SIL Publications by Category
Cultural Studies

African Friends and Money Matters: Observations from Africa by David E. Maranz, revised ed, PE 37, 2001, 224 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-117-6, $24.95

Discussion of the very different goals of African and Western economic systems and ninety observations of African behaviors related to money matters and the frictions which can result when Westerners misunderstand.

And I, In My Turn, Will Pass it On: Knowledge Transmission among the Kayapo by Isabel Murphy, PLE 2, 2004, 218 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-155-8, $30.50

This study provides an in-depth description of Kayapo knowledge transmission. It bridges the disciplines of education and anthropology and expands our knowledge of indigenous processes of education.

Asheninka Stories of Change by Ronald James Anderson, PS 4, 2000, 245 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-102-2, $30.50

The Ashéninka of the Amazon jungle region of east-central Peru confront change from two perspectives: the individual and the sociohistorical. They recall four centuries of change through their stories.

Cashibo Folklore and Culture: Prose, Poetry, and Historical Background by Lila Wistrand-Robinson, PE 34, 1998, 195 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-048-3, $30.50

Contains two sections: myths, legends and chants passed from father to son among the Cashibo; and a history of the Cashibo people and culture up to the mid-1960s.

Ensnared by AIDS: Cultural Contexts of HIV/AIDS in Nepal by David K. Beine, 2003, 411 pp., ISBN 978-9-99331-018-1, $21.95

This book examines the meaning and cultural contexts of HIV/AIDS in Nepal, presenting results of a long-term study, the first in South Asia, that examines the process by which development of Nepalese cultural models of HIV/AIDS is occurring.

Fifty Years in Brazil: A Sampler of SIL Work 1958–2008, eds by Mary Ruth Wise, Robert A Dooley, and Isabel Murphy, 2008, 396 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-220-3, $40.00

Samples of the products of fifty years of SIL International’s work in Brazil range from material.
Um Tributo aos Povos Indígenas: 50 Anos da SIL Brasil Approximately half of the book is in Portuguese.

Five Amazonian Studies on Worldview and Cultural Change edited by William R. Merrifield,PE 19, 1985, 96 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-174-0, $11.50

Presents studies focusing on world view and cultural change from five Amazonian communities. Documents some of the results of modernizing influences from the outside as well as some of the underlying ideologies used to interpret these influences.

Globe Trotting in Sandals: A Field Guide to Cultural Research by Carol V. McKinney, 2000, 337 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-086-5, $34.00

Provides guidance in the practical aspects of fieldwork and gives suggestions for collecting both qualitative and quantitative cultural data.

Grafting Old Rootstock: Studies in Culture and Religion of the Chamba, Duru, Fula, and Gbaya of Cameroun ed by Noss, PE 14, 1982, 264 pp. 978-0-88312-165-8, $12.50

Studies the culture and religion of the Chamba, Duru, Gula and Gbaya of Cameroun.

The In-Between People: Language and Culture Maintenance and Mother-Tongue Education in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea by Dennis Malone, PLE 3, 2004, 248 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-147-3, $24.95

The In-Between People studies how the Kaugel-speaking people of Papua New Guinea approach the tension that results from the intersection of the old and new cultures.

International Illustrations; the Art of Reading 2.0 CD-ROM, 2001, ISBN 978-1-55671-114-5, $19.95

International Illustrations is the second artwork disk from SIL and contains over 11,100 images drawn by artists from around the world. Designed for use in the preparation of literacy primers, displays and cultural awareness efforts. Search by keywords

International Illustrations; the Art of Reading 3.0 DVD, English/Indonesian ed, Windows & Mac, 2009, ISBN 978-1-55671-241-8, $19.95

International Illustrations 3.0 DVD is from SIL and contains over 11,100 images drawn by artists from around the world. Designed for use in the preparation of literacy primers, displays and cultural awareness efforts. Search by keywords

Kinship and Social Organization in Irian Jaya edited by Joyce Sterner; Marilyn Gregerson, PE 32, 1997, 254 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-009-4, $29.50

Discusses how people in Irian Jaya cope with the forces that present both tension and stability as an essential part of their social fabric.

Language Contact and Composite Structures in New Ireland by Rebecca Sue Jenkins, PLE 4, 2005, 253 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-156-5, $24.95

In this book, the author examines the relationship of indigenous Austronesian languages and the pidgin/creole language, Tok Pisin.

A Look at Filipino Lifestyles by Marvin K. Mayers, PE 8, 1980, 176 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-158-0, $16.00

Describes Filipino lifestyles and value systems from an anthropological perspective.

