futo of whh s also to egulatemaage) have o the othe had a weak futoal yeld beausethey ae tastve the hlde of a maage X = ae Y yepodug oly the mothes goup Tastvty (whole opatal aodg to whethe pee ad Glles o Elksaout s adopted) ous oly the Aabaa spt wold whee

84

SYSTEMS F TASFMATIS

a soety smla to that of the lvg amog the Aada sepodued

Fally the same veso a be see the ole whh tetoalty plays eah tbe The Aada teat t as havg a ealad absolute value t s the oly lealy meagful otet the system fo fom the begg of tme eah plae has alwaysbeloged to oe ad oly oe totem spees Amog the Aa

baa due to the spts ablty to move though a yle loaltyloses muh f ts sgae ad the value aoded to t selatve ad fomal The totem plaes ae pots of all athe thaaestal homes

Let us ow ompae the soal stutue of the Aada wth thatof the Waamuga a people futhe oth who ae also patlealAmog the Waamuga totems ae oeted wth moetes thats the futo s the evese of the oe whh they have amogthe Aada ad aalogous (although a deet way) to thatwhh they have amog the Aabaa ad the geogaphalposto s also the evese elato to the Aada beg theothe whle the Aabaa ae the southe eghbous

Lke the Aab aa the Waamuga have pateal ad matealtotems but otast to what ous amog the Aabaa t sthe paeal totems whh ae pohbted absolutely The matealtotems ae pemtted though the agey of the opposte moetyAmog the Aabaa o the othe had t s the pateal totemswhh ae allowed to the opposte moety though the oes ofthe ult goups belog to the same moety

The ole gve to the opposte moey deed leds tself to aaalyss by tasfomato Thee s o epoty betweemoetes the tes of ease amog the Aada eah ult gouppefoms ts tes as t pleases fo the beet o othe goups who

ae themselves fee to eat the food made moe abudat olythough the auspes of the oatg goup Amog the Waamuga o the othe had the moety whh eats the food atvelytevees to make the othe moety pefom the eemoes fomwhh t beets

Ths deee leads to othe elated oes oe ase the tesof ease ae a dvdual the othe a goup aa mogthe Aada the pefomae of the tes of ease whh s leftto the tatve of the ma whose popety they ae s of a statstal


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THE SAVAGE MIND

it bears witness to the continuity of the individual over ime, thepossibility of which might seem to be excluded by the Arandaconception of mythical times.*

All these transformations could be systematically set out. TheKaradjera among whom a man dreams the totemic aliation of hisfuture child, furnish an instance of a case the reverse of the Arandawhere it is the woman who experiences it. The increasingly exacting

nature of otemic prohibitions in North Australia provide a sort ofculinary' eqivalent of the restraints on marriage imposed by asystem with eight exogamous subsectins. Thus some peoplesforbid a man, conditionally or absolutely, to eat not only his owntotem but also those of his father, his mother, his father's father(or moher's father). Among the Kauralaig of the islands north ofCape York Peninsula a person recognizes as a totem not only hisown but also those of his father's mother, mother's father andmothers mother; and marriage is forbidden in the four corresponding clans (Sharp, p. 66). The eating prohibitions resulting fromthe belief that an ancestor is reincaated in a species of animal orplant were discussed above. The same type of structure is found inthe Melville and Bathurst islands but his time on the linguisticplane. All the homophones of the name of the deceased are avoidedby his descendants even if they are terms in current use with only aremote phonetic resemblance to it It is words rather thanbananas which are forbidde. The same ideas appear and disappearin dierent societies either identical or transposed from one levelof consumption to another, sometimes applying to the treatmenof women, sometimes to that of foods, sometimes to the wordsused in speech.

It is perhaps because Spencer and Gillens material related to acomparatively limited number of Australian tribes and was at the

same time remarkably full for each, that they were more acutelyaware than their successors of the systematic relations between thedierent types Later specialists' horizons came to e conned tothe small area which they themselves were studying and the sheerquantity of data, together with their own caution, deterred eventhose who did not abandon the idea of synthesis from looking for

* Cf. beow, p. 238.

