Wind, Life, Health

Since our first primordial breath, wind has been a central theme of cultural thought. Wind in its different guises - from the 'natural phenomenon' of air in motion, to embodied 'life giving' experiences and deities and spirits - has contributed to the richness of human ideas and practices from ancient cultures to this very day. Through a series of thought-provoking articles, Wind, Life, Health: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives examines people's intimate relationships with the wind. Seeking a balance between detailed ethnography and broad theoretical insights, the editors have gathered a diverse group of contributors whose works illustrate the similar patterns of human/wind relationships across cultures - hunters and gatherers in the polar regions, inhabitants of the Malaysian rain forest, Andaman Islands, ancient India, China, Greece, Muslim East Africa, Victorian England, and mountain-dwelling Swiss. We discover how people through history have grappled - physically and conceptually - with winds and spirits, and how it affected their practice. Like a breath of fresh air, this pioneering work will lead to a deeper understanding of the ways in which our experience of the wind has influenced our awareness and understanding of the world, and continues to shape our culture.Hsu, Elisabeth is the author of 'Wind, Life, Health' with ISBN 9781405178938 and ISBN 1405178930.