Charles Lindsay: Mentawai Shaman (signed edition)

A colorful portfolio of 80 photographs, augmented with excerpts from ethnographic/naturalist photographer Lindsay's journals, tells of an archaic tribe the Mentawaians or original people who live in the rain forest of Siberut, an isolated, ecologically unique jungle island in Indonesia. An histori

Format: Hardback
Publication date: 1992-10-01
Measurements: 9.5 x 12.3 x 0.7 inches
ISBN: 9781683951407

“Nature is both religion and survival for those who dwell in the rain forest. But change, in the form of development, is eating away at the natural diversity that is the basis of Mentawaian island society. This book makes clear that we will all be impoverished by the loss of this ecosystem and the richly distinct human society that depends on it for existence and meaning.”–Adrian Forsyth, Conservation International
“For the Mentawaian, priest and physician are one, for the condition of the spirit determines the physical state of the body. Sickness is disruption, imbalance, and the manifestation of malevolent forces in the flesh. Health is a state of balance, of harmony, and for the Mentawaian it is something holy. Although ailments may be treated symptomatically, often with medicinal plants, many of which are indeed pharmacologically active, it is intervention on the spiritual plane that ultimaetly determines a patient’s fate, and for this the healers must fly away on the wings of trance to distant realms where they may work their deeds of magical resuce. This book is an exquisite portrait of a people who move in and out of their spirit realm with an ease and impunity that has consistently astonished ethnographic observers.”–Wade Davis, author of “The Serpent and the Rainbow”
“One of the best environmental warnings of 1983. Every ten days an area the size of Noxubee County loses it’s timber and all the bird, animal and plant life being supported by it. “Mentawai Shaman: Keeper of the Rain Forest” by Charles Lindsay, is a rare and exotic glance at this ominous fact.”–Broox Sledge, “The Book World”
“Ethnographer Lindsay’s fascination with the Mentawaian tribe and theirdetermination to hold to traditions despite the intrusion of outside social and political forces makes for a captivating account.”–“The Bookwatch”

Charles Lindsay is the author of several books of photography, including Upstream: Fly Fishing in the American West; Turtle Islands: Balinese Ritual and the Green Turtle; and Mentawai Shaman: Keeper of the Rain Forest. Lindsay’s work has appeared in numerous international publications and has been profiled on NPR and on CNN International.
John Updike is a prolific novelist, essayist, poet, and critic. His early career was spent as a staff writer at The New Yorker. He is best known for his “Rabbit” series of novels, the last two of which (Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest) won Pulitzer Prizes for fiction. An avid golfer for 40 years, he is also the author of Golf Dreams.

Charles Lindsay is the author of several books of photography, including Upstream: Fly Fishing in the American West; Turtle Islands: Balinese Ritual and the Green Turtle; and Mentawai Shaman: Keeper of the Rain Forest. Lindsay’s work has appeared in numerous international publications and has been profiled on NPR and on CNN International.
John Updike is a prolific novelist, essayist, poet, and critic. His early career was spent as a staff writer at The New Yorker. He is best known for his “Rabbit” series of novels, the last two of which (Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest) won Pulitzer Prizes for fiction. An avid golfer for 40 years, he is also the author of Golf Dreams.