BY
ANDREW LANG, M.A., LL.D.
BY
J. J. ATKINSON
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON
NEW YORK AND BOMBAY
1903
TO
ANNABELLA ALLEYNE
Dear Annie,
As you first pointed out to me the facts which are thegerm of my Theory of the Origin of Totemism, you are onecause of my share in this book. The other is affectionfor the memory of the author of 'Primal Law.'
Yours always,
A. LANG.
St. Andrews:
Feb. 13, 1903.
The portion of this book called 'Primal Law' is the work of the lateMr. James Jasper Atkinson. Born in India, of Scottish parents (hismother being the paternal aunt of the present editor), Mr. Atkinsonwas educated (1857-1861) at Loretto School, then managed by Messrs.Langhome. While still young he settled on certain stations in NewCaledonia bequeathed to him by his father, and, except for visits toAustralia and a visit to England, he lived and died in the Frenchcolony. His ingenious mind was much exercised by the singular lawsand customs of the natives of the New Caledonian Archipelago and theadjacent isles. These peoples have been little studied by competentEuropean observers—that is, in New Caledonia. Mr. Atkinson wrote anaccount of native manners before he had any acquaintance with theworks of modern anthropologists, such as Mr. Tylor, Mr. McLennan,Lord Avebury, and others. To these he later turned his attention; hejoined the Anthropological Institute, and, in the course of study andobservation, he discovered what he conceived to be the 'Primal Law'and origin of morality, as regards the family. In his last illness,in 1899, he was most kindly attended by Commander John Haggard, R.N.,then Her Majesty's Consul in New Caledonia. Mr. Atkinson's mind, in hislatest moments, was occupied by his anthropological speculations, and,through Mr. Haggard, he sent his MS. to his cousin and present editor.I have given to it the last cares which the author himself would havegiven had he lived. But I have also taken the opportunity to review, inthe following pages, introductory to 'Primal[Pg viii] Law,' the present stateof the discussion as to the beginnings of the rules regulating marriageamong savages.
The discussion is now nearly forty years old, if we date it from theappearance of Mr. J. F. McLennan's Primitive Marriage in 1865. Yet,in spite of the speculations of some and the explorations of otherdistinguished students, the main problems are still in dispute. Wasmarriage originally non-existent? Was promiscuity at first the rule,and, if so, what were the origins, motives, and methods of the mostarchaic prohibitions on primitive license? Did man live in 'hordes,'and did he bisect each 'horde' into exogamous and intermarryingmoieties, and, if he did, what was his motive? Are the groups andkindreds commonly styled 'totemic' earlier or later than the divisioninto a pair of moieties or 'phratries'? Do the totem-kins represent theresults of an early form of exogamous custom, or are they additions toor consciously arranged subdivisions of the two exogamous moieties?Is a past of 'group marriage' or 'communal marriage' proved by theterms for human relationships employ