A Look at Latin American Lifestyles by Marvin K. Mayers, PE 2, 1982, 130 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-170-2, $13.00

Describes Latin American lifestyles and value systems from an anthropological perspective.

Nucleation in Papua New Guinea Cultures edited by Daniel D. Rath; Marvin K. Mayers, PE 23, 1988, 120 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-177-1, $23.50

Gives a collection of studies of Papua New Guinea cultures, each isolating one key concept that is believed to define the whole of that culture.

Ozumacín Chinantec Texts: Folklore Texts in Mexican Indian Languages 2 by Nadine Rupp; James E. Rupp, LDAMI 11, 1995, 96 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-624-0, $13.50

A compilation of seven stories narrated by a native speaker of this language group (southern Mexico).

Peace is Everything: The World View of Muslims and Traditionalists in the Senegambia by David E. Maranz, PE 28, 1993, 289 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-816-9 $32.95

Examines the culture of the Senegambia subregion in West Africa.

People of the Drum of God--Come! by Paul L. Neeley, PE 35, 1999, 298 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-013-1 $30.50

Draws from such diverse disciplines as sociolinguistics, anthropology, semiotics, cognition, aesthetics and ethnomusicology to make a contribution to our understanding of African culture and communication.

Proto Otomanguean Kinship by William R. Merrifield, PE 11, 1981, 396 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-161-0, $13.00

Reconstructs the protolanguage of six languages found in Mexico.

Reading is for Knowing: Literacy Acquisition, Retention, and Usage among the Machiguenga by Patricia M Davis, PLE 1, 2004, 320 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-094-0, $35.50

Bilingual schools were initiated at the end of the 1940s among the Machiguenga people of the Peruvian rainforest. This study presents a forty-year chronology of the sociological and educational aspects of the program.

Ritual and Relationships in the Valley of the Sun: The Ketengban of Irian Jaya by Anne Sims; Andrew Sims, PE 30, 1992, 176 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-271-6, $12.50

Looks at the culture of the Ketengban people (eastern highlands of Irian Jaya, Indonesia).

The Same But Different, Language Use and Attitudes in Four Communities of Burkina Faso by Stuart Showalter, PS 5, 2001, 261 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-092-6, $30.50

Detailed look into ways in which four communities respond to the everyday linguistic diversity of their milieu. Maps and diagrams add clarity in explaining the linguistic situation.

South American Kinship: Eight Kinship Systems from Brazil and Colombia edited by William R. Merrifield, PE 18, 1985, 122 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-173-3, $12.50

Studies representing the following languages: Paumarí, Cubeo, Tucano, Kayabí and Suruí, spoken in Brazil, and Coguí, Guahibo, and Coreguaje, spoken in Colombia.

Sticks and Straw: Comparative House Forms in Southern Sudan and Northern Kenya by Jonathan E. Arensen, PE 13, 1983, 148 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-164-1, $12.50

Describes and documents various indigenous house forms in the southern Sudan and northern Kenya area in order to gain insights into the lives of the people who build them. Formulates reasons as to why people build their houses in the ways they do.

A Tale of Pudicho's People, Cashinahua Accounts of European Contacts in the Twentieth Century, by R. Montag, PE 38, 2002, 179 pp. ISBN 978-1-55671-131-2, $20.00

First-hand Cashinahua account of boyhood experiences, the migration of the group and recent happenings by Pudicho, a retired headman.

Tales from Indochina edited by Carol Zylstra; Doris Blood; Dorothy Thomas; Marilyn Gregerson, PE 21, 1987, 115 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-169-6, $11.50

Contains a selection of folktales collected in Vietnam from 1960 to 1975.

The Value of the Person in the Guahibo Culture by Marcelino Sosa, PE 36, 2000, 146 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-085-8 $20.00

Describes the ever-increasing penetration of the majority culture among the Guahibo (eastern Colombia).

A View from the Islands: The Samal of Tawi-Tawi by Karen J. Allison, PE 15, 1984, 50 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-168-9, $7.50

Interprets and molds five presuppositions of the Samal world view and certain related values through three coordinate systems presented in the culture: religions and supernatural, social and economic.

What Place for Hunter-Gatherers in Millennium Three? by T. Headland and D. Blood, PE 39, 2002, 105 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-132-9, $19.50

Case studies looking at the past and the uncertain future for post-foraging societies and specifically the central African Pygmies, the San Bushmen and the Agta Negritos.