The essence of what makes ?Tales of a Shaman?s Apprentice? such a special work is precisely Mark Plotkin?s gentlemanly approach to the natives and his ability to work with the Indians as a trusted friend. He had been sent to the Amazon to conduct ethnobotanical research in the late 1970s to document how rain forest tribes are using rain forest plants for medicinal purposes. Because he went there to learn from the Indians, he was able to collect plants, participate in ceremonies and rituals and share other experiences as few outsiders have been able to do. One of Plotkin?s outstanding qualities as a field ethnobotanist is his conviction that among the Indians, he is the student and they are the teachers. Furthermore, Plotkin is a member of the last generation of ethnobotanists who will be able to see the Amazonians Indians living a life not all that different from their ancestors of thousands of years before. To hunt with breech-cloth clad men carrying arrows tipped with vegetal poison, to see shamans curing the sick in pal-thatched huts and to hear the rasping sound of cassava being grated by women of the village. This monograph represents an outstanding contribution, an enthralling account by a talented writer and judicious scientist. It is filled with interesting discoveries of medicinal plants and how the natives use them. Plotkin is able to express the importance of rain forest plants and peoples in terms that are compelling and poignant. His encounters with the natives are amazing and the relationships he built with them is one of brotherhood, belonging and by living with them he became one of them. Moreover, Plotkin does a fabulous job of reminding his readers that western culture is not necessarily a superior culture. His comments on plants and medicinal uses were incredibly fascinating and it further entices the reader to catch a glimpse into another culture that they may have never heard or knew about before. It?s basically an eye opener to the crucial issues that are surrounding indigenous societies today and to which people in the West may not have given much thought before. It is an ideal monograph which educates, but at the same time is very entertaining and fun to read. Finally, after reading this monograph, many people will begin to have great respect for both the rainforest and the indigenous peoples? struggle of trying to preserve it from becoming completely extinct.
This abstract was checked by WhiteSmoke Solution.
Learn more.
