Fish, symbol and myth by Otto J. von Sadovszky (review)

BOOK NOTICES 653 sistent confusions that language is unproblematically denotative while art is purely mimetic'. Wrongheadedly , we treat 'words as though they were pictures. . . truths as though they froze in place fixed correspondences between words and things and thoughts' (236). But 'the shaman pounds on his words just as he pounds on his drum, as if to shatter them, testing the elasticity of language. . . . Shamanic texts must be heard also as winks and nudges. . . . They belong to entirely different realities than do signs and ciphers . They are notdefinitive, precise, eternally complete , and confrontationally defensible concepts, for such concepts do not exist' (242). Throughout, while his fifteen informants wrestle with their spirits, M wrangles theory with exceptional candor: ? do not seek a certitude that I believe nonexistent' (240). The book is studded with strange texts—chants, charms, mythic narratives, beautifully translated —that preserve an oral tradition doomed to decay as technology advances. Ch. 1, 'Words as cures' (3-25), sets the scene, defines the shaman, introduces ten texts, and surveys ensuing chapters. Ch. 2, 'How to recast affliction' (26-71), categorizes maladies treated by shamans and analyzes their healing rituals. M's spirit hierarchy—distinguishing nine levels, from divine through tutelary—clarifies the shamanic macrocosm (44). Ch. 3, 'Worlds requiring shamans' (72-115), describes Nepalese healers and highlights the instructions implicit in their songs. Ch. 4, 'Staging interventions' (116-52), covers ritual more closely while plunging into the autodidactic, semi-improvisational texts, Ch. 5, "The sound of things' (153-93), shifts from production pieces—'long public narratives' (24)—to the more private mantras of individual shamans. This chapter investigates the spells that push shamans beyond the pale of magico-medicine into the realm of necromancy . Ch. 6, 'Shaman voices, shaman texts' (194-232), recounts crucial episodes in the shaman's career, including initiation and obsequies. An epilogue , Ch. 7, 'Casting Indra's net' (233-44), summarizes , reassessing M's objectives. The book is wellindexed , with a concise bibliography preceded by a glossary of Nepali terms. This work is not without flaws, including excessive reiteration of authorial intent (e.g., 26-29, 73-76, 116, 118, 136, 195). Plus, pushed too far, theory escapes into ether, as when M argues that the Nepali texts 'produce a unique self. . not a certain kind of being, but a certain kind of theory' (194). But these are minor infelicities, more stylistic than substantive. Overall, The rulings ofthe night is a tour de force, reflecting years of rigorous field work and far more than language acquisition. With these powerful songs, M depicts worlds within words, an entire shamanic mythos. [Stephen O. Glosecki, University ofAlabama at Birmingham.] Fish, symbol and myth. By Otto J. von Sadovszky. (ISTOR books, 6.) Budapest & Fullerton, CA: Akadémiai Kiadó & International Society for Trans-Oceanic Research, 1995. Pp. 94. Paper $23.00. The International Society for Trans-Oceanic Research (ISTOR) series is targeted to linguists, ethnographers , and others interested in mythology and folklore. This book, volume 6 in the series, aims to prove semantic correlations surrounding fish concepts in Eurasian culture by reconstructing the longstanding and widespread Eurasian myth ofafish supporting the earth. The book includes a selected bibliography , index, and 28 illustrations. This short work discusses connections between fish and other elements ofthe human sphere by investigating the connections among language, art, and mythology in ancient Eurasian cultures to argue a relationship between the concepts of 'fish' and 'support '. Sadovszky makes great use of illustrations, especially in Ch. 1, 'Fish and the shinbone' (1-40). This chapter is subdivided into five sections. Section 1, 'Fish roe and the calf of the leg', demonstrates that the association between the leg and the fish is more extensive than early researchers thought. The author provides many cognates to illustrate the pervasiveness of these roots across language families. However , the chapter's highlight is S's discussion in Section 2 of the tattoos on the preserved body of a sixth-century b.c.e. man. "The fish and the Pazyryk man' segment illustrates linguistic associations concerning the fish and human body structure. The author reasons that, if the association between the fish and the calfwas so widespread, art showing this relationship should still exist. The...