Description:
Angalkut/Shamans in Yup'ik Oral Tradition collects over thirty years' worth of shaman stories, told as part of gatherings organized by the Calista Elders Council to document Yup'ik traditional knowledge. These conversations highlight the critical role angalkutplayed in Yup'ik life--healing the sick, interpreting dreams and unusual experiences, requesting future abundance through masked dances and other ceremonies, protecting the lives of young children, and dealing with the dead.
Brief description: Ann Fienup-Riordan is an anthropologist who has lived and worked in Alaska for more than forty years. She has written and edited more than twenty books on Yup'ik history and oral traditions.
Review Quotes: "Undoubtedly the finest and richest compilation of shamanic ethnographical information for Alaska. A great contribution to the preservation and transfer of Yup'ik knowledge and cosmology. The book gives precedence to the voices of the elders and their perspectives and provides access to powerful stories."
--Frédéric Laugrand, Université Catholique de Louvain