Page:The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis II 1921 2.djvu/1

 THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL

OF

PSYCHO-ANALYSIS

VOLUME II TUNE 1921 PART 2

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

PRIMITIVE MAN AND ENVIRONMENT

by G. r6hEIM, Budapest.

The problems that arise from the interaction oi primitive man and his environment are, speaking in general terms, the subject- matter of the science of anthropogeography. We do not intend to throw even a cursory glance at such a vast topic in this article; the question we are concerned with is, how these biolo- gical relations are reflected in the psychic life of the individual and society.

At the very outset of our investigations our attention must be riveted on a very general, probably universal^ aspect of primitive culture: we mean totemism.^ Totemisnt is the belief in the exi- stence of a specific magico-religious connexion between a human group and a natural species. If we start from the assumption, as we are compelled to, that primitive beliefs, or indeed beliefs in general, although they may not represent a rendering of facts

» The view of totemism advocated here is not completely new, as similar comments on this subject have been made by B. Anckennann: "Das Problem des Totemismus", Korrespondenzhlatt fur Antkropologie, Ethuologie und Ur- guckichte, 1910, S. 80; Id.: "Ausdracks- und Spieltatigkeit als Grundlage des Totemismus", Anthropos, X/XI, S. 586; E. ReuterskiSld: Die Entstehung der Speisesacramente, 1912, S.'80; Id,: Anthropos, 1914, S. 650; Grabner: u4«- thropos, 1915/16, S. 255; H. Werner: Die UrsprUnge der Metapher, 1919, S. 216. This side of totemism as well as other psychic attitudes which are condensed in this primitive phase of social and religious evolution will be discussed in my book on "Australian Totemism".

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