A totem is an object that signifies symbolic meaning. It can be an object such as an animal, or sound such as laughing. The notion of totem is inherently male, with male groups, or ‘phratries’ worshipping the totem. So what transforms a seemingly everyday object into a totem? Generally, they have the main characteristics, which are the following.
Sacred/Profane
Firstly, the object inheres mana, that is, it holds sacred status. Thus distinguishing between what is sacred and profane. The totem is sacred/holy, and anything which mocks or offends the totem is profane. For example, in Aboriginal clans, totems such as the wombat for instance, would be inscribed on something, be it a shield, cloth or whatever. Thus the everyday item, such as cloth, has been transformed from profane to sacred as it signifies the totem. The item with the totem is now called Churinga. The churinga is so sacred and held in reverence that it is stored away in a remote location to free itself from contamination. This is important as it highlights the profane. So what is profane in this society? Women and the uninitiated young males. They could not touch the Churinga, and were lucky enough to see the totem on rare occasions, and if so, only at a distance.
Totem is homosocial and bonding.
The totems presence in these societies created a shared identity among different phratries, so much so that whenever they gathered together around a tree or stone, a kind of ‘collective emotion’ and solidarity formed. Furthermore, there were ‘mens houses’, where women, “were given space for listening but not for seeing or being seen.” This kind of emotional response is something you and I can relate to. Just think of the feeling we get when we go to the cinema, or club or shopping mall.
Totem is adversative.
The totem is not a static thing that is simply worshipped; it is something to be mastered and utilized. The quest to master the totem is challenging and very competitive, as members of phratries strive to out-do each other. Those who do master the totem have the honour of being ‘hierophant’’, that is, totem specialists, which puts them on a pedestal within the clan.
In Aboriginal clans, for young boys to be initiated as adults, that is from profane to sacred, they go through an initiation process, and this can be very adversative. As Durk notes, “About the time of puberty, as the time for initiation approaches, the young man withdraws into a distant place….there, during a period varying from a few days to several years, he submits himself to all sorts of exhausting and unnatural exercises”.
OK so far we know that anything with the totem is sacred, and anything against the totem is profane, the totem is bonding between males, and it creates an adversative culture. That said, if we replace ‘clan’ with ‘subculture’ and substitute ‘totem’ for ‘amen break’, we can see how the Amen takes position.
Amen is sacred/profane
Just like the wombat, the Amen inheres mana, that is sacredness. We know it’s fratriarchal and thus, male-focused, but who holds it as sacred? Whelan says, “those with longstanding engagements in jungle and breakcore become members of the amen clan.” The totem itself is an ‘element in a symbolic code, inscribed upon items and thereby sacralising them. Whelan likens this to ‘cult of personality’ where in nationalistic countries there are images of the leader everywhere. In this context, the dubplate takes the role of churinga – the object which becomes sacred after having the Amen inscribed upon it.
Where there is sacredness comes profane. In the jungle music scene, what Whelan terms as the ‘hardcorification’ of the Amen is seen as profane, that is the sampling of it and ripping it to the point of unrecognisability.
Furthermore, the Amen is homosocial. As Whelan notes, the use of the term ‘fratriarchal’ preceding ‘totem’ is somewhat of a tautology as the original use of the term ‘totem’ by Durkheim was to refer to all-male clans who worshipped these objects. Whelan notes that although music groups do not restrict women from joining their clan, just like in the Aboriginal clans, today’s equivalent of the mens’ house is a CLUB, where women are ‘given a space for listening but not for seeing or being seen.’ For instance, women tend to be the ones, “listening, dancing, distributing flyers, ‘manning’ the till at the door, but less DJing and producing the music.”
Amen is Adversative
Just like there was competition to master the totem in Aboriginal clans, there is competition between phratries to master the Amen. But ritualized conflict also occurs between the members of the clan, who strive to out-do each other in the extent to which they are hierophants.” Thus ‘there is competition between members of the amen clan, and this competition is articulated though the Amen.’ There's no bloody battle or war, but rather Battle of the DJ’s through the dubplate. There is always competition as to who can create a magical new sample involving the Amen, who can mix it better etc, so they can be put on a pedestal within the music scene.
To be accepted as a member of particular music scenes, you must master certain musical elements. An example is one from the noise scene in Japan, where to be accepted as a serious sonic connoisseur, one must submit to ‘hikiomori’, or ‘confining oneself indoors’. In this state the person goes through gruelling, albeit different, physical hardships – such as “protracted periods of time in front of a monitor, mouse in hand, body hunched, strained ears, at the computer".
So the Amen totem is basically the ‘clan worshipping itself’. By perfecting the totem through mixes and sampling, people within that culture are ensuring it is passed on to the next generation. Some may argue that with the commercialization of the Amen, for instance its use in Toyota commercials, PowerPuff Girls theme song, has resulted in it the diminishing of its mana, or sacredness. However, within the phratries, the Amen is as sacred as ever.
