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Amazonian Cosmos: The Sexual and Religious Symbolism of the Tukano Indians
English (translation)
- GenresAnthropology
314 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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102 people want to read
About the author
Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff
35 books19 followersAnthropologist, known for his holistic approach and his in-depth fieldworks among tropical rainforest cultures (e.g. Tucano). His many publications and achievements have deemed him the “Father of Colombian Archaeology”—and rightly so.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 3, 2023
Deep detailed description defies digestion
I kept this book on my shelf for more than 40 years, though I don’t anticipate that you’ll give me a lot of credit for that. When I finally decided that the hour to read it had arrived, I realized that I was not going to “pass Go or collect two hundred dollars” as Monopoly decreed all those years ago. No, I found the going too tough and I have a pretty high tolerance for tough books. There are two problems.
First, a case of doubt. The anthropologist here was born in Austria, but left just before WW II to live the rest of his life in Colombia. He proved extremely active, taught, researched and wrote extensively all his life up to his death in 1994. There is no doubt about his ability. No, my doubt is about only this particular book. It seems it was largely written on the basis of the extensive descriptions of a single member of the Desana tribe of a remote jungle area of the northwest Amazon basin in Colombia. That man had left his home and met the author in an urban environment. The author did visit that man’s original home, but how much he got from that was not clear. The book does contain photographs of the Desana. My doubt is that no matter how accurate his informant was, no matter how honest, it is a very risky thing to write on such a basis.
The second problem is for us, the readers. The detail is terrific. There are a large number of myths; the symbols and myths are discussed using hundreds of indigenous words which you don’t need unless you plan to do research there yourself (if those Indians still exist). I was not among those with such a plan. The material is interesting, but impossible to digest. You just could not sit down and read “Amazonian Cosmos” from cover to cover. It could be a kind of encyclopedia for Amazonian studies, an incredible work of scholarship, yes, but a readable book, no. The Desana and other groups with similar cultures view the world in terms of fertility, the supernatural is present all the time, and these are expressed at social meetings in terms of religious attitudes, economic obligations incurred, and equal exchanges of women between various groups. If you are a student of anthropology, you could do worse than try to plow through this book because it is rich in myth, symbol and ritual and the way these are connected to the daily life of a particular people. If you are just a surfer on the waves of anthropology or sailing the calm waters of interesting peoples and their cultures, I think you’d better give this one a miss. That’s why two stars, not because it isn’t good work at the level of five stars.
October 3, 2023
I kept this book on my shelf for more than 40 years, though I don’t anticipate that you’ll give me a lot of credit for that. When I finally decided that the hour to read it had arrived, I realized that I was not going to “pass Go or collect two hundred dollars” as Monopoly decreed all those years ago. No, I found the going too tough and I have a pretty high tolerance for tough books. There are two problems.
First, a case of doubt. The anthropologist here was born in Austria, but left just before WW II to live the rest of his life in Colombia. He proved extremely active, taught, researched and wrote extensively all his life up to his death in 1994. There is no doubt about his ability. No, my doubt is about only this particular book. It seems it was largely written on the basis of the extensive descriptions of a single member of the Desana tribe of a remote jungle area of the northwest Amazon basin in Colombia. That man had left his home and met the author in an urban environment. The author did visit that man’s original home, but how much he got from that was not clear. The book does contain photographs of the Desana. My doubt is that no matter how accurate his informant was, no matter how honest, it is a very risky thing to write on such a basis.
The second problem is for us, the readers. The detail is terrific. There are a large number of myths; the symbols and myths are discussed using hundreds of indigenous words which you don’t need unless you plan to do research there yourself (if those Indians still exist). I was not among those with such a plan. The material is interesting, but impossible to digest. You just could not sit down and read “Amazonian Cosmos” from cover to cover. It could be a kind of encyclopedia for Amazonian studies, an incredible work of scholarship, yes, but a readable book, no. The Desana and other groups with similar cultures view the world in terms of fertility, the supernatural is present all the time, and these are expressed at social meetings in terms of religious attitudes, economic obligations incurred, and equal exchanges of women between various groups. If you are a student of anthropology, you could do worse than try to plow through this book because it is rich in myth, symbol and ritual and the way these are connected to the daily life of a particular people. If you are just a surfer on the waves of anthropology or sailing the calm waters of interesting peoples and their cultures, I think you’d better give this one a miss. That’s why two stars, not because it isn’t good work at the level of five stars.
October 3, 2023
April 25, 2025
A long slow read. It is hard to blame such an old book for being outdated, but to draw entire societal conclusions based on a single informant is just bad anthropology. There is a lot in here, and it is for the most part deeply analyzed. But a lot is also assumed and left out. It was so focused on only one part of the culture, I really wished just a bit more time was spent on even basic introductory material. Who are the people that are being analyzed? It took the whole book piecing together stray bits to get a sense of what everyday life is like. I learned a lot, but not one I will ever look at again.
December 25, 2017
Outstanding book with drawings of Tukano indians, which are alas, mostly christianized today.
November 4, 2012
An excellent account of the myths, spiritual, and sexual-spiritual traditions of the Tukano (Desana) Indians. The author also provides excellent research into the various symbols that provide meaning to these disappearing people.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews