In this Book
- The Spirit and the Sky: Lakota Visions of the Cosmos
- Book
- 2017
- Published by: University of Nebraska Press
- Series: Studies in the Anthropology of N Amer
summary
The interest of nineteenth-century Lakotas in the Sun, the Moon, and the stars was an essential part of their never-ending quest to understand their world. The Spirit and the Sky presents a survey of the ethnoastronomy of the nineteenth-century Lakotas and relates Lakota astronomy to their cultural practices and beliefs. The center of Lakota belief is the incomprehensible, extraordinary, and sacred nature of the world in which they live. The earth beneath and the stars above constitute their holistic world.
Mark Hollabaugh offers a detailed analysis of aspects of Lakota culture that have a bearing on Lakota astronomy, including telling time, their names for the stars and constellations as they appeared from the Great Plains, and the phenomena of meteor showers, eclipses, and the aurora borealis. Hollabaugh’s explanation of the cause of the aurora that occurred at the death of Black Elk in 1950 is a new contribution to ethnoastronomy.
Mark Hollabaugh offers a detailed analysis of aspects of Lakota culture that have a bearing on Lakota astronomy, including telling time, their names for the stars and constellations as they appeared from the Great Plains, and the phenomena of meteor showers, eclipses, and the aurora borealis. Hollabaugh’s explanation of the cause of the aurora that occurred at the death of Black Elk in 1950 is a new contribution to ethnoastronomy.
Table of Contents
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- Title Page, Copyright Page
- pp. i-vi
- List of Tables
- p. x
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- pp. xi-xviii
- 1. The Lakota People
- pp. 19-34
- 2. The Sky
- pp. 35-58
- 3. Lakota Culture
- pp. 59-74
- 4. The Stars and Constellations
- pp. 75-90
- 5. The Sun and Moon
- pp. 91-100
- 6. Telling Time
- pp. 101-122
- 7. Eclipses and the Aurora Borealis
- pp. 123-138
- 8. Meteors and Comets
- pp. 139-154
- 9. The Sun Dance
- pp. 155-176
- 10. Contemporary Lakota Astronomy
- pp. 177-190
- 11. The Spirit and the Sky
- pp. 191-202
- Appendix: List of Museums
- pp. 203-208
- Bibliography
- pp. 237-250
Additional Information
ISBN
9781496201454
Related ISBN(s)
9781496200402
MARC Record
OCLC
960969235
Pages
264
Launched on MUSE
2017-05-06
Language
English
Open Access
No