As in various Indian tribes where the prohibition on uttering the names ofparents-in-law extends to a the words of which these names were composed.Cf beow, p 176

88

SYSTEMS OF TRANSFORMATIONS

laws. The graterour knowledge, the more obscure the overallscheme. The dimensions multiply, and the growth of axes ofreference beyond a certain point paralyses intuitive methods : itbecoes imps.sibleto visualize a system when its representationreqres acontuum of morethan three orfour dimensions. Buttheday may come when all the available documentationonAustra-lian tribes is tansferedto punched cards and with te helpof a

computer the1r ent1re techno-economic, social an religiousstructures canbe shown to be like avast group oftransformations.The idea is the more attractive since it is at least possible to

see why Australia shuld be a particularly favourable eld or suchan experiment, more so than any other continent. n spite of thecontact and interchange with the outside world which has alsotaken place in Australia, Australian societies have probablydeveloped in isolation more tan appears to have been the caseelsehere. Mreover, this development was not undergonepass1vely. It was des1red and conceptualized, for few civilizationsseem to equal the Australians in their taste for erudition andspeculatio? and wht sometimes looks like intellectual dandyism,

od as th1s .expressn may appear when it is applied to peoplewth so rud1metary a level of material life. But lest there be anym1stake about 1t: these shaggy and corpulent savages whosephysical resemblance to adipose bureaucrats or veterans of theEmpire makes their nudity yet more incongruous, these meticulousa?epts in pactics which seem to us to display an infantile perver-sty mapulatn and handling of the genitals tortures theindustrious use of their own blood and their own 'excretion andsecretions (like our own more discreet and unreectin habit of

b

m01steng postage stamps with saliva) were, in various respects,eal snobs. Theyhave indeed been referred toas suchby a special1st, born andbroughtp among them and speakingteir language(T G.H Strehlow, p 82). When oneconsiders themin this lightit seems less surprising that as soon as they were taught accomplishmets of leisure, they prided themslveson painting the dulland studedwatercolous one might expect ofan old maid (Plate 8).

Grantg that Austraa has been turned inon iself for hundredsof thousandsof years,*that theorizing anddiscussionwas all the

* With the undoubted exception of the northe regions and these were notwitout contact with the rest of the continent. This is therefore only an approximatOn.

SYSMS O RNSORMIONS


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1 .'

SVG MIND

rage hs clsed wrld ad he uece f fash fe paamu s easy udersad he emergece a s f cmmphlsphcal ad sclgcal syle alg wh mehdcallysuded varas eve he ms mr f whch wereped u fr favurable r adverse cmme Each grup was dub acuaed by he ly apparely cradcry ceves beg lke hers as gd as hers beer ha hers ad

dere frm hers ha s f csaly elabrag hemes lyhe geeral ules f whch were xed by rad ad cusm shr he eld f scal rgaa ad relgus hughhe Ausrala cmmues behaved lke he peasa scees fEurpe her maer f dressg he lae egheeh ad earlyeeeh ceures Tha each cmmuy had s w dress adha hs was cmpsed f rughly he same elemes fr me ad wme respecvely was ever called ques was wealhr geuy f deal ale ha peple red dsgush hemselves frm ad ud he eghburg vllage All wmewre cfs bu hey were dere dere regs Fracemarrage rules f a edgamus kd were expressed erms f

cfs (Marry wh he cf) jus as Ausrala rules (f aexgamus kd) were expressed erms f secs r emsmHere as elsewhere amg he Ausrala abrges as ur wpeasa scees he cmba f geeral cfrmy (whch sa feaure f a clsed wrld) wh he parcularsm f he parshresuls culure beg reaed lke hemes ad vars muscI s herefre ccevable ha he favurable hsrcal ad gegraphcal cds uled have led Ausrala culures sadg a rela f rasfrma wh each her pssbly mrecmpleely ad sysemacally ha hse f her regs f hewrld Bu hs exeral rela mus make us eglec hesame rela hs me eal whch exss a very much mregeeral fash bewee he dere levels f a sgle culureAs have already suggesed deas ad belefs f he emc ypeparcularly mer ae because fr he scees whch havecsruced r adped hem hey csue cdes makg pssble esure he frm f ccepual sysems he cverbly f messages apperag each level eve f hsewhch are s reme frm each her ha hey apparely relaeslely culure r slely scey ha s mes relas wheach her he e had r he her phemea f a

