Totemism is a dead belief, or does it exist to this day?

It is believed that religion is a product of human history. Scientists to this day can not establish the time when it arose. There is a suggestion that people never existed without religion. Man always creates for himself some ideal, to which he yearns to strive. Ancient Greek thinker Xenophanes believed that people independently invent gods in their own image and even endow those with inherent qualities. Another philosopher, Democritus, believed that religion arises from ignorance and fear. Attempts to comprehend the essence, origin and purpose of beliefs accompany a person throughout his entire history.

But these discussions do not deny that there was no "irreligious" time of people's existence. In the early stages of human development, there were simple beliefs, such as magic, shamanism, animism and others. Separately, among all this religious massifs, totemism stands out. This belief is generally accepted as an early form of religion because of its primitivism. What is it? What is the religion of totemism? The answer is given below.

What it is?

Listen to the sound of the word "totemism". This saying is related to the language of the American Indians and means "his kind". This term refers to the representation of a certain related group of people about the existence of their universal connection with an animal or plant. In ancient times they believed in a common origin from some legendary ancestor. At the same time, the woman was the mother, but the father was a certain representative of the animal or vegetable world. It was such a connection between a person and other kinds of life on Earth that was considered the basic for the religion of totemism.

This connection was sacred, exclusive and undefiled. The totem was revered both as ancestor and as patron. Each kind had a name corresponding to its deity. His living analogues were considered as brothers, they were forbidden to kill and eat. According to the belief, after death, a person turned to his totem, which means that totemic animals or plants were considered dead relatives. To their deity people treated with awe and with respect worshiped him. He was protected from enemies and performed various rites for his self-immolation. The admission of a person to such a ceremony was a kind of his socialization. It is believed that totemism is the earliest form of self-identification of the group.

What is its meaning?

Early forms of religion: totemism, and along with it and animism with magic - were thoroughly studied by science in the XVIII century. It is believed that the belief in the totem in Australia was born, despite the fact that many materials for reasoning were taken from North American Indians. This belief has become the basis for other religions that exist to this day and have many adherents. Thus, it was from totemism that such general religious ideas were gained, such as belief in common ancestors, in kinship of people and animals, plants, as well as the idea of transmigration of souls, immaculate conception and resurrection after death that take place in Christianity, Buddhism and Islam.