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Fallen from Heaven: The Enduring Tradition of Europeans As Gods in the Americas - Couverture rigide

Griffiths, Nicholas

 
9781009549806: Fallen from Heaven: The Enduring Tradition of Europeans As Gods in the Americas

Synopsis

Debunking the so-called apotheosis myth, Nicholas Griffiths argues that Indigenous peoples in North America, Mexico, the Andes, and Hawaii during the early modern period (1492–1789) did not believe invading Europeans were gods. Instead, many perceived them as 'more-than-human' intruders of considerable spiritual power. By exploring the Indigenous context and terminology, using published primary and secondary sources, the book investigates what natives meant when they used words that Europeans translated as 'gods.' In contrast to traditional accounts, Griffiths centers native points of view and the dynamic interactions between European and Indigenous perspectives. Ultimately, both groups were fundamentally comparable since both interpreted their mutual contact in terms of their pre-existing mythology. The traditional contrast between the scientific, rational, and modern Europeans on the one hand, and the myth-bound, irrational, pre-modern Indigenous peoples on the other, is entirely misleading. The first book-length synthesis of this myth, Griffiths reinterprets ideas that have long been debated in various regional literatures.

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À propos de l'auteur

Debunking the so-called apotheosis myth, Nicholas Griffiths argues that Indigenous peoples in North America, Mexico, the Andes, and Hawaii during the early modern period (1492–1789) did not believe invading Europeans were gods. Instead, many perceived them as 'more-than-human' intruders of considerable spiritual power. By exploring the Indigenous context and terminology, using published primary and secondary sources, the book investigates what natives meant when they used words that Europeans translated as 'gods.' In contrast to traditional accounts, Griffiths centers native points of view and the dynamic interactions between European and Indigenous perspectives. Ultimately, both groups were fundamentally comparable since both interpreted their mutual contact in terms of their pre-existing mythology. The traditional contrast between the scientific, rational, and modern Europeans on the one hand, and the myth-bound, irrational, pre-modern Indigenous peoples on the other, is entirely misleading. The first book-length synthesis of this myth, Griffiths reinterprets ideas that have long been debated in various regional literatures.

Les informations fournies dans la section « A propos du livre » peuvent faire référence à une autre édition de ce titre.