Alan Dundes defines myth as a sacred narrative that explains how the world and humanity came to be in their present form. This new volume brings together classic statements on the theory of myth by the authors. The twenty-two essays by leading experts on myth represent comparative, functionalist, myth-ritual, Jungian, Freudian, and structuralist approaches to studying the genre.

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This volume examines Tsimshian culture from the prehistoric period to the recent past and includes contributions from such diverse perspectives as archaeology, linguistics, and social anthropology. The contributors demonstrate a balance between current fieldwork and careful archival analysis, as they build on the voluminous materials that are a legacy of the scholarship of such major figures as Boas, Barbeau, Tate, and Garfield. The book includes chapters on the crest system and participation of the Tsimshian in the 'non-Native' economy of the region and introduces much original material on shamanism, basket making, and feasting.

Designed to provoke controversy, the papers in this volume concentrate on two main themes: the study of myth and totemism. Starting with an English translation of La Geste d'Asdiwal, which is widely considered to be the most brilliant of all of Lévi-Strauss's shorter expositions of his technique of myth analysis, the volume also contains criticism of this essay. The second part of the volume discusses how far Lévi-Strauss's treatment of totemism as a system of category formation can be correlated with the facts that an ethnographer encounters in the field. First published in 1967.

Designed to provoke controversy, the papers in this volume concentrate on two main themes: the study of myth and totemism. Starting with an English translation of La Geste d'Asdiwal, which is widely considered to be the most brilliant of all of Lévi-Strauss's shorter expositions of his technique of myth analysis, the volume also contains criticism of this essay. The second part of the volume discusses how far Lévi-Strauss's treatment of totemism as a system of category formation can be correlated with the facts that an ethnographer encounters in the field. First published in 1967.

Originally told to explain the mysteries of the world—such as creation, divine will, fertility, death, and love—myths are a major part of many cultures throughout the world, and each area has its own myths. Organized by geographic region, each myth is placed within the civilization’s history and context. The key elements of world mythology, such as the hero, his divine connection, the labyrinth, the initiation, and the transformation,are explored in boxes and features throughout the book. Philip Wilkinson has more than 50 titles to his credit in the fields of mythology, history, and the arts, including DK’s Illustrated Dictionaries of Mythology and Religions. Neil Philip is the author of many books on folklore and mythology, including The Illustrated Book of Myths and Myths and Legends Explained. Synopses of the great myths that have inspired human creativity from antiquity to the present Covers mythology around the globe, from the classic Greek to lesser known Malaysian Catalogs of gods by subject enable comparisons of distant civilizations