Totem 340304 224720768 2008-07-10T03:10:32Z Mladifilozof 589644 {{Unreferenced|date=November 2007}} {{otheruses}} A '''totem''' is any entity that watches over or assists a group of people, such as a family, [[clan]] or tribe (''Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary'' [http://www.webster.com/dictionary/totem] and ''Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition''). Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In [[kinship and descent]], if the [[apical]] [[ancestor]] of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem. Normally this belief is accompanied by a [[totemic myth]]. Although the term is of [[Ojibwa]] origin, totemistic beliefs are not limited to [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] Indians. Similar totemism-like beliefs have been historically found throughout much of the world, including Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, Australia and the Arctic polar region. In [[modern times]], some single individuals, not otherwise involved in the practice of a tribal religion, have chosen to adopt a personal spirit animal helper, which has special meaning to them, and refer to this as a totem. This non-traditional usage of the term is prevalent in, but not limited to, the [[New Age]] movement, and the [[Mythopoetic men's movement]]. ==Totemism== [[Image:Chief_Tantaquidgeon_Totem_KevinPepin.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Personal Totem of [[Mohegan]] Chief [[Tantaquidgeon]], commemorated on a plaque at [[Norwich, Connecticut]].]] '''Totemism''' (derived from the root ''-oode-'' in the [[Ojibwe language]], which referred to something kinship-related, c.f. ''o[[doodem]]'', "his totem") is a [[religion|religious]] [[belief]] that is frequently associated with [[shamanism|shamanistic]] religions. The totem is usually an animal or other naturalistic figure that spiritually represents a group of related people such as a clan. Totemism played an active role in the development of 19th and early 20th century theories of religion, especially for thinkers such as [[Émile Durkheim]], who concentrated their study on primitive societies (which was an acceptable description at the time). Drawing on the identification of social group with spiritual totem in [[Australian Aboriginal]] tribes, Durkheim theorized that all human religious expression was intrinsically founded in the relationship to a group. In his essay ''Le Totemisme aujourdhui'' (Totemism Today), [[Claude Lévi-Strauss]] shows that [[human cognition]], which is based on analogical thought, is independent of social context. From this, he excludes mathematical thought, which operates primarily through [[logic]]. Totems are chosen arbitrarily for the sole purpose of making the physical world a comprehensive and coherent classificatory system. Lévi-Strauss argues that the use of physical [[analogy|analogies]] is not an indication of a more primitive mental capacity. It is rather, a more efficient way to cope with this particular mode of life in which [[abstraction]]s are rare, and in which the physical environment is in direct friction with the [[society]]. He also holds that scientific explanation entails the discovery of an ''arrangement''; moreover, since ''the science of the concrete'' is a classificatory system enabling individuals to classify the world in a rational fashion, it is neither more nor less a [[science]] than any other in the [[western world]]. It is important to recognise that in this text the egalitarian nature of Lévi-Strauss and his work is manifested in all its force, and more importantly Lévi-Strauss diverts the interest of [[anthropology]] towards the understanding of human cognition. Lévi-Strauss looked at the ideas of Firth and Fortes, Durkheim, Malinowski, and Evans-Pritchard to reach his conclusions. Firth and Fortes argued that Totemism was based on physical or psychological similarities between the clan and the totemic animal. Malinowski proposed that it was based on empirical interest or that the totem was 'good to eat.' In other words there was rational interest in preserving the species. Finally Evans-Pritchard argued that the reason for totems was metaphoric. His work with the [[Nuer]] led him to believe that totems are a symbolic representation of the group. Lévi-Strauss saw Evan-Pritchard's work as the correct explanation. ==North American totem poles== {{main|Totem pole}} [[Image:Totem Park pole 1.jpg|thumb|right|100px|A totem pole in [[Totem Park]], [[Victoria, BC]]]] The [[totem pole]]s of the [[Pacific Northwest]] of [[North America]] have many different designs (bears, birds, frogs, people, lizards, see [[pictogram]]). They have arms, wings and legs. ==Possibly totemic culture in ancient China== The [[Sanxingdui]] Culture in southern [[China]], dating back more than 5000 years, possibly placed bronze and gold heads on totems. Chinese transliterates ''totem'' as ''tuteng'' (圖騰). Sanxingdui bronze masks and heads (radiocarbon dated circa 1200<small>BCE</small>) appear to have been mounted on wooden poles. It has been suggested by some that that totemic culture spread from ancient Asiatic populations to the rest of the world, although this is unlikely because totemic cultures in North America are estimated to be over 10,000 years old. ==See also== *[[Animal worship]] *[[Anishinaabe clan system]] *[[Aumakua]] *[[Australian Aboriginal kinship]] *[[Charge (heraldry)]] *[[HMS Totem (P352)]] *[[Kinship and descent]] *[[Moiety]] *[[Tamga]] *[[Totem and Taboo#The_Horror_of_Incest|''Totem and Taboo'']] by [[Sigmund Freud]] *[[Tughra]] ==External links== {{Commonscat|Totem poles}} * [http://www.starstuffs.com/animal_totems/ Totem Spirit Animals: Discovering Animal Totems, Dictionaries, Feathers] * [http://www.china.org.cn/e-sanxingdui/ Historical Wonders of Sanxingdui] * [http://www.sanxingdui.com/ Welcome to Sanxingdui] (with history of excavation) * [http://zimbabwe.poetryinternational.org/cwolk/view/20894/ Totems in Zimbabwe] [[Category:Native American religion]] [[Category:Art media]] [[Category:Deities, spirits, and mythic beings]] [[Category:Anthropology of religion]] [[ca:Tòtem]] [[cs:Totem]] [[el:Τοτέμ]] [[da:Totem]] [[de:Totem]] [[es:Tótem]] [[eo:Totemo]] [[fa:توتم]] [[fr:Totem]] [[hr:Totemizam]] [[it:Totemismo]] [[he:טוטם]] [[ku:Totem]] [[nl:Totem]] [[ja:トーテム]] [[no:Totem]] [[pl:Totem (religia)]] [[pt:Totem]] [[ru:Тотемизм]] [[sr:Тотем]] [[fi:Toteemi]] [[sv:Totem]] [[zh:圖騰]]