Beyond Primitivism

'It will be a very helpful introductory text for students of (comparative) religion everywhere for it will significantly broaden the religious horizon of all who read it.' - Reviews in Religion and Theology

• Introduction Jacob K. Olupona I Modernity and methodology 1. 'Do Jews make good Protestants?' The cross-cultural study of ritual Naomi Janowitz 2. 'Can we move beyond primitivism?' On recovering the indigenes of indigenous religions in the academic study of religion Armin Geertz 3. 'Classify and conquer': Friedrich Max Muller, indigenous traditions, and imperial comparative religion David Chidester 4. A post-colonial meaning of religions: Some reflections from the indigenous world Charles Long 5. Saami responses to Christianity: Resistance and change Hakan Rydving II The Americas 6. Tribal religious traditions are constantly devalued in western discourse on religious crusades John Mohawk 7. Guidelines for the study of Mesoamerican religious traditions Alfredo Lopez Austin 8. Jaguar Christians in the contact zone David Carrasco 9. Modernity, resistance and the Iroquois Longhouse people Chris Jocks 10. 'He, not they, best protected the village': Religious and other conflicts in 20th century Guatemala Bruce Lincoln 11. Vodou in the 'Tenth Department': New York's Haitian community Karen Brown 12. Assaulting California's sacred mountains: Shamans vs. New Age merchants of Nirvana Helen McCarthy III Africa and Asia 13. Understanding sacrifice and sanctity in Benin (Nigeria) indigenous religion: A case study Flora Kaplan 14. The earth mother scripture. A revival of primal religion in the late 19th century China Whalen Lai 15. Popular religions and modernity in Japan Michio Araki 16. Modernity and religiosity: Quotidian perspectives Emiko Ohnuki-Tierney 17. Rethinking religious traditions: The Ainu case Katrina Sjoberg 18. Korean Shamans and the definition of 'religion' Layrel Kendall 19. Mandaya myth, memory, and the heroic religious tradition: Between Islam and Christianity Aram Yengoyan 20. The Vaddas: Representation of the Wild Man in Sri Lanka Gananath Obeyesekere IV The Pacific Islands 21. On wondering about wonder: Melanesians and the cargo Garry Trompf 22. Thinking and teaching with indigenous traditions of Melanesia Mary MacDonald 23. The Hawaiian Lei on a voyage through modernities: A study in post-contact religion Steve Friesen