Environment and Belief Systems

Part of the series Key Concepts in Indigenous Studies, this book focuses on the concepts that recur in any discussion of nature, culture and society among the indigenous. The book, thefirst in a five-volume series, deals with the two crucial concepts of environment and belief systems of indigenous peoples from all the continentsof the world. With contributions from renowned scholars, activists and experts from around the globe, it presents a salient picture of the environments of indigenous peoples and discusses the essential features of their belief systems. It explores indigenous perspectives related to religion, ritual and cultural practice, art and design, andnatural resources, as well as climate change impacts among such communities in Latinand North America, Oceania (Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands), India, Brazil, Southeast Asia and Africa. Bringing together academic insights and experiences from the ground, this unique book's wide coverage will serve as a comprehensive guide for students, teachers and scholars of indigenous studies. It will be essential reading for those in anthropology, social anthropology, sociology and social exclusion studies, religion and theology, and cultural studies, as well as activists working with indigenous communities.

List of figures Notes on contributors Preface Acknowledgements Introduction G. N. Devy 1 Ritual and cultural practice among Indian adivasis Archana Prasad 2 Forests now speak English: the indigenous at odds with the state G. N. Devy 3 Indigenous peoples and the Great Lakes in North America Deborah McGregor 4 Indigenous art, resilience and climate change: Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand and Samoa Tracey Benson, Lee Joachim, Huhana Smith, Penny Allan, Martin Bryant, Tamasailau Suaalii-Sauni, Penehuro Fatu Lefale and Charles Dawson 5 Indigenous religions of Oceania: Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands James L. Cox 6 Indigeneity, the environment and Africa: some key concepts from the /Xam of southern Africa Michael Wessels 7 Can there be religions without belief? Religion in Latin America Oscar Guardiola-Rivera 8 Indigenous peoples and the environment: views from Brazil Seth Garfield

G. N. Devy is Honorary Professor, Centre for Multidisciplinary Development Research, Dharwad, India, and Chairman, People’s Linguistic Survey of India. An award-winning writer and cultural activist, he is known for his 50-volume language survey. He is Founder Director of the Adivasi Academy at Tejgadh in Gujarat, India, and was formerly Professor of English at M. S. University of Baroda. He is the recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, Linguapax Prize, Prince Claus Award and Padma Shri. With several books in English, Marathi and Gujarati, he has co-edited (with Geoffrey V. Davis and K. K. Chakravarty) Narrating Nomadism: Tales of Recovery and Resistance (2012); Knowing Differently: The Challenge of the Indigenous (2013); Performing Identities: Celebrating Indigeneity in the Arts (2014); and The Language Loss of the Indigenous (2016), published by Routledge. Geoffrey V. Davis was Professor of Commonwealth and Postcolonial Literatures at the University of Aachen, Germany. He was international chair of the Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies (ACLALS) and chair of the European branch (EACLALS). He coedited Cross/Cultures: Readings in the Post/Colonial Literatures and Cultures in English and the African studies series Matatu. His publications include Staging New Britain: Aspects of Black and South Asian British Theatre Practice (2006) and African Literatures, Postcolonial Literatures in English: Sources and Resources (2013).