Totem And Clan Society

Totem is one of the oldest cultural phenomenons in history, and its essence is a primitive religion in clan society. The concept of totem has been extended continuously from a purely religion to a religious culture, which is definded as totemism and has narrow and broad sense. Totem origin has the historical inevitability and individual choice has probability, which are both decided by social existence of clan. This conclusion can be used by us to discuss a number of totemic issues in a general sense with more typical information of nations.As a world view of religion, totem idea has a central position in totemism. Driven by totem idea, and for the need of clan society at the same time, totemic culture system has gradually formed, in which cultural elements such as totem idea, totem emblems, totem taboos and totem ceremonies,which have a great impact on clan society.Totemism consolidates and maintenances clan organizations through impacts of their names, symbols and common social awareness. Under the historical conditions of none national compulsory secular executive power, totemism has played a law role in warning and sanctions, through the impact of the most important mating system and other regulatory guidelines, and maintenances the clan's stability and orders in social life. It also standardizes individual's feelings and acts, strengthens solidarity between relatives, maintains blood ties by the influences of blood relationship and ethics of clan members; meanwhile, it can restrict primitive animal-like desire, help people to cultivate ethics awareness, and stabilize society heritage and interpersonal relationships.Early in the formation of clan society, the emergence of totem and that of clan society are inseparable. As a culture of religion, totemism has an important influence on the maintenance and development of clan society. It is clan society that determines totemism's emergence and inbeing while the later dynamicly reacts on clan society parts such as organizations, systems, and members of society. Totemism is the ideological superstructure of society, and both of them are interrelated and interact.