totemism

[ toh-tuh-miz-uhm ]

noun

1. the practice of having totems.
2. the system of tribal division according to totems.

totemism

1. The belief that people are descended from animals, plants, and other natural objects. Symbols (see also symbol ) of these natural ancestors, known as totems , are often associated with clans (groups of families tracing common descent). By representing desirable individual qualities (such as the swiftness of a deer) and helping to explain the mythical origin of the clan, totems reinforce clan identity and solidarity.

Other Words From

• totem·istic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of totemism¹

An Americanism dating back to 1785–95; totem + -ism

Example Sentences

Animals are “good to think with,” the French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss famously wrote in his book on totemism.

From Los Angeles Times

The prevalence of such spirit-beings was one reason Emile Durkheim thought — wrongly, in my view — that what he called totemism was the earliest form of religion.

From New York Times

The shaman educated Thwaites on the histories of animism and totemism.

From The New Yorker

Christianity and totemism and ancestor worship . . . extinct languages, such as Zuni and Spanish and Athapascan . . . pumas, porcupines and other ferocious animals . . . infectious diseases . . . priests . . . venomous lizards ...”

From Literature

That shark-worship is pure totemism is shown by the beneficence of the shark to his worshippers, and the obligation that lay upon them not to eat their divinity.

From Project Gutenberg