Totem Pole

A Totem Pole is a large wooden carving found off the coasts of northwest North America.

History

After recovering at the Natsilane Home, Elisa Maza ran off in search of Goliath, Angela, and Bronx and noticed one of the island's totem poles. She asked Natsilane if they were inspired by gargoyles, but he explains that the totems were carved to honor their animal ancestors.

As a bird, Raven often perched atop a totem pole at Queen Florence Island. One of the island's totem poles stood atop the island's caldera and Raven conjured and later animated Totem Beasts based off that totem pole to battle the World Travelers. ("Heritage")

Real World Background

The word 'totem' is derived from the Algonquin word odoodem, meaning "his kinship group". [1] Totem Poles are carved by the indigenous First Nation communities in the United States and Canada, including the Haida, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Kwakwaka'wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Coast Salish communities. [2]

As the episode "Heritage" indicates, totem poles can be carved to honor animal ancestors, but they are not religious idols. Moreover, they can serve many roles: using the art in the design to convey information, they can be used to tell stories from the past to the more simple task of identifying local families. [3]

Production Background

Greg Weisman felt it was natural for Totem Poles to be featured in a Gargoyles episode, but researched soon proved that they weren't created to ward off evil, like grotesques protecting a medieval church. Out of respect for the true nature of these indigenous carvings, the script incorporated this misunderstanding into the episode. [4][5]

See Also

• Totem Pole at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia