What are totem animals and why do cultures identify with them?

The answer

Totemism is a system of belief in which a group claims kinship or spiritual connection with a particular animal, plant, or natural object. Among many Native American nations, clan systems are organized around totem animals such as the bear, eagle, wolf, or turtle, each carrying specific responsibilities and character traits. Australian Aboriginal people maintain complex totemic relationships with species connected to their Dreamtime ancestors, creating a moral obligation to protect those species. In West Africa, certain Akan clans are associated with specific animals that represent their ancestral qualities. The anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss argued that totemism is fundamentally a system of social classification: 'Animals are good to think with,' using natural differences between species to conceptualize and organize human social distinctions.