| Totem | n. [ Massachusetts Indian wutohtimoin that to which a person or place belongs. ] 1. A rude picture, as of a bird, beast, or the like, used by the North American Indians as a symbolic designation, as of a family or a clan; also, the object or animal itself, considered as an symbol of the family. [ 1913 Webster ] And they painted on the grave posts
Of the graves, yet unforgotten,
Each his own ancestral totem
Each the symbol of his household;
Figures of the bear and reindeer,
Of the turtle, crane, and beaver. Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ] The totem, the clan deity, the beast or bird who in some supernatural way attends to the clan and watches over it. Bagehot. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. Anything which serves as a venerated or mystic symbol or emblem. [ PJC ] |
| Totemism | n. 1. The system of distinguishing families, clans, etc., in a tribe by the totem. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. Superstitious regard for a totem; the worship of any real or imaginary object; nature worship. Tylor. [ 1913 Webster ] |
| Totem post | { or }. A pole or pillar, carved and painted with a series of totemic symbols, set up before the house of certain Indian tribes of the northwest coast of North America, esp. Indians of the Koluschan stock. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ] Variants: Totem pole |
