Totemism & Mother Earth
Before Totems based on human mothers, division was made based on Mother Earth. Humans were divided into two groups, one North and one South. Then, in each hemisphere, humans were subdivided into two groups. Those who started out living in trees. They became known as children of The Tree (wood). The other subdivision consisted of those who started out living in caves. They became known as children of The Rock (stone). Both groups existed south and north. These subdivisions existed because other primates also lived in trees or caves. These two divisions are also called categories and classes but are the first totems. All other divisions fall under one of these two initial totems based on Mother Earth. Totemism was the first social construct that divided the homogeneous human family into family groups called totems. (AE1 80-1/90-1, 98/108, 133/143, 4/14 )Fuller Awareness Of Extended Self Once Existed
Since partially dividing from other primates, humans have come a long way and have lost much ground also. Even in the midst of many unknowns, early humans continued to learn and make adjustments while remaining aware of self in relation to all else sufficiently enough to create the foundation of knowledge indispensable to humans today. During the necessary initial period of human promiscuity, humans were also going through the initial phase of fear of the unknown which was first summarized in Apap. Development of signs, gestures, understandings and ways to communicate began transforming thinking and behavior until human totemism based on human mothers was initiated.Expository Narrative On Totems & Totemism
Totemism is a continuation of Sign Language and Gesture Language. These two forms, along with Sound Language, form the basis for human language. All three of these forms are based on nature because that's all there is. Language is a means of separating ideas and understandings into categories for the purpose of storing, retrieving, communicating, exchanging, developing and revising these understandings. This process facilitates development of self while continuously refashioning self in relation to all else. Before there were human totems, humans were already using totems when they were dividing aspects of nature into water, air, earth, fire, birds, fish, plants, etc. All of these are totems because they group aspects of nature into families. Therefore, the whole classification of species we rely on so heavily is fundamentally a Totem System. All systems of classifying and naming using any form or method is a totem system. One use of totems is to communicate human groupings in relation to superhuman nature. There were no separate names for humans and then separate names for other aspects of nature. Everything started from Oneness of Origin and Understanding as humans reviewed each observation and experience until meaning and pattern could be established. Eventually this approach led to awareness of the Superhuman Totem and Human Totem. Humans eventually found themselves in this two-way sem-sem mirror. Due to the strong force of the need incentive, in order to survive, humans were innately driven and compelled to formulate understandings based on looking into the mirror of nature. These understandings were used to group nature. Then, we used those understandings and groupings to name ourselves and group ourselves. There is no backwardness or stupidity or scary animism to this except during times like now when knowledge of self is at another weak point.All human names are totems. Now it's time to recoup and regroup. There is a natural genesis to all things, as Massey often reminds us. The process continues to work itself back around to replenish knowledge of self in relation to the extended self in the totem pole and totem souls. This process taking multiple generations to do so. Meanwhile humans go through periods of functioning with lesser understandings as nature continues to function as it always has. Lack of understanding of all else and self in relation to each other, as early humans understood, puts humans today in jeopardy due to not understanding how to move thinking among fixed, variable and various combinations.
We've lost touch with the abilities of critical analysis, critical thinking, inference, extrapolation, inductive reasoning, inductive synthesis and multiple ways of knowing, Simply put, our whole notion of 'learning” is stunted and adjusts at a pace even slower than the workings of nature. We are out of rhythm, helpless when nature speeds up. This causes what we recognize in ourselves as behaving without “rhyme or reason.”This of course always puts us in a vulnerable behind position as being the last to know what to do in advance. So as nature continues to do its basic things we are left unawares, unprepared and totally reliant on weak human understanding that depend on “beating” nature. Sure, we'll just build a dam and that will stop the water. Sure, we'll just spray water on it and that will put out the fire. Sure, we'll just use sandbags and board up our windows and that will protect us. Sure we'll just wear masks and keep on breathing, that should be enough. Sure, we'll do everything that works against water retention in soil. Sure we'll ignore the larger landscape and topography and not account for how our smaller actions affect the larger nature and how the larger nature affects our smaller worlds. Early humans began to account for all these things. This allowed them to survive, thrive and develop all the knowledge bases that we use today.
Some Of The Reasons And/Or Benefits Of Human Use Of Totems
1. Identification as humans and also identification of offspring from different human mothers and different Earth Mothers. (AE1 58/68)2. Limit promiscuity through regulation of sexual intercourse within totems.
3. Begin genetic separation for temporary periods of time. This ensures genetic diversity among humans who live in close proximity or have the ability to travel and interact.
