Make a pilgrimage into your soul...

"365 Days of Walking the Red Road" captures the priceless ancient knowledge Native American elders have passed on from generation to generation for centuries, and shows you how to move positively down your personal road without fear or doubt.

Special highlights:

• Inspiring quotations from Native Americans, such as Tecumseh, Black Hawk, Geronimo, and Chief Joseph
• A monthly Red Road spiritual lesson
• The proper uses of dreamcatchers and other symbols and crafts
• Important dates in Native American history

In dieser Studie werden die umfassenden Veranderungen im Leben der Moenchsgemeinschaft auf dem Heiligen Berg Athos analysiert. Ein Fokus liegt dabei auf den Modernisierungsprozessen, die seit der Eintragung des Heiligen Berges Athos in die UNESCO-Welterbeliste im Jahr 1988 erfolgten. Zu diesen Prozessen gehoeren sowohl die Einfuhrung von technischen Neuerungen wie Strom, Autos und Computer als auch die Intensivierung der politischen Kontakte und der demographische Wandel. Das Material fur diese Untersuchung wurde im Laufe von Forschungsaufenthalten in zahlreichen Interviews mit den Moenchen auf dem Berg Athos gesammelt. Die Studie wirft daher einen einzigartigen Blick auf das gegenwartige Moenchsleben auf dem Athos.

As a sangoma (traditional healer), Nkunzi is able to explore dimensions of her sexual identity because of her relationship with both male and female ancestors.

‘In Zulu culture a man must be a man and do male things and a woman must be a woman and do female things but with sangomas it is more flexible. I can dance like a woman and wear a woman’s clothes and dance like a man and wear a man’s clothes. I can do the work of a man, like slaughtering a goat or a cow although in traditional Zulu culture a woman cannot slaughter …’

Conscious of her constitutional rights as an urban young lesbian in a time of a relentless spate of hate crimes against township lesbians, Nkunzi is simultaneously sensitive to the demands of the guiding ancestral voice of the traditional, rural Zulu patriarch whose name she bears. Her quest is for a middle path of balance and integration between the living and the dead, the traditional and the modern.

Dieser Essay-Band analysiert und kommentiert variierende Problemstellungen in der westlichen Zivilisation, die auf mythische, religioese und/oder ideologische Grundmuster im Denken und Handeln der Menschen zuruckzufuhren sind. Bei Anwendung einer psychohistorischen Methode der Analyse und Kritik lassen sich Konstellationen in Kultur, Gesellschaft und Politik aufdecken, deren tiefenstrukturelle Merkmale bereits vor Jahrhunderten, wenn nicht Jahrtausenden, angelegt wurden. Sie stellen schwer abzutragende Hypotheken dar und belasten das aufgeklarte Denken. Ressentiments, Rivalitaten, Konflikte und Kriege entwickeln sich selten spontan an der Oberflache der Gesellschaftsgeschichte, sondern sind in den meisten Fallen vorgepragt und zum Teil uralt. Sie zu erkennen und zu entlarven ist eine vorrangige Aufgabe der Kulturkritik.

This book explores the understudied and often overlooked subject of African presence in India. It focuses on the so-called Sidis, Siddis or Habshis who occupy a unique place in Indian history. The Sidis comprise scattered communities of people of African descent who travelled and settled along the western coast of India, mainly in Gujarat, but also in Goa, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Sri Lanka and in Sindh (Pakistan) as a result of the Indian Ocean trade from the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries. The work draws from extant scholarly research and documentary sources to provide a comprehensive study of people of African descent in India and sheds new light on their experiences. By employing an interdisciplinary approach across fields of history, art, anthropology, religion, literature and oral history, it provides an analysis of their negotiations with cultural resistance, survivals and collective memory. The author examines how the Sidi communities strived to construct a distinct identity in a new homeland in a polyglot Indian society, their present status, as well as their future prospects. The book will interest those working in the fields of history, sociology and social anthropology, cultural studies, international relations, and migration and diaspora studies.

Includes a Foreword by Navajo Nation Museum Director Geoffrey I. Brown. Whether viwed as history or art, this book provides a distinct and singluar opportunity. Features over 90 beautiful duotone photopgraphs. More than fifty years ago, a young student of biochemistry and physics took his bulky, twin-lens reflex camera on a journey through the Dinetah, the land of the Navajo people. He entered with gifts - quartz crystals, abalone shells, and two bags of oranges - and he left with an invaluable photographic record of a culture. With a historical perspective provided in a Foreword by Navajo Nation Museum Director Geoffrey I. Brown and an exhaustive introduction by the author/photographer himself, Navajo Nation 1950 is as informative as it is visually stunning. The scenes and events described in the photographer's essay are more than just stories; in fact, they are more important now than ever, in that Wittenberg is the only non-native photographer who had access to the Navajo Nation people and lands during the years 1950-1952. Today, access has been limited even further by The People, so some of the landscapes seen here can only be seen through Wittenberg's lens. Now that half a century has passed, the traditions of the Dine have evolved, so that extensive anecdotal and photographic records like this one become invaluable historic documents, as well as a feast for the eyes.

