Soul Hunters: Hunting, Animism, and Personhood among the Siberian Yukaghirs [Paperback]

Rane Willerslev (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 24, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0520252179 | ISBN-13: 978-0520252172 | Edition: 1

This is an insightful, highly original ethnographic interpretation of the hunting life of the Yukaghirs, a little-known group of indigenous people in the Upper Kolyma region of northeastern Siberia. Basing his study on firsthand experience with Yukaghir hunters, Rane Willerslev focuses on the practical implications of living in a "hall-of-mirrors" world--one inhabited by humans, animals, and spirits, all of whom are understood to be endless mimetic doubles of one another. In this world human beings inhabit a betwixt-and-between state in which their souls are both substance and nonsubstance, both body and soul, both their own individual selves and reincarnated others. Hunters are thus both human and the animals they imitate, which forces them to steer a complicated course between the ability to transcend difference and the necessity of maintaining identity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Willerslev's engagements with phenomenology, perspectivism, and mimesis makes a valuable and timely contribution to contemporary debates on knowledge diversity."--Social Anthropology

From the Inside Flap

"Soul Hunters combines intimate ethnographic knowledge of Yukaghir hunting practices with sophisticated phenomenological analysis and an impressive comparative range. The book critiques and revivifies familiar concepts and interpretive traditions, most notably 'animism' and 'shamanism.' It contains many original comparative arguments and analyses, and the ethnographic examples are always lucidly described. A remarkable book."--James Clifford, author The Predicament of Culture

"Soul Hunters is a detailed and theoretically original ethnography which will make an important contribution to the anthropology of Siberia and hunter-gatherers more generally."--Nikolai V. Ssorin-Chaikov, author of The Social Life of the State in Subarctic Siberia

"Soul Hunters makes a highly original contribution to Yukaghir ethnography, as well as to theoretical discussions about the nature of spiritual knowledge. The work will provide the starting point for several future debates in contemporary anthropology."--Peter Schweitzer, co-editor of Hunters and Gatherers in the Modern World: Conflict, Resistance, and Self-Determination

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Product Details

• Paperback: 235 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (August 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520252179
• ISBN-13: 978-0520252172
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #649,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent book, opens up the mind.., August 15, 2010

By 

M. F. H. "mary fran" (Strabane,Pa) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Soul Hunters: Hunting, Animism, and Personhood among the Siberian Yukaghirs (Paperback)

The book was a an eyeopener as they say..Its nice to know that someone is not so prejudiced by what they have learned thru books. Going to visit and see the Yukaghirs was a once in a lifetime adventure and i am so glad you were able to write about them...

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful!, January 8, 2012

By 

dr evil - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soul Hunters: Hunting, Animism, and Personhood among the Siberian Yukaghirs (Paperback)

Truely great book! Exciting, breath taking and deep. Needs reading by everyone who has an interest in indigenous shamanism, hunting and wild life.