4. Form beginning basis for regulating marriage,
5. Beginning of recordkeeping of lineage. This recordkeeping captures many parameters of human experiences and development. Lineage, like totems, is not simply a name badge. (NG1 59-60/77-78, 203/221)
6. Property is held in common, including totem plants and animals. (Today we only have small outdoor common areas owned by the government but not the people. The notion of collective is defective)
7. Plants, animals and Primordials were protected by totem members
. 8. Members had a primary objective to increase the supply of the plants and animals of their totem. (AE1 56-7/66-7)
Early Totems Were Elemental Nature Powers
After the division by the poles of south and north, the next totems were the Primordials of Water, Air, Fire, Earth, Tree, Mountain, etc. For instance, those claiming Water Totem descent, say each of their births is the result of the spirit of water reincorporating in human form. The water spirit inhabits various forms of water and is always lying in wait for pubescent women so it can impregnate them and be embodied in human form. There is only one water spirit who transforms itself into all humans who are born into the Water Totem. This same spirit also transforms into all other creatures associated with water such as fish, crocodiles, hippopotamuses and turtles. (AE1 132/142, 138/148) This Water Spirit is the elemental ancestor called an Alcheringa. This ancestral soul of life in water also matches the Water God of Egypt who bore names such as Nnu (Num, Hapi); however this Water Spirit, in much earlier times, as an Alcheringa, was not yet considered a God or Goddess. (AE1 66-7/76-7), (Churchward 414/605) Totems were not just designations of birth and groupings. Totems represented superhuman powers that were superior to humans in at least two ways:1. The power to give life in general and also give life through humans.
2. Every human sense, ability and strength was found to exist in nature to a greater degree. It was reasoned that since abilities were the same except in power, humans and superhumans must get their abilities from the same spirit. Since the spirit was invisible, the spirit of the totem was represented by the visible greater manifestor of the ability or power. Totems taught much respect for self and all else, yet there was still distance kept from aspects of nature that could do humans harm. (NG1 72-3/90-1)
Female Motherhood & Matriarchy Ruled
Even though the elemental spirit was considered the superhuman parent, the human female was the other half of the highly esteemed parenthood tandem. Humans had not yet figured out cause and effect in relation to sex and fatherhood, so they figured human females also bore fruit in the same way life seemed to come from other creations, via the same invisible force whose presence brought forth life via plants and water. During this stage of thought, there were souls, but none were considered human. There were only totemic souls. Whatever totem the human belonged to represented an elemental soul of life which created a certain group of creatures. Initially, and for the longest time in human societies, matriarchy was the social construct that determined descent and rulership. Above that rulership is Mother Earth. (AE1 141/151) Eventually, human descent from a single human mother was further divided into descent from two mothers or two sisters or from a mother and elder daughter. This change took place because humans began to recognize the different roles of the female. She gave birth and nursed. Also, sometimes one female gave birth and another female assisted and helped nurse, nurture, raise the child. After twin sisters, next came totems based on twin brothers. After that came divisions based on twin siblings as male and female. These divisions mirror the early formation of creation. This continued to be reflected in later mythology. What masquerades today as modern is simply a more recent form of what existed yesterday. This is true physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. There is nothing new, only that which is transformed renewed, transformed reknewed. (Churchward 99-100/605), (NG1 69/87)Belief In Spirit Incorporating Into Humans Is Still Common Today
By default, totems and totemism are grounded in spirit because spirit is the only thing that exists, even when it exists as soul or as matter. Most humans claim to have spirit or soul and acknowledge being formed of matter. This combination is spirit incorporation of mind, body and soul. We can call it something else but the truth remains throughout all Ages. We are looking in the mirror at ourselves as early humans and are in disbelief that it's us staring back asking what's up. Early humans are looking in the mirror at what they've become as us.Present, past and future are mirror images, not just as periods of time, but also as forms of things that have changed during those times.Everything being said about early humans still applies to us today in some way, shape, form and fashion.
We might be in the habit of thinking early human thinking no longer exists in our current ways of life, but we would be mistaken.
Just like early humans, billions of us still think human females can be impregnated by a spirit without human male involvement.
This is the same as Mother Mary of Jesus being fecundated by the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove.
This is the same as Catholic representations of Virgin Mary inhaling the fragrance of lillies as a means of immaculate conception.
This is the same as Auset-Isis being impregnated by the penis of dead Ausar-Osiris.
On another line of reasoning, the notion of spirit power existing in water is the same as people who think baptism or christening or anointing has spiritual power over the physical and human body in a cleansing purifying way. (AE1 139/140)
