THIS EDITION HAS A BLACK AND WHITE INTERIOR...A Priest's Head, A Drummer's Hands is a complete-in-itself first volume in a series of teachings on Voodoo as it has and continues to develop in New Orleans. It contains an Order of Service developed over hundreds of rituals at the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple. This Order follows the steps of birth and can be used to bring honor and respect to the ancestors or to birth a "magickal child" of the voodoosant's choosing. Rhythms for the drums are given in the form of Drum Prayers. Rites and offerings to mark the passage of the Grande Zombie (Great Serpent) through the Seasons are outlined in a section on the Ophidian Year. A photographic record of the wake of Charles Masicot Gandolfo, the founder of the Historic Voodoo Museum, and a recounting of the line of Spiritual Doctors running back through the annals of New Orleans Voodoo is presented. Information and a working talisman for John Montanee, the original Dr. John, who conjured and drummed in the eighteen hundreds in New Orleans is included as well as a veve for the city of New Orleans as a spiritual entity.

An Account of the Rites and Mysteries Connected with the Origin, Rise, and Development of Serpent Worship in various Parts of the World, Enriched with Interesting Traditions, and A Full Description of the Celebrated Serpent Mounds and Temples, Forming An Exposition of One of the Phasks of Phallic, or Sex Worship.

Native Americans and Canadians are largely romanticised or sidelined figures in modern society. Their spirituality has been appropriated on a relatively large scale by Europeans and non-Native Americans, with little concern for the diversity of Native American opinions. Suzanne Owen offers an insight into appropriation that will bring a new understanding and perspective to these debates. This important volume collects together these key debates from the last 25 years and sets them in context, analyses Native American objections to appropriations of their spirituality and examines 'New Age' practices based on Native American spirituality. The Appropriation of Native American Spirituality includes the findings of fieldwork among the Mi'Kmaq of Newfoundland on the sharing of ceremonies between Native Americans and First Nations, which highlights an aspect of the debate that has been under-researched in both anthropology and religious studies: that Native American discourses about the breaking of 'protocols', rules on the participation and performance of ceremonies, is at the heart of objections to the appropriation of Native American spirituality.

This work surveys a wide spread of old rites, practised during initiations, puberty, marriages, burials, and other major events of life. Relying on ornamental artwork on pottery and on ancient inscriptions and literature, the author examines, among other topics, Old Testament terms for "dancing," and forms of musical accompaniment in the time of the Hebrews; the sacred processional dance, performed by Hittites, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and other peoples; the ritual dance around sacred objects; and sacred dances performed during harvests and other festivals. Students of bygone civilizations, dancers, choreographers, and anyone interested in the history of this age-old art form will find this text of immense value. The chapters include: The origin and purposes of the sacred dance; The sacred dance among the Israelites, Old Testament terms for "dancing," The sacred processional dance and dances in honour of supernatural powers, The ritual dance round a sacred object, The ecstatic dance, The sacred dance at vintage, harvest, and other festivals, Dances in celebration of victory, The sacred dance as a marriage rite, and Dancing as a mourning and burial rite.

A healing and balanced faith, Haitian Vodou is a member of the African Traditional Religions that came into the Western Hemisphere via the Transatlantic slave trade. Despite a much misunderstood image, Vodou gives its practitioners the tools to understand the world around them. By participating in an annual calendar of observances, rituals and services, servitors can engage with the Vodou "Mysteries," thereby enlisting their aid in helping lead a balanced life. Manbo Vye Zo uses her own story of becoming manbo or mother of the spirits as a stepping stone for her students and godchildren so they can learn by her example. An educational text as well as story, Manbo helps the reader gain a greater understanding of the faith as she leads us ever deeper into unexplored territory. Come experience the world of Haitian Vodou from an insider's perspective, and leave forever changed in your outlook on the world of Vodou.

African cults and religions enrich all aspects of Cuba's social, cultural and everyday life, and encompass all ethnic and social groups. Politics, art, and civil events such as weddings, funerals, festivals and carnivals all possess distinctly Afro-Cuban characteristics. Miguel Barnet provides a concise guide to the various traditions and branches of Afro-Cuban religions. He distinguishes between the two most important cult forms - the Regla de Ocha (Santeria), which promotes worship of the Oshira (gods), and the traditional oracles that originated in the old Yoruba city of lle-lfe', which promote a more animistic worldview. Africans who were brought to Cuba as slaves had to recreate their old traditions in their new Caribbean context. As their African heritage collided with Catholicism and with Native American and European traditions, certain African gods and traditions became more prominent while others lost their significance in the new Afro-Cuban culture. This book, the first systematic overview of the syncretization of the gods of African origin with Catholic saints, introduces the reader to a little-known side of Cuban culture.

The Midewiwin is the society of the Mide or Shamans, popularly designated as the Grand Medicine Society. It is found in many Algonkin tribes. Its ritual, and the traditions of Indian genesis and cosmogony, constitute a powerful religion. Originally published in 1891 in the Bulletin of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Seventh Annual Report, 1885-1886.

