Nurturing the Other: First Contacts and the Making of Christian Bodies in Amazonia

This book explores the relationships between Amerindians and outsiders in Amazonia through contact expeditions, focusing on the body, peacefulness, kinship, warfare, and shamanism. It examines change and continuity, and the links between first contacts, capture, and native conversion to Christianity.

Format: Hardback
Length: 212 pages
Publication date: 01 April 2022
Publisher: Berghahn Books

This captivating book delves into the intricate web of relationships between Amerindians and outsiders, particularly American missionaries, through a series of captivating contact expeditions. These expeditions played a pivotal role in the pacification of three native Amazonian groups in Suriname and French Guiana. The author embarks on a profound exploration, examining and contrasting Amerindian and non-Amerindian perspectives on this transformative social process. By focusing on the body, notions of peacefulness and kinship, as well as native warfare and shamanism, the author offers a unique lens through which to understand these complex dynamics.

The book addresses critical questions of change and continuity, shedding light on the lesser-explored connections between first contacts, capture, and native conversion to Christianity in contemporary indigenous Amazonia. Through meticulous archival research, oral history, and long-term ethnography, the author weaves a rich tapestry that sheds new light on the complexities of cultural interaction and transformation. This captivating work will captivate scholars, researchers, and anyone interested in the rich tapestry of human history and the enduring legacies of indigenous societies.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781800734586