The falling sky Words of a Yanomami shaman

This engaging text, the autobiography of Yanomami shaman and activist Davi Kopenawa, translated with some prefatory remarks, appendixes, notes, and additional biographical comments by anthropologist Albert (Research Institute for Development, Paris), offers a valuable insider perspective on a much-studied Amazonian society, with rich details on myth and religious practices, including shamanic initiation. Albert frames this story with a half-century-long history of exploitation by Westerners, ranging from anthropologists to government officials and developers. Kopenawa's direct experiences with, and assessment of, his white interlocutors is often charged with a well-justified anger, but through the course of his personal history the need for mutual respect and, where appropriate, collaboration is likewise made evident. The text offers a trenchant critique of the characterization of the Yanomami as humanity's primordial "fierce people," highlighting the beauty and virtues of these people while reminding readers of Western cultural and ecological destruction in the Amazon (an exceptionally virulent brand of fierceness). Although a valuable document in its own right, Kopenawa's testimony would read well alongside Rob Borofsky's Yanomami: The Fierce Controversy and What We Can Learn from It (2005), offering an indigenous perspective on what is otherwise a debate among Western anthropologists. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. C. J. MacKenzie University of Lethbridge

This memoir is the culmination of a long collaboration between Kopenawa, a Yanomami shaman from northern Brazil's rain forest, and French anthropologist Albert (research director, Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, Paris), who spent many years among the Yanomami. Kopenawa provides a fascinating glimpse into his life as well as into Yanomami cultural beliefs and practices, setting his story against the various threats the Yanomami people and their forest have faced since the 1960s-highway construction, a gold rush, the encroachment of Brazilian farmers and ranchers, and epidemics of introduced infectious diseases. Albert translated Kopenawa's words into French for the original edition, published in 2010, and the work has now been translated into English. Highlights include Kopenawa's initiation into shamanism, his own and his tribe's interactions with white Brazilians, and his travels within Brazil and abroad to speak about the importance of protecting the Amazon rain forest. He includes a strong warning to people outside of the Yanomami world about the dangers of materialism and land destruction. VERDICT Kopenawa's story is eloquent, engaging, and thought-provoking, exuding heartfelt wisdom. This extraordinary and richly detailed work is an outstanding explication of the Yanomami worldview as well as a plea to all people to respect and preserve the rain forest. Very highly recommended to all with an interest in anthropology, Native American studies, conservation, or ecology.-Elizabeth Salt, -Otterbein Univ. Lib., Westerville, OH (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.