| Author | : Gerardo Reichel Dolmatoff |
| Publisher | : Brill Archive |
| Total Pages | : 104 |
| Release | : 1990 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 9789004092747 |
This book is an ethnological study in depth, of the worldview religious philosophy, and symbolic systems of a South American tribal society which neither conforms to the Andean pattern nor to that of tropical rainforest cultures. The Kogi Indians have created for themselves a world of colourful and, to Western eyes, absorbing dimensions.
| Author | : G. Reichel-Dolmatoff |
| Publisher | : BRILL |
| Total Pages | : 98 |
| Release | : 2023-11-27 |
| Genre | : Philosophy |
| ISBN | : 9004420533 |
The Kogi Indians of the Sierra Nevada, an isolated mountain massif of northern Colombia, have preserved much of their cultural heritage, notwithstanding the onslaught of outside influences. To the casual observer their austere and withdrawn way of life presents a picture of abject poverty but long-term ethnological study reveals dimensions of inner depth which are evidence of a very rich and cherished tradition going back to pre-Conquest times. Kogi cosmogony and cosmology, their religious philosophy, and their interpretation of nature, as described by men of priestly training, bear witness to a creative imagination of great power. This study tells us of their macrocosm and microcosm; the structure of the universe and the spinning of cotton thread; time-space concepts and the symbolism of a small gourd vessel; biological cycles and temple architecture, and all this within the compass of a sacred mountain which to the Kogi is the centre of the universe. The ethnological importance of this essay is equalled by its value to the Humanities, and opens a new dimension of Amerindian studies.
| Author | : Pierre Maranda |
| Publisher | : University of Toronto Press |
| Total Pages | : 336 |
| Release | : 2001-01-01 |
| Genre | : Social Science |
| ISBN | : 9780802035240 |
The essays in this intriguing collection all discuss Claude L?vi-Strauss' "Canonical Formula." The purpose of the work is to test the significance of the Formula, which is controversial and, for some, worthless.
| Author | : Augusto Oyuela-Calcedo |
| Publisher | : Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press |
| Total Pages | : 194 |
| Release | : 1998-12-31 |
| Genre | : Social Science |
| ISBN | : 1950446131 |
The Northern Andes is a pivotal region for understanding many of the social, economic, political, and ideological changes that pre-Columbian cultures experienced. Topics inc. recent investigations on human colonisation of the region, origins of sedentism and food production, rise of chiefdoms, and importance of symbolism and iconography.
| Author | : T.c. Mcluhan |
| Publisher | : Simon and Schuster |
| Total Pages | : 584 |
| Release | : 1995-07 |
| Genre | : Nature |
| ISBN | : 0684801574 |
This book draws upon both ancient and contemporary sources to examine the significance of the earth from the perspective of six different cultures and how these spiritual traditions have valued, perceived, and understood the earth. At first glance the peoples of aboriginal Australia, Japan, Greece, Africa, South America, and Native North America couldn't be more different. But by taking a closer look, the author shows that there are many more similarities than differences- all revere mountains as a source of inspiration and holiness, all feel a spiritual connection to the soil itself, all create art and literature to celebrate their connection to the land, and all see themselves as inextricable from the land they call home. This unique volume explores how human beings across the planet and across time have felt about the earth and nature, and how they have understood it, related to it, and celebrated it in their literature, mythology, religion, and art. It demonstrates that no matter where on the planet we exist, and no matter what time period we live, we all have a profound connection to the earth. -- from Book Jacket.
