Publisher's Synopsis
- Complete, updated English translation of a seminal work on Central Asian religions first available in German in 1975 - An extensive new bibliography of over 950 entries listing works that have updated Jettmar's original studies to the present time - An essential reference for all people and institutions with a interest in Asian religion - Relevant not only to students of the cultures of the Hindukush region but also to those with an interest in the current practice of popular religion in the borderlands of Tibet, such as Ladakh It may safely be assumed that this study will not be replaced as a standard work of reference. - Per Kvaerne, Journal of the Tibet Society. ... future scholars of this region must take Jettmar as their indispensable guide and point of departure. - Peter Parkes, Man, New Series, Vol. 22, No. 3. The traditional religion and rituals of the remote tribal groups along the borderlands of eastern Afghanistan and northern Pakistan, with their complex cosmology of gods and demons, preserved elements from archaic Indo-Aryan, and possibly even pre-Vedic, beliefs. While the peoples of this region were converted to Islam by the turn of the 20th century, geography and the deeply conservative nature of these tribes combined to preserve ancient folk religious practices long extinct elsewhere. The author integrates the diverse scholarly findings of colleagues in the fields of linguistics, cultural history and archaeology with his own field investigations to construct an authoritative, yet highly readable account of the religious practices of this remote and little understood corner of Asia. A ground-breaking and indispensable reference both for the general student of Asian religions and for those with a special focus on the tribal cultures of eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province. The work has also been updated with an extensive new bibliography.
