Indigenous Religions: A Companion

315 Pages·2000·16.88 MB·English

by  Graham Harvey

Indigenous Religions
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Indigenous Religions
A Companion
Edited by
Graham Harvey
T
CASSELL
LONDON and NEW YORK
Cassell
Wellington House, 125 Strand, London WC2R OBB
370 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10017-6550
First published 2000
© Graham Harvey and contributors 2000
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 0-304-70447-4 (hardback)
0-304-70448-2 (paperback)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Indigenous religions: a companion/edited by Graham Harvey.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-304-70447-4 (hardcover)—ISBN 0-304-70448-2 (pbk.)
1. Indigenous peoples—Religion. I. Harvey, Graham.
BL380.I56 2000
299-dc21 99-41462
CIP
Typeset by Paston PrePress Ltd, Beccles, Suffolk
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bookcraft (Bath) Ltd
That the people might live
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Contents
Contributors ix
Preface xi
Introduction 1
Graham Harvey
Part I Persons
1. The cosmos as intersubjective: Native American other-than-
human persons 23
Kenneth M. Morrison
2. Native Womanism: Exemplars of indigenism in sacred
traditions of kinship 37
M. A. Jaimes Guerrero
3. Shamanism 55
Piers Vitebsky
4. Witchcraft and healing among the Bangwa of Cameroon 68
Fiona Bowie
5. Rattray's request: Spirit possession among the Bono of
West Africa 80
Jan G. Platvoet
Part II Powers
6. Mana and tapu: Sacred knowledge, sacred boundaries 99
Peter ]. Mataira
7. Magic, religion and secularity among the Azande and Nuer 113
Berel Dov Lerner
8. The Dreaming in contemporary Aboriginal Australia 125
Lynne Hume
9. Ecology and religion in Karuk orientations toward the land 139
Sean M. Connors
CONTENTS
Part III Gifts
10. Art works in Aotearoa 155
Graham Harvey
11. Music, art and movement among the Yoruba 173
Olu Taiwo
12. The unwieldy promise of ceremonies: The case of the
Jakalteko Maya's Dance of the Conquest 190
Charles D. Thompson, Jr.
13. Rites of passage among the Lohorung Rai of East Nepal 204
Charlotte E. Hardman
14. Gifts for the sky people: Animal sacrifice, head hunting and
power among the Naga of Burma and Assam 219
Mark R. Woodward
15. Characteristics of African indigenous religions in
contemporary Zimbabwe 230
James L. Cox
16. Spirituality, values and boundaries in the revitalization
of a Mi'kmaq community 243
Raoul R. Andersen, John K. Crellin and Misel Joe
17. Touching the past, teaching ways forward: The American
Indian powwow 255
Teri Brewer
Bibliography 269
Index of Subjects 291
Index of Authors 297
Index of Nations, Peoples and Groups 301
VIII
Contributors
Dr Raoul R. Andersen, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada
Dr Fiona Bowie, University of Wales Lampeter, UK
Dr Teri Brewer, University of Wales Glamorgan, UK
Sean M. Connors, University of California, Santa Barbara, USA
Dr James L. Cox, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh, UK
Dr John K. Crellin, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada
Dr M. A. Jaimes Guerrero, San Francisco State University, USA
Dr Charlotte E. Hardman, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Dr Graham Harvey, King Alfred's College, Winchester, UK
Dr Lynne Hume, University of Queensland, Australia
Misel Joe, Saqamaw, Conne River band, Mi'kmaq Nation, Canada
Berel Dov Lerner, University of Tel Aviv, Israel
Peter J. Mataira, Massey University, New Zealand
Dr Kenneth M. Morrison, Arizona State University, Arizona, USA
Dr Jan Platvoet, Leiden University, The Netherlands
Olu Taiwo, King Alfred's College, Winchester, UK
Dr Charles D. Thompson, Jr., University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,
USA
Dr Piers Vitebsky, Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, UK
Dr Mark R. Woodward, Arizona State University, Arizona, USA
IX