Synopsis
"Insightful work, written for a popular audience, offers reader a general understanding of the region"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 57.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1996-03-01 | | Edition Description: | Illustrated |
| Size | | Length: | 194 pages | | Height: | 9.5 in | | Width: | 6.5 in | | Thickness: | 1.0 in | | Weight: | 17.6 oz |
Publisher's Note
Concern is mounting about the fate of fragile tropical forests and their indigenous people. This original collection of the folklore of peasants living in the Amazon basin, who regard their environment with awe and respect, focuses on the significance of myths and legends as a message of conservation. Compiled during Nigel Smith's quarter-century of fieldwork in Amazonia, the stories reflect the resilient culture of millions of small farmers, hunters, and fisherfolk along the region's waterways and pioneer roads. Their lore is an intriguing blend of indigenous, European, and African religious beliefs spanning all aspects of daily life and including a wide assortment of ghosts, monsters, and enchanted places. As a backdrop to the tales, Smith provides information on the flora and fauna of the area, on the geographical and historical setting, and in particular on the problems of rain forest conservation. All is not lost, he says. Young people in rural areas still recount tales of spirit protectors, and the region is experiencing a revival of traditional cultural practices. With its intimate photographs, also by Nigel Smith, this book will appeal to the general public as well as to ecologists, anthropologists, botanists, natural historians, and all others working in the Amazon Basin.
Industry Reviews
Folklore as a controlling factor in environmental conservation is the theme of this thought-provoking book by a geographer with 25 years of research experience in the Amazonian rain forest. Smith, the author or coauthor of ten other books (e.g., Rainforest Corridors, 1982), introduces the reader to folkloric spirits that populate the forests and rivers of the Amazon basin. Smith suggests that folklore accounts in part for the ecological control hitherto maintained in the Amazonian rain forest. Chockfull of firsthand accounts of the restraining effects on human behavior of these folkloric beings, the book is also illustrated with black-and-white photographs depicting the peasants' daily lives. Woven throughout this fascinating book are discussions of rain forest ecology, history, and social structure. Smith makes it clear that we still have much to learn about our relationship with nature. Cynthia D. Bertelsen, Virginia Tech Univ. Libs., Blacksburg
Breitman
Between 1976 and 1994, the author collected stories from peasants (caboclos) in the Amazon basin, seeking insight into their perception of their environment, both social and ecological. Smith (Man, Fishes and the Amazon) considers the loss of aboriginal cultural diversity to be as serious as the loss of plant and animal species. He found that fear of supernatural reprisal underlies much of the lore of the hunter; the curupira, father of game, steals his victims' shadows. Fishermen fear the cobra granda, a giant snake whose eyes at night cast beams like flashlights. John of the forest is an invisible caretaker of plants. Spirits and ghosts spill into village life; most are concerned with moral and ethical issues. There are pugnacious black sows, giant white dogs and three-legged cows. Smith gives information on historical and geographical settings, flora and fauna and problems of rain forest conservation. These stories will appeal strongly to readers interested in folklore as well as to anthropologists and ecologists. Photos. (Mar.)
Lopate
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