A translation of Claude Levi-Strauss's classic and conclusive short volume on the problem of Totemism - why did it come about seemingly independently, and in so many complex forms, across the world; what human needs does it solve, and why this form here, and another in that place over there. Are its roots economic, as suggested by some anthropologists, based on a misunderstanding of tribal genealogy or the natural world as suggested by others, or spawned from neurosis and anxiety as Freud suggests?
Levi-Strauss deftly runs through the various theories that have been proposed over the years, and then neatly ties up all the loose ends in a very satisfactory conclusion. It is a paradoxical magic trick, by showing the logic behind the mystery, the concept of Totemism itself disappears.

Though his method, Structuralism, is not fully explained here, it is not required really to see the general idea of how he got to where he did. For anyone more interested in this method of analysis (which is in itself as interesting as the topic of Totemism), it would be worth seeking out a separate work such as Edmund Leach's Modern Masters volume on Levi-Strauss, which makes the neatness of this approach more fully appreciable. Perhaps read that first. ( )

Il totemismo, ossia il particolare fenomeno per cui un uomo o un gruppo di uomini si legano con un rapporto di parentela e di mutua protezione a una specie animale - o a piante o a fenomeni naturali - è stato variamente considerato: gli sono stati di volta in volta riconosciuti e negati carattere religioso e carattere universale; a volte è stato considerato tipico di una fase del progresso culturale; altre volte se ne è constatata l'assenza nei popoli più primitivi. L'analisi critica cui Claude Levi-Strauss lo sottopone in questo libro prospetta il fenomeno in una luce tutta nuova: ‟Il totemismo partecipa della conoscenza; le esigenze alle quali risponde, il modo stesso in cui cerca di soddisfarle, sono in primo luogo d'ordine intellettuale. In questo senso non ha nulla d'arcaico e di lontano.” ( )

A very interesting read. However, the book was at times kind of a hard read but considering when it was written and the fact it is very much an academic book, its not surprising. Overall, a good read over non-neopagan or New Age totemism. ( )

Review located at http://lupabitch.wordpress.com/2006/12/21/totemism-jean-claude-levi-strauss/ ( )