Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Religious Spirit of the American Indian: As Shown in the Development of His Religious Rites and Customs
But any recognition of external powers is a beginning in the ideal definition of environment and the classification of nature. It is already an important conceptual step, following which the further step of endeavoring to appease or win over such of these powers as may be thought potent for ill or good is not long in taking. Rude forms of sacrifice develop - the exposure of food offerings (perhaps suggested by the provisioning of the dead, for this custom prevails even among the wandering Amazonians), the slaughter of pris oners (where the more primitive self-glory of killing may be the basis), and even the offering up of one's own kin and offspring in times of stress.
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