Living without the Dead by Piers Vitebsky

University of Chicago Press, 2017-10-19. Illustrated. New. New, unread, and unused.

University of Chicago Press. Used - Very Good. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects.

Univ of Chicago Pr, 2017. Paperback. New. 272 pages. 9.00x6.00x1.00 inches.

Paperback / softback. New. Just one generation ago, the Sora tribe in India lived in a world populated by the spirits of their dead, who spoke to them through shamans in trance. Every day, they negotiated their wellbeing in heated arguments or in quiet reflections on their feelings of love, anger, and guilt. Today, young Sora are rejecting the worldview of their ancestors and switching their allegiance to warring sects of fundamentalist Christianity or Hinduism. Communion with ancestors is banned as sacred sites are demolished, female shamans are replaced by male priests, and debate with the dead gives way to prayer to gods. For some, this shift means liberation from jungle spirits through literacy, employment, and democratic politics; others despair for fear of being forgotten after death. How can a society abandon one understanding of reality so suddenly and see the world in a totally different way? Over forty years, anthropologist Piers Vitebsky has shared the lives of shamans, pastors,… Read More

paperback. Good. Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items. May be an ex-library book.