Totem

Lore & Background

In the Anishinaabe oral tradition, the great Miigis beings appeared from the sea and taught the Mide way of life. Six of these beings established the odoodeman for the peoples in the east. The five original Anishinaabe totems were Wawaazisii (bullhead), Baswenaazhi (echo-maker, i.e., crane), Aan'aawenh (pintail duck), Nooke (tender, i.e., bear), and Moozwaanowe ("little" moose-tail). The word doodem in Anishinaabemowin relates to ode' meaning heart, translating as 'the expression of, or having to do with one's heart', referring to the extended family. Totem poles of the Pacific Northwestern Indigenous peoples are carved, monumental poles featuring designs of bears, birds, frogs, people, and supernatural beings. They serve multiple purposes, functioning as crests of families or chiefs, recounting stories owned by those families, or commemorating special occasions. These stories are read from the bottom of the pole to the top. Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders have spiritual relationships with the natural world often described as totems, though many Indigenous groups object to using the imported Ojibwe term. The term "token" has replaced "totem" in some areas. Among the Yuin, a person may have multiple totems of different types. The Ngarrindjeri have lakinyeri or clans each associated with plant or animal totems called ngaitji. Torres Strait Islanders have auguds, typically translated as totems, which can be kai augud ("chief totem") or mugina augud ("little totem").

Reader's Guide

The concept of totem has been central to anthropological debates about the development of religion and social organization. Early anthropologists like James George Frazer and John Ferguson McLennan saw totemism as a universal stage of human development, with Frazer arguing that Aboriginal Australians had no idea of procreation being directly associated with sexual intercourse—a thesis later criticized by Alfred Radcliffe-Brown. Alexander Goldenweiser challenged the idea of totemism having common properties across cultures, comparing Indigenous Australians and First Nations in British Columbia to show that supposedly shared qualities were expressed very differently. Émile Durkheim examined totemism from a sociological perspective, claiming to see the origin of religion in totemism and arguing it reinforced social cohesion. A. R. Radcliffe-Brown was skeptical that totemism could be described in any unified way, viewing it as composed of elements from different areas and institutions. Bronisław Malinowski approached totemism from a biological and psychological viewpoint, seeing it as satisfying basic human needs. A. P. Elkin later developed typologies of totemism including eight forms (individual, sex, moiety, section, subsection, clan, local, multiple) and six functions (social, cult, conception, and others). Contemporary neoshamanic, New Age, and mythopoetic men's movements have adopted totem terminology for personal identification with a tutelary spirit, though not involved in traditional tribal religion.

Did You Know?

• The word 'totem' is an anglicisation of the Ojibwe term 'doodem'.
• The five original Anishinaabe totems were bullhead, crane, pintail duck, bear, and moose-tail.
• Totem poles of the Pacific Northwest are read from the bottom to the top.
• Early anthropologist James George Frazer claimed Aboriginal people had no idea of procreation being directly associated with sexual intercourse, a thesis later criticized by Alfred Radcliffe-Brown.