http://journeytothesea.com/totem-poles/ an online magazine devoted to the study of myth Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:54:54 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://journeytothesea.com/totem-poles/comment-page-1/#comment-277 Randy Hoyt Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:58:59 +0000 http://journeytothesea.com/?p=585#comment-277 <p>You are absolutely right: the carved columns of the Northwest Pacific coast are not properly called "totem poles" at all -- the carved figures are not totemic. (Read more about this in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totem" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia entry for "totem"</a>.) Some scholars have attempted to use a more accurate label for these columns, but the label "totem poles" is now too deeply entrenched. See <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=3dPU2V-ZkOwC&pg=PA5&vq=garfield&dq=ed+malin+totem+poles&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0" rel="nofollow">Malin 5-6</a> (available at <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=3dPU2V-ZkOwC&pg=PA5&vq=garfield&dq=ed+malin+totem+poles&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0" rel="nofollow">Google Books</a>) for a brief discussion of this issue.</p> You are absolutely right: the carved columns of the Northwest Pacific coast are not properly called “totem poles” at all — the carved figures are not totemic. (Read more about this in the Wikipedia entry for “totem”.) Some scholars have attempted to use a more accurate label for these columns, but the label “totem poles” is now too deeply entrenched. See Malin 5-6 (available at Google Books) for a brief discussion of this issue.

]]> http://journeytothesea.com/totem-poles/comment-page-1/#comment-276 Milton Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:23:21 +0000 http://journeytothesea.com/?p=585#comment-276 <p>The word totem comes from an Ojibwa word, nintotem, which means "my family mark." Each family's pole contained pictures of the symbols of that family. The western poles are really crest poles named by the priest visiting Ojibwa indians and called them that and the name stuck.</p> The word totem comes from an Ojibwa word, nintotem, which means “my family mark.” Each family’s pole contained pictures of the symbols of that family. The western poles are really crest poles named by the priest visiting Ojibwa indians and called them that and the name stuck.

]]>