Wings in the desert : a folk ornithology of the northern Pimans

Book

Wings in the desert : a folk ornithology of the northern Pimans / Amadeo M. Rea ; linguistic consultant, Culver Cassa ; bird sketches by Allan Brooks [and others].

Summary:

There is a common but often unspoken arrogance on the part of outside observers that folk science and traditional knowledge—the type developed by Native communities and tribal groups—is inferior to the “formal science” practiced by Westerners. In this lucidly written and humanistic account of the O’odham tribes of Arizona and Northwest Mexico, ethnobiologist Amadeo M. Rea exposes the limitations of this assumption by exploring the rich ornithology that these tribes have generated about the birds that are native to their region. He shows how these peoples’ observational knowledge provides insights into the behaviors, mating habits, migratory patterns, and distribution of local bird species, and he uncovers the various ways that this knowledge is incorporated into the communities’ traditions and esoteric belief systems. Drawing on more than four decades of field and textual research along with hundreds of interviews with tribe members, Rea identifies how birds are incorporated, both symbolically and practically, into Piman legends, songs, art, religion, and ceremonies. Through highly detailed descriptions and accounts loaded with Native voice, this book is the definitive study of folk ornithology. It also provides valuable data for scholars of linguistics and North American Native studies, and it makes a significant contribution to our understanding of how humans make sense of their world. It will be of interest to historians of science, anthropologists, and scholars of indigenous cultures and folk taxonomy.

Record details

ISBN: 9780816524594
ISBN: 0816524599
Physical Description: xxi, 293 pages : illustrations, maps ; 32 cm
Publisher: Tucson : University of Arizona Press, ©2007.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:: Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-276) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:: Introduction -- Northern Pimans and their environment -- Native consultants -- Documentary sources -- An overview of avian folk taxonomy -- Birds, guardians, shamans, and healers -- Bird keeping and rearing -- Feather use -- Hunting and trapping, game preparation and cooking -- Plan of the folk generics (biological species accounts) -- The species accounts.
Action Note:: committed to retain 20160630 20310630 EAST http://eastlibraries.org/retained-materials This title retained by Wesleyan University Library on behalf of the Eastern Academic Scholars Trust (EAST) print archive