Witchcraft and Sorcery of the American Native Peoples [Paperback]

Deward E. Walker (Author), David Carrasco (Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 346 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Idaho Pr (June 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0893011274
• ISBN-13: 978-0893011277
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #258,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent tribal studies, December 4, 2005

By 

Jo Van (Bothell, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Witchcraft and Sorcery of the American Native Peoples (Paperback)

Something that's always annoyed me is reading that "Native Americans believed..." like there was only ever one tribe with one set of beliefs or customs. Yes, there are similarities; as Joseph Campbell has shown, all mythology is human mythology and the same themes appear repeatedly world-wide. That doesn't mean that there aren't subtle differences from tribe to tribe. There are differences in beliefs, in ceremonies--in all the specifics. That is what I most appreciate about this book. It is a compilation of the beliefs and practices of specific tribes, each tribe represented by an expert on that tribe, with emphasis on the specifics. The only critism I have of this book is simply that I want more--more of the specifics to go with the cultural analysis. Just the same, this is far more satisfactory than most Native American resources I've seen.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Pan-American Study, November 20, 2003

By 

Zekeriyah (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Witchcraft and Sorcery of the American Native Peoples (Paperback)

Too often people tend to forget that the Native Americans were once everywhere between Alaska and Tierra del Fuego, and that even after conquest many Native peoples still held their traditional lands. This anthropological survey, however, does a wonderful job covering most of the Americas. As the title implies, this book is a study of witchcraft and sorcery of the Native Americans. Not of religion or shamanism, but of socially taboo magical practices (though, it should be noted, there is some relationship between beliefs of witchcraft and traditional religions). Better still, this book looks at beliefs of witchcraft in both traditional religion and in post-contact religion. Again, people tend to forget that Native American culture is still alive and well, changing as time goes on just like any other culture.
Over all, the book covers 15 different Nations, giving a wider view at the beliefs of magic across aboriginal society in general. Each Nation more or less represents a specific "culture group". After the introduction, which explains the book pretty well, we get a brief look at the Inuit of the Arctic and their beliefs in soul loss, violations of hunting tabboos and the tupilak (a sort of familar type creature that witches used to kill). Then he goes into witch-killings amongst the Subarctic Kaska, power gaining and sorcery amongst the Menomini of the Great Lakes (covering Traditional, Peyoteist and Catholic views), relationships between shamanism and witchcraft in the Skokomish of the Northwest Coast and Traditional and Pentecostal responses to withcraft to the Nez Perce of the Plateau.
All of these chapters go in depth in looking into Native cosmology and views on witchcraft, often providing charts and Native words as well as accounts of witchcraft gathered from Native informants. He continues on to look at charms and witchcraft complexes amongst the Six Nations of the Iroquois (representing the Eastern Woodlands). Then he goes on to the Southwest, which is divided into two chapters to provide a contrast between the Athapaskans (in this case the Apaches) and the Pueblos. The latter is particularly interesting, mentioning the punishments for witchcraft as well. Going into Latin America, we are presented with a look at the Tecospa and Tepepan, which provides us with pre-Columbian Aztec views on witches and evil, and later Catholicized views both amongst the Mexican Indians and the mestizos. Related to this are two other sections, covering the Quiche Maya (modern day) and colonial-era Andean cultures, which provide further insight into the ancient Native American empires of the Maya, Inka, Moche and so forth.
He also devotes a chapter to the Mapuche Indians of Chile and how their society reacts to sorcery. Rounding out the book are several other surveys, including the Akawaio Indians of Guyana, the black Caribs of Belize and the Obeah beliefs of Roatan and the Caribbean (these often include Indian as well as African and European influences). Overall a good survey, if a bit in leaning towards North America. It would have been nice to see him cover the greater whole of Amazonia and interior Brazil (there are many Native American tribes left in that region), if not the extinct Yaghan and Ona of Tierra del Fuego. Still, it is a wonderful overall survey of Native American views on witchcraft.
The only real commentary I can add to this brief overview is that it is an anthropological text book. Unfamilar readers may find some of the accounts uninteresting, and be unfamilar with some of the concepts and terminology (technical spelling of Native words is given, for example, to help with pronounciation but without a chart). Also, witchcraft in this book means witchcraft, malicious magical beliefs and practices. This isn't an idealized or romanticized look at "pagan religion" or some such so don't get offended if you believe your a witch. However, if you are familar with social sciences, you should appreciate this book immensely.