SYSMS O RNSORMIONS

echcal r ecmc rder whch mgh raher seem ccermas relas wh aure Ths meda bewee aure adculure whch s e f he dscve fucs f he emcpear ea?les us sf u wha may be rue frm wha sparal ad dsred Durkhems ad Malwsks accusThey each aemped mmure emsm e r her f hesew dmas fac hwever s pre-emey he meas (rhpe) f rascedg he pps bewee hem

Ths has bee brugh u very clearly by Llyd Warer hecase f he Mug f Arhem Lad These Nrh Ausralas

xpla he rg f hgs by a myh whch s als he bass f apra par f her rual A he begg f me he Wawlakssers se f wards he sea amg places amals adplas as he we Oe f hem was prega ad he her

aed her chl Befre her depaure hey had bh deed hadcesuus reas wh me f her w mey

Aer he brh f he yuger ssers chld hey cued herUey ad e day spped ear a waer hle where he greasa

ke Yurluggur lved wh was he em f he Dua mey

ch he sers belged The lder sser pllued he waerh mesrual bld The uraged pyh came u caused adeluge f ra ad a geeral d ad he swallwed he wmead her chldre Whe he sake rased hmself he waerscvred he ere earh ad s vegea Whe he lay dwaga he d receded

As Waer explas he Murg cscusly asscae he sake

h he ray eas whch causes he aual uda hsarea he vaus seasal chages are s regular ha as a gegrpher ?s u hey ca be prdced alms he dayRafall fe as hgh as fy r sxy ches w r hreemhs creases frm jus w ches Ocber sme e

ches ecember ad fee Jauary The dy seas cmesequally rapdly The graph f he rafall recrded a Pr Darwver a perd f fry-sx years mgh be a pcure f he sakeYurluggur rased abve hs waer hle wh hs head he skyad dg he earh (gure 6 p 92)

Ths dvs f he year w crasg seass e fseve mhs ad exremely dry ad he her f ve mhs whheavy rafll ad grea des whch d he casal plas frscres f mles leaves s mark ave hugh ad acves

91


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r' S MND SYSMS O RNSORMIONS


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S MND

sae aairs There are w seass us as here are w sexesw scieies w degrees culure (he high ha heiiiaed ad he lw c aer I, p r his disici)O he aural plae hwever he gd seas is subrdiae he bad while he scial plae he relai bewee he crrespdig erms is reversed is herere ecessary decide hw ierpre he cradici I he gd seas is said be male he gruds ha i is superir he bad seas ad ha mead he iiiaed are superir wme ad he uiiiaed (acaegry which wme als belg) he ly pwer adecacy bu seriliy as well wuld have be aribued heprae ad emale eleme This wuld be dubly absurd sicescial pwer belgs me ad aural eriliy wme Theher aleraive is equally cradicry bu is icsisecy caa leas be disguised by he duble divisi he whle scieyi he w classes me ad wme (w riually as well asaurally diereiaed) ad he grup me i he w classes ld ad yug iiiaed ad uiiiaed accrdig hepriciple ha he uiiiaed sad i he same relai he iia

ed i he sciey me as wme d me wihi he sciey asa whle Bu i csequece me reg embdyig he happy side

exisece r hey ca bh rule ad persiy i Irrevcablycmmied he rle glmy wers a happiess accessiblely hrugh a iermediary hey ashi a image hemselves he mdel heir sages ad ld me ; ad i is srikig ha wypes peple wme he e had ad ld me he hrcsiue as he meas ad he masers happiess respecively he w ples Ausralia sciey ad ha aai ullmasculiiy yug me mus mprarily reuce e rmer adlasigly submi he laer

