The totem, often an animal, sometimes a plant, was the emblem for the cult. It could be represented by a sculpture, a painting, a drawing, even a tattoo. It was a materialization of "Mana," the great cosmic energy. All members of the tribe were submitted to this energy. Individuals died, generations passed; the totem’s Mana remained.

Individualizing Mana led to Animism. Each body housed a life principle, a soul. At the time of death, the soul joined the Land of Spirits. Sooner or later, most souls returned to the tangible world. Those who did not, became gods or Spirits of Nature.

Souls were within all things and all beings. Within the sun, the sea, the rain, the stone, the tree, the bird. Within the whole body and all of its parts. Within all belongings, including footsteps and shadows. One could affect any creature by acting on such belongings.

The soul could temporarily leave the body and act on it from a distance. It could be transferred or stolen, even ingested. Words and rituals inspired the forces of nature. Animism was a world of myths and incantation, of amulets and talismans. It still is the dominant creed among non Moslem Africans, Polynesians, Eskimos, and many North and South American Indians.

Guided by their Eternons, the first humans had basic convictions: the spiritual nature of all things and the intimacy of matter and forces. Both Totemism and Animism acknowledge the major feature of Eternism: omnipresent consciousness.