Joanna Overing
In Praise of Folly—Piaroa Style [journal article review]
When groups of Piaroa laugh and tease a young man who just farted, they feel the merriment helps preserve everyone’s good health—much as Germans might say gesundheit to people who sneeze. But the intentions of the Piaroa go deeper than simple fun. They believe that the fart may release powerful contaminants, which the man may […]
Piaroa Approaches to Nonviolence: New PDF Added to Website
Except for sorcery attacks against unknown outsiders who are presumed to be responsible for diseases and deaths, Piaroa territory is almost completely free of physical violence. Joanna Overing, in a 1989 article added this week to the Archive of this website, describes essential elements of Piaroa beliefs: how they define maturity in terms of routinely […]