The sexual privileges which ld me ejy he crl hey

exercise ver a eseric culure ad siiser ad myseriusiiiai ries are udubedly geeral eaures Ausraliascieies ad xamples culd als be ud i her pars hewrld I d wish claim ha hese phemea are aribuable wha are bviusly lcal aural cdiis I rder avidmisudersadigs ad i paricular he charge revivig a ldgegraphical deermiism his eeds be explaid

The rs pi is ha aural cdiis are jus assivelyacceped Wha is mre hey d exis i heir w righ r

94

SYSMS O RNSORMIONS

hey are a uci he echiques ad way lie he peplewh dee ad give hem a meaig by develpig hem i aparicular direci Naure is i isel cradicry I cabecme s ly i erms sme specic huma aciviy whichakes par i i; ad he characerisics he evirme ake a diere meaig accrdig he paricuar hisrical adecical rm assumed i i by his r ha ype aciviy Ohe her had eve whe raised ha huma level which aleca make hem ielligible mas relais wih his auralevirme remai bjecs hugh ma ever perceives hempassively; havig reduced hem cceps he cmpuds hemi rder arrive a a sysem which is ever deermied iadvace he same siuai ca always be sysemaized i variusways The misake Mahard ad he Nauralis chl was hik ha aural phemea are what myhs seek explai whehey are raher he medium thrugh which myhs ry explaiacs which are hemselves a aural bu a lgcal rder

The sense in whichinfrastructures areprimaryis this : rst, manis like aplayer who, as hetakes hisplace at the table, picks up cards

whichhe has not invented, for the cardgame is a datum of historyand civilization. Second, each deal is he reult of a contingentdistribution ofthe cards, unknown to the playersat the time. Onemust accpt the cards which one isgiven, but each society, likeeach player, makes its interpretations in terms of several systems.These may becommonto themall or individual: rules of the gameor rules of tactics. Andwe are well awarethat dierent players willnotplay thesame game with the same hand eventhough the rulesset limits onthe games that can be played withany givenone.

T explai he iceable requecy cerai scilgicalsluis aribuable paricular bjecive cdiis appealmus be made rm ad ce The subsace cra

dicis is much less impra ha he ac ha hey exis adi wuld be a remarkable cicidece i a harmius syhesis he scial ad aura rder were be achieved a ce Nw her cradicis ake varies very much less ha heir empiricalce The pvery religius hugh ca ever be veresimaed I accus r he ac ha me have s e hadrecurse e same meas r slvig prblems whse ccreeelmes may b e very diere bu which share he eaure allbelgig srucures cradici

95


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SYSTEMS OF TRSFORMTOS


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THE SVGE MD

skin symboizes dicuty in the heaing of the scar ; the genet whosespotted skin symboizes eprosy ; the hare with his sharp teeth and'hot chiies which symboize painfu heaing etc. Femaeinitiates are subject to anaogous prohibitions (C. M. N White I2.

These prohibitions have been mentioned because they arespeciaized wedened and rationaized with precision. They can

readiy be distinguished from totemic prohibitions within thegenera category of eating prohibitions and contrasted with themBut Tessmans ist of the very arge number of prohibitions of theFang of the Gabon incudes exampes of intermediate as we asextreme types which expains why the question of whether theFang are totemic has been so hoty contested even by thosebeieving in the concept of totemism.

The prohibitions which the Fang cal by the genera term bekimay appy to men or to women to the initiated to the uninitiatedto adoescents or aduts to househods in which a chid is expectedor to those in which it is not The reasons given for them are more-over of very dierent kinds. The inside of eephants tusks may not

be eaten because it is a soft and bitter substance. The trunk of theeephant may not be eaten for fear of soening imbs sheep andgoats est they communicate their panting Squirres are forbiddento pregnant women because they make chidbirth dicut ( cf.above [p 61]) Mice are speciay forbidden to girs because theyshameessy stea manioc whie it is being washed and the girswoud run the risk of being stoen in the same way Mice arehowever aso more generay forbidden because they ive nearhomesteads and are regarded as members of the famiy Somebirds are avoided for such reasons as their ugy cry or their physicaappearance Chidren may not eat the arvae of dragony becauseit might make them unabe to hod their urine.

