This book brings together as complete a record of traditional Yup’ik rules and rituals as is possible in the late twentieth century. Incorporating elders’ recollections of the system of ruled boundaries and ritual passages that guided their parents and grandparents a century ago, Ann Fienup-Riordan brings into focus the complex, creative Yup’ik world view—expressed by ceremonial exchanges and the cycling of names, gifts, and persons—which continues to shape daily life in communities along the Bering Sea coast. “The cosmology and ritual cycle of the Yup’ik are much more sophisticated than most people ever imagined, and they are documented here in superb detail. Boundaries and Passages: Rule and Ritual in Yup’ik Eskimo Oral Tradition is an enormous contribution to Eskimo studies and a major contribution to anthropology. It will be a required source on Eskimo societies and on Alaskan Eskimos for years to come.”— Ernest S. Burch, Jr., author of Social Life in Northwest Alaska: The Structure of Iñupiaq Eskimo Nations This book brings together as complete a record of traditional Yupik rules and rituals as is possible in the late twentieth century. Incorporating elders' recollections of the system of ruled boundaries and ritual passages that guided their parents and grandparents a century ago, Ann Fienup-Riordan brings into focus the complex, creative Yupik world view - expressed by ceremonial exchanges and the cycling of names, gifts, and persons - which continues to shape daily life in communities along the Bering Sea coast. Her analysis is illustrated with many contemporary and historical photographs. Identifying "metaphors to live by", Fienup-Riordan tells of "the Boy Who Went to Live with Seals" and "the Girl Who Returned from the Dead". She explains how in Yupik cosmology their stories illustrate relationships among human beings, animals, and the spirit world - the "boundaries and passages" between death and the renewal of life. Ann Fienup-Riordan is an independent scholar/anthologist. She was named Alaska History of the Year for The Real People and Children of Thunder: The Yup?ik Eskimo Encounter with Moravian Missionaries John and Edith Kilbuck, also published by the University of Oklahoma Press. Used Book in Good Condition