A Totem falls along the same lines as a
fetish. It is the picture or object used to
signify a family or a singular person.
Totem poles are usually the culmination of animal
spirits that a family associates itself with or uses to symbolize them. The more
European version of this would be the
coat of arms.
Example: When my parents went to Alaska, they went searching for a ring for me. They found a totem eagle that looks as it has ears, like a griffin, which consequently, is the one creature on our coat of arms. My family totem is the griffin.