Why were Wiradjuri medicine men forbidden to eat their personal totems?

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totem fish mask — Totemism Totem fish mask from the Orokolo Bay area of New Guinea. Painted bark cloth over rattan frame with fringe of dried grass. Height 1.63 m.

Among the Wiradjuri people, medicine men are strictly forbidden from eating their personal totems, known as jarawaijewa or "the meat that is within him," because the totem is considered an extension of the man himself. Consuming the totem is viewed as equivalent to eating one's own flesh or that of one's father, and violating this taboo is believed to result in sickness or death.1

The medicine man identifies deeply with his individual totem, which serves as a "spirit companion" that guards him, provides information, and acts as a helper during sorcery or trances. Because the totem is ritually "sung into" the medicine man's body and exists as a part of his being, any injury or offense committed against the totem has an automatic, harmful effect on the man himself.1