The Vikings Bok, commonly known as the Poetic Edda, is the spiritual foundation for the Heathen revival today. It is the indigenous, historical remains of a once widespread Teutonic spirituality that has been too long absent from the Western world. This newly revised edition is based on the rare and highly acclaimed Olive Bray translation. Together with a New Glossary of modern Heathen terms and a concise introduction, this single source book is a practical "must have" for those interested in following the Northern Way

This book critically examines contemporary Pentecostalism in South Africa and its influence on some of the countries that surround it. Pentecostalism plays a significant role in the religious life of this region and so evaluating its impact is key to understanding how religion functions in Twenty-First Century Africa. Beginning with an overview of the roots of Pentecostalism in Southern Africa, the book moves on to identify a current "fourth" wave of this form of Christianity. It sets out the factors that have given rise to this movement and then offers the first academic evaluation of its theology and practice. Positive aspects as well as extreme or negative practices are all identified in order to give a balanced and nuanced assessment of this religious group and allow the reader to gain valuable insight into how it interacts with wider African society. This book is cutting-edge look at an emerging form of one of the fastest-growing religions in the world. It will, therefore, be of great use to scholars working in Pentecostalism, Theology, Religious Studies and African Religion as well as African Studies more generally.

"'I love the Lord, He heard my cry, ' Deacon cries out as the newly gathered congregation, now seated in their pews, echoes his words in a plaintive tune". Thus begins the Devotional at St. John Progressive Baptist Church, one of many Afro-Baptist services that Walter Pitts observed in the dual role of anthropologist and church pianist. Based on extensive fieldwork in black Baptist churches in rural Texas, this is a major new study of the African origins of African-American forms of worship. Over a period of five years, Pitts, a scholar of anthropology and linguistics, played the piano at and recorded numerous worship services. Offering an extensive history of Afro-Baptist religion in the American South, he compares the ritual structures he observed with those of traditional African worship and other religious rituals of African origin in the New World. Through these historical comparisons, coupled with sociolinguistic analysis, Pitts uncovers striking parallels between Afro-Baptist services and the rituals of Western and Central Africa, as well as African-derived rituals in the United States Sea Islands, the Caribbean, and Brazil. Pitts demonstrates that African and African-American worship share an underlying binary structure: the somber melancholy of the first ritual frame and the joyful, ecstatic trance of the second frame, both essential to the fulfillment of that structure. Of particular interest is his discovery of the way in which the deliberate heightening and strategic suppression of "black English" contribute to this binary structure of worship. This highly original study, with a foreword by Vincent Wimbush, creates a memorable portrait of this vital, yet misunderstood aspectof African-American culture. A model for the investigation of African retentions in the diaspora, Old Ship of Zion will be of keen interest to students and scholars of cultural anthropology, religious studies, and African-American studies, as well as those concerned with the culture of the diaspora, the investigation of syncretism, folklore, and ethnomusicology.

Asatru, or Heathenry, is based on the pre-Christian religion and way-of-life of our Northern European Ancestors. Modern Heathen honor the true Gods of their ancestors, and we honor them in the ways that they did. We also honor our ancestors and the spirits of the land. Heathenry is very family oriented, and encourages us to live responsible lives of honor. Nothing is more important than our families and the children that we bring into this world. The modern heathen fables within are just one part of a larger puzzle of finding better ways of sharing our way-of-life with our children. This book brings together all of the essays written by the author to-date on the topic of Heathen children and families. Love your children, give gifts to your Gods, honor your ancestors, and respect the Vaettir of the land. Hail our Folk

Enter the fascinating world of the Condomble regions of Brazil, where interaction between spirits and human is considered an everyday occurrence. Jim Wafer uncovers the social life, rituals, folklore, and engaging personalities of the villagers of Jacari, among whom trances, sorcery, and spirit possession demonstrate the coexistence of different kinds of reality. This ethnography is intriguing not only because of the originality of its approach to the more enigmatic aspects of another culture but also because it uses insights gained from participation in that culture to reflect on the paradoxes inherent in the writer's own culture, and in the human condition in general.

This volume contains the papers read at the Leiden Conference on Canonization and Decanonization of 9-10 January 1997. The emphasis in this rich and wide-ranging contribution to the subject is on the processes of canonization and decanonization in several religions and on the phenomenon of religious canons as well.
It has two sections: (De)canonization and the History of Religions, and (De)canonization and Modern Society. In the first section processes out of which canons eventually emerge are highlighted in contributions devoted to particular religions, viz. African religions, Judaism and Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism. The articles of the second section are of particular relevance to the contemporary situation in the western world, dealing with aspects such as forms of the survival of a canon in processes of modernization, canonization and the challenge of plurality, and canonization and hermeneutics. The reader may benefit even more from this volume as it contains also "An Annotated Bibliography on the subject.

According to the people of the Mueda plateau in northern Mozambique, sorcerers remake the world by asserting the authority of their own imaginative visions of it. While conducting research among these Muedans, anthropologist Harry G. West made a revealing discovery--for many of them, West's efforts to elaborate an ethnographic vision of their world was itself a form of sorcery. In "Ethnographic Sorcery," West explores the fascinating issues provoked by this equation.
A key theme of West's research into sorcery is that one sorcerer's claims can be challenged or reversed by other sorcerers. After West's attempt to construct a metaphorical interpretation of Muedan assertions that the lions prowling their villages are fabricated by sorcerers is disputed by his Muedan research collaborators, West realized that ethnography and sorcery indeed have much in common. Rather than abandoning ethnography, West draws inspiration from this connection, arguing that anthropologists, along with the people they study, can scarcely avoid interpreting the world they inhabit, and that we are all, inescapably, ethnographic sorcerers.

In this unique collection, some thirty Hopi elders reveal for the first time in written form the Hopi world-view.

Quest for Harmony provides a basic understanding of the cultures and spiritual teachings of four Native American nations--Lenape (Delaware), Ani'-Yun'-wiya (Cherokee), Lakota (Sioux), and Dine (Navajo). The text is always sympathetic, respectful, and, when possible, presented in the voices of Native Americans. Each nation is described in terms of its name, traditional location(s), present population, language, and traditional social organization. At least one story of origin is provided for each nation, followed by a survey of its history from earliest documented times until recent times. At the heart of each chapter, the spiritual worldview and rituals of the nation being discussed are introduced, with sections on cosmology, gods and spirits, rituals, and other issues particular to that nation. Critical issues common to Native Americans such as the pannational spiritual movements and the environment are also covered. Quest for Harmony makes clear that not only are Native American spiritual traditions very much alive, they are also in the midst of a dramatic revival.

Concentrating on the Caribbean Basin and the coastal area of northeast South America, Yvonne Daniel considers three African-derived religious systems that rely heavily on dance behavior--Haitian Vodou, Cuban Yoruba, and Bahamian Candomble. Combining her background in dance and anthropology to parallel the participant/scholar dichotomy inherent to dancing's "embodied knowledge," Daniel examines these misunderstood and oppressed performative dances in terms of physiology, psychology, philosophy, mathematics, ethics, and aesthetics.

This book provides an introduction Native American religious traditions, placing them within their historical, social, and political contexts. The book focuses on three diverse indigenous traditions: the Lakota of the Northern Plains, the Dine (Navajo) of the Southwest, and Coast Salish of the Pacific Northwest. This book highlights their distinct oral traditions, ceremonial practices, the impact of colonialism on Native religious life, and the ways in which indigenous communities of North America have responded, and continue to respond, to colonialism and Euroamerican cultural hegemony. For people interested in the study of Native American Religious Traditions.

Joel Martin draws his narrative from folk stories, rituals, and even landscapes to trace the development of Native American religion from ancient burial mounds, through interactions with European conquerors and missionaries, and on to the modern-day rebirth of ancient rites and beliefs.

Discover the secrets of animal totems and their sacred, transformative powers.

Among traditional Native Americans and other tribal peoples, totems are the enduring animal symbols that allow these peoples to explore the mysteries of life and the spirit world. from the graceful Antelope to the aggressive Cougarto the wise and peaceful Turtle, each animal embodies certain strengths and attributes that the spiritual seeker can embrace and follow on the path of self -exploration. Now, Totems offers each of us the tools we need to tap into thepower of sacred animal totems by finding our own personal symbol and experiencing its energy firsthand.

Drawing upon his long association with native teachers, as well as guidance from his own spirit helper, author Brad Steiger has created a fascinating, informative, and thorough guide to this ancient Spiritual practice. Filled with the wisdom of many different tribes and cultures, Totems provides exercises and techniques for:

The Zuni have traditionally used small stone carvings of animal figures as power objects and mediators between themselves and the spirit world. Any object that has special meaning can be used as a fetish. In this fascinating, informative, and beautifully illustrated guide to the fetishes of the Zuni people of New Mexico, Hal Zina Bennett explores key principles of Native American spirituality and how early Zuni teachings can benefit us all today. He provides an excellent guide to Zuni traditions and an intriguing picture of their early life, along with detailed instructions for using fetishes for mediation, reflection, and insight in modern life. He describes key fetish figures, including the Guardian of the Six Regions, their legendary meanings, and the personal qualities each figure can support and help its owner develop.

In explaining the nature of fetishes and the psychological and spiritual benefits that we can gain from their use, Bennett provides illuminating cross-cultural comparisons, stimulating exercises, and journaling opportunities.

In this in-depth exploration of the symbols found in Navaho legend and ritual, Gladys Reichard discusses the attitude of the tribe members toward their place in the universe, their obligation toward humankind and their gods, and their conception of the supernatural, as well as how the Navaho achieve a harmony within their world through symbolic ceremonial practice. Originally published in 1963. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.