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Totemism

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Totem is the representation of a symbol by an animal, and totemism is the system or science of such symbolism. Thus, in Egyptian mythology, what is represented as a pig or hippopotamus by one tribe, is (for some totemic reason) represented as a crocodile by another.

“The apparent wealth of [Egyptian] mythology depends on the totemism of the inhabitants of the Nile Valley… . Each district had its own special animal as the emblem of the tribe dwelling in that locality.”—Lockyer: Nineteenth Century, July 1892, p. 51.

 

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.

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Torquemada (Inquisitor-general of Spain, 1420–1498)
Torr’s MSS.
Torralba (Doctor)
Torre (Sir)
Torricelli
Torso
Tortoise which Supports the Earth (The)
Torture
Tory
Totem Pole (A)
Totemism
Toto Cœlo
Totus Teres atque Rotundus
Touch
Touch
Touch At (To)
Touch Bottom (To)
Touch Up (To)
Touch and Go (A)
Touchet
Touchstones

See Also:

Totemism