Elements of Folk Psychology: Outline of a Psychological History of the Development of MankindWundt, Wilhelm Max
Science
Elements of Folk Psychology: Outline of a Psychological History of the Development of Mankind
Wundt, Wilhelm Max
Ethnopsychology
As a matter of fact, the totem is already itself the embodiment of a
soul. Either the soul of an ancestor or that of a protective being
is regarded as incorporated in the animal. The other totems, such
as plants or totem fetishes (churingas), are obviously derivative
phenomena, and the same is true of those legendary beings that inhabit
the churingas as spirits, or that gave them to the ancestors for the
purposes of magic. Now, originally, the totem was probably always
an animal. But a survey of the great mass of animistic conceptions
prevalent in all parts of the world shows that in this case also it
is particularly the animal that is represented as capable of becoming
the receptacle of a human soul after death. Animals, of course, are
not all equally suited to this purpose. Some are more apt than others
to be regarded as soul animals, particularly such as are characterized
by rapid movement, flight through the air, or by other features that
arouse surprise or uncanny dread. Thus, even in the popular belief
of to-day, it is especially the snake, the lizard, and the mouse, in
addition to the birds, that are counted among the soul animals. If,
now, with these facts in mind, we cast a glance over the list of totem
animals, we are at once struck by the fact that the most common among
them are soul animals. In Australia, we find the hawk, the crow, and
the lizard; in America, the eagle, the falcon, and the snake.
In respect to these ideas, the totemic age marks an important
turning-point in the history of soul conceptions. Primitive man regards
that which we have succinctly called the 'corporeal soul' (p. 82) as
the principal, and perhaps originally as the only, soul. At death,
the soul is believed to remain in the body, wherefore primitive man
flees in terror from the corpse. Even at this stage, of course, we
occasionally find traces of a different idea. The soul may also be
regarded as active outside of the body, in the form of a demoniacal
being. But as yet these ideas are generally fluctuating and undefined.
There then comes a change, dependent, just as are the other cultural
transformations, on the strife and warfare arising as a result of
tribal migrations. This change, as we may suppose, is due to the
fact that tribal struggles bring with them the impressive spectacle
of sudden death. One who is killed in battle exhibits the contrast
between life and death so directly that, even though the belief in
the continued existence of the soul within the body still survives,
it nevertheless permits the co-presence of other more advanced
conceptions. Thus _two_ sets of ideas come to be developed. On the
one hand, the soul is believed to depart with the blood. In place of
the entire body, therefore, the blood comes to be the chief vehicle
of the soul. Blood magic, which by itself constitutes an extensive
chapter in the history of magic beliefs, and which is prevalent in all
periods of culture, has its source in this conception. Further factors
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account