chapter 2
critical written reflection
The narrative incorporates all aspects of life and dictates the way man will act and from that how a culture will evolve. The narrative of the Totem is further developed after the invention of the Totem Pole. The Totem Pole is a collection of Totems arranged vertically on a pole - typically carved into a solid tree trunk. Often mistaken as religious icons, the Totem Poles are in fact not items of worship. They simply tell stories; it can be the story of ancestors, an explanation of a particular phenomena or it can be related to a historical - or even “fictional” - event. The Pole consists of icons and symbols representing the protagonists and other vital elements of a narrative. Often recognizable - as they all derive from our physical surroundings – the icons and symbols can be understood to some extend by anyone who encounters them. However, as each tribe - and indeed each man – has its own relationship with, say, a specific animal there will be a need of translation from someone who has knowledge about the Totem-traits of the symbols. These traits, however, may vary from tribe to tribe, and therefore the understanding of an unexplained narrative may also differ from tribe to tribe, but will most likely be related to what was originally intended. Only when the Totem Pole is accompanied by a storyteller, will whoever encounters it be able to fully understand the complexity of the pole and the facets of the narrative. In North American Native cultures there are two narratives that are widely told through Totem Poles. One is The Woman Who Married The Bear and the other is The Raven and The
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