Although the termtotemoriginates in the language
of the Ojibwa ethnic group of Native Americans,
because there is a similar response to the environ-
ment and descent narratives among Africans and
other people, the wordtotemhas been applied to
the same cultural practice in other cultures. The
Ojibwa use the wordodoodem, “his totem,” to
refer to a belief associated with the apical ances-
tors. It is from this usage that we get the meaning
that the totem is usually an animal that represents
spiritually a group of connected and related
people.
It appears that in Africa the totem incorporated
the idea that the particular people shared intrinsi-
cally in the totemic narrative in a spiritual way.
When the apical ancestor appeared, it gave to all
of the descendants the same protection and guid-
ance. It was not a one-generational gift, but an
eternal, everlasting linking of the people with that
particular animal.
Some scholars believe that African totems
reflect a way to deal with the physical environ-
ment in relationship to classificatory systems;
this is useful, according to these scholars, for
explaining phenomena. Others have seen the
idea of totems in Africa as metaphorical, but
Africans tend to see the totem in strictly spiritual
terms as the ancestor to the clan or ethnic group.
Nothing is more rational than the fact that the
totem in being protector is also protected, and
therefore an ecological purpose is served as well.
Some people do not eat a particular animal
because it is totemic. You cannot eat your own
totem, although you may eat the totem of
another group. These ancient representations of
the apical ancestor seem to follow the same pat-
terns as among the Native Americans, ancient
Nile Valley Africans, and some original
Australians. Among the Native Americans of the
Pacific Northwest one finds totem poles of
lizards, frogs, birds, and bears. In China, there is
the Sanxingdul culture of southern China, often
considered related to African cultures, that dates
to 5,000 years ago, where bronze- and gold-
headed animals were used as totems. Totems are
essentially ideas that derived from the Africans’
interaction with nature, animals, and each other,
and out of this reality the people were able to
establish a connection to a nonhuman apical fig-
ure. It has been suggested that totemic culture
spread from ancient Central Africa throughout
the rest of the continent. This is dated to the
Ishango bone culture period of 28,000 years
ago. One of the more recent great examples of
totemic use was the hongwe bird found on the
Great Zimbabwe to indicate the people’s affec-
tion for, loyalty to, and respect and reverence for
the apical animal of their culture. In a contempo-
rary sense, the totemic culture is still alive in
Zimbabwe, where there are 25 identifiable
totems among the Shona in addition to the 60
praise names (zvidawo) of the society. Every clan
among the Shona can be identified by itsmutopo
and major praise name (chidawo).
Throughout the continent of Africa, the totem
became identified with unification, solidarity, pride,
and the future vision of a people. One could also
discover in the totem (mitupo) a reason to guard
against social, moral, and cultural defilement. Men
and women who have the same totem cannot marry
in some cultures because they are relatives. One uses
the totem idea in Africa to praise someone in poetry
or dance, as well as to express social identity. If clans
share the same totem, such as a lion (shumba), they
will have different praise names such as Murambwe
or Nyamuziwa.Molefi Kete AsanteSeealsoEkpo Secret Society; NamingFurther Readings
Asante, M. K. (2007).The History of Africa. London:
Routledge.
Buah, F. K. (1974).West Africa Since 1000 AD. London:
Macmillan.
Mwangi, Z. (1964).Africa From Early Times to 1900.
London: Macmillan.TRANSCENDENCE AND
COMMUNIONTranscendence and communion in African reli-
gion commonly refer to the ability for beings—
God, the divinities, the ancestors, and humanity—to
communicate and uphold relationships with one
another across physical and spiritual boundaries.Transcendence and Communion 667