To"tem (?), n. [Massachusetts Indian wutohtimoin that to which a person or place belongs.] A rude picture, as of a bird, beast, or the like, used by the North American Indians as a symbolic designation, as of a family or a clan.

And they painted on the grave posts
Of the graves, yet unforgotten,
Each his own ancestral totem
Each the symbol of his household;
Figures of the bear and reindeer,
Of the turtle, crane, and beaver.

The totem,the clan deity, the beast or bird who in some supernatural way attends to the clan and watches over it.

To"tem (?), n. [Massachusetts Indian wutohtimoin that to which a person or place belongs.] A rude picture, as of a bird, beast, or the like, used by the North American Indians as a symbolic designation, as of a family or a clan.

And they painted on the grave posts
Of the graves, yet unforgotten,
Each his own ancestral totem
Each the symbol of his household;
Figures of the bear and reindeer,
Of the turtle, crane, and beaver.

The totem,the clan deity, the beast or bird who in some supernatural way attends to the clan and watches over it.

• any natural object or living creature that serves as an emblem of a tribe, clan or family
  
• the representation of such object or creature
  
• the clan etc whose kinship is defined in reference to such an object or creature