The spears of twilight
Subtitle: life and death in the Amazon jungle
By: Philippe Descola ; translated from the French by Janet Lloyd.
Publisher: New Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 458
Subjects: Jivaran Indians -- Social life and customs; Amazon River Region -- Social life and customs
Description: The Spears of Twilight is the extraordinary story of three years among the legendary Jivaro Indians of South America by Philippe Descola, a student of Claude Levi-Strauss. Isolated in the jungle of the Upper Amazon on the border of Ecuador and Peru, the Achuar are a tribe of Jivaros whose reputation for headhunting has kept them safe for centuries from incursions by whites. The Spears of Twilight is the story of Descola's years among them and a tribute to their resistance.

Chronicling his growing intellectual and emotional intimacy with the Achuar, Descola leads the reader through the joys and sorrows of their daily life: the drama of their remarkable belligerence, the poetry of their magical songs, and the excitement of their mystic encounters with the spirits of ancestors.

The Spears of Twilight is also a fascinating narrative of Descola's gradual comprehension of the Achuar's consciousness; through the book a sophisticated and unusual cosmology emerges that deeply undermines our own understanding of time, religion, nature, and society.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 426-442) and index.