Customer Reviews

Drama and Power in a Hunting Society: The Selk'nam of Tierra del Fuego

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A fine book about the Selk'nam (also called the Onas), one of the four indigenous groups of the island of Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of the American continent. The other three groups were the Yahgan (also called the Yamanas), the Alacaluf and the Hash. Chapman estimates that before European settlement in the 1880s, there were about 11,000 people of these four tribes in Tierra del Fuego (a considerable population for hunter gatherers in a relatively small island). The indigenous population decline dramatically after white settlement (dying because of epidemics they didn't have natural protection for, but also because of outright genocide; their history is sadly similar to that of the aboriginal tasmanians). Today, only a literally handful of pure indians live as well as a few mestizos. In particular, no pure Selk'nam lives today. Their race has passed. Author Chapman was able to interview a few aging Selk'nam during the 1960s, and the interviews are the basis of the book. The core of the book deals with the Hain, an elaborate initiation ceremony for the young men of the tribe that was also part performance, as the many spirits of their religion were represented by the men: in some ways, the Selk'nam are probably the only Amerindians to have a native theater tradition. There is much more, but this is a book that is very much well reading if you are interested in the subject.