The Project Gutenberg EBook of Washo Religion by James F. Downs

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Title: Washo Religion

Author: James F. Downs

Release Date: February 27, 2010 [Ebook #31429]

Language: English

Character set encoding: US-ASCII

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WASHO RELIGION***

Washo Religion

By

James F. Downs

University of California Publications

Anthropological Records

Vol. 16, No. 9, pp. 365-386

Editors (Berkeley): J. H. Rowe, R. F. Millon, D. M. Schneider

Submitted by editors September 16, 1960

Issued June 16, 1961

Price, 75 cents

University of California Press

Berkeley and Los Angeles

California

Cambridge University Press

London, England

CONTENTS

Preface
Introduction
Mythology
Water Babies
The Giants
The Coyote And Other Figures
Curing And Shamanism (2469-2541)
Noncurative Use Of Power (2567-2593)
Divining And Rainmaking (2553-2556, 2566)
Objects Of Power
Sorcery And Witchcraft (2562-2564)
War Power
Summary Of Shamanism
Dreams And Dreamers (2566)
Ritual Activities
Conception And Contraception
Birth (2178-2293)
Puberty: Girls (2305-2352)
Puberty: Boys (2379-2386, 369-374)
Marriage (2018-2051)
Death (2389-2453)
Ritual In Subsistence
Hunting
Fishing (252a-296)
Miscellaneous Concepts About Hunting And Fishing
Gathering
Miscellaneous Ritual
Influence Of Christianity
Bibliography
Footnotes

PREFACE

This paper is the result of two and one-half months' field work among the
Washo Indians of California and Nevada supported by the Department of
Anthropology of the University of California and the Woodrow Wilson
Foundation. In it I have tried to describe the religious beliefs and
ritual activities of the Washo as they can be examined today. Where