Customer Reviews

Spirit of the Rainforest: A Yanomamo Shaman's Story

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I received this book in the mail one day earlier this month, and finished it by about the same time the next day -- despite the fact that I had three 90 minute college classes to teach, and needed to prepare for a trip to Taiwan. It was that good, and that aweful.

I had devoured a good chunk of the book by the time I turned on my computer and learned the terrible news from New York. I kept reading; there seemed to be a connection. The book is an absolutely mind-blower of a story, but if we were to translate the events it describes into a thesis, one sub-point of that thesis would be: "Mass murder and sincere spirituality are not mutually exclusive, by any means." As Ritchie put it, "(Ex-shaman and Yamomamo Indian Shoefoot) has no problem understanding the Columbine High School massacre or any other killing spree. The spirits of anger and hatred that own and drive a person are spirits he has known personally." It occured to me that we have the same choice as confronts the "converted" village in this book: to seek justice with mercy and caution, and danger to ourselves, or to pass on forgiveness and descend to the level of our enemies. While in Taiwan, I was asked to speak about the relationship between Christianity and Islam, and found myself wishing I'd brought the book along. Jungleman puts so many things so well.

This is not a book you want to read your children to sleep by. It might not even work for your church (still less, coven) book-of-the-month club. Besides being full of violence, its message will be a challenge to skeptics and those who are attracted to the occult. But anyone who is untouched by it, by the pain, beauty, pathos, irony, and danger of being human that it reveals, of living in a spiritual jungle as responsible beings, must have a heart of stone. Jungleman reminds us that before a person is a "native" and subject of anthropological study, he is a human being -- and that "social scientists" and missionaries forget their common humanity and responsibility to Yai Pada, the Great Spirit, at their own peril. As a student of world religions who has written a bit about the occult in Asian traditions and the idea of God in Asian belief systems, I found a great deal that was a priori credible in this inside description of the Yanomamo culture, though of course I have no means of vouching for the specific accuracy of the events it records.

Mark Ritchie's earlier book, God in the Pits, is also worth a read, though it is not as mind-blowning as this book. I also recommend Peace Child, by Don Richardson, which comes close to resembling Spirit of the Rainforest, though more conventional in approach, it is also a remarkable true story of a stone-age tribe that meets Jesus.

author, Jesus and the Religions of Man // ...

The 16,000 Yanomamo people are depicted as the most primitive, most violent, and most famous tribal society in the Amazon. Popularized by the most widely read book in the history of anthropology (*Yanomamo: The Fierce People*, by Napoleon Chagnon), these people are today suffering excruciating problems from gold miners and newly introduced diseases. Major debates have raged among anthropologists, and between anthropologists and missionaries, for 20 years over the "truth" of the Yanomamo culture. Do they live a wonderful life in a beautiful rain-forest Eden, as Chagnon implies in his 1992 book, *The Last Days of Eden*, or do they live in fear and misery as some missionaries say?

Perhaps we should ask that question to the Yanomamo themselves, rather than to the anthropologists or the missionaries. Who does speak for the Yanomamo, anyway? Here, for the first time, author Mark Richie allows the Yanomamo to speak for themselves to us. This is truly "a Yanomamo shaman's story," as the book's subtitle says. It is the autobiography of a Yanomamo shaman-chief named Jungleman. He, at least, is weary of his violent society, and fed-up with the anthropologists, too.

Anyone who thinks the Yanomamo culture is idyllic must be a male: The women live in chronic danger of gang-rapes, savage beatings by their husbands, and kidnapping. And men suffer one of the highest homicide rates in the world from the frequent raiding between villages. If you think it's a romantic way of life, why don't you try it?

Non-specialists in Amazonian anthropology may be skeptical of Jungleman's descriptions of the sexual customs of a European anthropologist who the Yanomamo call "Ass Handler." A.H. has lived with the Yanomamo for many years and, says Jungleman, makes a regular practice of forcibly sodomizing Yanomamo boys. Disbelievers may want to ask the opinion of any anthropologist specializing on the Amazon.

This is a gripping book to read: hard to put down, violent (some would say pornographic), and gut-wrenching. Students who have read the other ethnographies on the Yanomamo will recognize that this book has, above all, a ring of truth. New Age seekers will be fascinated by Jungleman's descriptions of the spirit world that shamans have found. Anthropology students will be shocked by Jungleman's insider view of the political internecine intrigues among anthropologists and between anthropologists and missionaries.

I am called Shoefoot. With my brother-in-Law and Mark I worked on this book. It is truth not lies. While we were suffering terribly the Supreme Being sent his people to us. We learned of His love. Because of His love, we now love. We live in peace. We no longer are shooting each other. We are no longer stealing women. We are alive. We have many children. They are alive. You (who say, "leave them alone") don't know anything about the Yanomamö. You have never come here.
Although we are dying out, "that's OK" you say. Without seeing us, don't be lying about our condition. You are living well, so don't just want that for yourself, and try to keep us suffering. Stop lying. That is showing your contempt for our suffering. You have no idea how we lived. If you could come to my jungle I would really discuss this with you, but you are far away. I believe if you could really see how my people suffer you would not talk like this. So don't live your good life far away and talk about something you know nothing about. Just stay quite over there. Although you are far away, don't try to make us angry, and if you ever do come to my land, don't talk like this, because if the Yanomamö hear you say this, they will fight you. If the ones that are dying out hear you talk like this, they are going to believe you are mocking us and get angry. Just keep your thoughts to yourself. I am a leader in my village. I am one whose life has been changed.


Dictated to Michael Dawson by Shoefoot (Original Yanomamo text available from Island Lake Press on request)
Translated by Michael Dawson (Michael Dawson was born and raised in a Yanomamo village. He learned English when he went away to school at age seven.)
Shoefoot has a long-standing invitation for a public dialogue with any member of the academic community on the topic, "Leave Them Alone." His invitation has not yet been accepted. (Although he has been publicly referred to as a token nigger.)

This book contains some disturbingly gruesome details of real wars the Yanomamo tribes of the Amazon had with one another.... It is never-the-less an awesome look into the world of evil deceiving spirits who fight for the souls of these indians and who "quake" at even the thought of Jesus, and who the Yanomamos
shamans caught lying about Jesus. The Indians know Jesus as "Yai Pada" and the Father, who they call "Yai Wana Naba Laywa". They knew of Jesus before the first white man came. The evil Spirits only wanted to lead these Indians to a life of war and revenge. Which reminds me about what Father Amorth a Catholic Exorcist wrote about these demons: "I have heard demons tell me many times that they suffer more during exorcisms than in hell. When I ask "Why don't you go to hell, then?" they answer, "Because we are only interested in making this person suffer."

Jungleman the Shaman wrote: "I wish I had known the truth about Yai Wana Naba Laywa when I was a young man--it would have saved me so much pain and misery. But how could I? My spirits lied so much to me and tricked me. They were so beautiful, so wonderful, so hard not to want. They were the best at telling me split-truth. Now I'm at the end of this life, and I'm ready to begin my real life with Yai Pada."

As someone who has studied anthropology and the Yanomomo people, I found Spirit of the Rainforest extremely well written and informative. The first hand accounts of village life from the lips of the shaman Jungleman are riveting and astounding. The very dramatic effects, both positive and negative, of both missionaries and anthropologists on their primitive culture is an eye opener. Ritchey does a great job of keeping his accounts objective. While Jungleman's stories certainly make a strong case for the reality of the spiritual realm as taught in Judeo-Christian circles, this book is certainly not preachy or some ill-concieved proslytizing tool. It simply tells the truth as the Yanomomo see it. And that truth will open your eyes to a supernatural reality that exists all around us, whether you choose to believe it or not. I highly recommend this book, to anthropology students and people interested in unique cultures, as well as those with questions about the spirit world.

