Title: Spears of Twilight
First published: 1996
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.
Subjects: Social life and customs, Jivaran Indians, Amazon River Region, New York Times reviewed, Indians of south america, social life and customs, Amazon river and valley, Amazon river and valley, social conditions
LC classification: F2230.2.J58 D4713 1996