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totem
(Encyclopedia)totem tōˈtəm [key], an object, usually an animal or plant (or all animals or plants of that species), that is revered by members of a particular social group because of a mystical or ritual relatio...taboo
(Encyclopedia)taboo or tabu both: tăbo͞oˈ, tə– [key], prohibition of an act or the use of an object or word under pain of punishment. Originally a Polynesian word, taboo can apply to the sacred or consecrated...ancestor worship
(Encyclopedia)ancestor worship, ritualized propitiation and invocation of dead kin. Ancestor worship is based on the belief that the spirits of the dead continue to dwell in the natural world and have the power to ...clan
(Encyclopedia)clan, social group based on actual or alleged unilineal descent from a common ancestor. Such groups have been known in all parts of the world and include some that claim the parentage or special prote...Carr, Emily
(Encyclopedia)Carr, Emily, 1871–1945, Canadian painter. She studied (1889–c.1895) at the San Francisco School of Art and later in London and in Paris. In Victoria, British Columbia, she taught painting and visi...animism
(Encyclopedia)animism, belief in personalized, supernatural beings (or souls) that often inhabit ordinary animals and objects, governing their existence. British anthropologist Sir Edward Burnett Tylor argued in Pr...Wyandotte
(Encyclopedia)Wyandotte wīˈəndŏt [key], industrial city (1990 pop. 30,938), Wayne co., SE Mich., a suburb of Detroit on the Detroit River; inc. as a city 1867. Salt deposits there supply the city's extensive ch...polytheism
(Encyclopedia)polytheism pŏlˈēthēĭzəm [key], belief in a plurality of gods in which each deity is distinguished by special functions. The gods are particularly synonymous with function in the Vedic religion (...Nootka
(Encyclopedia)Nootka no͝otˈkə [key], Native North Americans whose language belongs to the Wakashan branch of the Algonquian-Wakashan linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The Nootka proper are a smal...Tlingit
(Encyclopedia)Tlingit tlĭngˈgĭt [key], group of related Native North American tribes, speaking a language that forms a branch of the Nadene linguistic stock (see Native American languages). The 14 divisions of t...Browse by Subject
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