TERMIUM Plus®

The Government of Canada’s terminology and linguistic data bank.

totem pole [2 records]

Record 1 - external organization data 2021-03-18

English

Subject field(s)
  • Compartment – Nomenclature 4.0
  • Museums and Heritage (General)
OBS

totem pole: an item in the "Art" class of the "Communication Objects" category.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Tiroir – Nomenclature 4.0
  • Muséologie et patrimoine (Généralités)
OBS

mât totémique : objet de la classe «Œuvre artistique» de la catégorie «Objets de communication».

Spanish

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Record 2 2017-03-30

English

Subject field(s)
  • Indigenous Arts and Culture
  • Sculpture
DEF

A pole or pillar carved and painted with a series of totemic symbols representing family lineage and often mythical or historical incidents and erected before the houses of Indian tribes of the northwest coast of North America.

CONT

Adrien Panadis is an Abenaki artist who carves sculptures and ceremonial totem poles. His sources of inspiration stem in all likelihood from the totems on the West Coast of North America which identified the guardian animal of the tribe and held magic powers (healing, foretelling future events ...) for the Amerindians.

CONT

The totem pole was ... a symbol of family pride.

OBS

Sometimes the term "totem" is used elliptically in place of its longer and more correct form "totem pole". "Totem" should be reserved to denote an object (as an animal or plant) serving as the emblem of a family or clan, or at the very most, a carved or painted representation of such an object.

OBS

heraldic pole: term used by Parks Canada.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Arts et culture autochtones
  • Sculpture
CONT

Adrien Panadis, un autre artiste abénaquis, taille des sculptures et des totems cérémoniels. Ses œuvres s'inspirent des totems de la côte Ouest de l'Amérique du Nord. Ces totems représentaient l'animal protecteur du clan et possédaient pour les Amérindiens des pouvoirs magiques de guérison ou divinatoires.

OBS

mât héraldique : terme en usage à Parcs Canada.

Spanish

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