Shamanism, Colonialism, and the Wild Man [Michael Taussig]

[Shamanism] [Colonialism] [Wild Man]

Shamanism, Colonialism, and the Wild Man 

Michael Taussig

University of Chicago Press, IL. 1987. First 1991 paperback edition. Some marks to the interior, small dings to the corners, quite clean though. An excellent copy.

From the publisher:

"Working with the image of the Indian shaman as Wild Man, Taussig reveals not the magic of the shaman but that of the politicizing fictions creating the effect of the real."

Not a ton to go on there, but trust me - this one is good. The idea of the Shaman as the natural spiritual enemy of the colonizer is one I find fascinating, particularly as described in the works of Neil Whitehead. Taussig runs with the concept here, where indigenous people weaponize the colonizers fear of the unknown into a potent and effective defense.