DCHP-1 Online
totem [< Algonk.; cf. Ojibwa ototeman his brother-sister kin] 
1a n. among certain Indian peoples, a spirit in the form of a creature or plant with which a group, such as a family, and its members are identified, and which is supposed to watch over each of them.
- 1768-82 (1792) The evening previous to the departure of the band, one of them, whose totam was a bear, dreamed that if he would go to a piece of swampy ground, about five days march from my wigwaum, he would see a large herd of elks, moose, and other animals; but that he must be accompanied by at least ten good hunters.
- 1896 Any animal or bird dreamed of used to be, and is yet in a minor degree, taken as the dreamer's totem.
- 1916 Personal totems are acquired by dream or vision, or by direct contact with the object when hunting.
- 1956 A child was of the same clan, and had the same totem, as its mother, and never of the same clan or totem as its father, but in some tribes these rules were just the other way. . . .
1b n. a graphic representation of such a creature or plant.
- 1804 (1890) All those who are of the same mark or totem consider themselves as relations, even if they or their forefathers never had any connexion with each other, or had seen one another before.
- 1844 "Why, Ma'am, a totem is an Indian's mark, and you know I am almost an Indian myself. All the Indian chiefs have their totems. One is called the Great Otter, another the Serpent, and so on, and so they sign a figure like the animal they are named from."
- 1956 A totem is the badge or emblem of the clan, often an animal, and it is from this animal that the clan claims to be descended.
- 1966 You also saw totem birds with strange sad eyes.
2 n. the kinship group represented by this symbol.
- 1804 These are divided into the following totems or tribes from which they take their family names: the Moose, reindeer, Bear, Pelican, Loon, Kingfisher, Eagle, Sturgeon, Pike, Sucker, Barbue tribes and a few of the Rattlesnake tribe.
- 1880 The members of the different totems are generally pretty equally divided in each tribe.
- 1891 No one may marry in his or her totem; children follow the totem of the mother, save in very exceptional cases to strengthen the totem of a father, when his number has been reduced.
3 n. among certain West Coast Indian tribes, a pole, often a standing tree trunk, which has been carved and painted with the family crests, personal exploits, etc. of the owner.
See also: totem pole
- 1891 A remarkably fine totem, thirty-five feet high and well carved, has recently been donated to the museum of McGill University.
- 1958 Carvings on the 100-foot totem tell the legend of the Kwakiutl nation and its ten tribes.
- 1768-82 (1792) The evening previous to the departure of the band, one of them, whose totam was a bear, dreamed that if he would go to a piece of swampy ground, about five days march from my wigwaum, he would see a large herd of elks, moose, and other animals; but that he must be accompanied by at least ten good hunters.