Includes bibliographical references and index.

Orbis terrarum: The island of the Earth -- All mankind is one -- Homo religiosus -- 1. The place to begin -- Religion and the shape of the world -- The trickster -- Structures of reality in architecture and art -- Cosmicization of the ordinary -- 2. Nonliteracy and Native American religions -- To breathe is to make poetry -- The cock and the mouse -- Performance -- 3. Symbols in action -- Religious paintings -- Self-directed designs and objects -- Esoteric religious objects -- Masks -- Clowns: Masters of symbolism -- Symbolic materials in action -- 4. Roads of life -- Beginning the journey -- Religious awareness through disenchantment -- Initiation at puberty -- The vision quest -- Pilgrimage -- Health and healing -- The journey's end -- 5. Ways of life -- Bear ceremonialism -- The Bladder festival of the Alaskan eskimo -- The Kwakiutl winter ceremonial -- The origins of corn -- The green corn ceremonies of the Creek -- The Tewa way of life -- 6. Tradition and change in Native American religions -- Rio Grande pueblos -- Yaqui -- The Plains tribes -- 7. Concluding remarks -- Suggestions for further reading.