| Author | : Peter H. Kahn, Jr. |
| Publisher | : MIT Press |
| Total Pages | : 357 |
| Release | : 2012-07-20 |
| Genre | : Nature |
| ISBN | : 0262517787 |
An ecopsychology that integrates our totemic selves—our kinship with a more than human world—with our technological selves. We need nature for our physical and psychological well-being. Our actions reflect this when we turn to beloved pets for companionship, vacation in spots of natural splendor, or spend hours working in the garden. Yet we are also a technological species and have been since we fashioned tools out of stone. Thus one of this century's central challenges is to embrace our kinship with a more-than-human world—"our totemic self"—and integrate that kinship with our scientific culture and technological selves. This book takes on that challenge and proposes a reenvisioned ecopsychology. Contributors consider such topics as the innate tendency for people to bond with local place; a meaningful nature language; the epidemiological evidence for the health benefits of nature interaction; the theory and practice of ecotherapy; Gaia theory; ecovillages; the neuroscience of perceiving natural beauty; and sacred geography. Taken together, the essays offer a vision for human flourishing and for a more grounded and realistic environmental psychology.
| Author | : Holley Moyes |
| Publisher | : University Press of Colorado |
| Total Pages | : 607 |
| Release | : 2012-09-01 |
| Genre | : Social Science |
| ISBN | : 1457117509 |
Caves have been used in various ways across human society but despite the persistence within popular culture of the iconic caveman, deep caves were never used primarily as habitation sites for early humans. Rather, in both ancient and contemporary contexts, caves have served primarily as ritual spaces. In Sacred Darkness, contributors use archaeological evidence as well as ethnographic studies of modern ritual practices to envision the cave as place of spiritual and ideological power and a potent venue for ritual practice. Covering the ritual use of caves in Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa, Mesoamerica, and the US Southwest and Eastern woodlands, this book brings together case studies by prominent scholars whose research spans from the Paleolithic period to the present day. These contributions demonstrate that cave sites are as fruitful as surface contexts in promoting the understanding of both ancient and modern religious beliefs and practices. This state-of-the-art survey of ritual cave use will be one of the most valuable resources for understanding the role of caves in studies of religion, sacred landscape, or cosmology and a must-read for any archaeologist interested in caves.
| Author | : Wade Davis |
| Publisher | : House of Anansi |
| Total Pages | : 274 |
| Release | : 2009 |
| Genre | : Social Science |
| ISBN | : 0887847668 |
Many of us are alarmed by the accelerating rates of extinction of plants and animals. But how many of us know that human cultures are going extinct at an even more shocking rate? While biologists estimate that 18 percent of mammals and 11 percent of birds are threatened, and botanists anticipate the loss of 8 percent of flora, anthropologists predict that fully 50 percent of the 7,000 languages spoken around the world today will disappear within our lifetimes. And languages are merely the canaries in the coal mine: what of the knowledge, stories, songs, and ways of seeing encoded in these voices? In The Wayfinders, Wade Davis offers a gripping and enlightening account of this urgent crisis. He leads us on a fascinating tour through a handful of indigenous cultures, describing the worldviews they represent and reminding us of the encroaching danger to humankind's survival should they vanish.
| Author | : Jeffrey Quilter |
| Publisher | : Dumbarton Oaks |
| Total Pages | : 448 |
| Release | : 2003 |
| Genre | : Antiques & Collectibles |
| ISBN | : 9780884022947 |
The lands between Mesoamerica and the Central Andes are famed for the rich diversity of ancient cultures that inhabited them. Throughout this vast region, from about AD 700 until the sixteenth-century Spanish invasion, a rich and varied tradition of goldworking was practiced. The amount of gold produced and worn by native inhabitants was so great that Columbus dubbed the last New World shores he sailed as Costa Rica—the "Rich Coast." Despite the long-recognized importance of the region in its contribution to Pre-Columbian culture, very few books are readily available, especially in English, on these lands of gold. Gold and Power in Ancient Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia now fills that gap with eleven articles by leading scholars in the field. Issues of culture change, the nature of chiefdom societies, long-distance trade and transport, ideologies of value, and the technologies of goldworking are covered in these essays as are the role of metals as expressions and materializations of spiritual, political, and economic power. These topics are accompanied by new information on the role of stone statuary and lapidary work, craft and trade specialization, and many more topics, including a reevaluation of the concept of the "Intermediate Area." Collectively, the volume provides a new perspective on the prehistory of these lands and includes articles by Latin American scholars whose writings have rarely been published in English.
