Festival totem

Last updated
A flower totem in front of a sign totem at Electric Forest DROELOE (42509800004).jpg
A flower totem in front of a sign totem at Electric Forest

Festival totems (sometimes known as doof sticks, rave totems, or rage sticks) are decorative objects, signs, toys, or symbols prominently displayed on poles by attendees at various music festivals and cultural events worldwide. Often seen in the crowds and campsites at large outdoor festivals, festival totems serve various purposes, ranging from artistic expression to utilitarian practical navigation and communication in large crowds. Typically, totems are DIY projects created by festival attendees, which are made from a variety of crafting materials and updated to reference current events, memes, music, or a festival, but have also recently become available to purchase online from totem creation companies.

Contents

Early usage

A crowd at Woodstock; visible far center is a sign-on-a-stick totem (displaying "LOVE YOUR ANIMAL FRIENDS DONT EAT THEM") and an object-on-a-stick totem Woodstock Music and Art Fair.jpg
A crowd at Woodstock; visible far center is a sign-on-a-stick totem (displaying "LOVE YOUR ANIMAL FRIENDS DONT EAT THEM") and an object-on-a-stick totem

The indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest coast erected totem poles to communicate stories and were said to raise various animal designs on poles during a drum circle to indicate if they liked or disliked a performance. [1] [2] The first totem use at a music festival is unconfirmed, with some attributing it to Woodstock in 1969. [3]

Modern usage

At contemporary music and arts festivals, totems are commonly used by groups of attendees to locate one another in crowded environments. [4] [5] Festivals such as Burning Man, Electric Daisy Carnival, Bonnaroo, Glastonbury, Electric Forest, and Tomorrowland have become known for their vibrant displays of totems and flags, which often feature unique handmade designs, humorous messages, current memes, or references to popular culture or the festival. [3] [6] A festival totem generally utilizes an object rather than a flag so that it can be easily seen fully in any wind conditions, and provide opportunity for 3D creativity. Most commonly referred to as a "totem" by festival attendees, the staffs also may be called "rage sticks" or "doof sticks" depending on the type of festival attended and the country of the festival. [7] [8]

Artists themselves have also encouraged the use of totems at their shows and may post how-to guides or videos for fans to learn how to add to the festival show experience. [9] The popularity and restrictions on festival totems and flags have led to the appearance of custom manufacturers online. [10]

Totems and flags in the crowd at Tomorrowland Festival TomorrowLand - FireUP!!! (13914566203).jpg
Totems and flags in the crowd at Tomorrowland Festival

Festival totems today may be utilized for a variety of purposes:

Historical comparisons and nomenclature

Examples of Egyptian vexilloids Egyptian Standards from Flags; some account of their history and uses.png
Examples of Egyptian vexilloids

The concept of using "totems" and related staffs to indicate locations was prevalent in ancient armies before festival use. Festival totem carriers today use totems for group identification, which NAVA writers have analogized to vexilloids due to similar practical purposes. [11] Throughout history, armies employed vexilloids as military standards, serving both practical and symbolic purposes; and in warfare, warriors would carry staffs, flags, and banners adorned with distinctive designs to distinguish allies from foes during battle. [17] The first vexilloids were thought to originally be staffs topped by animal parts, like a skull. The staffs served as a designation for leaders of groups, such as military units, and were also used as a visible sign to rally around or point to a direction of attack. [18] A specific example is the Romans using a vexillum, a military standard of the ancient Roman army carried by a vexillarius that attached a square cloth on a staff for similar purposes.

