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THE SACRED PATH edited by John Bierhorst Spells, Prayers & Power Songs of the AMERICAN INDIANS Out of Print - no photo available - limited quantities $7.95 The only up-to-date anthology of traditional American Indian poetry, The Sacred Path emphasizes the relationship between the life of the individual and the power of the spoken word. Arranged as the progression of a human life, beginning with chants to ease the labor of an expectant mother, the selections narrate a journey through birth and infancy, puberty, adulthood, and old age. The underlying belief, shared by native American cultures as different as the Cherokee and the Aztec, is that language, like the forces of nature, can bring about change. If uttered at the proper moment and in proper combinations, words can ward off disease, control the movements of a loved one, exorcise a ghost, and, in short, enable the user to deal with the crises that arise at each stage of life. The Sacred Path is a powerful introduction to an increasingly important field of American literature. John Bierhorst has edited many books of American Indian stories, poetry, and music, including Four Masterworks of American Indian Literature, The Red Swan, and his earlier, highly acclaimed poetry anthology, In the Trail of the Wind.
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