Page:The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis II 1921 2.djvu/11

 PRIMITIVE MAN AND ENVIRONMENT 167

carded on the ground that such a concept was regarded as too complicated to be entertained by a primitive people. But since we know that it is a very different thing to form an unconscious concept of this type and to elaborate a highly sophisticated doc- trine and that even the latter is far from being above the mental range of primitive man, we shall have less hesitation in following the first impressions and identifying the place of death with the place of birth. I may again be permitted to refer to the traditions of the Arunta, where the totem centres from which the spirit children are said to emanate are at the same time the places where the mythical ancestors went into the earth and set an end to their wanderings. The same ambivalent attitude which we have noted in connection with the place of birth is equally character- istic of primitive man in his relations to the grave i. Whilst in tribes of the lowest type of social evolution the usual attitude is, that of a panic-stricken flight, so that the portion of the environment where a death has occurred is completely avoided for many years, in other tribes of a usually higher type the desire to remain in contact with the graves of their ancestors is a powerful motive of local fixation and a reason which incites them to resist the inroads of strangers into their territory.^ It thus becomes apparent in what a powerful degree unconscious fixations determine the migrations and the whole social evolution of a people. Whilst the Bismarck-Erchipel und auf den Salomoinseln," Zeiisckrift fur ^thnolosie 1910 S 131- W H R Rivers: The History of Melanesian Society, 1914, U, pp 273' 28l'382', 539. 545; A. R. Brown: "Three Tribes of Western Australia". Journ. Anthr. Inst. 1913, p. 169. "The body is doubled up ia a sitting posture and is placed facing the birthplace of the dead man or woman (On burial at birth-place P. Foelsche: The Unalla tribe; E. M. Curr: The

Australian Race, I, p. 272.) .,, ,.

1 On the ambivalent attitude of primitive man as mamfested in mourning rites see Freud: Totem and Taboo, 1919, p. 99; R6heim: Spiegelzauber,

1919 S 197.

i As to the custom of leaving the dead where he is and removing the camp, compare Spencer and GiUen: Native Tribes of Central Australia 1899, D 499- Idem: Northern Tribes, 1904, p. 619; A. W. Howitt: Native Tnbes of South East Australia, 1904. p. 450; K. L. Parker: The Euahlayi Tribes. 1905 p 89- C. G. Seligmann: The Melanesians of British New Guinea, 1910, pp 89 191 274; Idem: The Veddas, 1911, P- 122; H. Ling-Roth: Tiie Na- tives of Sarawak and British North Borneo. 1896, I, p. 154; P. W. Schmidt: Die Stellung der PygmaenvSlker, 1910, S. 262, 2S3, 265, 256; Skeat and Blagden: Pagan Races of the Malay Peninsula, 1906, H, pp. 89, 90, 93, 96, 100 106, 111-13, 116; Schneider : Die Religion der afrikanischen Natur-