Unknown Huichol

Chapter 1 Preface
Chapter 2 Chapter 1. Confessions Of A Hybrid Anthropologist
Chapter 3 Chapter 2. Shamanic Initiation And Ancestor Veneration
Chapter 4 Chapter 3. Entering The Afterlife
Chapter 5 Chapter 4. Interdependence And Continuity In Huichol Cosmology
Chapter 6 Chapter 5. Seeking Sacred Indexes To Celebrate Life's Logos
Chapter 7 Appendix A. A Huichol Woman's Burial
Chapter 8 Appendix B. Funeral Ritual Song Excerpts
Chapter 9 Appendix C. Deer Hunting And Reincarnating Rituals
Chapter 10 Appendix D. Death and Mourning Among the Huichol
Chapter 11 Endnotes
Chapter 12 Bibliography

This invaluable book offers an alternative interpretation on what it means to be human. Jay Fikes unites his experiences as an aspiring shaman with his dedication to scholarly accuracy; he presents the Huichol religion from a perspective unfettered by modern, Western, science-vectored assumptions. His book integrates sympathetic and discerning interpretation of nuances in Huichol shamanic initiation, myth, ritual, and pilgrimage, creating an insightful portrait of a people whose annual cycle of rituals and pilgrimages have, until recently, sustained their harmonious relation with nature and with their divine ancestors. Fikes's book will become a landmark in comparative religion.