The Bella Coola Indians - Softcover

McIlwraith, T.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0802076920 ISBN 13: 9780802076922

Publisher: University of Toronto Press, 1992

Synopsis

The classic ethnographic study of the Bella Coola (Nuxalk) Indians of British Columbia, originally published in 1948 and long out of print, is now available again. It is both a comprehensive guide to Nuxalk culture and a central document in the study of ethnographic methods. Between 1922 and 1924, T.F. McIlwraith, then an anthropologist with the National Museum of Canada, spent part of each year with the Nuxalk, acquiring an exhaustive knowledge of their culture. In these volumes he documented the structure of Nuxalk society, the practice of religion, and the role of mythology and the supernatural. He discussed the potlatch and described ceremonies and beliefs surrounding birth, adolescence, marriage, and death. Separate chapters deal with warfare, games, and songs. Of particular interest is a lengthy and detailed description of the winter ceremonial. That McIlwraith was granted the unprecedented privilege of participation in one of these is an indication of the high esteem in which the Nuxalk held him. The two-volume set now contains a new introduction by John Barker which places the work in its historical context and reveals new information about McIlwraith's methods.

About this title

Review:

'In the history of Canadian anthropology, T.F. McIlwraith's The Bella Coola Indians occupies a place similar to that of H.A. Innis's The Fur Trade in Canada in Canadian historical writing'
- Ramsay Cook, BC Studies

About the Author:

T. F. McIlwraith was a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Toronto.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Toronto Press
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0802076920
• ISBN 13: 9780802076922
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 1435