William W. Howells,
The Heathens
Primitive Man and
His Religions
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Description:
Dr. Howells delves into the rituals and customs which comprise the fundamental
religious experiences of primitive societies, past to present. Removing the
aura of "savage" or "barbaric" superstition from the study of primitive
religion, Dr. Howells deals with the sociocultural function of these religions,
while capturing their spiritual significance. His informal, readable style is
effective in popularizing anthropological theory; his deep respect for
scientific accuracy ensures the text's continuing impact on the anthropological
community
Review:
"I am particularly impressed with the humor captured by the author’s prose ? a
quality which has endeared The Heathens to most students and has called forth
praise from several reviewers. Of the several classics in the field of enduring
value, such as Linton’s The Study of Man and Kluckhohn’s Mirror for Man,
Howells’ The Heathens, in my estimation, ranks at the very top.” —John C.
Messenger, The Ohio State University
Excerpt:
Scholars were cocking horn-rimmed
spectacles at primitive religion for a long time before they saw much of its
real nature. Naïve in the beginning, the anthropologists collected curios:
along with fetishes, kachina dolls, and the like, they brought home stories of
bloody funeral rites, or of human sacrifices, or of naughty orgies held on the
disarming pretext that they did something good for the crops. In these days,
however, the science of man is less simple. The museums are pretty full, and
the students are experienced enough now to grasp some of the meaning of what
they have found. They have come to see the social and religious practices of an
uncivilized people, not as a disorderly set of superstitious habits (which
might be straightened out in a hurry by anyone with a white skin), but rather
as a framework of dovetailing institutions, which are clung to for the solid
reason that they comfort and strengthen their possessors. This is as profoundly
true of religion as it is of government and law: religious ideas help in the
struggle for existence as verily as a bow and arrow, or a fish trap. Here we
have a point of great importance both in our knowledge of supposedly primitive
people and in our understanding of religion itself. That is one of the things
anthropology has discovered.
Table of Contents:
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Chapter 1 – Religion, Primitive and Civilized
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Chapter 2 – The Nature of Religion
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Chapter 3 – Mana and Tabu: A Force and a Danger
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Chapter 4 – Magic, Black and White
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Chapter 5 – Divination: The Future in the Present
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Chapter 6 – Disease and Medicine
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Chapter 7 – Witchcraft: Evil in Human Form
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Chapter 8 – The Shaman, A Siberian Spiritualist
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Chapter 9 – Another World
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Chapter 10 – Souls, Ghosts and Death
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Chapter 11 – Ancestor Worship
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Chapter 12 – Totemism, A Primitive Philosophy
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Chapter 13 – Demons
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Chapter 14 – Gods
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Chapter 15 – The Art of Worship
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Chapter 16 – The Rise and Fall of Religion
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Chapter 17 – Origins and Conclusions
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