A Native American totem pole Musqueam totem pole (UBCa).jpg
A Native American totem pole

The "totem" name may have come from the comparison to Native American totem poles [19] —festival totems are not as culturally or religiously significant as a totem pole, but similarly display artist creations, recent events, and stand tall to locate certain areas. [20] [1]

Design and materials

Festival totems can be crafted from a variety of materials, including wood, metal, plastic, foam, extendable poles, and fabric. [21] The top of the totem may be a sign, a cutout image, a stuffed animal, or another object. Some festival totems are simple and utilitarian, such as poles attaching premade flags or signs, while others are intricate works of original art featuring LEDs, holographic materials, or kinetic elements that move with the wind or respond to music. [22] Festival totems are usually distinct from flags on poles at festivals as totems generally contain an object and not loose cloth; however, both may be called a "totem" while being utilized in a festival crowd. Festival-goers frequently utilize memes, inside jokes, and other current event references to display on the totem. [23]

A festival totem constructed of a simple extendable pole and a goose stuffed animal Image of festival totem.jpg
A festival totem constructed of a simple extendable pole and a goose stuffed animal

Etiquette and regulations

Despite their practical benefits, totems have sparked debate within the festival community. With the primary function of festival totems serving as beacons to find groups in large crowds at shows to find friends at a distance, this leads to festival totems blocking the view of stages during shows. [24] Festival attendees have opined that totems should not obstruct the view of others or interfere with the festival experience for fellow attendees and follow the PLUR rave community guidelines. [25] [26] Other attendees and publications note that festival totems supplement the festival experience and add artistic value to the festival while providing a crucial utilitarian purpose of finding friends in disorienting crowds at night. [27]

Some organizers and attendees have raised concerns about safety and the potential for totems to block views of stages or performances. [28] As a result, many festivals have implemented guidelines or restrictions regarding the size, material, height, and usage of totems. [29] [30]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Parade</span> Electronic dance music festival and parade

The Love Parade was an electronic dance music festival and technoparade that originated in 1989 in West Berlin, Germany. It was held annually in Berlin from 1989 to 2003 and in 2006, then from 2007 to 2010 in the Ruhr region. Events scheduled for 2004 and 2005 in Berlin and for 2009 in Bochum were canceled.

Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that emerged from EBM in Frankfurt, Germany, in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and quickly spread throughout Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rave</span> Dance party

A rave is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance music scene when DJs played at illegal events in musical styles dominated by electronic dance music from a wide range of sub-genres, including drum and bass, dubstep, trap, break, happy hardcore, trance, techno, hardcore, house, and alternative dance. Occasionally live musicians have been known to perform at raves, in addition to other types of performance artists such as go-go dancers and fire dancers. The music is amplified with a large, powerful sound reinforcement system, typically with large subwoofers to produce a deep bass sound. The music is often accompanied by laser light shows, projected coloured images, visual effects and fog machines.

Teknivals are large free parties which take place for several days. They take place most often in Europe and are often illegal under various national or regional laws. They vary in size from dozens to thousands of people, depending on factors such as accessibility, reputation, weather, and law enforcement. The parties often take place in venues far away from residential areas such as squatted warehouses, empty military bases, beaches, forests or fields. The teknival phenomenon is a grassroots movement which has grown out of the rave, punk, reggae sound system and UK traveller scenes and spawned an entire subculture. Summer is the usual season for teknivals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vexilloid</span> Flag-like object that represents an entity

A vexilloid is any flag-like (vexillary) object used by countries, organisations, or individuals as a form of representation other than flags. American vexillologist Whitney Smith coined the term vexilloid in 1958, defining it as

An object which functions as a flag but differs from it in some respect, usually appearance. Vexilloids are characteristic of traditional societies and often consist of a staff with an emblem, such as a carved animal, at the top.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talking stick</span> Instrument of Indigenous democracy, especially in Northwest America

A talking stick, also called a speaker's staff, is an instrument of Indigenous democracy used by a number of Indigenous communities, especially those in the Pacific Northwest nations of North America. The talking stick may be passed around a group, as multiple people speak in turn, or used only by leaders as a symbol of their authority and right to speak in public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ozark Music Festival</span> 1974 rock music festival in Missouri

The Ozark Music Festival was held on July 19–21, 1974 on the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, Missouri. It is estimated that anywhere from 160,000 to 350,000 were in attendance at the three day festival. The event was marked by mismanagement as the facilities were not equipped for the number of attendees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nocturnal Wonderland</span> U.S. electronic dance music festival

Nocturnal Wonderland, formerly known as Nocturnal Festival, is an electronic dance music festival in San Bernardino, California, United States, founded in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric Daisy Carnival</span> American annual electronic dance music festival

Electric Daisy Carnival, commonly known as EDC, is an electronic dance music festival organized by promoter and distributor Insomniac. The annual flagship event, EDC Las Vegas, is held in May at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and is the largest electronic dance music festival in North America as of 2024.

