PRIMAL HORDE
...the practice of totemism came into being. In their guilt they found a surrogate for the father in an attempt for a type of reconciliation with him. This surrogate, the totem animal, had to be honored as the father would if he were still alive, only more so, due to the guilt. This animal had to display the traits of the father, such as strength and power. This worshipped animal was then sacrificed once a year as a sign of unity between the brothers at a feast This totem feast is also a remembrance of the father and a remembrance of the guilt of killing the father. In addition to this there is a tribal deity in whose presence the sacrifice is done. After time passes there arises conflicts between the brothers over matters such as power over land, one having more say in monitory issues, etc. These matters coincide with the position that the father once held, and in turn one brother eventually takes the place of the father figure that was killed, and the brothers would kill him, starting the cycle of killing the father figure all over again. This would continue until a remarkable thing happened. The powerful son, seeing the cycle of killing to gain power sacrifices himself to end the cycle. Thus he ends his life as a representative of the deity. He becomes a God in place of his father. The original animal sacrifice was already a substitute for a human sacrifice, for the killing of the father figure, and when the father figure regained its human form, the son, the animal substitute could not be retransformed into a human sacrifice, and he was killed. Until the brother sacrifices himself the cycle of killing would continue indefinitely. This example can be applied to the sacrifice of Christ. In the Christian religion the original sin of man is without a doubt an offense against God the father. It can be concluded that the original sin against God was murder. Society gradually killed God and the act of Christ sacrificing himself redeemed mankind from this sin. Like the primal horde where the brothers kill their father and then repent eventually ending the cycle when one of the brothers sacrifices himself, Christ does the same to redeem society. He is the son of God born into mankind as a person, with human parents . He, as God’s son Sacrifices himself to end the cycle of mankind killing God, the father figure. Also, the idea of an incest taboo can play a part in this situation also. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is known as a sort of goddess in the Christian religion. She is known as the virgin mother of Christ, whose father was killed by mankind. Therefore she is off limits by society and lived and died a virgin because mankind, taking the place of the brothers in the primal horde, killed God the father. As stated by Freud, according to the law of retaliation which is deeply rooted in human feeling, a murder can be atoned only by the sacrifice of another life. In this Christ becomes a God himself in place of his father. This brings forth a new totem feast in the form of communion, or the Eucharist . In this practice the body and blood of the sacrificed man, Christ, is eaten instead of that of the father. The sons, or in this case, mankind now identify themselves with the son and become holy themselves. In this, Christianity adopts a practice that is far more ancient than its origins, it adopts the totem feast of the original primal horde. Another application of the primal horde theory can be made to the movie Suddenly Last Summer. Although the movie doesn’t play into the theory perfectly, it still applies to certain areas. The major characters in the story do not demonstrate the quintessential primal horde. Sebastian, although he had a special relationship with his mother Violet, did not have a father figure in his life to despise. Sebastian assumed the role of his father, which can be seen in a quote that Violet said in the movie” We were never separated, people did not refer to us as Violet and her son Sebastian , it was always Violet and Sebastian went here; violet and Sebastian went there.” Along with this fact, it is displayed in the movie that he is homosexual, which would account for the fact that he did not have the deeply rooted sexual feelings for his mother explained in the primal horde theory. Instead of loving his mother, he seems to have a sense of power over her. He uses her to flaunt his power and money, because the father figure is not around to do so. Sebastian’s thoughts of God in the movie were demonstrated in the way that he described the devouring of the turtles in the Galapagos Islands. He did not see God in the beautiful egglay and the beginning of life as his mother did. Rather, he saw God in the birds as they were devouring the newly hatched turtles scurrying towards the ocean. This conception of God is that of the primal horde, a cruel, devouring God. This scene is also a type of foreshadowing of Sebastian’s sacrifice. Later in the movie Katherine, his cousin, comes into the picture and in a way takes the place of the mother. Instead of taking the annual summer trip with his mother he goes with Katherine. In a way his mother had lost her usefulness to him, she was old n...