An example of a folk etymology bordering on Totemism is the supposed
descent of Clan Chattan, and of the House of Sutherland, from the Wild
Cat of their heraldic crests. Now Clan Chattan is named, not from the
cat, but from Gilla Catain, ‘the servant of Saint Catan,’ a common sort
of Celtic personal name, as in Gilchrist.[39] The Sutherland cat-crest
is, apparently, derived from Catness, or Caithness. That name, again,
is mythically derived from Cat, one of the Seven Sons of Cruithne who
gave their names to the seven Pictish provinces, as Fib to Fife, and
so on. These Seven Sons of Cruithne, like Ion and Dorus in Greece
(Ionians, Dorians), are mere mythical ‘eponymoi’ or name-giving-heroes,
invented to explain the names of certain districts. In Totemism this is
not so. Not fancied names, like _Duddingstone_, or _Marmalade_, are,
in Totemism, explained by popular etymologies. Emu, Kangaroo, Wolf,
Bear, Raven, are real, not perverted names, the question is, why are
these names borne by groups of human beings? Answers are: given in
all the numerous savage myths, whether of a divine ordinance (Dieri,
Woeworung) or of descent and kinship, of intermarriage with beasts, or
of adventures with beasts, or of a woman giving birth to beasts, or
of evolution out of bestial types, and all these myths suggest mutual
duties between men and their totems, as between men and their human
kinsfolk. It will be seen that here no disease of language is involved,
not even a _volks-etymologie_ (a _vera causa_ of myth).
If it could be shown by philologists that many totem names originally
meant something other than they now do, and that they were
misunderstood, and supposed to be names of plants and animals, then
‘disease of language’ would be present. Thus λύκος and ἅρκτος have
really been regarded, as meaning, each of them ‘the bright
one,’ and the Wolf Hero of Athens, and the Bear of the Arcadians, have
been explained away, as results of ‘disease of language.’ But nobody
will apply that obsolete theory to the vast menagerie of savage totem
names.
HYPOTHETICAL EARLY GROUPS BEFORE TOTEMISM
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