I have a Bachelor's Degree in Anthropology, and when I started my courses I was told that the whole purpose of Anthropology was, essentially to "better understand humanity in order better help it." This is a noble intent, but I fail to see how it works. I don't think people can be touched on a personal level by faceless names and organizations. I DO think they can be touched by other caring people spending time with them, living with them, and working with them. Not living amonst them, and writing about them. This book is one of the best anthropological studies I have read simply because it was written in the best interest of those being written about. Thank you Mark for having the insight to know how to write truthfully and honestly.

This book does a terrific job of telling the REAL story of the Yanomamo people. The fact that it is told by a Yanomamo shaman lends to the credibility of the book, as does the author's documentation.It was awesome to be able to finally conceptualize what I've believed all along; that the spirit world is very real. Ritchie does a wonderful job in not interjecting his own thoughts and bias into Jungleman's story. It was a moving and gripping tale of a people struggling with the ways they've known for so long and the ways they now wish to live.

and turns it upside-down!

Who would you say is most believable concerning what is best for the Yanomamo People: a possibly biased, more "educated," but perhaps even less civilized anthropologist interpreting the Yanomamo, or the people themselves?

Jungleman, a former shaman, speaks for himself and his people and shows us the difference between the spirits of shamanism and the great spirit, the God of the Bible.

Of secondary importance, his verifiable exposure of the real nature of the anthropologists "studying" the Yanomamo for the past three decades should leave the "educated" world hanging its head in shame. To not see the dollar signs (plus much worse, that I'll leave the reader to discover) cloaked in their studies is to put our heads in the sand.

Jungleman has much to say that we should all listen to if we are to be intellectually honest in any study of the Yanomamo and other animistic groups. If you could only read one book on the Yanomamo, this would be it since it is direct from the source, and not an interpretation.

Mark Ritchie and translator/researcher Gary Dawson, should be commended for helping the Yanomamo tell their own story and, unlike others, to conduct their work gratuitously, with all royalties from the sale of this book going to the Yanomamo people.

My first contact with an indigenous people group was in Viet Nam. Our unit came in contact with a group of Montagnards who were angry that we had destroyed part of their garden. All of these men had crossbows and they were ready to do battle. They did not seem overly concerned about the fact that we had automatic weapons. These were brave men protecting their territory. We backed down and compensated them for the damage. I was in Viet Nam for one year. I lived for 6 years in Haiti and 4 years in Ecuador. During those times I had the opportunity to observe and interact with a number of different people groups. I have come to understand that we are all basically the same. We can be violent people, and we can be caring people. I appreciate Ritchie's book because I can relate to many of the emotions felt by the Yanomamo but especially the fear. All warriors know that they could become a casualty, and do whatever they can to prevent themselves from becoming one. All warriors know fear too. No matter how much they try to hide that fear, it is there. I am grateful for Ritchie's book because jungleman talks about that fear and how it can take away the joys of life. This book is real. It talks about a people who are not happy living a life of fear. I am grateful for people like Ritchie who are not intimidated by those who foolishly think that the rainforest is an Eden, and that the Yanomamo are content in their present situation.

I PICKED THIS BOOK UP AFTER SEEING CHIEF SHOEFOOT, GARY DAWSON AND MARK RITCHIE SPEAK AT OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY. SHOEFOOT WAS OBVIOUSLY QUITE INTELLIGENT. I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND AT THAT TIME WHY HE STRESSED OVER AND OVER THAT THE YANOMAMO ARE HUMAN, "JUST LIKE YOU." HE WAS INDIGNANT ABOUT THE WAY THEY HAVE BEEN PORTRAYED ON T.V. HE MADE IT CLEAR THAT THEY ARE NOT 'THE MISSING LINK' AS SOME ANTHROS HAVE ASSERTED. SHOEFOOT WAS FASCINATING AND SO IS THIS BOOK. A REAL EYE-OPENER ABOUT THE SPIRIT WORLD. IT MAKES ME WORRY FOR THE NEW-AGERS WHO ARE SEEKING THEIR OWN "SPIRIT GUIDES." IT IS A SURE INVITATION TO THE SAME MISERY THAT JUNGLEMAN DESCRIBES.