December's Child: A Book of Chumash Oral Narratives.Thomas C. Blackburn, ed. and analysis. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1975. $12.95.

Through careful analyses of rich oral texts of their migratory history, genealogies and rituals, as well as using historical records in Chinese, archaeological evidence, and ethnographic data, this study traces the history of Akha people, a Tibeto-Burman speaking group in Zomia, back to their original homeland Tmqlanr where their ancestors were hunter-gathers. The author hypothesizes the Tmqlanr refers to Tianchi (Sky Lake) in Tianshan or Sky Mountain, northwest China. The author argues that their animist belief and community-of-beings worldview were well developed when they were hunter-gathers. A huge wild fire forced the ancestors of the Akha to leave their original homeland and started their millennia long southward migration. It is evident that the Akha ancestors became agriculturalists and were involved in building several ancient Tibeto-Burman states and contributed to several ancient civilizations in Southwest China and eventually established their own state Jadae, centered in Yuanjiang valley of the Red River, roughly in AD1054 through AD1274 when it was conquered by the Mongol Empire of the Yuan Dynasty. The author argues that the Akha identity was formed in the process of building, defending and losing the Jadae State. Rice cultivation in irrigated paddy fields was the economic basis of the Jadae State. Collapse of the Jadae State forced the Akha people to migrate further southward; they became one of the biggest shifting cultivating groups in highlands of Zomia, where they still reproduced sacred landscapes according to the worldview developed by their hunting-gathering ancestors and managed their natural resources through a holistic body of customary law Ghanrsanrkhovq standardized in the Jadae State. As the Akha were integrated into modern nation-states in this region, their sacred landscapes were confronted by the state landscapes of productivity and control. The Akha have not only become successful entrepreneurs who developed tea and/or rubber plantations in the process of adapting to the contested landscapes in China, but also have coped with the challenges imposed by the state through reinterpretation of their ancient animist beliefs and community-of-being worldview. Drawing on lessons learned from the case study of the Akha, issues of sustainable development are discussed at the end.

This study presents an ethnographic account of the Mexican religious movement Espiritualismo Trinitario Mariano in the Mexicali/Calexico area, at the U.S.-Mexican border. A salient characteristic of espiritualismo is that its main practices, cátedras and curaciones, take place as spirit beings enter the bodies of trained individuals. In addition to providing a description of the main aspects of espiritualista ideology and practice, this study looks at the function of this religious movement in the border area in view of the following related factors: (1) the proximity of the United States; (2) the strong presence of Protestantism in the area; and (3) the infrastructural changes taking place in Mexicali, through industrialization and urban growth. Information was obtained through repeated participation in ceremonies carried out at temples, as well as through extended conversations with espiritualista participants and patients who attended the temples. Follow-up visits to homes of espiritualista practitioners were also made. In order to address the interests outlined above, two comparisons are made: first, between the practice of espiritualismo in Mexicali, at the Mexican side of the border, and the practice of espiritualismo in Calexico, at the U.S. side of the border; and second, second, between the practices of espiritualismo in Mexicali and those of espiritualismo in Mexico City, where the headquarters of the movement is located. The symbolic aspect of espiritualismo (including the particular personalities of the spirit beings that appear during practices) is thoroughly examined, as well as the particular socioeconomic conditions of participants in particular and temple attendees in general. Observations revealed that the particular characteristics of espiritualismo at the border reflect the awareness of its participants to attempts at discrediting tradition through the imposition of a "rational," hegemonic perspective. Through its practices and discourse, espiritualismo in Mexicali presents a front that challenges such impositions. Because of this, espiritualismo attracts not only the marginalized, as previously suggested, but individuals from all social levels in Mexicali and surrounding areas. In addition, an important finding is that the practices of espiritualismo, while striving to maintain tradition, they also help individuals to become attuned to the requirements established by globalization and modernity.