The inspiring story of one man's exploration of indigenous healing in a culture fighting to preserve its spiritual health. • A firsthand account of a little-known healing tradition. • A dramatic story of self-transformation by a well-respected Harvard-educated anthropologist. In the late 1970s Richard Katz, a clinical psychologist trained in anthropology, spent two years living in a remote island community in Fiji, hoping to record the practices of its healers. At the foundation of their healing, he discovered, was the concept of the straight path, a journey through life whose truth is revealed only to the extent that it is searched for with honesty and faith. It is a way of healing that in its very essence is a way of living, a path that emphasizes the spiritual dimensions of health and the relevance of these to the community. But while interviewing healers at work, Katz was drawn into an increasingly suspenseful drama. Unexplained deaths, rumors and suspicions, and the intrusion of a zealous evangelist rocked the village and soon revealed to the author the dangerous alternative to the straight path: the misuse of power that some call witchcraft. The Straight Path of the Spirit is an engrossing story of indigenous healers and a dramatic account of cultures in collision. Through the story of his own self-transformation, Katz reveals not only those aspects of life essential for the Fijians as they struggle to hold onto their identity, but also what is of importance to all of us who seek to retain our humanity.

Volumes in the Trends in Linguistics. Documentation series focus on the presentation of linguistic data. The series addresses the sustained interest in linguistic descriptions, dictionaries, grammars and editions of under-described and hitherto undocumented languages. All world-regions and time periods are represented.

This work is directed to those who want to learn more about the Fijian language. It is intended as a reference work, treating in detail such tropics as verb and noun classification, transitivity, the phonological hierarchy, orthography, specification, possession, subordination, and the definite article (among others). In addition, it is an attempt to fit these pieces together into a unified picture of the structure of the language.

First published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Volume II of The Cambridge History of the Pacific Ocean focuses on the latest era of Pacific history, examining the period from 1800 to the present day. This volume discusses advances and emerging trends in the historiography of the colonial era, before outlining the main themes of the twentieth century when the idea of a Pacific-centred century emerged. It concludes by exploring how history and the past inform preparations for the emerging challenges of the future. These essays emphasise the importance of understanding how the postcolonial period shaped the modern Pacific and its historians.

Anthropologist/clincial psychologist Katz spent two years on a remote Fijian island in his search for the moral, psychological, and spiritual wisdom known as the Straight Path, an ancient healing tradition with tremendous relevance for health and psychology in the West. Photos.