Animals and Ancestors - An Ethnography (Paperback, Revised)

Ever since the emergence of human culture, people and animals have co-existed in close proximity. Humans have always recognized both their kinship with animals and their fundamental differences, as animals have always been a threat to humans' well-being. The relationship, therefore, has been complex, intimate, reciprocal, personal, and -- crucially -- ambivalent. It is hardly surprising that animals evoke strong emotions in humans, both positive and negative.
This companion volume to Morris' important earlier work, The Power of Animals, is a sustained investigation of the Malawi people's sacramental attitude to animals, particularly the role that animals play in life-cycle rituals, their relationship to the divinity and to spirits of the dead. How people relate to and use animals speaks volumes about their culture and beliefs. This book overturns the ingrained prejudice within much ethnographic work, which has often dismissed the pivotal role animals play in culture, and shows that personhood, religion, and a wide range of rituals are informed by, and even dependent upon, human-animal relations.

General

Imprint:	Berg Publishers
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	October 2000
First published:	2000
Authors:	Brian Morris
Dimensions:	216 x 138 x 16mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	300
Edition:	Revised
ISBN-13:	978-1-85973-491-9
Categories:	Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Anthropology > General Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Social impact of environmental issues > General Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social issues > Animals & society > General Books > Science & Mathematics > Biology, life sciences > Human biology & related topics > Biological anthropology > General
LSN:	1-85973-491-X
Barcode:	9781859734919

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