J. G. Frazer to Howitt 22 July 1906
Transcription - Page 7
totemism, which, on this
hypothesis, was in its origin
simply a theory to explain
conception. It was a great
day for anthropology when
Spencer and Gillen discovered
these beliefs among the
Arunta. Yet since their discovery the facts
[had -crossed out] have been staring us in
the face for years before
I came to see, or thought I saw, their
bearing. I see that an
acute Frenchman, A van Gennep, in a
book on Australian myths
has accepted the conceptional
theory of totemism and
thinks that Lang must
be "hypnotised" not to see
the force of my arguments.
What says Spencer? Will
he never write to me
again? Do poke him
Document Details
Date
22-Jul-06
Letter From
Frazer, James George
Letter To
Howitt, Alfred William
Author
—
Country
England
Colony/State
—
Holding Institution
State Library of Victoria
Collection Name
—
Registration Number
MS9356/55
Medium
Letter
Region
—
Locality
Cambridge
Summary
MS 9356 [Series] General correspondence with anthropologists. [Sub Series] James George Frazer to A. W. Howitt [Item Title] Letter from James George Fraser to A.W. Howitt. [Summary note] Trinity College, 8 pages. 1906 July 22. Box 1049 [Folder] 6(b) [State Library Victoria record 2018]
Physical Description
Handwritten in ink. Signed and dated. Annotation top left of first page.