Generally speaking, totems must be respected and harm is prohibited, but sometimes the opposite is true. Some tribes hunted totem beasts to eat, and even sacrificed totems. The reason for hunting and eating totem beasts is because the totem is too perfect. If you eat it, its wisdom, its strength, and its courage will be transferred to oneself. But eating totem beasts is different from eating other things. It is necessary to hold a grand ceremony and ask ancestors not to blame themselves. To sacrifice to ancestors with totems is to use totem beasts as a medium to communicate between humans and ancestral spirits. Primitives believe that their souls and totem souls are equal, but the body is different, death, but the soul separates from the body and changed a home, and in the home of the underworld, the souls of their own race and the totem race live in the same place . To kill a totem is to use the soul of the totem as a messenger, sending a letter to the soul of the ancestor, and let it bless itself in the dark. Let the totem soul convey your wish. For example, the Indian tortoise tribe killed tortoises to worship their ancestors.
The so-called totem means that people in primitive times regarded certain animals, plants or inanimate creatures as their relatives, ancestors or protectors. Believe that they will not only not hurt themselves, but also protect themselves and gain their superhuman strength, courage and skills. People treat them with respect and should not harm them under normal circumstances. Clan, family and other social organizations are named after totems and are marked by totems.
The so-called totem culture is a variety of cultural phenomena derived from the concept of totems, that is, people in primitive times regarded totems as relatives, ancestors or guardians, and created various cultural phenomena to express their respect for totems. These cultural phenomena English collectively referred to as totemism.
Totem culture is one of the oldest and most peculiar cultural phenomena in human history. The core of totem culture is the concept of totem. The concept of totem inspires primitive people’s imagination and creativity, and gradually breeds totem names, totem signs, and totem taboos. Totem marriages, totem rituals, totem fertility beliefs, totem incarnation beliefs, totem sacred objects, totem holy places, totem mythology, totem art, etc., have formed a unique and colorful totem culture.
Totem logo or totem emblem, which uses totem image as the sign and symbol of the group. It is the earliest social organization sign and symbol in Chinese history, and it has the function of identifying and distinguishing. Totem signs are related to the origin of Chinese characters.