Made from Bone

Jonathan D. Hill is a professor in the Department of Anthropology at Southern Illinois University and the author of Keepers of the Sacred Chants: The Poetics of Ritual Power in an Amazonian Society.

• Contents List of Illustrations Preface, Introducing Made-From-Bone, the Trickster-Creator 1. The Arawakan Waku¿nai of Venezuela Part I. Overview, Words from the Primordial Times 2. Narratives from the Primordial Times 3. Ethnohistorical Interlude Part II. Overview of the World Begins 4. Narratives from the World Begins 5. Ethnomusicological Interlude Part III. Overview of the World Opens Up 6. Narratives from the World Opens Up 7. Ethnological Coda: Shamanizing the State in Venezuela Appendix Notes Glossary References Cited Index

"Interlacing worldview and myth with song and story, [Hill] conveys on various levels his detailed knowledge of Wakuenai ways. . . . Enticing and evocative."--Journal of Folklore Research "A great achievement. The clear text allows readers to comprehend the complexity of the Made-from-Bone trickster, a figure that represents the principles of the Wakuénai culture itself. Hill shows that myth is not mere 'folklore' or 'text' but something deeper, a field of unseen forces and powers by which people experience the world through dynamic, shifting forms."--Michael Uzendoski, author of The Napo Runa of Amazonian Ecuador"An absorbing journey through the mythic history and musicscapes of the Wakuénai people. Jonathan D. Hill masterfully captures the sensuous and poetic dimensions of Wakuénai narratives while highlighting their enduring engagement with the events, struggles, and uncertainties of modern life. This is a painstakingly assembled Amerindian bible complete with its own hardcore exegesis."--Fernando Santos-Granero, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute