Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Traditional culture - What is the specific meaning of totem? What are the allusions?

What is the specific meaning of totem? What are the allusions?

Totem means the carrier that records the soul of God. Ancient primitive tribes were superstitious about some natural or related relatives, ancestors and protectors. , and use them as a sign or symbol of this clan. Primitive people's worship of nature is the basis of totem. It is the earliest cultural phenomenon in human history to explain myths, classics and folk customs with totems.

People in different regions and countries have different totem worship. For example, in China, the totem is generally a dragon, while in Russia, there is a bear totem worship.

Extended data:

The word totem comes from the Indian word "totem", which means "its relatives" and "its marks". In primitive beliefs, the people of this clan are considered to have originated from a certain species, and in most cases, they are considered to be related to an animal, so totem belief is related to ancestor worship.

In many totem myths, people think that their ancestors came from or were related to certain animals or plants, so some animals and plants became the oldest ancestors of this nation. For example, "the fate of the dark bird led to the birth of the merchant" (historical records), and the dark bird became the totem of the merchant.

Therefore, totem worship is not so much worship of animals and plants as worship of ancestors, which is more accurate. The kinship between totem and clan is often reflected by the myth of clan origin and appellation. For example, the Oroqen call the male bear "Yaya", which means grandpa, and the female bear is called "Taitie", which means grandma.

Ewenki people call the male bear "Heke" (grandpa) and the female bear "hates me" (grandma). Pan Hu legends of Miao, Yao and She nationalities. Legend of Xiongnu Wolf (Biography of Shuweigao Car) Xiongnu Khan gave birth to two beautiful daughters, and all China people think that she is a god. Khan said: "I have this daughter, I can match her, and I will be the same as heaven." Is to build a high platform, put two women on it, and say, "Please come from heaven to meet."

Three years later, year after year, there was an old wolf howling day and night. His youngest daughter said, "My father sent me here to make peace with the sky, and now the wolf is coming, or it looks like an angel." Being a wolf's wife, but having children. After being a country, he is good at attracting Long song, like a wolf howling. According to legend, the ancestral mother of the Dong people mated with a big snake and gave birth to a man and a woman, becoming the ancestors of the Dong people.

Baidu encyclopedia-totem

People's Network-The word "totem" is actually imported, originally a North American dialect.