<i>Totem</i> (Cirque du Soleil)

Totem is a touring show by Cirque du Soleil that premiered in Montréal on April 22, 2010. It was written and directed by previous collaborator Robert Lepage (Kà). Cirque du Soleil describes Totem's theme as the evolution of humanity from its primordial, amphibian state toward the aspiration of flight, taking inspiration from many of humanity's founding myths. The show was awarded the 2013 New York Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ozora Festival</span> Hungarian arts festival

The Ozora Festival, stylised as O.Z.O.R.A., is an annual transformational festival and arts festival near the Hungarian village of Ozora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beyond Wonderland</span> American EDM festival

Beyond Wonderland is an electronic dance festival organized by Insomniac Events. The event has been held in various locations across the west coast including Seattle, San Bernardino, and Mountain View spanning either one or two days. As the festival continued to grow from its earlier roots, it has branched into two festivals: Beyond Socal and Beyond Norcal/Bay Area, catering to the growing audience. However, this expansion of the Beyond series lasted for only four years before founder Pasquale Rotella announced that he would no longer continue having both Beyond Socal and Norcal to pursue expansion and creation of other festivals of the Insomniac brand.

Audiotistic Music Festival is a music festival that occurs annually in Northern California at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. Audiotistic is known for sporting a diverse assortment of genres, ranging from rap and hip hop to electronic genres drum & bass and dubstep. Previously, it was held in Southern California, US, from 1997 to 2003 and from 2009 to 2011, in various venues such as the National Orange Show Events Center in San Bernardino, the L.A. Sports Arena, and the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center. However, on July 15, 2017, the festival returned but this time to the Bay Area with two main stages. The festival would continue to expanding by adding an additional day in 2018.

Insomniac is an American electronic music event promoter and music distributor. Founded by Pasquale Rotella, it is the organizer of various music festivals, including its flagship electronic music festival Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC) in Las Vegas.

White Wonderland is an electronic music festival co-organized by Insomniac Events and fellow club promoter Giant. The event was first held for New Year's Eve in 2011, following the announcement that Insomniac had pulled out of co-organizing the New Year's Eve festival Together as One due to conflicts with its fellow organizer Go Ventures.

Life is Beautiful Music & Art Festival is an annual music, culinary, art, and learning festival held in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It debuted in 2013 as a three-day event. In 2019, it was one of the world's highest grossing festivals with revenues of $17.7 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloving</span> Modern dance form

Gloving is a form of modern dance which involves the use of fingertip light-emitting diode (LED) lights to accentuate fun creative patterns.

Disco Donnie Presents (DDP) is an electronic dance music event production company, founded by James "Disco" Donnie Estopinal. Since the company's inception in 1994, DDP has sold over 16 million tickets producing over 16,000 live events, arena shows, and outdoor festivals in over 100 markets around the world including the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Latin America. Annually, DDP is responsible for organizing and promoting nearly 1,000 club events across the U.S. ranging from Portland, Philadelphia, Houston, Tampa, New Orleans, Dallas, and St. Louis to name only a few; plus major festivals such as Ubbi Dubbi, Sunset Music Festival, Freaky Deaky, Sun City Music Festival, The Day After, and Ultimate Music Experience.

Doof Festival is the largest and oldest trance music festival in Israel. The festival was held for the first time in 2004 and since then it has been held every year on Passover at the ‘Golan’ coast in the eastern part of the Sea of Galilee (Kinnert). The festival hosts artists from Israel and around the world and lasts for three days.

