Description
Book SynopsisHow do shape-shifting shamans, a giant cannibalistic bumblebee, and human marriage with animals speak to Canadian Inuit and Siberian indigenous peoples today? This book on Inuit oral literature is suitable for those interested in shamanism, oral storytelling, northern cultures and cultural change.
Trade Review"Missionaries forbade their converts any mention of the pre-Christian hero 'Kiviuq,' so each Inuit elder had to consider carefully before agreeing to speak out. Ms. Van Deusen brought to Nunavut the combination of respect and curiosity that had previously won her such powerful stories from Siberian aboriginal elders. If you read between the lines, this ancient story provides a key to human survival on earth." John Houston, filmmaker "A compelling project of the kind that only this author could have written - a creative and deeply human approach to a subject that invites a wide-range of reflections on oral and literary genres, native history and cultural change." Bruce Grant, anthropology, New York University "Van Deusen takes the reader on a journey into Inuit culture and from there across the Bering Straits into Sakha (Yakutiya) in Siberia, showing in deeply compelling ways how stories travel across cultures. I was enthralled." Adele Barker, Russian and Slavic Studies, University of Arizona
