Totem

A natural object, animal, or being regarded as the emblem or spiritual relative of a group, especially a clan. Totems can express collective identity, ancestry, and relationships with the nonhuman world.

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Totemism: A social and religious system that links groups with animal, plant, or other natural emblems and relationships. Totems are the emblems through which some forms of totemism are expressed.
Exogamy: A rule or practice requiring people to marry outside a specified social group. In some societies, totemic group membership helps determine whom a person may marry.
Émile Durkheim: A French sociologist whose work helped establish the study of religion and social life. His theory treated totemic symbols as expressions of a group's collective life.
Heraldry: The system of designing, displaying, and inheriting coats of arms and related insignia. Both can mark lineage, but heraldry is a distinct historical system with different conventions.
Kinship: Social relationships formed through descent, marriage, adoption, or culturally recognized ties. A totem can mark shared ancestry or kinship among clan members.
Taboo: A culturally defined prohibition on an action, object, or relationship. A totem may carry restrictions, such as prohibitions on harming or eating its associated animal.
James George Frazer: A Scottish anthropologist and folklorist known for comparative studies of religion and myth. His influential account helped popularize totemism in early anthropology.
National animal: An animal officially adopted as a symbol of a country or nation. A national animal is a civic emblem, not necessarily a spiritual relative or clan ancestor.
Clan: A social group whose members claim descent from a common ancestor or lineage. Clans are among the groups most commonly associated with totems.
Totem pole: A monumental carved post made by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, often bearing family crests and figures. Some Northwest Coast poles display crests associated with hereditary family identities.