The idea of a dietetic experiment envisaged by Tessman hasrecenty een taken up by Fischer with respec to the natives ofPonapy who beieve that the vioation of food taboos resuts inphysioogica disorders very ike aergies Fischer shows thataergic disorders often have a psychosomatic origin even amongourseves : in many patients they resut from the vioation of ataboo of a psychoogica or mora kind This apparenty naturasymptom derives then from a cutura diagnosis.

Among the Fang of whose prohibitions I have mentioned on

8

SYSTEMS OF TRSFORMTOS

a few taken at random from Tessmans imposing ist it is rather amatter of reigious anaogies : hoed animas associated with themoon ; chimpanzee pig python etc. because of their symboic roein particuar cuts. That the prohibitions resut not from intrinsicproperties of the species to which they appy but from the pacethey are given in one or more systems of signicance is cearyshown by the fact that the guinea fow is forbidden to initiates ofthe femae cut Nkang whie in mae cuts the reverse ue hods the cut anima is permitted to initiates but forbidden to novices

(Tessman vo. 2, pp 18493) Food prohibitions may therefore be organized into systems

which are extra or paratotemic. Conversey many of the systemstraditionay regarded as totemic incude prohibitions which do notconcern food The ony prohibition on food recorded among theBororo of Brazi attaces to the meat of deer a nontotemic species but the animas or pants after which cans and subcans arenamed appear not to be objects of particuar prohibitions. heprivieges and prohibitions associated with cans are found on adierent pane : that of techniques raw materias and oaments

Each can disting?ishes itsef from others especiay at festivasby the use of certa feathers motherofpear and other substanceswhose form and fashioning as we as nature are stricty aid downfor each can (LviStrauss 2 ch. 1 9).

The northe Tingit who inhabit the coast of Aaska aso havejeaousy guarded can crests and embems But the animas depicted or evoked are ony prohibited in a mock fashion theWof can may not rear woves nor the Crow can crows and mem-bers of the Frog can are said to e afraid offrogs (McCean)

he centra Agonkin have no food prohibitions appying tother cans eponymous animas. Cans are primariy dierentiatedby the way they paint their bodies their specia clothes and the

custom of a specia ceremonia food for each. Can prohibitions arenever or hardy ever eating ones among the Fox and they are ofthe most diverse kinds. The Thunder can is not aowed to drawon the west side of tree trunks nor to take their cothes o to washThe Fish can is forbidden to buid dams and the Bear can tocimb trees. The Buao can may not skin any covenfootedanima nor ook at these animas whie they are dying Mebers ofthe Wof can must not bury nyone beonging to their can andmust not strike dogs of any kind The Bird can must not do any


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r TE SAAGE MIND SYSTEMS F TANSFMATINS


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TE SAAGE MIND

he food of his food. This remarkable ransformaion has beenfound among some Chippea Indian groups here he oem mabe killed and eaen bu no insuled a naive laughs a or insulshe eponmous animal of some oher naive, he laer nforms hisclan. The an prepares a feas preferabl consising of he food ofhe oemic animal, for insance berries and ild nus if he animalin quesion is a bear. The insuler is formall invied and made ogorge himself unil he is, as he informans sa, read o burs andis prepared o recognize he poer of he oem (Rizenhaler

To conclusions can be dran from hese facs In he rs placehe fac ha some species are forbidden an ohers permied s noaribuable o he belief ha he former have some inrinsicphsical or msic proper hich makes hem harmful bu o heconcern o inroduce a disincion beeen sressed and unsres-sed species ( in he sense linguiss give o hese erms Prohibiingsome species is jus one of several as of singling hem ou assignican and he pracical rules in quesion can hus be houghof as operaors emploed b a logi hich, being of a qualiaivekind, can ork in erms of modes of behaviour as ell as of images

