Lila Wistrand-Robinson, who is an Adjunct Professor of Social Studies at Black River Technical College in Pocohontas, Arkansas, has taken the data from her doctoral thesis on Cashibo, a Panoan language, and revised it for general readership. The research for this work was done over a six-year period during which Dr. Wistrand-Robinson made several trips to the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Azul 'Blue Ridge' area of the Andes in Peru.
The book is divided into two parts. The first part contains many of the myths, legends, and chants passed from father to son among the Cashibo. For those readers who are particularly interested in how the stories relate to other Panoan languages, each tale has been linked with Thompson s list of anthropological themes. Part two of the book describes the history of the Cashibo people and culture up to the mid 1960s.
The references section includes not only those cited by the author in the volume, but also anthropological and linguistic works that discuss Panoan culture in general, and the Cashibo in particular. This section alone is a valuable resource for those interested in studying the languages and cultures of the indigenous groups living in the Peruvian rain forest.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 1: The Cashibo Tell Their Story
1. How Things Came to Be as They Are
2. Creation, the Flood, and Crossing the Ocean
3. Our Inca Heroes
4. When the Animals Lived Like Humans
5. We Tell About Death and Other Worlds
6. Our Tribal Ways-Morals, Belief and Practice
7. Migration and Westernization
8. Work, Recreation, and Travel
9. Song Poetry
PART 2: Culture Sketch and Panoan Background
10. Geographical and Historical Setting
11. Kinship, Marriage, and Family
12. Material Culture, Technology, and Economics
13. Religion and Beliefs
14. Pan-Panoan Setting for Cashibo-Cacataibo Myths and Tales
Appendices
References
