The totem 6


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page 25  Already at this point all these totems seem to refer to something made of stone(s). But... why is it an "ebony totem"? The totem in "Opel" doesn't appear to be made of stones, but rather of ebony wood. The word "ebony" is often used as colour. Also ebony-sand may define some combination of the two colours ebony and sand (e.g. for the designs of Indian rugs), but more often "ebony sand" defines a very dark grey (usually in cabinetwork).

Look at the use of the prepositions. Since it's not "of ebony" but "in ebony" the totem isn't necessarily made of wood, and since it's not "a totem" but "the totem", it must be rather well known. If you ask an inhabitant of Formentera where "a totem" is, he would probably understand you are asking about some "Tótem de Piedra", but he could be in trouble if you ask where "the totem" is.

There's a place much farther away than Formentera, a very faaaaaar distant shore, where the inhabitants on the contrary couldn't understand where "totems" are but would understand if you asked about "The Totem": it's off Tasmania, an island close to Australia (the land of the opals) in a way not very different as Formentera is close to Ibiza; it's a 65 metre-high sea stack called "Totem Pole", one of Australia's most iconic rock pillars. The Totem Pole, only 4 meters wide, has been called "The Antipodes' greatest rock climbing challenge". It was first climbed in 1968 by John Ewbank.  sources → Kennedy, Valerie, and John Ewbank. http://johnewbankmusic.com/photos.php