References

  1. 1 2 Westhoff, Ben (April 23, 2015). "The Secret History of Totems | Insomniac". www.insomniac.com. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  2. ↑ "Native American Totem Poles: Symbols, Beliefs and History of the Indigenous Peoples of the Northwest Coast". Coco Papaya. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  3. 1 2 Atencio, Travis (2017-05-12). "The Secret History of Rave Totems [Pictures]". Rave Jungle. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  4. ↑ "Let's Talk About Totems • MUSICFESTNEWS". MUSICFESTNEWS. 2018-01-28. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  5. 1 2 3 Rahme, Madeline (2020). More Than Music: The Lived Experiences of Communities Developed Through Music Festivals (Thesis).[ page needed ]
  6. ↑ Fellezs, Colin-James (2018-04-01). "A Coachella Community: The Institutionalization of Music Festival Culture". Sociology Theses & Senior Projects.
  7. ↑ Howard, Sam; Howard, Samantha (2017-12-26). "We Asked People to Explain Their Doof Sticks". Vice. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  8. ↑ khrisd. "A Quick Guide to Making the Most of Your Festival Totem". Complex. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  9. ↑ Marshmello (2019-09-11). How To: Create Your Own Festival Totem . Retrieved 2024-07-05– via YouTube.
  10. ↑ "Hello Totem". HelloTotem. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Hughes, Dalton (December 2023). "Flags and Totems at Music Festivals: A Modern Twist on Ancient Vexilloids". Vexillum: Research and Information from the North American Vexillological Association. 24 (December 2023): 12–15.
  12. 1 2 McCullough, Erin (2024-07-05). "'Roo totems: mark your spot and find your friends". Tullahoma News. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  13. 1 2 3 "Totem Carriers: The Real Heroes of Beyond Bay 2015". www.insomniac.com. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  14. 1 2 Joel, Bissell; Frick, Melissa (2023-06-27). "Totems show creativity of Electric Forest attendees". mlive. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  15. 1 2 3 Mall, Andrew (February 2020). "Introduction: Festivals and Musical Life". Journal of the Society for American Music. 14 (1): 2–9. doi:10.1017/S1752196319000518. ISSN   1752-1963.
  16. 1 2 Gundle, Stephen; Castelli, Clino T. (2006), Gundle, Stephen; Castelli, Clino T. (eds.), "Exotic Enticements", The Glamour System, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 87–98, doi:10.1057/9780230510456_5, ISBN   978-0-230-51045-6 , retrieved 2024-07-19
  17. ↑ Slater, Stephen (2007). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Flags and Heraldry: An International History of Heraldry and Its Contemporary Uses Together with the Definitive Guide to National Flags, Banners, Standards and Ensigns. Hermes House. ISBN   978-1-84681-266-8.
  18. ↑ Smith, Whitney (1975). Flags Through the Ages and Across the World. McGraw-Hill. p. 34. ISBN   978-0-07-059093-9.
  19. ↑ Garber, David (2014-07-07). "I Went Totem Hunting at Electric Forest". Vice. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  20. ↑ "::: American Indians of the Pacific Northwest Collection :::". content.lib.washington.edu. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  21. ↑ Lowenstein, Scott (2017-04-25). "Rick Totem Final Report Part 1". Aesthetics of Design. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  22. ↑ "How to Make a Rave Totem". EDM World Magazine♫♥. 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  23. ↑ iHeartRaves. "How to Make a Rave Totem for Festival Season". iHeartRaves. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  24. ↑ GIlmore, Grant (2023-09-19). "It's Time We Had a Talk About Totems at Festivals | EDM Identity". edmidentity.com. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  25. ↑ Emma Kapotes (2019-08-07). The Great Festival Flag & Totem Etiquette Debate | Rave Culture Podcast #17 . Retrieved 2024-07-05– via YouTube.
  26. ↑ Frazier, Cameron (2016-04-07). "Rave 101: The Do's and Don'ts of the Totem". Dance Music NW. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  27. ↑ McCullough, Erin (June 18, 2024). "Totems: a creative way to find your friends at festivals". WKRN News.
  28. ↑ Kupka, Heather. "Festival Totems: Creative Expression or Experience Hindrance?". Relentless Beats. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  29. ↑ "General Festival Guidelines – Insomniac". www.insomniac.com. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  30. ↑ "North Coast Music FestivalFAQ". North Coast Music Festival. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.