The Wind in the Bamboo: A Journey in Search of Asia's "Negrito" Indigenous People

by Edith Mirante

Overview

Historically defined as "Negrito" because they physically resemble small Africans, these forest peoples may have the most ancient ancestry in Asia. Captured for slavery, exhibited at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, nearly exterminated by disease and a cataclysmic volcano, they survive in a few places: Malaysia, the Philippines and India's remote Andaman Islands. Some are armed with spears and blowpipes, a few with cellphones and graduate degrees. Edith Mirante, author of Burmese Looking Glass and Down the Rat Hole, weaves a compelling Chatwinesque narrative examining race and identity and the environmental, social, political challenges these indigenous peoples face in contemporary Asia.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9789745241893
Publisher:	Orchid Press Publishing Limited
Publication date:	04/30/2014
Pages:	308
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

Edith Mirante has roamed Asia since the early 1980s, collecting information on human rights and environmental issues. In 1986 she founded Project Maje, an information project on Burma. She has investigated atrocities and resistance in some of the most remote corners of Burma's frontier war zones. Her latest book, The Wind in the Bamboo required extensive research and trips to India, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Table of Contents

Contents: A Walk on the Beach Part 1: Spears; Rabbit Proof Fence; Indian Country; Our Footprints; After the Volcano; Sierra Madre; Ati Kaleidoscope; Valhalla. Part 2: Lahar; The Irony Festival; Ancestral Domain; We Are Africa; The Circle. Afterword Glossary Maps Index

Editorial Reviews

How can we know anything about cultural worlds that lie far beyond our daily lives, save for the gifts and stories of those who risk all to go there? I read this book as if it were a personal gift, opening my imagination to places I had never been but had always wanted to go.

Wade Davis

With insight, outrage, and crisp humor, Mirante tells a story of dispossession, discrimination, and environmental degradation. She also introduces us to a memorable cast of characters, including allies who support those struggling for justice and respect. An important book for travelers, anthropologists, and all who care about the fate of aboriginal populations in a rapidly changing world.

Barbara Sjoholm

Edith Mirante takes the reader on a great pan-Asian adventure. This is a timely and vital journey among ancient people struggling to survive in the modern world.

Emma Larkin