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NEW BOOK! The Flying Tiger
By Kira Van Deusen
Storytelling bridges
culture, history, and spirituality. In The Flying Tiger Kira Van Deusen
takes us into the world of the female shamans of the Amur, presenting over
fifty traditional stories she recorded in the 1990s from the people of the
taiga forest in the Russian Far East. More than a collection of tales, the
reader learns about the lives of the story-tellers and their history,
their spiritual traditions, adaptation to the environment, relationships
with animals, and sense of humor.
Outsiders to the culture have long focused on the physical artifacts of
shamanism - like the costume and drum - and on ritual healing practices,
but far less is known about the images shamans and storytellers use to
entertain, heal, and educate. Van Deusen describes the lives of the people
of the Amur during a period of dramatic transition, as they attempt to
find some way to relate ancient traditions to an uncertain future. She
emphasizes the contributions of women - often overlooked in the literature
on shamanism - in traditional and contemporary society, and their concerns
with ecology and the education of children. Their magnificent embroidery,
illustrated by the author's photographs, echoes these women's stories.
The Flying Tiger will appeal to anyone interested in shamanism,
storytelling and folklore, Russia, indigenous people, women's studies, and
spirituality.
About the Author
Kira Van Deusen, a storyteller/folklorist in Vancouver, B.C.
NEW BOOK! Singing Story, Healing Drum
Explores the shamanic
practices, worldview, oral traditions, and music of the Turkic peoples of
Tuva and Khakassia (south Siberia), past and present. It is based on the
author's fieldwork since 1993, conducting interviews, recording stories,
participating in rituals and everyday life. Set in the context of social
change in the post-Soviet period, it includes conversations, folktales,
legends, and shamanic poems that illuminate spiritual traditions, and
introduces ethnographic literature in Russian, mostly unavailable in the
West. Wherever possible, the material comes through the voices of
indigenous people: scholars, practitioners, and participants in cultural
review.
Kira Van Deusen presents an integrated, holistic picture of Turkic
spiritual culture, exploring the inner world shamans and other visionaries
describe and the ways they cross the boundaries between ordinary and
non-ordinary reality. Since nomadic life is never static, its traditional
expression comes through performing arts—music and oral poetry—more than
visual representation. Most of these arts involve sound and the processes
are equally as important as the results. They involve the whole community
and are vital in the revival of indigenous culture today.
About the Author
Kira Van Deusen, a
storyteller/folklorist in Vancouver, B.C.
Shyaan am! Tuvan Folk Tales
Storyteller Kira Van Deusen brings the oral traditions of Tuva to English speaking audiences in this special book of eight Tuvan favorites. Illustrated by Tuvan artist Alexei Sedipkov. 47 pages.
Includes four stories from Shyaan am! Tuvan Folk Tales, including The Camel, Boraldai, Khan with the Donkey's Ears, and Which One to Choose. Read by Kira Van Deusen, accompanied by Kaigal-ool Khovalyg, Kongar-ool Ondar, and Anatolii Kuular. 28 minutes.
Hear
The Camel in
RealAudio!
Woman of Steel: A Tuvan Epic
Translated and retold by Kira Van Deusen. Long before the days of Genghis Khan, women warriors were fighting battles on the Asian steppes to protect family and friends. The warrior's spiritual path leads to an opening of the heart, allowing the bold and compassionate heroine to defeat her enemies, restore peace and prosperity to the land, find her life's partner, and bring her father back to life. This is one of Tuva's best-loved epics. 38 page paperback with illustrations by Alexei Sedipkov.
Mountain Spirits -- Khakass Stories
Since time beyond memory mountain spirits have appeared in the mountains and steppe of Khakassia, Tuva's neighbor to the northwest. The sixteen tales in this book were told in the 19th and mid 20th centuries. They are published here in the original Turkic language (similar to Tuvan) and in English. Compiled by Kira Van Deusen in collaboration with Galina Kazachinova, head of the Khakass Writer's Union and a great authority on the culture of her people.
Tuvan Constitution, Flag Code & Anthem -- a very cool 54 page book details (in Russian) the Tuvan Constitution of 1993, the Coat of Arms and flag code and specifications, and the National Anthem with lyrics and musical notation.
Shamans. Published by the Humanitarian Center of Kyzyl. 44 page booklet in English, Russian, and Tuvan, including one chapter ("Shamans") of Manchen-Helfen's Journey to Tuva. Nicely illustrated with Tuvan block prints.
On the Music of Shamanism in the Tuvinian Culture. A ten page article by Dr. Zoya Kyrgys.
The Postal History and Stamps of Tuva. Blekhman's seminal work on Tuvan postal history is now available in English. This book, originally published in Russian, details the history of Tuva's postal system from antiquity to the 1970's. All of Tuva's stamps and postal cancels are illustrated along with fine examples of covers and postal stationery. A must have for any collector! 104 pages. Translated by Ron Hogg, edited and illustrated by J. Eric Slone.
Tuva: Znaki Pochtovoi Oplaty [Tuva: Means of Postal Payment], by Vadim Nikolayevich Ustinovskii (Moscow: 2000). Probably the most knowledgeable Tuvan philatelist on the planet, has published a major new handbook on Tuvan philately. Here are the details:
- In Russian, with a three-page English summary. The Table of Contents is in English, too.
- 204 pp. Extremely well printed, on high-quality glossy paper. (A gorgeous production!)
- Soft (paperback) cover
- Whatchamacallit binding (where the individual pages are glued to the spine).
- 21.6 x 14.5 x 1.43 cm
- Weight: 527g
- Fold-out map of Tuva at the turn of the 19/20th centuries
- 100 numbered figures (photographs, covers, diagrams, sketch map), and at least two unnumbered photographs (a stone man, and a historical photograph of a crowd assembled before the Tuvan Government building in Kyzyl on the day of Tuva's absorption into the USSR).
- Errata sheet (incomplete)
- Every main type of stamp is illustrated in color (some perforation varieties are only in black/white; other perforation varieties, as well as color shades, etc., are not illustrated). All known Tuvan cancels (including many forgeries) are illustrated.
- Many perforation varieties (missing or double perfs, etc.), overprint varieties, rare stamps, etc., are illustrated in the colorful end papers.
Price: EUR 37.00 plus
postage
For information, please email Alan Leighton
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