From his poin of vie some of he older repors ma appear moreorh of aenion han has generall been supposed The socialorganizaion of he Wakelbura of Queensland, in eas Ausralia,as said o consis of four classes hich ere sricl exogamousbu, as one migh pu i, endoculinar. Durkheim alread haddoubs abou his las feaure and Elkin poins ou ha he evidencefor i depends on onl a sigle, no vr reliable, sourc Elkin alsohoever menions ha a similar siuaion is depiced in Arandamholog he oemic ancesors lived enirel on heir onparicular food, hile oda he opposie is rue : each oemicgroup lives on he oher oems and forbids is on.

This commen of Elkins is imporan because i shos ha he

suggesed organizaion of he Wakelbura can be ransformed inoAranda insiuions simpl b invering all is e Among heAranda oems are no relevan o marriage bu he ae relevano eaing oemic endogam can ake place hile endocuisinecanno Among he Wakelburo here endocuisine is obligaor,oemic endogam seems o have been subjec o a paricularlsric prohibiion The ribe in quesion has of ourse long beenexinc and he daa on i are conradicor. (Compare he accoungive b Frazer vol. I, p 423 and ha given b Durkheim, p. 215

SYSTEMS F TANSFMATINS

n 2). I is hoever sriking ha he smmer ih Arandainsiuions remains hichever accoun is acceped The dierenceis onl ha he relaion beeen marriage rules and eaing rulesoul be supplemenar in one case and complemenar in heoher No, he examples of he feminine or mascuine Fang culsmade i clear ha he same hing can be said b means of ruleshch are formall idenical bu hose conen alone is he

reverse And in he case of Ausralian socieies, hen he sressedfoods are fe or even, as oen, consis of a single species, heirprohibiion provides he mos eecive mehod of diereniaionBu, if he number of sressed foods should increase (a commonphenomenon, as e have seen [p 88] in he norhern ribes horespec heir mohers, fahes and mohers mohers oems asell as heir on i is eas o see ha, ihou an change in hespiri of he insiuions on ha accoun he disinguishing srssesould be reversed and as in phoograph, he posiive ould beeaser o read han he negaive alhough boh conve he sameinformaion.

Eaing prohibiions and obligaions hus seem o be heoreicall

equivalen means of denoing signicance in a logical ssem someor all of hose elemens are edible species These ssems can hoever hemselves be of dieren pes, and his leads o a secondconclusion There is nohing o sugges he exisence of oemismamong he Bushmen of ouh rica in spie of heir complicaedand exacing prohibiions on food This is because heir ssemoperaes on a dieren plane

All game killed b means of bos and arros is forbidden, sxaunil he chief has eaen a piece of i. This prohibiion does noappl o he liver hich he huners ea on he spo, bu hichremains soxa o omen in all circumsances In addiion o hsegeneral rules, here are permanen soxa for cerain funcional orsocial caegories For example, he ife of he man ho killed heanimal can onl ea he supercial covering of mea and fa of hehindquarers, he enrails and he roers These pieces consiuehe porion reserved for omen and children The adolescen boshave a righ o he esh of he abdominal all, kidnes, genialorgans and udders and he person ho killed he anima o heribs and shoulder blade from one side of i. The chiefs par con-siss of a hick seak from each quarer and each ide of he backad a cule aken from each side (Fourie p 55)

3

HE AAGE MINDYEM OF RANFORMAION


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HE AAGE MIND

I migh seem a rs sigh as i f no ssem could be ess ike oneof oemic rohibiions Neverheless a ver simple ransforma-ion alos one o ass from one o he oher. One need onsubsiue ehnoanaom for ehnozooog. Toemism posulaesa logica equivaence beeen a socie of naura species and aord of socia groups. The Bushmen posuae he same formaequivalence bu in heir case i is beeen he ars making u an

individual organism and he funciona classes making u hesocie, ha is o sa, he socie iself is hough of as an organism.Naural and social groupings are homoogous in boh cases and heseecion of a grouping in one order involves he adopion of hecorresponding grouping in he oher, a leas as a predominan form.*

