Raramuri Souls: Knowledge and Social Progress in Northern Mexico: No 10 (Smithsonian Series in Ethnographic Inquiry) - Hardcover

Merrill, William L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0874746841 ISBN 13: 9780874746846

Publisher: Smithsonian Books, 1988

Synopsis

In his sensitive portrayal of the Raramuri (or Tarahumara) Indians, Merrill examines the ways in which a society, lacking formal educational institutions, produces and transmits its basic knowledge about the world.

About this title

Review

A well-written book about the knowledge of Tarahumara Indians in Northwest Mexico. . . . It stands above many other worldview ethnographies in the depth and clarity of its thinking about thinking. (Latin American Anthropology Review)

Excellent. . . . Merrill explores the most basic tenets of Raramuri thought and action by elucidating the concepts of the soul and the contexts in which this theoretical knowledge manifests its representation, reproduction, and variation. . . . Merrill leads his readers on a journey through Raramuri philosophy, cosmology, and ritual, which, prior to this study, have largely been uncharted regions of Raramuri worldview. (Man)

Raramuri Souls provides a great deal of new information about Tarahumara (Raramuri) life, develops a theory of cultural reproduction versus social reproduction, and synthesizes mentalist and practice-orientation anthropologies in a new understanding of sociocultural processes. . . . The author provides an excellent fifty-page orientation chapter. Thus, the book could be a welcome addition to introductory courses as well as to courses in Middle American ethnology, medical and social anthropology, and culture change. (American Anthropologist)

An excellent ethnography of a fascinating people. (Kiva)

As ethnography, Merrill's book is outstanding. He furthers our understanding of the Raramuri and does so in an engaging fashion. His informants come alive. . . . For those interested in the Indians of Mexico, practice in anthropology and folklore, or native philosophy and knowledge, Raramuri Souls is an excellent resource. (Folklore Forum)

About the Author

William L. Merrill is a curator of North American ethnology in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History.

Edition details

• Publisher: Smithsonian Books
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0874746841
• ISBN 13: 9780874746846
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 325