Stories from an Ancient Land

Perspectives on Wa History and Culture
1. Auflage 2021
ISBN: 978-1-78920-887-0
Verlag: Berghahn Books

Buch, Englisch, Band 12, 414 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 630 g

Reihe: Asian Anthropologies

The Wa people have a rich civilization of their own, and a deep history in the mountains of Southeast Asia. Their mythology suggests their land is the first place inhabited by humans, which they care for on behalf of the world. This book introduces aspects of Wa culture, including their approach to the world’s troubles and the lessons others might learn from it. It also presents a new interpretation of Wa headhunting, questioning explanations that see it as a primitive custom, and instead placing it within the fraught history of the last few centuries.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Fiskesjö, Magnus

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Militärgeschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kultur- und Ideengeschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Historische & Regionale Volkskunde

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Figures

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Sources, History, Issues

Chapter 1. Gifts and Debts: Fieldwork in the Wa Lands

Chapter 2. Naming Oneself, Naming the World

Chapter 3. Rice Beer and the Making of Wa Sociality

Chapter 4. Mining, Hierarchy, and the Anti-State Wa

Chapter 5. Slavery as a Threat to the Ideology of Kinship

Chapter 6. War, Headhunting, and the Erasure of Wa History

Chapter 7. Barbarian Ruse: Playing With the Fears of the Civilized

Chapter 8. Disease and Death in the Peripheral Situation

Chapter 9. Hope Against Hope: Border Prophets and Foreign Saviors

Chapter 10. The Power of the Exotic: Negotiating the Future

Epilogue

References

Index

Über Autor(innen)

Fiskesjö, Magnus
Magnus Fiskesjö is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Asian Studies at Cornell University. He has published widely on topics such as ethnic relations, slavery and inequality, as well as heritage and museum issues, mainly in East and Southeast Asia.