The nex chaper il be devoed enire o an analsis of hesame kind (ha is, one of a ransformaion ihin a group of heemirica relaions hich are found beeen endogam andexogam. Al ha I an o do no is o indicae he connecionbeeen his rolem and he one hich has jus been discussed

In he s lace here is an empirica connecion beenmarriage rues and eaing prohibiions. Among boh he Tikopia of

Oceania and he Nuer of ri


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i l l

he sexes and he union of eaer and eaen is ha he boh eec aconjncon b complemenar:

Wha s dese of moon is he food of hose endowed wh locomoion ; (anmals who fangs (are he food of hose wh fangs hosewho hands of hose who possess hands and he md of he bold (Theaws of Man v 29)

The equaion of male ih devourer and female ih devoured ishe more familiar o us and cerainl also he more prevalen in he

orld bu one mus no forge ha he inverse equivalence is ofenfound a a mhological level in he heme of he vagna denaaignicanl enough his is coded' in erms of eaing, ha is,direcl (hus conrming he la of mhical hough ha heransformaion of a meaphor is achieved in a meonm. I maalso be he case ha he heme of he vagna denaa corresponds oa poin of vie, no longer invered bu direc, in he sexualphilosoph of he Far Eas here, as he orks of Van Gulik sho,for a man he ar of lovemaking consiss esseniall in avoidinghaving his vial force absorbed b he omen and in urning isrisk o his advanage

This logical subordinaion of resemblance o conras is learlillusraed in he complex aiude of some socalled oemicpeoples oard he pas of bod of eponmous animals. heTikuna of he High olimoes, ho pracise hperoemic'exogam (he members of he Toucan clan canno inemarreiher among hemselves or ih he members of an clan called ba bird name, ec., freel ea he eponmous animal bu he respecand preserve a sacred par of i and use ohers as disinciveoamens (Alviano . The oemic animal is hus resolved ino anedible par, a par o be respeced and an emblemaic par TheElema of ouhe Ne Guinea observe a ver sric prohibiionon eaing heir oems Each clan hoever reains he exclusive

prerogaive of using he beak, feahers, ail, ec. of is oem animalfor ornamenal purposes (Frazer, vol. II, p. 41. There is hus inboh cases an opposiion beeen edible and noedible pars,homologous o ha beeen he caegories offood and emblem Inhe case of he Elema i is expressed hrough a ofold exclusivismhich ma be eiher negaive or posiive in relaion o he oemicspecies, each clan absans from is mea bu reans hose pas of ihich displa he characerisics of is species. The Tikuna areequall exclusive ih respec o he disincive pars of he

16

animals bu he adop a communal aiude oards mea (inerms of hich animals disinc in species bu edible resemble eachoher as food. The group of aiudes can be represened in hefolloing a

kuna:

lea

o-exclve

\\ prohibition (-)

\'

cedibe patsa ommopopeties

exlusive

\

\\\\\''

\\ perogative>

\ ebepats sttiepopeties)

The fur, feahers, beak and eeh can be mine because he are hain hich he eponmous animal and I dier from each oher his

dierence is assumed b man as an emblem and o asser hissmbolic relaion ih he animal. The pas hich are edble andso can be assimilaed are he sign of genuine consubsaniali buhich, conrar o ha one migh suppose, i is he real aim ofhe prohibiion on eaing hem o den. Ehnologiss have madehe msake of aking onl his second aspec ino accoun and hishas led hem o conceive he relaion beeen man and animal obe of a single kind ideni, ani or paicipaion. Maers are infac inniel more complex here is an exchange of similaiiesand dierences beeen culure and naure, someimes as amongsanimals on he one side and man on he oher and someimes asbeeen animals and men.

