Ritual Encounters

''When I first witnessed the powerful images, music, and hypnotic rhythms of the Otavalos' Inti Raymi dances, I yearned for an ethnographer's deep analysis. Michelle Wibbelsman's eloquent ethnography has set a new standard for the study of ritual in the Andes.'' Robert E. Rhoades, author of Development with Identity, Community, Culture and Sustainability in the Andes ''An engaging study of diverse rituals that take place in indigenous communities in the northwestern highland region of Ecuador. Although previous ethnographic work conducted in the Otavalo area has examined ritual performances, none other focuses exclusively on ritual expression beyond a single community. Wibbelsman's work fills this gap in northern Andean ethnographic work.'' Kathleen S. Fine-Dare, author of Grave Injustice: The American Indian Repatriation Movement and NAGPRA