Native Americas
Traditions of North America, Mesoamerica, the Andes and Amazonia in history and anthropology.
Amazonian Perspectivism: the Jaguar and the Shaman
Amerindian perspectivism as described by Viveiros de Castro: animals who see themselves as people, the jaguar, and the shaman who travels between viewpoints.
Hanan, Kay and Ukhu Pacha: the Andean Three Worlds and the Chakana
The Andean worldview: the worlds of hanan, kay and ukhu pacha, yanantin duality, pachakuti and the stepped chakana cross, ancient motif and modern reading.
The 1890 Ghost Dance: Wovoka and Wounded Knee
The Ghost Dance: the vision of the Paiute prophet Wovoka, the circle dance, the Lakota ghost shirts and the tragedy of Wounded Knee in December 1890.
Haudenosaunee: the Great Law of Peace and the False Faces
The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois): the Peacemaker and Hiawatha, the Tree of Peace, the Longhouse and the masks of the False Face Society, seen as living beings.
Hopi Katsinam: Rain Spirits, Dances and Tihu Dolls
The katsinam of the Hopi: who they are, why they arrive from the winter solstice until July, the plaza dances, tihu dolls and the respect they are owed.
Huacas and Ceques: the Sacred Geography of Inca Cusco
Andean huacas, sacred places and objects, and the ceque system of Cusco: lines radiating from the Coricancha, as described by the Jesuit Bernabé Cobo.
Inti Raymi and the Inca Cult of the Sun
Inti, the Inca Sun god, the golden Coricancha of Cusco, the Sapa Inca as son of the Sun and the Inti Raymi festival at the June solstice, past and present.
The Inuit Angakkuq and Sedna, Mother of the Arctic Sea
The Inuit shaman angakkuq, the helping spirits tuurngait, the myth of Sedna, mistress of sea animals, and the journey to the seabed to comb her hair.
The Mapuche Machi: the Rewe, the Kultrun and the Ngillatun
The machi, ritual specialist of the Mapuche: the calling, the stepped rewe pole, the kultrun drum as a map of the cosmos and the communal ngillatun ceremony.
The Mesoamerican ballgame: sport, ritual and cosmos
The ballgame in Mesoamerica: I-shaped courts, rubber balls, stone rings, its link with the myth of the Hero Twins and the cosmic value of every match played.
Mictlan and the Day of the Dead: the journey of souls in Mexico
The Aztec Mictlan, the nine levels of the afterlife and the guiding dog, then the Day of the Dead: altars, marigolds and the Catrina, Indigenous and Christian.
Midewiwin and the Dreamcatcher: Ojibwe Tradition
The Ojibwe and the Midewiwin society: initiatory degrees, birchbark scrolls, the migis shell and the true origin of the dreamcatcher as a gift for cradles.
Nahual and tonal: souls, animal doubles and transformation
The shape-shifting nahualli, the tonalli tied to one's birth day, the Maya way and the Tzotzil chanul: how Mesoamerica conceived the soul and animal double.
Navajo Sandpaintings: Sacred Images That Last a Day
Diné sandpaintings: the hataalii chanter, the Holy People, ceremonies such as the Blessingway and the concept of hózhó, harmony and beauty, explained.
Pachamama and the Despacho: the Andean Offering to the Earth
Pachamama, the Andean Mother Earth, the apu mountain spirits and the despacho, the ritual offering with which Quechua and Aymara give back to the earth.
The Great Plains Sun Dance: Rite, Tree and Sacrifice
The Sun Dance of the Plains peoples: the central tree, the circular lodge, the vow and personal sacrifice, government bans and the ceremony's revival.
The Popol Vuh: the K'iche' Maya book of council
The Popol Vuh of the K'iche' Maya: the creation of the maize people, the Hero Twins in Xibalba, the manuscript's history and the myth's symbolic meaning.
Potlatch and Totem Poles of the Northwest Coast
The potlatch of the Northwest Coast peoples: gift, rank and memory; Canada's 1884 ban, and what totem poles really mean for the families who raise them.
Qoyllur Rit'i: the Andean Pilgrimage to the Glacier
Qoyllur Rit'i, «star snow»: the Andean pilgrimage below Ausangate, the dancing nations, the ukuku and the meeting of Catholic faith and Andean tradition.
The sacred 260-day calendar and the Aztec New Fire
Tzolk'in and tonalpohualli, the 365-day year, the 52-year cycle and the Aztec New Fire ceremony: how the peoples of Mesoamerica measured sacred time.
The Lakota Sacred Pipe and White Buffalo Calf Woman
The Lakota sacred pipe, the story of White Buffalo Calf Woman and the seven rites: its symbols, the red pipestone and the meaning of «all my relatives».
Kené and Icaros: the Designs and Songs of the Shipibo
The kené designs of the Shipibo-Konibo of the Ucayali, woven and painted by women, and the icaros, ritual songs: an art in which image and sound are one.
Tezcatlipoca, the smoking mirror: the Aztec god of night
Tezcatlipoca, lord of night and fate: the obsidian mirror, the lost foot, the Toxcatl festival and the link with the mirror once owned by John Dee in London.
Tlaloc and Chaac: the rain gods of Mesoamerica
Tlaloc of the Aztecs and Chaac of the Maya: iconography, temples, cenotes and sacred mountains, and the Ch'a Chaak ceremony still alive in Yucatán villages.
The Native American Trickster: Coyote, Raven and Nanabozho
The trickster of Native North American myth: Coyote, Raven who steals the light, Nanabozho and Iktomi, and why the deceiver shapes the world and teaches.