The dierences beeen animals, hich man can exrac fromnaure and ransfer o culure (eiher b describing hem in ermsof opposies and conrass and hus concepualizing hem or baking over concree, nonperishable pars feahers, beaks, eeh hich equall consiues an absracion' are adoped s emblemsb groups of men in order o do aa ih heir on resemblances.A he same animals are rejeced as food b he same group ofmen, in oher ords he resemblance beeen man and animalresuling from he fac ha he former can assimilae he esh of

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,

'I I I

I

I

' I

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the latter is denied, but only in so far as it is perceived that tereverse course would imply recognition on the part of men of thercommon nature. The meat ofany animal species must therefore notbe assimilated by any group of men.

It is clear that the second approach derives from the rst, as apossible but no necessary consequence : nutritional prohibitionsdo not always accompany totemic classications and the arelogically subordinate to them. They do not therefore rase aseparate problem. If, by means of nutritional prohibitio?s, Ie.nefuse to attribute a real animal nature to ther humaty, t sbecause they have to assume the symbolic characteristics by whichthey distinguish dierent animals (and which furnish them with anatural model of dierentiation) to create ierences amongthemselves.

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CHAPTER FOUR

TOTEM AND CASTE

Both the exchange of women and the exchage of ood are meansof securng or of displaying e interlocking of social groups withoe another. This beig so, we can see why they may be foundeither together or separately. They are procedures of the same typeand are indeed generally thought of as two aspects of the sameprocedure. They may reinforce each other, both performing theactual function, or one performing it and the other representing it

symbolically. Or they may be alternatives, a single one fullling thewhole function or if that is otherwise discharged, as it can be evenin the absence of both procedures, then the symbolic representaionof it:

If . . a people combnes exogamy wth totemsm ths s becase t haschosen to enfoce the socal coheson aleady establshed by totemsmby supemposng on t yet anothe system whch s connected wth thest by ts efeence to physcal an socal knshp and s dstngshedfom though not opposed to t by ts ack of efeence to cosmc knshipExogamy can play ths same pat n tes of socety whch ae bult onfoundatons othe than totemsm; and the geogaphcal dstrbuton ofthe two nstttons concdes only at cetan ponts n the wold.(Van Gennep, pp 35 1)

However exogamy, a s we know, is never entirely absent This is dueto the fact that the perpetuation of the group can only be eectedby means f women, and although varying egrees of symboliccontent can be introduced by the particular way in which a societyorganizes them or tinks of their operation, marriage exchangesalways have real substance, and they are alone in this. Te exchangeof food is a dierent matter. Aranda women really bear children.ut Arana men conne themselves to imagining that their rites

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his own ma no ouch an emu. Bu f, on he oher hand, he s incompan he is permied and even supposed o kill i and oer io huners of oher clans. Conversel, when he is alone a man ofhe Waer clan ma drnk if he is hrs bu when he is wh ohershe mus receive he waer from a member of he oher moie,preferabl from a broherinlaw (pencer and Gillen, pp. 596 . Among he Warramunga each oemic group is respons

ible for he ncrease and avalabil o oher groups of a paricularplan or animal species The members of one moe . . . akecharge . . . of he ceremonies of he oher moie which are desned o secure he increase of heir own food suppl . Among heWalpar as well as he Warramunga he secondar oemic proibiions (appling o he maernal oem are waved if he food inqueson s obained hrough he agenc of a man of he ohermoie. More generall and for an oem, here is a isincionbeween he groups which never ea i (because i is heir ownoem, hose which ea onl if i s procured hrough he agencof anoher group (as n he case of he maernal oems, and hose

which ea i freel in an circumsances milarl in he case ofhe sacred waerholes, women ma never approach hem, uniniiaed men ma approach bu no drink from hem, while somegroups drink from hem on he condion ha he waer s gveno hem b members of oher groups who can hemselves rnkfreel from hem (pencer an Gllen, pp. 64, 67. Tis muualnerdependence is alread o be seen in marrage which, asRadcleBrown has shown in he case

lévi-strauss, claude - savage mind, the (weidenfeld & nicholson, 1966)

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