Description
Book Synopsis"Ramón Medina Silva, a Huichol Indian shaman priest or mara'akame, instructed me in many of his culture's myths, rituals, and symbols, particularly those pertaining to the sacred untiy of deer, maize, and peyote. The significance of this constellation...
Trade Review"This study is based on observation, verbatim texts of myths, ethnographic data, participation in the rituals, and other publications of Huichol ethnology. The peyote complex is expertly set in the wider context of Huichol religion, society, and history. The study concludes with a review of . . . theories of Turner, Geertz, and Lévi-Strauss, which, in turn, are synthesized to provide the basis for sophisticated analysis of meaning and function of the deer-maize-peyote symbol-ritual complex. . . . Should be useful to all seriously interested in understanding alien world views."—Choice
"This is a beautiful book, recording with loving care how one thoughtful Huichol Indian wanted to see the world."—Review of Books and Religion
"Barbara G. Myerhoff's splendid study . . . is a sensible participant-observer account . . . of a shamanic priest and his small party of pilgrims as they journey to their original homeland, now a distant sacred center, in search of peyote."—Benjamin Ray, History of Religions
"Myerhoff's book will be a classic in the anthropology of religion."—Christian Scholar's Review
Table of Contents1. Ramón and Lupe2. Ethnographic and Historical Background3. Huichol Religion4. The Peyote Hunt as an Event5. The Deer-Maize-Peyote Complex6. The Purpose and Meaning of the Peyote HuntBibliography
Index
