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AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL TOTEMIC SYSTEMS: STRUCTURES OF POWER
Author(s) -
Kolig Erich
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
oceania
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1834-4461
pISSN - 0029-8077
DOI - 10.1002/j.1834-4461.1988.tb02273.x
Subject(s) - alchemy , doctrine , causality (physics) , universe , power (physics) , inference , belief system , code (set theory) , history , epistemology , computer science , philosophy , astrophysics , art history , physics , programming language , quantum mechanics , theology , set (abstract data type)
Aboriginal totemic systems ‐ sections, subsections and to some extent moieties are not only intricate systems of ordering the universe, but also magical devices designed to harness cosmic power, as similar systems in other cultures were evidently meant to do. Comparisons with East Asia and European magico‐philosophical systems (especially the hermetic traditions, alchemy etc.) reveal striking similarities in the manner in which the universe is ordered by such systems. A major code of ordering is provided by the doctrine of affinities (sympathies and correspondences to which are attached notions of causality. Such similarities in structure and form allow the inference that totemic systems, too, are informed by universal maxims of ‘power through order’ and ‘like affects like‘.