totems
Carved tribal emblems
Totems are objects—typically animals or plants—that serve as spiritual symbols or emblems for a group, clan, or individual.
In Indigenous North American cultures, a totem represents ancestral connection and may be carved into a totem pole.
More broadly, totem describes anything treated as a sacred emblem or symbolic representation: The company logo became a totem of corporate identity.
A personal totem might be an animal one feels spiritually connected to.
Representational sign or device
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- identityWho someone is
- kinshipState of being related
- animalMulticellular motile organism
crest · representation · sign · badge · insignia · heraldry · affiliation · belonging
Those from whom one descends
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- clanRelated group sharing ancestry
- tribeSocial group sharing ancestry
bloodline · genealogy · kinship · forebears · progenitors · descent · family · roots
Indigenous spiritual healer
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- sacredWorthy of reverence
- tabooCultural or social prohibition
- animismSpirits inhabit all things
ancestor · spirit · ceremony · blessing · veneration · offering · prayer · sanctity
Shaping by cutting away
- sculptureShaped three-dimensional art
- craftsmanshipSkill in making objects
- woodworkCraft of building with lumber
- poleCylindrical shaft or extremity
cedar · pigment · adze · chisel · bas-relief · figurine · motif · iconography
Original inhabitants of land
- First NationsCanada's non-Inuit indigenous peoples
- Pacific NorthwestCoastal American region, northward
- HaidaNorthwest Coast indigenous people
- MaoriNew Zealand's indigenous people
Aboriginal · tribal · anthropology · cultural · traditional · ceremonial · potlatch · longhouse
emblem
Representational sign or device
animal · crest · representation · sign · badge · insignia · heraldry · affiliation · belonging · recognition
ancestors
Those from whom one descends
tribe · bloodline · genealogy · kinship · forebears · progenitors · descent · family · roots · predecessors
shaman
Indigenous spiritual healer
animism · ancestor · spirit · ceremony · blessing · veneration · offering · prayer · sanctity · protection
carving
Shaping by cutting away
- sculptureShaped three-dimensional art
- craftsmanshipSkill in making objects
- woodworkCraft of building with lumber
pole · cedar · pigment · adze · chisel · bas-relief · figurine · motif · iconography · design
Indigenous
Original inhabitants of land
- First NationsCanada's non-Inuit indigenous peoples
- Pacific NorthwestCoastal American region, northward
- HaidaNorthwest Coast indigenous people
Maori · Aboriginal · tribal · anthropology · cultural · traditional · ceremonial · potlatch · longhouse · village
pole
Cylindrical shaft or extremity
cedar · wood · vertical · monument · erected · standing · base · apex · figures · stacked
- cultural heritagefolklore, traditions, customs, folk music revival, museum collections
- Coastal AlaskaSitka, Juneau, Ketchikan, Glacier Bay, fjords
- folk religionancestral worship, ancestor veneration, spirit mediums, nature deities, ritual sacrifices
- Native culturetribal traditions, sacred ceremonies, powwow, native languages, tribal dances
- ritual artritual masks, ritual objects, sacred objects, votive offerings, ceremonial regalia
- traditional religionancestors, ancestral spirits, deities, rituals, sacrifices
totemstaboos
Socially proscribed practices
detritus · refuse · rubbish · garbage · commodities
totemsdecorations
Objects adding visual appeal
trinkets · ornaments · tchotchkes · bric-a-brac · knickknacks
- totem poleCarved pillar with clan symbols
- low on the totem poleLowest in hierarchy
- high on the totem poleHaving high status
- totem animalsSymbolic ancestral creatures
- animal totemsSymbolic guardian beings