Bibliography
Whelan, Andrew, 2009 (in press), ‘The “Amen” Breakbeat as Fratriarchal Totem’, in Beate Neumeier (ed.), Dichotonies: Essays on Gender and Music, Winter Verlag, Heidelberg.
Sacred/Profane
Firstly, the object inheres mana, that is, it holds sacred status. Thus distinguishing between what is sacred and profane. The totem is sacred/holy, and anything which mocks or offends the totem is profane. For example, in Aboriginal clans, totems such as the wombat for instance, would be inscribed on something, be it a shield, cloth or whatever. Thus the everyday item, such as cloth, has been transformed from profane to sacred as it signifies the totem. The item with the totem is now called Churinga. The churinga is so sacred and held in reverence that it is stored away in a remote location to free itself from contamination. This is important as it highlights the profane. So what is profane in this society? Women and the uninitiated young males. They could not touch the Churinga, and were lucky enough to see the totem on rare occasions, and if so, only at a distance.
Totem is homosocial and bonding.
The totems presence in these societies created a shared identity among different phratries, so much so that whenever they gathered together around a tree or stone, a kind of ‘collective emotion’ and solidarity formed. Furthermore, there were ‘mens houses’, where women, “were given space for listening but not for seeing or being seen.” This kind of emotional response is something you and I can relate to. Just think of the feeling we get when we go to the cinema, or club or shopping mall.
Totem is adversative.
The totem is not a static thing that is simply worshipped; it is something to be mastered and utilized. The quest to master the totem is challenging and very competitive, as members of phratries strive to out-do each other. Those who do master the totem have the honour of being ‘hierophant’’, that is, totem specialists, which puts them on a pedestal within the clan.
In Aboriginal clans, for young boys to be initiated as adults, that is from profane to sacred, they go through an initiation process, and this can be very adversative. As Durk notes, “About the time of puberty, as the time for initiation approaches, the young man withdraws into a distant place….there, during a period varying from a few days to several years, he submits himself to all sorts of exhausting and unnatural exercises”.
OK so far we know that anything with the totem is sacred, and anything against the totem is profane, the totem is bonding between males, and it creates an adversative culture. That said, if we replace ‘clan’ with ‘subculture’ and substitute ‘totem’ for ‘amen break’, we can see how the Amen takes position.
Amen is sacred/profane
Just like the wombat, the Amen inheres mana, that is sacredness. We know it’s fratriarchal and thus, male-focused, but who holds it as sacred? Whelan says, “those with longstanding engagements in jungle and breakcore become members of the amen clan.” The totem itself is an ‘element in a symbolic code, inscribed upon items and thereby sacralising them. Whelan likens this to ‘cult of personality’ where in nationalistic countries there are images of the leader everywhere. In this context, the dubplate takes the role of churinga – the object which becomes sacred after having the Amen inscribed upon it.
Where there is sacredness comes profane. In the jungle music scene, what Whelan terms as the ‘hardcorification’ of the Amen is seen as profane, that is the sampling of it and ripping it to the point of unrecognisability.
Furthermore, the Amen is homosocial. As Whelan notes, the use of the term ‘fratriarchal’ preceding ‘totem’ is somewhat of a tautology as the original use of the term ‘totem’ by Durkheim was to refer to all-male clans who worshipped these objects. Whelan notes that although music groups do not restrict women from joining their clan, just like in the Aboriginal clans, today’s equivalent of the mens’ house is a CLUB, where women are ‘given a space for listening but not for seeing or being seen.’ For instance, women tend to be the ones, “listening, dancing, distributing flyers, ‘manning’ the till at the door, but less DJing and producing the music.”
Amen is Adversative
Just like there was competition to master the totem in Aboriginal clans, there is competition between phratries to master the Amen. But ritualized conflict also occurs between the members of the clan, who strive to out-do each other in the extent to which they are hierophants.” Thus ‘there is competition between members of the amen clan, and this competition is articulated though the Amen.’ There's no bloody battle or war, but rather Battle of the DJ’s through the dubplate. There is always competition as to who can create a magical new sample involving the Amen, who can mix it better etc, so they can be put on a pedestal within the music scene.
To be accepted as a member of particular music scenes, you must master certain musical elements. An example is one from the noise scene in Japan, where to be accepted as a serious sonic connoisseur, one must submit to ‘hikiomori’, or ‘confining oneself indoors’. In this state the person goes through gruelling, albeit different, physical hardships – such as “protracted periods of time in front of a monitor, mouse in hand, body hunched, strained ears, at the computer".
So the Amen totem is basically the ‘clan worshipping itself’. By perfecting the totem through mixes and sampling, people within that culture are ensuring it is passed on to the next generation. Some may argue that with the commercialization of the Amen, for instance its use in Toyota commercials, PowerPuff Girls theme song, has resulted in it the diminishing of its mana, or sacredness. However, within the phratries, the Amen is as sacred as ever.
Bibliography
Whelan, Andrew, 2009 (in press), ‘The “Amen” Breakbeat as Fratriarchal Totem’, in Beate Neumeier (ed.), Dichotonies: Essays on Gender and Music, Winter Verlag, Heidelberg.
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