totemism
Sacred animal kinship
Totemism is a system of belief in which a group claims kinship or spiritual connection with a natural object—typically an animal or plant—called a totem.
The totem often serves as an emblem of clan identity, with rules governing behavior toward it: The tribe practiced totemism, forbidding members to hunt their totem animal.
The concept figures prominently in anthropological discussions of religion and social organization.
Spirits inhabit all things
- fetishismFixation on specific objects
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
- shamanismMediation between worlds
- mythologyBody of traditional tales
polytheism · pantheism · veneration · worship · cult · doctrine · ethnology · folklore
Related group sharing ancestry
- kinshipState of being related
- indigenousOriginating in a region
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
community · chieftain · aboriginal · native · social structure · moiety · exogamy · Ojibwe
Descent from progenitors
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- kinshipState of being related
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
- ancestorsThose from whom one descends
forebears · progenitors · descendants · genealogy · heritage · dynasty · pedigree · moiety
Ceremonial set of actions
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- shamanIndigenous spiritual healer
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- oracleAuthoritative wisdom source
prophecy · cosmology · transcendence · divination · spirit animal · guardian spirit · dreamtime · vision quest
Representational sign or device
- crestHighest point or tuft
- representationDepiction or likeness
- motifRecurring thematic element
- insigniaDistinguishing mark of rank
badge · archetype · effigy · carving · heraldry · iconography · zoomorphic · mythic figure
animism
Spirits inhabit all things
- fetishismFixation on specific objects
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
- shamanismMediation between worlds
mythology · polytheism · pantheism · veneration · worship · cult · doctrine · ethnology · folklore · superstition
clan
Related group sharing ancestry
- kinshipState of being related
- indigenousOriginating in a region
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
traditions · community · chieftain · aboriginal · native · social structure · moiety · exogamy · Ojibwe · First Nations
lineage
Descent from progenitors
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- kinshipState of being related
- bloodlineAncestry through generations
ancestors · forebears · progenitors · descendants · genealogy · heritage · dynasty · pedigree · moiety · exogamy
ritual
Ceremonial set of actions
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- shamanIndigenous spiritual healer
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
oracle · prophecy · cosmology · transcendence · divination · spirit animal · guardian spirit · dreamtime · vision quest · ancestor worship
emblem
Representational sign or device
- crestHighest point or tuft
- representationDepiction or likeness
- motifRecurring thematic element
insignia · badge · archetype · effigy · carving · heraldry · iconography · zoomorphic · mythic figure · protective symbol
- culturemusic taste, beliefs, food preferences, custom, festivals
- religionChristianity, Islam, beliefs, Judaism, Hinduism
- religionsChristianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism
- beliefsbelief, beliefs, creed, creeds, faith
- ancient religiongods, goddesses, pantheon, deity, polytheism
- anthropologyanthropology, fieldwork, ethnography, social anthropology, cultural anthropology
totemismmonotheism
Belief in one god
Christianity · Islam · deism · atheism · Judaism
totemismanthropocentrism
Belief prioritizing human significance
human exceptionalism · speciesism · disenchantment · industrialism
totemismindividualism
Doctrine of personal independence
universalism · cosmopolitanism · atomism · meritocracy · nationalism