Walking to Magdalena : personhood and place in Tohono O'odham songs, sticks, and stories / Seth Schermerhorn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schermerhorn, Seth, author.

Series:

New visions in Native American and indigenous studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Tohono O'odham Indians--Religion.

Tohono O'odham Indians.

Christianity--Arizona.

Christianity.

Pilgrims and pilgrimages--Arizona.

Pilgrims and pilgrimages.

Pilgrims and pilgrimages--Mexico--Magdalena de Kino.

Arizona.

Mexico--Magdalena de Kino.

Physical Description:

xix, 231 pages : illustrations, map ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lincoln, Nebraska : Co-published by the University of Nebraska Press and the American Philosophical Society, [2019]

Summary:

In Walking to Magdalena, Seth Schermerhorn explores a question that is central to the interface of religious studies and Native American and indigenous studies: What have Native peoples made of Christianity? By focusing on the annual pilgrimage of the Tohono O'odham to Magdalena in Sonora, Mexico, Schermerhorn examines how these indigenous people of southern Arizona have made Christianity their own. This walk serves as the entry point for larger questions about what the Tohono O'odham have made of Christianity. With scholarly rigor and passionate empathy, Schermerhorn offers a deep understanding of Tohono O'odham Christian traditions as practiced in everyday life and in the words of the O'odham themselves. The author's rich ethnographic description and analyses are also drawn from his experiences accompanying a group of O'odham walkers on their pilgrimage to Saint Francis in Magdalena. For many years scholars have agreed that the journey to Magdalena is the largest and most significant event in the annual cycle of Tohono O'odham Christianity. Never before, however, has it been the subject of sustained scholarly inquiry. Walking to Magdalena offers insight into religious life and expressive culture, relying on extensive field study, videotaped and transcribed oral histories of the O'odham, and archival research. The book illuminates indigenous theories of personhood and place in the everyday life, narratives, songs, and material culture of the Tohono O'odham.

Contents:

Introduction

Personhood and place

O'odham songscapes

Walkers and their staffs

Walking to Magdalena

Writing O'odham history

Conclusion

Appendix 1. O'odham religious history and the Magdalena pilgrimage

Appendix 2. O'odham speech genres.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 175-219) and index.

ISBN:

9781496206855

1496206851

OCLC:

1065376151