For centuries Western scholarship, and the African scholars seduced by this body of knowledge, have not been interested in African "religions" per se, but what was worse, African scholars began not to study indigenous African spirituality on its own terms but through European eyes and intellectual categories. Okot p'Bitek, who is best known for Song of Lawino, was one of the first African scholars to call attention to this situation and argue African scholars need not "Hellenize" African spiritual practices and ideas and that what we have come to think as "African religions" are European versions in African disguise. This publication, along with a new introduction by Ghanaian philosopher Kwasi Wiredu, reintroduces a classic work to a new generation, especially for those with an interest in African spiritual cultures and in need of "decolonizing" them so that they be studied, appreciated, and engaged on their own cultural and historic terms.

The Icelandic Sagas are prose histories, describing life and events that took place in Iceland, during the 10th and 11th centuries. They are stories of families, adventures, feuding, deal-making, wars, great journeys, history, and myth. They are stories of the Norse and Celtic settlers and their descendants in Iceland during what is sometimes called the Saga Age. For Asatruars and Heathens, there is indispensible knowledge to be gained here. These tales give us a window into the world of our heathen ancestors. What did they value? How did they resolve conflicts? How did they uphold their responsibilities to their famlies and their friends? How did they approach life and their places within the community? How did they view and honor their Gods and Ancestors? Contained in this volume are nearly 750 pages of Icelandic Sagas. Read, learn, and enjoy these tales of our Ancestors. This is part of a planned 3 volume set. All profits go into a fund to build a Hof and Hall here in the Heartland.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

"Spirit Wars" is an exploration of the ways in which the destruction of spiritual practices and beliefs of native peoples in North America has led to conditions of collective suffering--a process sometimes referred to as cultural genocide. Ronald Niezen approaches this topic through wide-ranging case studies involving different colonial powers and state governments: the seventeenth-century Spanish occupation of the Southwest, the colonization of the Northeast by the French and British, nineteenth-century westward expansion and nationalism in the swelling United States and Canada, and twentieth-century struggles for native people's spiritual integrity and freedom. Each chapter deals with a specific dimension of the relationship between native peoples and non-native institutions, and together these topics yield a new understanding of the forces directed against the underpinnings of native cultures.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

A unique characteristic of Native American medicine is the belief that each patient holds a different spirit, and that the healing can only work when it affects the individual spirit. Mythology is essential to this healing process. The belief stories within these pages reflect a culture that holds both poignant and alarming lessons. Readers of this book will discover the intriguing past and knowledge of Native American history and beliefs which are more enlightening than they may have previously realized. Teresa Pijoan was raised as a young child on San Juan Pueblo Reservation in New Mexico by her Barcelona born father and her New York born mother. When Teresa was twelve years old, her family moved to Nambe Indian Reservation. She also spent several summers with her adopted aunt at Hopi. As a University of New Mexico at Valencia history professor, Teresa Pijoan, PhD, is an internationally acclaimed author, storyteller, and lecturer. She has won many awards for her teaching and her publications. Her other books from Sunstone Press are "American Indian Creation Myths," "Pueblo Indian Wisdom," "Ways of Indian Magic," and "Dead Kachina Man."

Heathens follow the pre-Christian indigenous beliefs of Northern Europe. We honor our Gods, our Ancestors, and nature spirits called the Vaettir, in much the same way as our Northern European Ancestors. Heathenry is a traditional Folkway, with a strong focus on our families and living this life to its fullest. This book is a collection of 66 essays and 5 poems concerning the Folkway of our People. Heathen Gods includes a chapter for new heathens, chapters on starting, building, maintaining and protecting kindreds and tribes, a chapter on living a heathen life, and a travel journal from a 2009 trip to Iceland.

An Account of the Rites and Mysteries Connected with the Origin, Rise, and Development of Serpent Worship in various Parts of the World, Enriched with Interesting Traditions, and A Full Description of the Celebrated Serpent Mounds and Temples, Forming An Exposition of One of the Phasks of Phallic, or Sex Worship.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

The Icelandic Sagas are prose histories, describing life and events that took place in Iceland, during the 10th and 11th centuries. They are stories of families, adventures, feuding, deal-making, wars, great journeys, history, and myth. They are stories of the Norse and Celtic settlers and their descendants in Iceland during what is sometimes called the Saga Age. For Asatruars and Heathens, there is indispensible knowledge to be gained here. These tales give us a window into the world of our heathen ancestors. What did they value? How did they resolve conflicts? How did they uphold their responsibilities to their famlies and their friends? How did they approach life and their places within the community? How did they view and honor their Gods and Ancestors? Contained in this volume are nearly 800 pages of Icelandic Sagas. Read, learn, and enjoy these tales of our Ancestors. This is part of a planned 3 volume set. All profits go into a fund to build a Hof and Hall here in the Heartland.

