The Daykeeper : The Life and Discourse of an Ixil Diviner

Benjamin N. Colby

ISBN 10: 0674283643 / ISBN 13: 9780674283640

Published by Harvard University Press, 1981

About this Item

nach der Bestellung gedruckt Neuware - Printed after ordering - The Daykeeper presents a unique view, of the life of a modern Mayan holy man--his religious beliefs and practices, his stories and folktales, his philosophy of living, his struggle for daily bread and peace of mind. In the hands of Benjamin and Lore Colby; the daykeeper's testimony be comes an important vehicle for understanding a culture that is a direct descendant of the high Mayan civilization of the past. The Colbys show that there are intelligible cultural principles that organize the daykeeper's methods of divination and guide his interpretation of dreams and his cures for the sick. There is also a clear cultural pattern underlying the stores he telIs and the morals that he draws from them. When these patterns are used to inform our perception of the daykeeper's experience of life, we gain a rich, understanding of the relation between culture and thought as well as a rare and privileged insight into the mind of a highly religious man. The Daykeeper is an unusual combination of compelling life history and sophisticated cultural analysis. This is a benchmark book in American anthropology that can be read with understanding and enjoyment by expert and layman alike.

Seller Inventory # 9780674283640

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Daykeeper : The Life and Discourse of an Ixil Diviner
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication Date: 1981
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674283643
• ISBN 13: 9780674283640
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 236W x 160H x 25D millimeters 236 millimeters width by 160 millimeters height by 25 millimeters depth
• Weight: 679 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The Daykeeper presents a unique view, of the life of a modern Mayan holy man--his religious beliefs and practices, his stories and folktales, his philosophy of living, his struggle for daily bread and peace of mind.

In the hands of Benjamin and Lore Colby; the daykeeper's testimony be comes an important vehicle for understanding a culture that is a direct descendant of the high Mayan civilization of the past.

The Colbys show that there are intelligible cultural principles that organize the daykeeper's methods of divination and guide his interpretation of dreams and his cures for the sick. There is also a clear cultural pattern underlying the stores he telIs and the morals that he draws from them. When these patterns are used to inform our perception of the daykeeper's experience of life, we gain a rich, understanding of the relation between culture and thought as well as a rare and privileged insight into the mind of a highly religious man. The Daykeeper is an unusual combination of compelling life history and sophisticated cultural analysis. This is a benchmark book in American anthropology that can be read with understanding and enjoyment by expert and layman alike.

About the Author

Colby Benjamin N. :

Benjamin N. Colby is Professors of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine.Colby Lore M. :

Lore M. Colby is Professors of Anthropology at the University of California, Irvine.