Shamanism... what is it? Is it a phenomenon with a clear definition or with a set of clearly definable attributes? Has the phenomenon changed over time, or are today's versions found in suburban basements the same as those that were practiced hundreds of years ago by various tribal people? What can we figure out about shamanism if we simply look at the term itself and how it has been employed over time? What if we restrict ourselves to one geographic location? These are some of the questions grappled with, and partially answered, in this book. By discussing the historical use of the terms shamanism and shaman in North America, Peter N. Jones offers fresh insights into the history of this phenomenon. Comparing current understandings and descriptions of the phenomenon with those of the historical and archival record, Shamans and Shamanism presents a comprehensive analysis of the terms use over time. Included in the book is a comprehensive bibliography of the term's use in North America. Shamans and Shamanism is an important resource for anyone interested in this phenomenon. It provides new insights into the history of the terms, their use in both academic and pop literature, and offers a starting point for future investigations of the phenomenon.

The Matachines dance is a ritual drama performed on certain saint's days in Pueblo Indian and Mexicano/Hispano communities along the upper Rio Grande valley in New Mexico and elsewhere in the American Southwest. It derives from a genre of medieval European folk dramas symbolizing conflict between Christians and Moors. Spaniards brought it to the Americas as a vehicle for Christianizing the Indians. In this book, Rodriguez explores the colorful, complex, and often enigmatic Matachines dance as it is performed today. In the Upper Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico, the Matachines is the only ritual dance performed in both Indian Pueblos and Hispano communities. There, the dance involves two lines of masked dancers, a young girl in white and her crowned, masked, male partner, a bull, and two clowns. Accompanied usually by violin and guitar, these characters enact a choreographic drama that symbolizes encounter, struggle, and transformation-resolution. In this classic, prize-winning ethnographic study, anthropologist and native New Mexican Sylvia Rodriguez compares Indian Pueblo and Hispano Matachines dance performance traditions to discover what they share, how they differ, what they reveal about specific communities, and what they mean to those who continue to perform them with devotion and skill. Sylvia Rodriguez, a professor of anthropology at the University of New Mexico, studies interethnic relations in the US-Mexico Borderlands, with particular focus on Hispano/Mexicano-Pueblo-Anglo relations in the Upper Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico. She holds degrees from Barnard College and Stanford University, and has taught at Carleton College and the University of California, Los Angeles. Her publications deal with the impact of tourism on ethnic relations; the politics of identity, place, and representation; identity and ritual; and conflict over land and water. She continues to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in and around her home town of Taos.

All the races of men, along with their gods, descend from Japhet, son of Noah. The Hebrew and Hindu holy books say that all our deities and religions came from a race of spacemen from Outer Space, to keep mankind from devolving to animal level. "It was then, and later too, that the Nephilim appeared on earth-when the divine beings cohabited with the daughters of men ." (Genesis 6:4). The ancient Hindus and Turks called them Navalin (Star Ship People) and Anunaka/Anunaki (One who is from the Sky; From the Place of No Pain). The Sumerians, Mesopotamians, and Akkadians called them Anunaki (Sky Gods; People of Heaven and Earth).

The divine strangers appointed the tribe of Japhet or the Sanskrit Jyapeti to rule the earth. This divine right of kingship extended also to their close relatives, the Yadu, Yadava, and Yahuda (Jews). The divine religions they inherited were Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism-all of which originated in Siberia. But things went wrong. Mankind kept getting worse. Men started to deny that Christaya, Kurus, and Aryans, as they were called, originated from Mt. Meru in Southern Siberia. The ancient Jews insisted that mankind had spread from the Tower of Babylon, which was just a symbol of Meru. The Hindus likewise insisted that their Gods were home grown and not from Outer Space. Yet, the story might be true. It extended over the entire Eastern Hemisphere.

Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone!

Using a slew of disciplines - including archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, ethnobotany, biology and other fields - The Long Trip strips bare the evidence for the psychedelic experiences of various prehistoric societies and ancient, traditional cultures. It is probably the most comprehensive single volume to look at the use of mind-altering drugs, or entheogens, for ritual and shamanistic purposes throughout humanity's long story, while casting withering sidelong glances at our own times - as Paul Devereux points out, our modern mainstream culture is eccentric in its refusal to integrate the profound experiences offered by these natural substances into its own spiritual life. The Long Trip is a fascinating study of an influential yet still under-explored experience, and is revelatory in its findings, invaluable in its research, and important in its attempts to address many deep questions confronting our culture.

There exists a race of Giants who live in the Blue Mountains of India. Read this book and discover who they are, how they use Spiritual Powers, and why they Worship the Sacred Buffalo. This is a true story of Blavatsky's contact with these ancient people.

David Obey has in his nearly forty years in the U.S. House of Representatives worked to bring economic and social justice to America s working families. In 2007 he assumed the chair of the Appropriations Committee and is positioned to pursue his priority concerns for affordable health care, education, environmental protection, and a foreign policy consistent with American democratic ideals. Here, in his autobiography, Obey looks back on his journey in politics beginning with his early years in the Wisconsin Legislature, when Wisconsin moved through eras of shifting balance between Republicans and Democrats. On a national level Obey traces, as few others have done, the dramatic changes in the workings of the U.S. Congress since his first election to the House in 1969. He discusses his own central role in the evolution of Congress and ethics reforms and his view of the recent Bush presidency crucial chapters in our democracy, of interest to all who observe politics and modern U.S. history.Best Books for Regional General Audiences, selected by the American Association of School Librarians, and Best Books for General Audiences, selected by the Public Library Association"